Why Is Twilight So Popular?

{Forgive me for this momentary lapse in my blogging to comment heavily on pop culture, of which I try to study or at least be somewhat aware ...}

The #'s are in and they are shocking: Twilight New Moon took in $140.7 million dollars on its opening weekend (#3 all-time)!!  It was the biggest Fall opening in history.  And what is even more remarkable is the storyline seems so, well, so outlandishly freakish: girl falls in love (nothing new there) ... with a vampire (Whoa!) ... who is opposed by a pack of guys who become wolves (What!?!) ... one of whom likes the girl who fell in love with the aforementioned vampire (Say that again!).

So here's my question: Why is it so popular and why did I, of all people, get drawn into this freakishly weird love-gone-wrong story?

1) People like realistic love stories. I know the vampire-wolf part is not "realistic" but love is never easy, is way more complicated than we care to admit, is opposed by forces often outside our control, and takes a lot of effort to work.  At the core the Twilight series is a love story ... the vampire-wolf stuff is just part of the "complications", as Edward would say.

2) There is a character in the story that most people can easily identify with. Again, look past the vampire-wolf mythology to the heart of the characters.  We all want someone who understands us, someone who shares an experience, a struggle, a hope or a dream that we have.  This is the power of a good story ... fiction or not, realistic or fantasy ... it does not matter.  People will flock to something they can relate to either personally or emotionally, either in real life or only in their dreams.

Do you struggle with a habit? Do you have a "fatal flaw" that sometimes holds you back? Are there things about you that you wish you could change?  Then look no further than everyone's favorite vamp, Edward Cullen.

Have you ever fallen in love with someone or something that you couldn't have ... or have in the way you wanted? Ever had your heart broken?  Ever struggle with where you fit into life's big plan?  Then you'll identify with Bella Swan, the main character who tells us this story.

Ever compete for something you valued and lose?  Ever feel like you're always a day late and a dollar short? Ever feel like the nice guy who always finishes last?  Jacob Black is your guy!

{Incidentally, regarding points 1 & 2 ... this why I love the Bible: full of real people experiencing real life! I can relate!}

3) The plot line is anything but predictable and routine. Most stories fall into a predictable pattern that has the audience or reader guessing with incredible accuracy how everything will end.  Not so in this book.  The twists and turns are virtually non-stop.  This is why we see the two camps: Team Edward and Team Jacob emerging.  People are pulling for their guy, but unless you read all the books you really never know who Bella will choose or how or why she will make her choice.  This is creative story-telling at its best because routine is death to creativity.  Now some will say that this creativity is too much and is big-time "jump the shark" stuff.  That criticism may be fair but the audience is so desperately hooked on getting to the final answer, they tolerate and even enjoy it.

4)  Twilight scratched an "itch" by finding a good niche. This series has proven that teenagers and women are a powerful bloc of people who were ripe for a blockbuster made for them.  80% of all ticket sales on opening weekend were purchased by women!   A film, book, or movie rarely succeeds by trying to be all things to all people.  It's wise to know your target audience.  It's also wise to know that your target audience will bring people outside of your target audience with them for the ride (i.e. the husband or boy friend).

5) For whatever combination of reasons Twilight has reached a cultural "tipping point". Tipping point is a term that basically means unstoppable momentum.  People on the outside of this momentum can't understand it, they criticize it, question it, mock it, and even hate it ... but they are powerless to stop it.  Think about the emergence of social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).  Many of these tools have reached a tipping point where now we see CEOs, football coaches, and politicians updating their status and sending out "tweets".  Only in hindsight do these waves become explainable.  So it is with Twilight -- we can't really explain it ... yet.