you can gaze at me anytime.

What I found to be one of the more interesting parts of the reading for today was the concept of the "male gaze," which is probably because I could not shake the image of Edward Cullen from my head. Whether you detest Twilight or not, Edward Cullen is arguably the poster-child for the male gaze. If you have seen the film, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't, let me explain a bit - about 75% of Edward's communication (especially with Bella) is through his eyes alone. It was almost as though they had formed a relationship with one another before verbally speaking. Edward's gaze lasted throughout the entire film. In fact, many girls would argue that Edward simply wouldn't be Edward if it was not for his dark and mysterious stare. Some may even argue that that's what captured Bella's interest in him so much. I always knew that there was something about Edward that made so many women fall for him (not me, of course....), and I was pretty sure that it had to do with the dark and mysterious vibe that he has. But now it has become clear that that is mostly due to his seductive gaze. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he purposely studied and decided on that aspect of his character...

Based on the fact that I've personally fallen victim to the male gaze, I've got to say that I think Laura Mulvey is pretty much on track with her argument. I especially agree with her idea that people are drawn to "scopophilia, a voyeuristic gaze directed at other people." Mulvey goes on to describe "narcissistic voyeurism - seeing oneself in a primary character and identifying with them." I think that this is certainly one of the main appeals of the Twilight films...especially for those who have read all of the books as well. There is this sense that any one of us girls could be Bella and have Edward fall for us. There is nothing particularly special or extraordinary about Bella so we can, in a sense, put her aside and claim Edward as our own.

In Twilight there is also the sense of the active male and passive female that Mulvey refers to. "Her role is to drive the hero to act the way he does," and this is certainly the case for Bella and Edward. Because of Bella, Edward shows his strength of being able to love a human and surpress his vampire urges and habits. Through Bella, Edward becomes even more so of what every girl dreams of. But like I said - Bella is nothing special, and each girl can easily replace herself into that role of being the one who tames Edward.

Up until now I really viewed Twilight as a mere love story in which Bella and Edward are the stars. In fact, reading the books through Bella's perspective almost made me feel as though she was the main character. But I've got to admit that she is somewhat....disposable. It is Edward who is irreplacable in the story. Sure, Bella goes through her share of transformation because of Edward, but he is viewed as the magical one. It is his mystique and sensuality that the audience reacts to, and it is his gaze that captures the viewer.