No one can forget the wild period in mainstream popularity when vampires sparkled in the sun, and werewolves looked like shirtless Taylor Lautner. It seems like the majority of vampire/werewolf fantasy YA’s owe Stephenie Meyers a big one for fueling the flames in that genre of content. Shows like Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf wouldn’t have been as popular without Mrs. Meyers’ absurdities. I know you remember preteens and teenage girls fighting over team Edward or team Jacob. My naive single-digit self used to be passionate about them too. Despite the hate over the Twilight series, there is no denying that the movies are iconic and infamous. We can leave the film in the past as a distant memory of our adolescent selves but, it’s worth looking back at the extremely toxic relationship that existed between Edward Cullens and Bella Swan.  

 For those of you who weren’t sucked (pun intended) into the world of bad acting, bad dialogue, bland characters, and minimal plot, here’s a brief summary of the first Twilight movie. The movies start off with Bella Swan moving from Arizona to Forks, Washington. If you have ever watched the film, you would have noticed an ugly green filter over the entire movie. Even when they were inside. Even in sunny fricking, Arizona. Obviously, since she’s the new girl in town, she must be the new girl in school. Everyone immediately takes an interest in her despite her very dull personality. Considering this is a love story, she meets Edward Cullens. Edward is very tall, very pale, and very mysterious. He doesn’t eat, he doesn’t drink, he doesn’t go out in the sun, he’s icy cold, and he can hear people’s thoughts. SPOILER ALERT! He’s a vegetarian vampire. Once the plot kicks off (although there’s not much of it), Bella becomes the target of three bootleg wannabe Black-Eyed Pea looking guys, and things kind of happen for the next hour.

 Even before they started dating, many red flags were flying high. Their toxicity appears after Edward saves Bella from the car crash. In the hospital, Bella confronts Edward about his superhuman speed and strength, and Edward proceeds to gaslight her about the events that took place earlier. He kept telling her that she was seeing things and that he didn’t know what she was talking about. Then, he delivers the super creepy and aggressive line, “Well, nobody’s gonna believe you.” THAT’S A BIG YIKES! Let’s say someone in your life told you in a somber tone, “If you were smart, you would stay away from me.” What would you do? Do you A, reply with “I don’t care” or do you B, run away and never talk to them. If you chose A, CONGRATULATIONS! You are now a pale, emotionless teenage girl living in Forks, Washington, and going by the name of Bella. If you chose B, then you are a sane and rational person.

  It seems like romance writers never got the memo that stalking is super creepy. Remember that time when Edward snuck into her bedroom in the middle of the night, and when she asked him if he did that often, he responded with, “I like to watch you sleep.” That wasn’t even the only time he watched her without her knowledge. Early in the movie, he saves her from the group of guys who had some very disgusting intentions. I applaud him for getting her out of the situation, but remember, he was following her. I feel as if romance movie watchers excuse a lot of very worrisome behavior on the bases that the leads are attractive. If Edward was less attractive, then the “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” theme song would have played instead of “A Thousand Years.” This is a classic case of the “Dobler-Dahmer Theory” for the hit TV show, “How I Met Your Mother.” This theory was devised by Ted Mosely, and it states, “If both people are into each other, then a big romantic gesture works: Dobler, but if one person isn’t into the other, the same gesture comes off serial-killer crazy: Dahmer.”