Summary: Deconstructing Ideology And Power In The Twilight Saga

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In “Bella’s Choice: Deconstructing Ideology and Power in the Twilight Saga” author Leslie A. Grinner explore how dominant ideologies are often enforced by media and pop culture (Grinner 2013:199). Ideology, as defined by Grinner, is “a set of beliefs that guide a culture… and tell us who or what is most valued… and by extension what is least valued.” In the article, Grinner uses the Twilight series, a teenage supernatural love story, to show how the intersectional framework she developed, SCWAMP (Straight, Christian, White, Able-Bodied, Male and Property), can help identify dominant ideals in media, which can then further our media literacy (Grinner 2013:199). Grinner’s SCWAMP framework helps brings to light the dominant and sometimes hidden …show more content…

In the Twilight series, Grinner (2013:199) points out how evident this is in that most of the couples are in heterosexual relationships, for example Bella and Edward and Rosalie and Emmett. Also, while there is one disabled character, Billy Black (Jacob’s father), tests of strength and being physically superior is a recurring theme in the series (Grinner 2013:201). The importance of straightness and able-bodiedness in our culture can be seen everywhere, which significantly highlights the issue of representation as it applies to LGBTQ and disabled peoples. This distinction can be seen in the lack of LGBTQ diversity in media. In the report by GLAAD (as cited in Kimmel year: 64-65), “96 percent of regular characters on prime-time scripted television are straight, four percent lgbtq… Whereas people with disabilties make up 12 percent of the American population, but less than 1 percent of regular series’ characters have disabilities”. While we are seeing more representation of LGBTQ and disabled characters in movies and television stereotypes still prevail. Bisexual characters, for example, are often portrayed as hypersexualized, untrustworthy individuals with low morals and prone to infidelity or as an individual going through a phase which they will then get over when they find the right

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