TWILIGHT

I was reading a review of the new Twilight movie in the New York Times
today and a description of one of the scenes stood out as particularly
relevant to our discussion of intimate partner violence. I did some
further investigating and the below segment from the review by Linda
Holmes from NPR sums up the possible dangers of having a film whose
audience is primarily young women, see a beloved heroine justify being
physically harmed by a spouse.

“But when a saga popular with pre-adolescent girls peaks romantically on a
night that leaves the heroine to wake up covered with bruises in the shape
of her husband's hands — and when that heroine then spends the morning
explaining to her husband that she's incredibly happy even though he
injured her, and that it's not his fault because she understands he
couldn't help it in light of the depth of his passion — that's profoundly
irresponsible.
………..
But romanticizing an intimate relationship that leaves bruises and scars
is a particularly terrible idea in a film aimed at girls. Talking about
this is tiresome, but then so is putting it in the movie. From depicting
the loss of virginity as a naturally violent, frightening, physically
dangerous experience to making Bella a woman with no life at all outside
of her literally all-consuming pregnancy, the narrative sledgehammers are
all as distasteful as they are inelegant."

Is what Holmes is saying true? Do you think this could have a harmful
effect on young women?

Full review:
http://www.npr.org/2011/11/17/142248824/dawn-breaks-and-much-baroque-nonsense-ensues

-Ali Mosser