The Twittering of Twilight
The article chosen for this assignment is one written by Joseph Natoli which is titled “The Twittering of Twilight” (2010). To summarize the article in one simple statement, it is the writer giving his thoughts on how most of the people in our society live in the here and now with total disregard to history and no concern or thoughts of the future. His message comes through loud and clear through his analogies of two current day popular culture artifacts; the movie Twilight and the social network Twitter.
He begins his article with a quote concerning how great it would be if social networks, such as Twitter, could differentiate between what the user deems important and worthwhile of reading, and that which is viewed as written noise and immediately worthy of the delete button. According to the writer of the quote, Jamais Cascio (“Get Smart”, The Atlantic, July/August 2009:97) it would allow us to move from a society that only half pays attention to one which is continuously aware ( Natoli, 2010). Natoli uses this quote as an introduction, or starting point, to his article in order to get the reader on the same page. In other words, he wants to get the reader in a similar frame of mind.
Considering the tone of his article, as well as, continuous use of question marks following a referenced persons name of the past, as if the current day twitter and Twilight lover would be clueless as to whom they were, is suggesting that his targeted audience are those who are highly educated and apt to consider themselves the “scholarly” type. The normal everyday person, like myself, would most likely find this article condescending, insulting, and quite frankly, irritating.
Simply put, Natoli believes that those into twitter, and those who love the movie Twilight, are people only concerned with the here and now. He arrived at this conclusion because according to him, twitter basically has no meaning. It is just a vehicle for people to comment on what they are doing or thinking about in the moment. Once it is said, it’s done and over with. No one looks back; the history of what was said is irrelevant. Additionally, no one thinks of, or cares about, consequences or issues that could arise in the future from what is said. Nor do they care or think about the future of our country, our economy, or anything else. Only the here and now as it effects them.
Those who love Twilight are one in the same. They love this movie because of what it stands for; the here and now. As exampled in his article, vampires live for today. They don’t care about the past as it is irrelevant to them today. They have no concerns about the future as they are immortal; the forever powerful. The success of the movie is due to the desires of people wanting to be like Vampires; like Edward. Immortal and forever powerful; only concerned with today, with themselves. According to Natoli, it is Bella’s character that people relate to, because in the movie, that’s what she wants. She wants to be the Vampire, she wants to live forever, carefree, and in the moment. Further, she only wants to be concerned with herself with no regard for the past, and no fear or worries of the future. According to the writer, that’s what twitter and Twilight stand for. Neither have any ties to the past, no cares for historical anything, and no concern for the future; just the here and now. By the tone of the article, Natoli feels that both are pointless and huge waste of time.
On a personal note, I disagree with Natoli’s thought process. I believe that the success of twitter is due to a lack of time, rather than simply wanting to live in the here and now with total disregard to the past and future. Life is very fast paced compared to that of years past. It is difficult to find time to converse on the phone or plan weekly visits for face to face conversations. Although I am not one who uses twitter, I believe that the majority of people use it as a vehicle to have continued conversations with old friends and acquaintances. In other words, it is the current day spot for small talk.
Concerning the movie Twilight, I don’t think the popularity of the movie is due to people wanting to be like vampires, and only being concerned with the here and now. I believe the movie is successful because it is the ultimate love story. It follows the romance formula, which by the way has much to do with history; the success of its past is the reason it is still used today. Additionally, women love Edward because he is the ideal romantic partner. He is sensitive, sincere, loving, and the ultimate protector, which is the same reason many men want to be like him. All in all, the relationship that Bella and Edward have is one that most people desire, and in my opinion, that is why the movie is so successful.
Natoli, J. (2010). The twittering of twilight. The Journal of Popular Culture, 43(4), Retrieved from http://0-journals.ohiolink.edu.olinkserver.franklin.edu/ejc/article.cgi?issn=00223840&issue=v43i0004&article=671_gettot doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5931.2010.00764.x
