By Rachel Zimny
Nostalgia, an ever further away idyllic dream of how things used to be. Also a great marketing strategy as you probably know based on the constant reboots, remakes, and sequels that come out every year.
Peak nostalgia for me is late 2000s aesthetic and iconography. The height of it centers around emo bangs, layered clothing, and sad alternative indie music. So when I heard that the entire Twilight Series is now streaming on Netflix, I knew I was going to have to push work aside to indulge.
The movies came out when I was in middle school and I was one of those really annoying preteens that had to avoid all “mainstream” media. I stuck my nose up and refused to watch, proudly telling anyone who loved it that vampires were stupid, Bella was stupid, and the whole series was dumb.
Well, joke’s on me because I fell in love with it. The Twilight series is actually what got me into reading and writing for fun. I can literally credit Stephanie Meyer for what you’re reading right now. Crazy.
I fell into the books at an alarming rate, sustained major crushes on Edward and Jacob, and gained an eternal interest in vampires and gothic media. Looking back, I hate how pressured I felt to dislike this cheesy series simply because it was something that teenage girls liked.
It took me much longer to get around to seeing the movies even though I watched every YouTube parody I could find when they were coming out. I had never actually seen them in full until a few years ago. I pulled an all-nighter with my best friend, binge buying and watching each movie in the series. The hammy acting, the filtered lighting, the lack of chemistry between an obviously closeted K Stew and an over it all Robert Pattinson; it was absolutely spectacular.
Whether you’re watching in earnest or laughing at how bad you think the movies are, the Twilight series are a lot of fun to watch. If you’re looking for that emo-era nostalgia then you already know twilight will scratch that itch.