In our model shoots at the photo studio, one thing is never missing: a staging as a Twilight fanboy, humor and playing with clichés. It has almost become a tradition that every model has to pose as a Twilight fanboy at least once. This is due to a movie night that I will never forget.
Back then, when this American vampire schmaltz flickered across our screens, I wanted to enjoy all the episodes of the Bite series in the Kinopolis Bad Godesberg with a few friends. The plan was clear: fantasy, popcorn, lots of laughter. Too bad I got the tickets – in a hurry, without looking closely.
Ladies Night.
An evening exclusively for female fans.
Shortly before 8 p.m. we enter the hall where the Twilight movie night was taking place. 500 women stare at us.
What do THEY want here?
A brief exchange of glances in our group: escape impossible, the “enemy” outnumbered. So sit down, chest out, head up.
Then began an evening that rivaled any comedy show. To the left, the Taylor Lautner faction, to the right, the Robert Pattinson disciples. As soon as werewolf Jacob showed his six-pack, the hall went wild. When vampire Edward came into the picture with glittery skin and a mother-in-law’s darling smile, it felt like slips were flying. It was like a Champions League final – only with Prosecco instead of beer, and screaming instead of roaring fan chants.
How the Twilight fanboy came to be
That evening it became clear once and for all: if anyone ever tells me again that muscles, six-packs and coolness are “irrelevant” to women – sorry, but feminism died a painful death there.
But the real highlight came during the break. In front of the hall there was the usual murmur, giggling and clinking of glasses. Then suddenly silence. And into this silence a fangirl spoke the sentence that finally dealt feminism the death blow:
“Screw the knight in shining armor – I want a vampire with a Volvo!”
Anyone who knows the films knows what is meant: Bella Swan, threatened by a few bad guys, is not rescued by a hero in armor, but by Edward Cullen, who comes screeching up in a Volvo. Knightly romance was yesterday – Volvo is the new unicorn.
The sentence echoed – and then a collective sigh swept through the foyer, as mighty as a tsunami. Everything that courageous women had fought for in the struggle for equality was buried under a sea of hormone-soaked infatuation.
And in the middle of it all, the poor companions: friends, brothers, fiancés, husbands. Their faces spoke volumes. Foreheads in neon letters:
“What the hell does this damn vampire have that I don’t have?”
We – the small group of fantasy fans – had to pull ourselves together not to burst out laughing.
A few weeks later I stumbled across a Twilight fangirl shirt at a convention. Of course, it immediately went into my collection for photo shoots. Since then, the iron rule in my studio has been: every model, every creator must appear in front of the camera as a Twilight fanboy at least once. Glitter optional. Volvo unfortunately not available. 😉
In my photography I dedicate myself more to the shining knight who pulls away with the dragon and happily parties, but since that movie night the cliché Twilight has been filled with life.
Models and creators as Twilight fanboys
