Though the phenomenon of the Twilight Saga is over, for the most part, it still left an impact on our pop culture and also showed that yes, you can invest into a female-centered movie and make a lot of money. Though I like that there was a female director behind the first film, and that the film made a good box office, this film and book series is very problematic.
Most people know the story of Twilight, or have an idea about what it is about, so I'll just dive into the issues in the film that are problematic. In the first film, Edward watches Bella as she sleeps, and he endangers her life because he wants to be with her. Those two things are admired by the young female audience, when they should be repulsed instead.
The series gets worse. There are other things that are seen as romantic or dramatic but are actually rather creepy, violent and/or sexist. The examples of this are 1) Jacob force-ably kissing Bella. She breaks her hand trying to get away from him. 2) Jacob imprinting on her child, both in and out of context this is very creepy. 3) Edward controls Bella's life. 4) Bella is fully dependent on Edward, and when he leaves she spirals into a depression and is very anti-social.
The sexism in Twilight is more so based on religious and traditional roles and not the sexism that we see today; looking at women like they are objects. Bella's role in the films and books are very akin to fundamental religious roles, such as a man being in control of a woman's life, and being dependent on a man.
Had this been a book that mustered average sales and was not a world wide phenomenon, I would have passed up writing on it. Twilight, though, went on to not only be a bestseller, but influence other writers. Most Paranormal Romance novels today feature a similar Bella characters... the archetype of the weak whiny woman and they also feature a similar Edward character. Twilight's success turned to fan-fiction, and then that Twilight fanfiction turned to Fifty Shades of Gray, which is a whole other discussion.
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