ABSTRACT
The Twilight brand is provocative. Rivaling even the Harry Potter brand in both U.S. and international book sales, the Twilight saga—encompassing books (four texts authored by Stephenie Meyer and published 2005–2008), films, events, music, “fanpire” magazines, vampiric products (energy drinks, female sanitary products, washing powder, automobiles), and promotional collateral—is a global phenomenon with an audience that dramatically skews female. It is easy to suggest that this magnitude of female fan commitment is simply due to it being a female-driven brand narrative, but so are many others (Pride and Prejudice, The Joy Luck Club, Sex and the City, Hannah Montana), which although popular, never reached the Twilight brand-fueled frenzy or the type, tenor, and magnitude of this community’s fan engagement. Twilight is more akin to pop cultural phenomena such as Star Trek, Xena: Warrior Princess, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where fans persist for years in a state of enthusiasm that other popular media vehicles (Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, Iron Man, The Hangover, Shrek) cannot achieve and in which highly unique engagement types (reading groups, conventions, camps, fan fiction, fan poetry, fan art, tattoos, body jewels) are fostered.
