Is the Native theme in ‘Twilight’ films racist?
Apparently some professors at the University of Victoria in British Columbia think so.

A forum (at the University of Victoria in British Columbia) in a couple of weeks will examine the question, according to this story by the Victoria Times Colonist:

The [April 21] gathering will look at whether the portrayal of the indigenous character Jacob, who turns into a werewolf, is a breakthrough or perpetuates stereotypes about native men.

“He doesn’t have feathers in his hair and doesn’t live in teepee,” said Janni Aragon, a University of Victoria political science professor.

“So just the fact there are indigenous men in this book and movie is a big thing. We could say that’s a win. But the next step is to say is how are these men portrayed.”

The insanely popular movies, “Twlight,” and “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” are based on the insanely popular teen vampire books by Stephenie Meyer.

Werewolves in the series are ostensibly members of the Quileute tribe, and are played in the movie by Native American actors.

As the story notes, the main Quileute character, Jacob Black, is ” muscular, hotheaded, passionate and often dressed in cutoff-style jeans or shorts. That’s in contrast to the very white vampire Edward, who is well-groomed, elegant and rational.”

And, says Sikata Banerjee, a University of Victoria women’s studies professor and associate dean of humanities, Jacob is also portrayed as somewhat childlike – “irrational and emotive, and not really equal in citizenship.”

That, she says, is dangerous, in the way that it reinforces negative stereotypes about indigenous men. What do you think?

Source via Source

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Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?! Jacob would be hotheaded and impetuous no matter what colour he is! That’s his character! I don’t think Stephenie Meyer, who grew up in Arizona, which has 23 reservations representing 21 different tribes would be that insensitive to Native American cultures. Also, I don’t hear the actual Quileutes complaining and they’re the only one who would have a legitimate reason to be upset over the portrayal of their tribe. I think people need to chillax and breathe and realize that these characters are FICTIONAL and live in a FICTIONAL version of the real world.

P.S. I am really sick and tired of the press and movie and book critics referring to Twilight as something for teenagers. I know Twilighters of every age group, ethnic group, every level of education you can think of, every religion you can think of (except the Amish…) and of both genders. Twilight is far more than something for teen girls, it is something that unites millions and millions of people all over the world, and in this day and age, that’s something wonderful.

There are hothead vampires too…wasn’t Edward more like that when he was younger and had less control over his urges (he left Carlisle for awhile and killed predator humans). Jacob is just young and new to controlling his werewolf self. If anything, Jacob is a stereotype of a teenage boy not a Native American.

Okay I do NOT think that racism is involved. However, I will say that the wolves were depicted as arrogant and ignorant, but that has nothing to do with the color of their skin or racism. Yes Jacob was hotheaded and temperamental but that was the whole point. He is the exact opposite from Edward and I think SM was just trying to show the huge differences between them. They are fire and ice. Edward is the gentleman, cool and collected most of the time who really would sacrifice any and everything for Bella. Jacob is fiery, impulsive, and never thinks before he speaks. I think their differences just helped to show why Bella chose Edward from the beginning. If they had tons of similarities then Edward and Bella’s epic love wouldnt be able to stand out as much as it does. SM isnt racist. Yes her views tend to differ with most people’s but she isnt a racist. Sheltered……most definitely but not racist.

yeah.. I totally agree with Tippy and Rachelle. And I think that this article is just full of bull s%i¤ !!!
They are reaally trying their best to just find a way to attack the whole Twilight phenomenon, I mean seriously, this article is really just full of crap.
Can’t blame them though, I bet that they will get some attention for this, even though it doesn’t have any relevant points to how their argument even relates to the books..

“Jacob is also portrayed as somewhat childlike – “irrational and emotive, and not really equal in citizenship.”

This is ridiculous! Jacob is 15/16 years old when the story begins. While Edward has been 16 for over a 100 years! I don’t see any racism in the way Stephenie depicts the Native Americans there, and it seems that they themselves don’t either. That’s absurd!

