There’s something different about the Twilight fandom. Sure, you have the tell-tale signs of a cult following, considering the thousands of websites and forums dedicated to the books and film alike, the uprising of unofficial conventions, and the 6,000 screaming teenage girls crowding Comic Con waiting for a chance to see their characters come to life. But if you look a little closer, there are more than just a few thousand vampire loving teenyboppers (or as we call them in the Twilight community, “twiboppers”) running this fandom.
Twilight seems to attract a huge age range, mostly girls and women from around age eleven to forty. There are Twilight twenty-somethings, Twilight moms, and Twilight teachers and there are tons of Twilight sites out there that deal with some real-life issues: hisgoldeneyes.com’s Carlisle Would Approve campaign to donate blood, twilight20somethings.com’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month shirts, and twilightnovelnovice.com’s Election ’08 buzz.
Tiffany Truitt, a middle school teacher, created Novel Novice Twilight: a blog that originated from a Twilight Club she started in her school, but has become a hub for communication not only between fans, but educators as well.
“Our site is a place where Twilight fans can not only get the latest news, gush about their favorite characters, create videos to support Team Edward or Team Jacob, but a place where education is spotlighted. The Twilight series helped me to build strong relationships with my students, it encouraged reluctant readers to dive into an epic, and I am proud to call myself a Twilighter.” Truitt states on the website.
With the release of Twilight looming closely around the corner, you’d think that fans wouldn’t be able to think about anything else. Truitt and Novel Novice Twilight help keep things in perspective. Although a great deal of Twilight’s fans aren’t quite at voting age yet, Novel Novice has had a full blown “Edward versus Jacob” campaign running complete with mud-slinging political ad videos. This campaign does not only attempt to help underage fans feel like part of the election-mania, but to also encourage fans of age to get into the voting mood.
Election News for November 3rd on NNT also included facts about the United States Electoral College and a link to information on both Obama and McCain. Educational and unbiased.
So give Twilighters some credit. They’re a huge online community, and it seems like they’re starting to realize how to use their obsession for good.
Oh, and, don’t forget to vote.
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