So, uh... Twilight. Huh... I guess that's what I'm writing about now. This entry isn't about whether or not it's a good movie, because I'll piss off exactly one half of the internet if I pick a side, this is about trying to understand the mind of Edward Cullen.The source material I'm pulling from here is the first movie, so if any of what I'm saying is elaborated upon in books and other movies, feel free to mention in the comments.
So, if you were to sum up Mr. Cullen in one word, it would be 'brooding.' The man is drowning in so much angst I'm surprised he doesn't spend the movie writing crappy poetry. Vampires in media have a long, well-established history of brooding, but it's generally a pretty good and obvious reason.
Some are mad about never seeing the sun again, which doesn't apply here because in this universe they don't combust. Others were once devout but can't reconcile the fact that they are now unholy abominations, which doesn't seem to be the case here. Others feel overwhelming guilt on having to murder innocent people just to keep living, which again is a fate Edward has avoided, being as he and his family can live just fine off of wild game.
So why? Well, all signs point to that he lost something. Something intangible, and he's on a futile quest to reclaim it. It's evidenced by nearly every action in the movie.
First off, he goes to high school, an activity he appears to utterly hate. Why would he go at all? His family lives in a secluded house in the woods, he could just stay there and no one would even know he existed. He could wander the world experiencing all it had to offer, and given the massive way the world has changed since he was born, there's no way he'd have grown bored of it yet. But with the world at his fingertips, he goes to high school, why?
Well, it definitely isn't for the education, he's graduated more than enough times to learn everything high school has to offer. It isn't because he's trying to find a friend, he would have accomplished that by now. So why high school? Well, it's a good way to immerse yourself in a society without being noticed too much. There's no boss, the schoolwork would be child's play, and if you keep a low profile, you're just "that weird kid." Why would you want to immerse yourself? Because you want to learn something from the humans, because they have an undestanding of something that you don't.
So what is it? He doesn't have emotions. Sure, he has instincts, and obviously lust. But what about empathy, morality, dreams, or goals? He doesn't have any of that. Sure, he knows killing is wrong because that's what his family teaches him, but does he really understand why? If he did he would have some sort of attachment to humans, which might allow him to actually understand and even interact with them.
This doesn't seem to be a vampire thing. Look at Edward's 'father.' He's a successful doctor at the hospital, that isn't something you become without some social skills including people management and bedside manner.
So we come back to his fascniation with Bella. And using this information it makes perfect sense. For whatever reason, he can't see into her mind. This means that of all the humans who confuse him with their humanity, he can understand her even less, which is initially infuriating. It explains why he felt the need to storm out of class all emo-style and disappear for a few days to brood.
For reasons I might explore sometime in the future, Bella takes the time to understand Edward. She's fascinated by him and continues to persue him. Once he realizes that a human is taking the time to delve into his being, much like he's been trying to do to humans, he attempts to open up, because maybe this is his chance to understand the mystery of humanity.
So, yeah, I guess when you really think about it, the plot of the movie actually makes sense.
Who would have guessed?
Zel-kun out.
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