Melissa Rosenberg, the screenwriter for the Twilight saga, recently gave an in-depth interview to the Hollywood Reporter.
I enjoyed the interview, and recommend to others; it is a serious and introspective piece which I appreciate. Melissa’s candor is refreshing.
That said, I confess some concern about the possibility of changing the values and themes of the saga to fit what she refers to at one point as her “feminist agenda.” I’m not sure if the reporter is sort of leading the conversation along this path, or if this truly represents Melissa’s primary concern with Bella’s story arc. My concern is because:
First, I think that many readers already appreciate Stephenie’s values inasmuch as they are expressed in Twilight. Altering story elements is one thing, while changing themes can be quite another matter entirely. And when people don’t agree with the theme, they don’t like the film (at least, very much).
Secondarily, Bella is the hero of the series. She saves everyone — from the villains and from themselves. That there is a sacrificial element and underlying humility to her story, underscores the transforming power of love. It doesn’t make Bella weak. Quite the contrary, it reveals her strength of character. Further, it helps her find her strength — her shielding power. She is the true protector in the series.
Finally, the men in Twilight already screw up everything. They are tragically stupid, they fight endlessly and pointlessly, they threaten foolishly, and they make constant, dangerous errors in judgment. Few (if any) of their ideas are correct. At one point, Meyer wonders if violence is endemic to the Y chromosone. In the Twilight universe, when a man disagrees with a woman, the woman is always right (just like in real 
).
In contrast, the women in the books (esp. Bella) already have to do everything that is actually done. While the guys are busy moping, Bella (and the other female characters) are driving the plot forward by making successful plans and carrying them out. The women drive the significant (and successful) events throughout the entire series.
Just because Bella is an unreliable narrator — and mistakenly thinks she is the one doing all the moping, or that she isn’t brave (when she obviously is), or that her humanity is like a tragic flaw, and so forth — doesn’t change her basic strength, clarity of thought, and her ability to enlist the other women in carrying out her successful plans.
Even though she doesn’t see herself clearly (as Edward warns her at the start of “Twilight”) until the very end of “Breaking Dawn,” doesn’t mean that we can’t, won’t, or don’t. Bella is awesome. We all recognize that. Already.
So how does the series — and Bella in particular — need Melissa to alter the flawed Twilight to be more feminist?
