The Twilight Saga romanticised toxic relationships – so why is it getting a reboot?

Bella Swan is the sort of protagonist who should remain in the early 2000s – the ‘not like other girls’ – who dislike other women for existing.

She’s quirky; she hates pink and dresses and doesn’t wear makeup. Not like her friend Jessica (portrayed iconically by Anna Kendrick), who is often maligned in her introspection in the books.

Now being an outcast is not a bad thing – no girl can in fact be like the other girls. However, putting down other girls because you are not like them is not something that makes you a better person.

The other women within the series are rarely given any depth, and when they are, it is to prop up Bella, who still does not really respect them or to act as a contrast to highlight how much ‘better’ Bella is. And then she’s apparently a feminist icon because she chooses her path, according to Meyer.

Edward is controlling and possessive towards Bella. He stalks her, isolates her from her friends and family, and even destroys her car to prevent her from seeing her best friend.

“If Edward Cullen wasn’t a pretty vampire, we’d call the police and tell Bella to leave him.”

If Edward wasn’t a pretty vampire, we’d call the police and tell Bella to leave him. But these are all presented as signs that he loves her and wants to protect her.

Jacob Black, Bella’s other love interest, is a member of the Quileute Tribe. He also happens to be a werewolf.

A Native American tribe with a very real presence in Forks, made famous by the books and native mythology, provides a backbone for the werewolf lore in the series. However, the tribe has pointed out the inaccuracies that have persisted because of Meyer’s work, and they received no compensation for the appropriation of their culture and history.

Jacob and his pack are often portrayed as shirtless, animalistic, and unable to ‘behave’. Even how Jacob expresses his feelings towards Bella, including a forced kiss, plays into the very troubling trope of having a man of colour encroaching on an innocent white woman