Deep Into The Minds Of Twi-Hards
Why are people so obsessed with Twilight? Psychologist Niloo Dardashti (pictured) attempts to find out in her doco Into the Twilight Haze.
It took almost a year and a mammoth amount of footage, but in the end, Psychologist Niloo Dardashti got what she wanted: an in-depth look at the world's Twilight obsession. Into the Twilight Haze is a one-hour documentary exploring the many different scientific and psychological reasons for Twilight fans' obsession. Based on the best-selling books by Stephenie Meyer, the intriguing love story between the vampire Edward and his human love, Bella has captured the imaginations of millions. "As we know, many women have an extraordinarily strong reaction to reading or watching Twilight," says Dardashti. "And my primary interest is to shed some light on why that is."
In the documentary, the interviewed women noted numerous different reasons for their addiction, including the forbidden love story and sexual tension between Bella and Edward and how it evoked passionate feelings. The fact was that many women looked at Twilight in a realistic manner, which could be construed as dangerous. "I think it can certainly be so, yes," explains Dardashti. "Looking at it realistically could lead to all sorts of disillusionment and disappointments because most human beings are flawed and therefore not going to be attuned to their partners perfectly."
According to the documentary, it is the character of Edward Cullen and his allure that has contributed to the obsession. "I think what is safe to say is that most women appreciate many of the qualities that Edward has," says Dardashti. "Does that mean that they expect their men should be like him? Hopefully not."
Edward Cullen is labelled as the ‘ultimate man' by interviewed psychiatrist Stephen Synder, leading a growing number of women to expect men and relationships to be equal to Bella and Edward's. "Edward is a fictional character and most human beings would probably not be able to emulate the limitless capacity that he displays towards Bella," says Dardashti. "As far as perceptions of relationships, I think the idealised relationship that Edward and Bella have is just that - idealised"
Dardashti's intention was to "interview women who had some insight into their feelings about Twilight rather than focusing on how "hot" Edward was.
"I wanted to speak to women of all ages and different cultures," continues Dardashti. "These were the women that I thought would be most interesting to put in the film, as they spanned generations and were culturally diverse."
Obsessed women are one thing, but in her global search, did she ever come across any male twi-hards? "If you started to ask around you'd find a ratio of 20:1 females to males who admit to loving Twilight! I did speak to some men and several of them said that they are ‘hopeless romantics', but that they would never want to be interviewed on tape!"
For more on Into the Twilight Haze go to the website.
