Twilight and Philosophy

Twilight and Philosophy: Vampires, Vegetarians, and the Pursuit of Immortality

Yes, this is a book. I included a picture. And a link to read it from Google books.

But before all of the "Ewww, Twilight!!" commences,  I would just like to say, "Stop; grow up; I don't want to hear it." Critique the series all you want; it is very angsty and dramatic, I know.

However, this book is not so much about the series as it is a philosophical look at the way vampires are portrayed in Stephanie Meyer's books, the roles religion and feminism play, and what it means to really be compassionate.

So far, at least. I haven't finished the book yet.

The way it's laid out, though, each part focuses on one book of the series and the philosophical issues that arise. For example, part one focuses on Twilight.

The issues discussed are:

• You Look Good Enough to Eat: Love, Madness, and the Food Analogy. This discusses the role food plays in pleasurable emotion, and how that relates to the fact that Edward, in essence, wants to express his desires by literally consuming Bella.
• Dying to Eat: The Vegetarian Ethics of Twilight: Is it ethical for a vampire to spare humans but still eat and kill animals? What makes it different? What are the different standards for humans and vampires regarding diet, and does it make one better than the other?
• Can a Vampire Be a Person?: Pretty self-explanatory; there is a differentiation between being human and a person, so it examines which, if any, a Twilight vampire is capable of being.
• Carlisle: More Compassionate Than a Speeding Bullet?: If you've read any the books or seen any of the movies, then you're aware that Carlisle is the one who promotes the "vegetarian" way of life among vampires, and is very caring towards those close to him. So this section looks at different definitions of compassion, and what it is that makes Carlisle's compassion a heightened capability.

All of these are written by different contributors, and they all draw comparisons to legitimate philosophers (Aristotle, Nietzsche, etc.) and philosophical concepts -- they have very informative footnotes -- so it is something worth reading if the reader wants to see how old thoughts are still relevant to pop culture today.

For those who are not interested in Twilight, there are others in the series that may be of interest: 

• X-Men and Philosophy: Astonishing Insight and Uncanny Argument in the Mutant X-Verse
• Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded
• House and Philosophy: Everybody Lies

As well as ones for Watchmen, Batman, The Office, and more.