Twilight "Pure Camp"

The vampire book series turned film series, Twilight has become a phenomenon. Twilight fans and non-fans probably enjoy the film for its "campy" style. Camp according to Susan Sontag emphasizes texture, sensuous surface and style at the expense of content. Sontag also states that it’s a certain kind of style-the love of the exaggerated the “off”, of things being what they are not. Twilight is just that, it’s a story of vampires in love with humans who love werewolves. This story is extremely exaggerated with teen vampires so rich they can go to Rome to kill themselves in the name of love. Or teenage girls who can sit in their room for months depressed that their vampire boyfriend dumped them. The movies intent was to be serious, even though many scenes in the movie are to over the top that they appear comical. The fact that the director’s intention was not that of humor emphasizes the naivety that is camp. Sontag explains only that which has the proper mixture of the exaggerated, the fantastic, the passionate, and the naïve is pure camp.
Some of the key scenes in Twilight to illustrate pure camp are the “glitter” scene and the “big fight” scene. The glitter scene I’m referring to is when Edward (Robert Pattison) shows Bella (Kristen Stewart) why vampires cannot be seen in the sun light. In this scene the over dramatic sparkle produces a laugh that was unintended by the director. The style or embellished style of the scene is “pure camp.” The scene is passionate, fantastic with its extravagant effects and naïve in the fact that the director’s intent was not the same as the outcome the scene received.
The big fight scene I’m referring to is when Edward gets thrown to the ground by another vampire and his cheek cracks as if his face was stone. Once again this is an exaggerated aesthetic that produces an unintended response from viewers. The fabulous face cracking effect and the naivety from the director reveals pure camp.
Whether you completely love Twilight or not you can recognize its pure camp quality especially in those two scenes. Sontag reveals how we are better able to enjoy a fantasy when it’s not our own. It’s the fantastic nature of which we don’t perceive. This is why a lot of women love and relate to this movie. Susan Sontag explains this love further by stating that, camp taste is a kind of love, love for human nature. It relishes rather than judges, the little triumphs and awkward intensities of character. Camp taste identifies with what it is enjoying. People who share this sensibility are not laughing at the thing they are labeling as camp they’re enjoying it. Camp is a tender feeling. This is the feeling that enables people to love something that is so “bad.”