Hey Rachelle! Tippy i agree i am also annoyed w this whole “twilight is for teen girls” thing. its ignorant and completly stupid. I agree with you all, this is absurd!!! i am not too fond of Jake, but i have to say this article is very stupid..these profesors have nothing to do w their lives upon all the things to research and study..THIS!?! Teenagers are teenagers they make mistakes and have flaws..this is what Jake is!! Although Edward is 17…they have to keep in mind he was for many many years..hence the maturity..have these idiots even read the books?!? Next!!!

I do agree that Jacob acted childish and irrational, but that was part of his personality. It had nothing to do with the color of his skin or racism, but I do agree with their overall characterization of Jacob at times.

And Rachelle, amen!! this is why this story stands out!!! why do people think so many older women like me like twilight!?! its because of Edward!! bella is well above her years and needed someone like Edward..calm, collect, and mature this is because of how old he REALLY is!! Jacob is just a typical teenage boy..running away from home and what not…this is typical adolescense behavior!! racist my a**!

Hey Trish! I agree Jake represents the typical puppy love….no pun intended…and a teenage crush but Bella was always respresented as someone beyond that and mature beyond her years…that is why she was called an old soul. Only someone like Edward could truly captivate her and her relationship with Jacob showed that as well. I liked them as friends but I could never really see them together as a couple that lasts long. Jacob always seemed to care more about the physical like a lot of teens do and I could see them having a lust based relationship before Bella realizes things lacked in other very important areas. With Edward, it was the whole package and that is why their love is epic. It isnt just one thing or another. It is everything, sacrifice, meaning, the physical, the intellectual, and the emotional. That is the kind of relationship women should want and that is one reason out of several that I am TEAM EDWARD!!!

yay!! team Edward! but i think this whole teams thing is silly..when ppl ask me what team i am i say neither..they look at me with puzzled looks and i say its Edward and Bella…Jake was just a distraction and an annoying one! With Romeo and juliet there are no teams its R & J period. Anyway just wanted yo say that..jake does not stand a chance in my book so the teams thing is funny to me..and where is Chrissy? havent seen her posts in awhile.

Trish you crack me up. I completely agree. As far as who Bella should be with I dont even think Jacob should have a team. She was never with Jacob, they were friends, never a couple and the only time she consensually kissed him was when he said he would go to battle and die if she didnt….not exactly epic love material. It is all about Edward and Bella. They drive the story for a reason and everything that happens even Bella hanging out with Jacob is because of her love for Edward so great point. I guess the thing that I really dont understand is how someone could ever prefer Jacob over Edward but I guess it isnt for me to understand. For the teams in general I think it is more about who you like as characters like I am Team Emmett and he has no romantic link to Bella. You can be Team Cullen, Team Vampire, etc. So I guess when ppl say they are Team Jacob they mean they prefer Jacob over Edward…..still dont understand that tho lol.

Yes, Jacob acts like a 16 year old. Edward is a stalker and is controlling and obsessive. The white vampires Victoria, James and Jasper tried to kill Bella. There are mature Quillutes and immature whites. Actually, they portray teen girls pretty badly too: Jessica, anyone? It’s a novel, people!!! It’s not real life, or history!

Oh my…oh my!!! Who exactly is it that writes this crap?! I mean who died and made this person an authority on anything?! Obviously, they have nothing better to do then insult Twilight fans…and the franchise and all involved period! Do they really think us all so ignorant, so blind, so self-involved that we wouldn’t notice something such as racism?! Give me a break. I’m angry, so that’s why I’m commenting. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even deem it neccessary to even acknowledge such blatant ignorance.

Tippy, Rachelle, Trish, I completely agree with everything you all have said. Amen, girls! Amen. I am not a teenager either Trish and I know several people who aren’t teenagers who have also come to love the series and the movies. The media needs to get a life and realize that Twilight fans are here to stay! We are all well-educated, intelligent MEN and women who come from all walks of life. I’m fed up with the media and their constant bashing of Twilight.

