Twilight | ContraPoints 

CONTENTS 00:00 Part 0: Twilight 05:00 Part 1: Fiction 18:30 Part 2: Desire 44:21 Part 3: Fantasy 1:22:54 Part 4: Power 1:51:28 Part 5: Death 2:22:12 Part 6: Identity

Did Natalie just use Twilight as a trojan horse to deconstruct sexuality and kink in the world at large? Respect

Natalie is a woman of her word. 10 months ago she ended her video with “Harry Potter is dead to me, I’m switching to Twilight,” and here we are. Another masterpiece of a video.

"I am begging these people to learn to think psychologically instead of literally so that they're not constantly baffled and traumatized upon encountering literally the most common type of sexual fantasy that people have." Amen.

Fun fact that I hope you'll appreciate: In German, "desire" can be translated as "Sehnsucht" - which is literally the addiction "Sucht" to yearning "sehnen". Meaning, you are addicted to the feeling of yearning and thus don't want it to end. It fits everything you say in part 2 so well and it is one of my favorite German words, so I thought I'd share.

My grandfather was THE biggest twilight fan I've ever known. He found the Twilight series just after my grandmother passed away, and the books helped to fill a void in his life. He loved the books and he loved the movies. He loved the books so much, he installed a stereo system around his entire property so he could listen to the audio books wherever he was at, inside or out. And be listened to those books every waking hour. I was a young boy at the time, so I felt an obligatory disdain for the gushy love story, but my grandfather explained it to me, and I decided it was acceptable. He had a signed copy of each book, and when he passed, he left each of his children one of those books. RIP grandpa Eddie.

Not Natalie psychoanalyzing my AO3 history-

Putting a note on screen that says “I am not saying this I am quoting” is honestly so smart

41:42 as someone who studied violin for 12 years, i agree that "musical edging" is the best way to describe the beauty of the trill lmao

Haven't read the books. Haven't watched the films. Have watched the full 3hr Contrapoints analysis in a single uninterrupted, unblinking sitting.

"Aren't you overthinking Twilight?" "No, it's the children who are under-thinking it." Love that.

"He still don't know if I can control myself" makes me laugh every damn time (I have rewatched this A LOT)

"inexperienced in every kind of poverty except poverty of brains" is a badass line

I love so much that the final say in it all is "Say what you will about Stephanie Meyer, but at least she doesn't tweet."

"French philosopher and pervert" applies to literally so many of them 😭

"If the boy is poor, there's no room on the door" shall forever stay with us, thanks Natalie

Hits on a true note how female “virtue” is considered more valuable than a girls life. This subtext is constantly written into the social concept of how girls are raised.

This channel is my favorite Bible study group

“Pride and Prejudice didn’t end with Darcy hunting down Wickham in a high-speed carriage chase” MAYBE IT SHOULD HAVE

A friend once told me this and i’ve never forgotten so i’m sticking it here: Twilight is an average harem anime. Every weird and fetishistic thing that got it noticed is at or below average levels of weirdness/fetish for a harem anime. Dark, loner protagonist (somehow friendless despite being conventionally attractive) gets noticed by a cool vampire chick, who falls for them for sketchy reasons. A buff werewolf girl falls for them too, because reasons. They get involved in some weird vampire politics stuff and faff about with their love interests for probably too long before settling down and picking a waifu. Animate it, genderswap it, give it a japanese dub and no one would’ve noticed it existed outside its target market.

I don't mean to get all sentimental, and I doubt you'll read this comment as there's 16k of them already, but you are quite possibly the most influential thinker in my life. I first discovered you in 2017 when I was a closeted trans Tumblr teen with blue hair and black framed glasses, and your content has thoroughly inspired me throughout the years. I'm incredibly happy to have had you as a positive figure to look up to as a young trans person. Your politics, your art, your philosophy and most importantly your empathy make you an incredibly important voice of our time. Thank you for what you do. This video is absolutely amazing.

reaching the end of a 3 hour contra video and realizing i have to wait another 18 months is my yearning.

