The premise: teenager Bella moves to Forks, Washington with her parents, and falls in love with the vampire Edward. When he leaves town, she falls in love with the werewolf Jacob. Eventually she has to choose between them: she chooses Edward, and they get married and have a daughter.
But that doesn't mean that gay teen boys must be content to watch actors looking sullen with their shirts off. There are always subtexts, either intentional or accidental, especially among the gay or gay-friendly members of the cast:
2. Peter Facinelli as Carlisle, his Dad.
4. Jackson Rathbone as Jasper, his younger brother.
7. Xavier Samuel as Riley, companion of the evil vampire Victoria, who is trying to kill Bella.
10. Chaske Spencer, left, as Sam, the leader of Jacob's pack.
The Humans
14. Justin Chon as Eric, who has an unrequited crush on Bella. It's unrequited crushes all the way down -- the girl just ain't into humans.
15. Matt Bushell as Phil, the minor-league baseball player who marries Bella's mother.
There were lots of sexy, tortured bad-boy vampires before, on Dark Shadows and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in the novels of Anne Rice, but never whole tribes of them. And uber-muscular, macho vampires, not sophisticates and androgynes. Perfect for erasing the gay symbolism from the vampire mythos and producing a totally gay-free world.
And it is. There are dozens of vampire, werewolf, and human characters, but not a single gay one, in the books or any of the movies.
Are you really surprised? The series is aimed at an audience of teens, who are never allowed to know that gay people exist. It's fantasy, and gay people appear almost exclusively in comedies set in the real world. Kristen Stewart, the actress who played Bella, claimed that the series had a "gay inclination...it's all about oppression."
And it is. There are dozens of vampire, werewolf, and human characters, but not a single gay one, in the books or any of the movies.
Are you really surprised? The series is aimed at an audience of teens, who are never allowed to know that gay people exist. It's fantasy, and gay people appear almost exclusively in comedies set in the real world. Kristen Stewart, the actress who played Bella, claimed that the series had a "gay inclination...it's all about oppression."
Big deal. This was in 2012, not 1965.
The Vampires:
1. Robert Pattinson, left, as head vampire Edward.
2. Peter Facinelli as Carlisle, his Dad.
3. Kellan Lutz, left, as Emmett, his brother.
4. Jackson Rathbone as Jasper, his younger brother.
5-6. Christopher Heyerdale and Cameron Bright as Marcus, leader of the Volturi vampires, who have lived in Italy since Etruscan times.
7. Xavier Samuel as Riley, companion of the evil vampire Victoria, who is trying to kill Bella.
More after the break
The Werewolves
8. Taylor Lautner as Jacob the Werewolf. He and Edward sniff suspiciously at each other, compete for Bella's affection, and eventually work together to save Bella, a classic triangulation.
9. Kiowa Gordon, top photo, as Embry, his best buddy and packmate.
10. Chaske Spencer, left, as Sam, the leader of Jacob's pack.
11. Boo Boo Stewart as Seth, a young werewolf adopted by Jacob and Bella.
The Humans
12. Michael Welch, left, as Mike, who has an unrequited crush on Bella.
13. Gregory Tyree Boyce as Tyler, who has an unrequited crush on Bella.
14. Justin Chon as Eric, who has an unrequited crush on Bella. It's unrequited crushes all the way down -- the girl just ain't into humans.
15. Matt Bushell as Phil, the minor-league baseball player who marries Bella's mother.
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