Closer to the edge: core essay on womanhood

‘Art is subjective’; no truer words could be spoken .In making this point, I will take two opposite, popular works, and address the statements they make by analyzing them as works of art with something to say. By this operational definition, the cultural creations of Twilight (the novels by Stephenie Meyer) and “Tangled” (The Disney film) fulfill the requirements of an artistic statement, where both address the issue of woman’s proper place in society through their respective medium. First, I will address the definitions by which the assessment will be conducted, that is to say define “art” for the purposes of this essay. Second, I will analyze the book series Twilight on the grounds of its artistic merits and message. And finally, I will contrast this work and its merits/ message against that of Tangled, a Disney film. In this way, the definition of art will be tested in the examples of these two cultural creations while at the same time illuminating the key aspects of the works themselves.

Setting the operational definitions for terms such as “art” is key in an essay of this nature; to do this I will employ the help of thinkers such as Stanley, Foucault, and Hebdige. Stanley’s view shows art as a microphone through which the artist communicates to the masses. Using this definition, both Twilight and Tangled fit the bill. To support this, though they are abstract, the Rothko paintings, though abstract, also communicate emotion through the painted medium. Also, Neukom’s vivarium acts as a piece of art which is unusual, but art nonetheless as the building itself is a comment on nature and urbanism, or more generally “life and death”. Another thinker worth note, Foucault, believed that all creations were invariably ‘situated’ in the time of their creation (real or fictional). Adding this principle to our definitions reveals this layer of consideration: does art reflect its ‘situation’, or the culture and time from which it came? Is it a comment on that time, and if so, what is it saying about that time? Foucault uses a fictional ‘Chinese encyclopedia’ to illustrate possible positioning and the relative-ness of any single creation. Furthermore, Hebdige’s work asserts that art must also interact with its environment, its culture. He illustrates this point by explaining the cultural genesis of many of the musical genres he discusses, in this way it is presented that art is not something which exists in a vacuum. Synthesizing these ideas, our requirements for art come together in the following assertions: Art must be a creation which makes a statement. And finally, the creation must both reflect and interact with its culture in some way (either by adding to public discourse or contradicting it-- as Hebdige points out). Accepting that the works of Twilight and Tangled are, in fact (if by definition only) art, then it is important to ask: “what statement is being made?” and “what has this statement done”? in each piece of art. I am of the opinion that the statements made in both strongly affect (for better or worse) the prepubescent, female, audiences which comprise the bulk of their (highly impressionable) respective fanbases.

The book series, Twilight, meets this criterion of art in that it both is a comment on its society (being set in the present and naturally situating current discourse around that time) and also in that it makes a statement about the proper expression of feminine identity and womanhood. That said, Twilight’s statement about womanhood is that the evolution into maturity comes through marriage, childbearing, and accepting a life of subservience to one’s husband. In support of this, the author’s intended message is clear in that the self-actualization of the female protagonist only occurs after these preconditions have been met, leading young readers to infer that such are the conditions for adult womanhood. To achieve the end of expressing this message, and to make it relatable to her audience, Stephenie Meyer creates a nondescript female protagonist who ascends, through the process of the novels to—literally—immortal perfection by completing a series of transformative acts which take her from inadequate teenager to wedded superhuman. Analyzing the “end result” of Meyer’s character reveal details which further emphasize the point that Meyer’s judgments on womanhood are ‘traditional’ to say the least. The fully realized Bella (the female protagonist) is impossibly strong, beautiful, and devoted for all of eternity to her husband and child. Her vampire-super-power is described as being a wall—a mental barrier, which she uses (while risking her own life) to protect her husband, daughter, and in-laws from an invading vampire coven. Though it is never given name in the novels, the author’s blatantly Mormon values here contextualize the novel’s moral judgments on a woman’s place both in society and in the family. Such are the underpinnings of the novel which has reached out to millions- literally millions -- of readers, most of which are young girls without the cognitive ability to understand the implications of the parable. In this way, the conditions of the definition are filled entirely: it is a situated statement of obvious intent which has massively shaped the youth culture in America and abroad.

Tangled’s statement by contrast is wildly divergent from that of Twilight, making it an appropriate foil. It’s commercial success in merchandise/ticket sales/ dvd sales, etc. is testament to the ways in which it has succeeded to effect a demographic, and more to the point than that—reach a more positive vision of feminine empowerment to young minds. Tangled addresses the issues of adulthood (the coming of age of its female protagonist) through the context of independence, mature decision-making, and the exercise of rational thinking. It is situated in the classic tale of Rapunzel, but is a deliberate re-telling of the story—an inversion where rather than being liberated from her tower by a daring young man, Rapunzel herself escapes the tower (albeit accompanied by a clumsy, but loveable male tag-along). This is a breath of fresh air when contrasted to Meyer’s version of things. Rather than presenting adulthood as resulting from self-sacrifice and commitment, Tangled uses Rapunzel’s virtues to illustrate the bold ways in which a girl may waltz into womanhood boldly, and without having to hang on the arm of her ‘beloved’. Rather, Rapunzel (the protagonist) realizes maturity through a quest of self-discovery in which she gains self-confidence and the desire to actualize her dreams. Directly resulting of this, she is rewarded by discovering her long-lost parents, and ascending to royalty, after which she proposes to her (mostly useless during the course of the movie) male sidekick, Flynn. More than that, in direct contrast to the evolution of Meyer’s protagonist (who is rewarded with a form of greatness upon committing her life to protection and servitude, within the confines of a traditional family structure and eternal matrimony) Princess Rapunzel is rewarded with royalty and re-connecting with loved ones once she herself achieves maturity, self- direction, and confidence in who she is. In this way, Tangled is a positive spin on the centuries-old fairy tale, and a work of art which sends a far more positive and empowering message.
Finally, in sum, though these two works of art speak very different languages about women, they draw on the same basic concepts of art: that it is first and foremost a vehicle by which a message is passed to others.