When I told my aunt that she shouldn’t spend money on the lottery she said “I know I’ll never win, but for just 6 bucks a week I can dream about what I’d do with the money if I did” and that made a lot of sense to me.

I want this video to be a college class. I want a reading list, a syllabus. I want to take notes on the lectures and write weekly reaction essays and take a midterm and write a final paper. I think that would fix me.

Never heard of Barbara Cartland before and I am obsessed with the unintentional camp of her wardrobe

I know you probably won't read this, but I still feel the need to say: thank you Natalie. Your essay on incels was the first time I became interested in politics and culture. You showed me an entirely different point of viewing the world, showed me a field of academics that I didn't even know existed. Last year I started university and I'm majoring in culture studies. And it is thanks to you that I'm doing what I love now. You showed me the way of looking at simple things like envy or cringe and seeing so much more beneath the surface, even Twilight is worth 3h serious analysis! You're an inspiration. Thank you for everything.

I hope that when Natalie looks at viewing stats for the first few days of a new video she understands that many of us are delaying watching it until we are mentally and emotionally ready to absorb the philosophical hot takes and outstanding visuals.

"The British aren't coming" really got me.

Natalie needs to win a Pulitzer prize for this. This is an incredible video essay.

I cannot believe content like this is free

The cycle of being a Contrapoints viewer: 1. Enjoying the latest video more than you thought possible. 2. Being hyped for the next one. 3. Intensifingly worrying about the possibility there will never be another one. 4. Forgetting about Contra for half a year. 5. Seeing the title of the new one and thinking "well, that sounds weird." 1. ...

54:00 I'll never get over the perfect combination of "Almost everything that went into Twilight was unconscious" with Charlie side-eyeing Bella staring absently out the car window.

'I wish people who are inclined to crusade against "dangerous books" or "abusive ships" would try to think about fantasy in a way that is less literal and more psychological."' Thank-you Contrapoints for the most succinct defense of dark romance and erotica I've ever heard. I want to post this quote on every video that just rants and whines about a dark romance being... dark. (Don't worry I won't... But I would like a poster of the line.) As someone who once proudly hated the genre and has since seen the light and become one of its Disciples, I thank-you.

Legit pastor here. Ordained pcusa. Contrapoints, your Biblical interpretation is spot on. Frankly, you understand this better than 95% of my congregants. Well done.

"Fight between the mormon vampires and an army of ethnic stereotypes" 😂

“When ur only analytical tool is a sledgehammer, you see every problem as an author who’s legs aren’t hobbled yet”- I think this is what Judith Butler was saying about censorship?

Ok, I apologise in advance because I’m gonna overshare and get all parasocial and weird for a minute, but you guys don’t know how much this essay has HEALED me. I’ve watched it in three separate occasions, beginning to end without interruptions, I’ve taken notes about it, I’ve pondered it endlessly. It legitimately makes me feel things 😂 I just want to thank Natalie for gifting us with this amazing breakdown of love, desire and heteronormativity, and especially for gifting me the DHSM concept, because it suddenly made SO many things make sense in my life. As a young girl discovering her sexuality surrounded by groomers, I always felt discomfort towards this submissiveness I was always being forced into. I instinctively knew there was more in me, that there were other ways of enjoying my sexuality, but they were always older, stronger, more experienced, more violent, and overwrote my desire with their own voice. Later, as an adult woman on a path of healing from various iterations of sexual violence, I turned to female-written erotica as an ally to get reacquainted with my libido (books were always a refuge for me), and bam, there it was again. The same compulsive submissiveness. The same dominant and aggressive men. Which, you know, it’s ok, I understand there’s women who enjoy it (in fact, I can say after watching this essay I understand it much better), but for me was not only retraumatising, it was… suspicious. Like, this was all there it was? These were the only ideas that could arise from the infinity of our desire, the same traditional structures again and again? And worse, WAS I THE ONLY ONE WHO NOTICED??? 😂😂😂 I guess what I’m trying to say is this essay made me feel less alone. And hopeful. Because not only this thing that haunted me has been observed and dissected by a brilliant scholar whom I admire, but she’s also offered hope. Yes, there is more than DHSM. There can be so much more. Sexuality is rich and fluid and meant to be enjoyed, and I’ll be ok in the end. That’s it, the cringe is over. Thank you for your attention 😂 PS: If anyone could kindly indicate the origin of the screencap of that domme pinning her sub against the wall that appears in the beginning of the video, I’ll love you forever. I need it because of reasons 🙏🏼