Exactly Stacie..the media has no clue and never does! just because some of us are not screaming and standing in those long lines doesn’t mean we dont equally love this series and the characters. I love Kellan (and his abs lol!..spaeking of abs have you all seen them lately *faints*) and Rob..like my twin i am also Team Emmett and Edward.. heck I’m Team Cullen! but if I see the actors I wont scream out of mind and stalk them everywhere they go (NYC..2009 Remember Me shoot) I thought that was completly insane by the way. I just don’t want the media hence EVERYONE ELSE to see Twilight fans as crazy screaming prebuscent girls with ranging hormones who just like the hunks..this is what Twilight has becoming and it is sad. What ever happened to the essence of this story..forbidden love, true love and having someone who loves you know matter how you look but still loves you for who you are, this is Edward and Bella’s relationship to me. And so what if Edward was a stalker us some say..at least he loved Bella was willing to do anything for her and did not look at any other woman but her (even Tanya and Rosalie who were supposed to be the most beautiful women in the world). Every female deserves an Edward.

Did anybody mention Emmet being hot-headed as well? As someone already mentioned above, Jacob is just a teenager boy whereas the average vampire age would be like couple of hundred years old.

Twilight is not a teenage novel. I’m in my 30’s and this is my favorite book not because it’s smart, witty, full of suspense(which it is), but because it fulfills one desire in my heart that will never be realized in the real world.

Anyone who criticizes Twilight Saga doesn’t understand what true love is. Edward always puts Bella’s interest ahead of his own, even of his life. Jacob’s love for Nessie doesn’t arise from any sexual tension but only from his wish for her to be happy and nothing more. That is true love and Twilight is a fantasy novel that let us all experience this true love which doesn’t exist in this world. Is that too much to ask?

Oh my goodness you guys soo are saying exactly what I feel! I was off trying to be good and do Easter and you had this amazing discussion without me! The book is about Edward and Bella! And I just thought this racism issue was just such a bunch of… well you know. The Quileutes aren’t portrayed in a bad way at all but rather very noble, honorable – Charlie’s 2 best friends are native, for heaven’s sake! The bad guys are the Volturi and the nomadic vamps – not a native among them. Ok, I’m going back to reading everything everyone said, I just had to jump in about the Team Edward thing.

Stacie, totally agree on the “they have nothing better to do then insult Twilight fans…and the franchise and all involved ” part. I see a lot of that. Look at what I posed today about WonderCon today. They booed Eclipse.

I interviewed York Baur last week, the producer of the “Twilight in Forks” video and we discussed this very thing- that people think if Twilighters as teenage girls and we are not! (I am supposed to be transcribing that right now instead of answering comments LOL)

Hey Joyce nice to see you in the discussion. I am going to check out that new post you mentioned..i am getting mad already hearing what it is about!! and please tell them it is isnt just teen girls!!!

I started reading Twilight when I was in college and 20 at the time. One of my friends who is 30 suggested I read it so I always roll my eyes when I see people call Twilighters a bunch of teenagers……they obviously dont know what they are talking about.
As for the Emmett being hotheaded comment…..that made me scratch my head. Emmett isnt hotheaded. He is competitive, but not hotheaded. There were several times in the books where Jacob showed exactly how hotheaded he was so it was pretty obvious. That was one big flaw about being a wolf. It made it very hard to control their tempers.

Joyce and Trish thanks for agreeing with me. So nice to be vindicted. I think it’s great that we have a forum like CBA where we can come and share our love for all things Twilight(IE: Kellan and his abs…and yes I have seen them lately..WOW!) and just simply voice our opinions. For me, the books were just a little escape from the day to day realities of life. I for one would love to be swept off my feet by someone as romantic, giving and loving as Edward. It just makes me so angry when the media, or just non-fans have to critize something just because they don’t understand it. They are ones who should grow up.

