The first time she heard about “Twilight,” Molly Simons-Kimball thought the vampire romance novels sounded like a stupid, Harry Potter-wannabe series. Last summer, though, her 33-year-old sister and brother-in-law turned her on to the literary phenomenon written by Stephenie Meyer. Within two weeks, Simons-Kimball finished all four books and realized it was more than a passing teenybopper craze.
“It’s not just for 13-year-olds,” Simons-Kimball, a 19-year-old University sophomore, said. “It’s a crazy epidemic. There’s this complexity to the book that just sucks you in. Yeah, it’s written for teen girls, but you just don’t understand until you have read it; it’s so well written!”
Jessica Morehead, also a University sophomore, agrees. Morehead has never been smitten by television crazes such as “Hannah Montana” or “High School Musical,” but has enjoyed popular literary series, such as “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and “Harry Potter.”
“I can’t believe a series as addictive and socially popular as ‘Harry Potter’ came out,” Morehead, who attended a Friday showing of “Twilight,” said. “I never thought there’d be another phenomenon like that again.”
Among the teenybopper trends that have drawn college students’ obsessions, the “Twilight” series has captivated late-teens and 20-somethings who once claimed they would never touch a fantasy tale involving vampires. A phenomenon has emerged in which these college students consider it cool to respond to pop culture in the same ways they would have in middle and high school.
A self-described Harry Potter fan, Simons-Kimball now identifies more as a “Twilight” aficionado, but has used a “Harry Potter” analogy to explain to skeptical friends and co-workers the allure of “Twilight.” Both series, she said, have garnered a similar fan base and spurred college students’ obsession.
Two of the friends whom she coaxed to read the series and one other joined Simons-Kimball for the first “Twilight” movie showing. The friends bought tickets four days in advance and arrived at 9 p.m. for the midnight showing clad in homemade T-shirts that read “I love Edward!” and “Mrs. Cullen” alongside the movie’s opening date. Their fourth movie-goer, Nelson Zaludek, an 18-year-old University sophomore, did not participate in the festivities, calling the movie “too girly, childish and stupid.” He did, however, acknowledge that the lead characters, Bella and Edward, were wildly attractive.
Simons-Kimball has also attended midnight showings for some “Harry Potter” films and “The Dark Knight,” but “Twilight” offered her and her friends a cultural experience of its own – one girl arrived at 9 a.m. to claim a spot in line; teens, college women, moms and some men shrieked with excitement in the theater as the previews commenced; the “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” trailer conjured further zealous screaming, revealing the similar audiences “Twilight” and “Harry Potter” share.
“You wouldn’t think of it as that big of deal, but people were wearing ‘Twilight’ pants, T-shirts, hoodies, and purses,” Simons-Kimball said. “People went to the extremes for this and everyone was so excited, looking around at what everyone else was wearing.”
Outside of the Valley River Center movie theater Thursday, Hot Topic set up a booth with “Twilight” merchandise. The music and pop culture clothing store offered specialty items, including jewelry with the Cullen family crest. Attendees of the midnight showing received free movie posters, which Simons-Kimball and her friends have since posted on their bedroom doors. The books, she said, will perhaps be the most coveted “Twilight” paraphernalia, especially considering that some movie-goers have not read the books.
Morehead anticipates seeing more merchandise, including action figures and Legos, around the holidays. The books, she said, will be bought up during break when students want to catch up on the series.
As a literature person, Simons-Kimball had always loved “Romeo and Juliet,” and was struck by the “Twilight” parallel tale of forbidden love. Simultaneously, she noted how the “violence, action, suspense and intensity” could appeal to a certain demographic. The immortal vampire, though, captivated her the most.
“After reading the book and seeing the movie, my friends and I all agree that there will never be a boy good enough for us unless he is like Edward,” Simons-Kimball said. “We want a guy like him who says all of the right things, is old-fashioned and acts chivalrous.”
Morehead also described her fascination with a normal girl falling in love with a vampire who had been alive for more than a century.
“Teenyboppers are the intended demographic because it deals with high school experiences, but the characters you can really relate to,” Morehead said. “You can imagine how it would feel to be so isolated and immoral like Edward. What do you do with your life and love?”
Additionally, Morehead noted that author Meyer is Mormon and insinuates a theme of not giving into temptation. While Edward suppresses his desire to suck Bella’s blood, teens grapple with sexual desires.
“We as adults realize it, but do teens?” Morehead asked.
While she much prefers the first book to its movie counterpart, and only gave the movie a subpar rating of 3.5 out of 10, Simons-Kimball plans to see “Twilight” again with her sister and her sister’s 30-something-year-old friends soon. She will attend the next three movies of the series and “wouldn’t be surprised to see a ‘Twilight’ party theme emerge.”
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