On Twilight, the Knapsack, and Establishing a Frame

As this article will attest, people have already begun to examine Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight through feminist and racial lenses. One of the reasons we’re reading Twilight after we finish “Unpacking the Knapsack” is to establish a frame for our reading. While I have read Twilight — more than once, I’m admitting here — Michiru has not. We started with Give Me Liberty to provide us a political point, followed by Manifesta for a feminist point, and then “Unpacking the Knapsack” for a racial privilege point. The idea is that having read these three works first, our reading of Twilight will have an established frame — that is, it should be obvious by now that we’re going to be reading Twilight with an eye for racial, political, and gender issues. However, by reading these other works first, we felt it might make us more prepared to spot them.

So! “Unpacking the Knapsack” is an essay, and it shouldn’t take long to get through, which means Twilight is fast approaching. I actually think this will be a really good exercise.