And Rachelle, you are correct about Emmett, he NEVER lost his cool. And Jacob did, BUT I do agree that it was part of the”wolf thing” and he couldn’t control it.

Joyce TOTAL sidebar tothis disussion, so I hoep you read it! I am just finishing the fanfic “If every word I said…” and the author siad there was going to be a sequel. Well, I was wondering if you knew if there was one, and what the title was? I just loved the story and the characters..so funny and real. Can you help?

Stacie B. there is a sequel and it is completed. It is called More More More by carmelinagunn

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4566990/1/More_More_More

Thanks Rachelle for answering. I so love “If Every” Stacie! We have to get maroon hoodies! If you read More More More, tell Carmelina that you know me. She is a sweetie.

huh..Emmett hotheaded? Emmett is more of the fun older brother. The one who will make fun of you and rub your hair even after you just got it done! but still loves you dearly. The one who makes you laugh even in the bad times, just like my brother! This is why I like Emmett. I never really saw him as hotheaded because as Stacie said he never once lost his cool, but that is just me.

Rachelle thanks for getting back to me so quickly! And thanks for posting the link, that’ll make it easier. To quote Carmelina, you guys “rock my socks!” Oh, and your Em/Rose fanfic is next on my ever-growing list to finish. I’ll let you know when.

Joyce….I am so totally getting a maroon hoodie! The “zip-up” kind! (Wink) In fact, I’ll start looking today and let you know when and where I find them. I’m in Florida though, so I hope you have some of the same stores wherever you are.

And I will say hi to Carmelina for you, if I can figure out the whole review thing on the fanfic website.

Trish, I have been thinking Emmett in the books ALL day! Can’t come up with one time where he lost his cool. Jacob on the other hand…well, you know.

Actually the potrayl of natives especially the Jacob character in these books is quite offensive to some native/indigenous people. If you’ll note while the racism is not overtor inherent it is very palpable. From Bella’s constant reference to the red skin of Jacob and the fellow Quelutes, the potrayl of Jacob as being a bit rapey when he forces Bella to kiss him and she just relaxes and lets it happen so he’ll stop. To the fact that almost anytime you get a story written from the european viewpoint about natives/indegenous peoples they always find a way to equate them with animals (here more literally than others) it helps to define them as seperate/unequal to their white counterparts. The defense of Meyers herself, saying that she lives in Arizona and therefore must be more culturally sensitive to natives is laughable at best, there are actually higher incidences of racism and hate crimes in areas where native peoples are prominent read any newspaper in an area with a large population of native/ First nation peoples. Whats even more troubling is that any viewpoint in the books from Jacobs perspective potray someone who is actually quite ashamed of who they are always longing to be more European. Maybe you guys can’t read it from this perspective, and thats fine, but when you have to spend your life as the “other” you take it ar more personally.

Reviewing is easy, but you have to log in to do it. You can also send a pm from the author’s front page thingy. Let me know if you have trouble! We’ll wear hoodies while we eat pretzels! LOL I just love the whole world she created and she writes like I think, somehow.

Joyce you are THE bomb! I do have an account set up with the fanfic website..hum, now to find the password…..I will let you know if I have ANY issues, believe me.

Wear hoodies and eat (THE..wink, wink) pretzel(s)! LOL, sooooo hard. I am finding it hard letting go of Car and her IEWIS world! I FOUND the maroon hoodies by the way! If you are really interested the website is: http://www.bulkwholesaleapparel.com. Not only is the hoodie maroon, but it’s a “ZIP-UP”!

This is too funny! Don’t they know that Edward is over 100 years old and has a massive bank account from having money invested for so long. Of Course he dresses nice and acts refined and older. He is!! Jacob is 16 years old and dresses like any other 16 year old, in cut offs. Umm – in case they don’t know- it’s a fairy tale. They have nothing better to do than try to dis a perfectly great story. What a joke!

Are you serious? It is a work of FICTION! Someone needs a hobby. Grow up.