i think the term “penetration,” though it’s the current “neutral” term, is still deeply rooted in patriarchy. If we lived in an oppressive matriarchy we might call it “consumption” or “ingestive” or smth. The term “penetration” isn’t even all that accurate. In common use, to penetrate or pierce an object is to create a hole where there was not one before. This does not describe the sex act it references, and we use it because of DHSM. One does not “penetrate” an open envelope by putting a letter into it unless you’re doing it wrong. I think not deconstructing that word, not realizing that maybe we describe sex that way because of cultural attitudes and not because that’s what’s actually happening, is a huge contributor to why many “radical feminists” wrote the things they write. ty for coming to my ted talk lmao… great video Nat ❤

I feel like I'm watching the bible and all my questions about the universe are slowly being answered

“Yes I saw the StrangeAeons video”

This may be a small detail, but your music choices and mixing throughout this video were A+. I'm sure it took a lot of work, and it worked fantastically

“Bella and her polycule of monster men” THAT got me

"'Aren't you overthinking Twilight?' No" said Nat at 1:50:56 of an almost 3-hour video. I really missed her.

Rewatching with my parents, sipping from the "don't talk to me until I've had my God" mug my brother got me for my birthday

a complete list of everything i have learned from contrapoints: 1. spunch bob is the ubermensch 2. Bella Twilight is the second coming of Christ

20:15 "The Volturi are like a Mormon's idea of Catholics: you know, they live in the Vatican, they speak Italian, they're gay..." I choked laughing at this. I'm going to watch a few more times to get it out of my system before I go back to my food.

1/6 of this video is her trying to convince us "It's about Twilight, I promise". I love it.

13:41 That awkward moment when not only do I recognize these covers, but I also know exactly where they exist on my bookshelves

54:18 the way I got clocked. I remember going on family vacations and reading smut novels with those same exact covers LOL. I stumbled into a tag on googlereads called "MMF" so instead of the woman being persued by all the hot men, my novels were about everyone pursuing everyone or a man being pursued by another man AND a woman. And bc my family did no speak English I was able to read all of them with no worries. Now that I think about it's so bizarre that I was siting on the couch while the rest of my family were fooling around while I read that a man was being destroyed by another dude while he was eating out a girl as a 15yo Hispanic boy LMAOO. It's been 10 years since i read a novel like that lmao I think I my revisit som of my favorites of that time hahaha

THREE HOURS? God, I asked for a small mercy and you brought me salvation.

I wish i could show this video to my 12 year old self, who stood up in front of her 7th grade english class and read out the essay she wrote on Edward Cullen’s Hero’s Journey. 😂

my dad and i didn’t get along very much but i miss him and he was somehow a devoted twilight fan (favorite was new moon). died last year, making him possibly one of the last 67 year old Black men firmly on team jacob ever. i never saw the movies, but i’m watching this for him today. thanks natalie

Not "me and Draco"😂 There was no need to call out the teenage good girl me 😂

The IRONY of someone calling Twilight '50 shades for teenagers' when 50 shades is, quite literally, Twilight for adults

I love that vampires are like, “I’m immortal, I’m immortal,” and then their whole existence is just trying to not get killed.

I think this might be the best video Natalie has ever made, and that’s a high bar.

as a former 1D(wattpad) and current BTS(ao3) fan, those 13 years old with English as a second language are creating history.

"The feminine urge to be Daddy's Mommy" is gonna be living in my head paying $0 rent for days now.

"Women are not sexual, how do I know? Ask them and they almost always say no" I had to pause and chuckle to myself because this is SUCH an FUNNY thing for a straight man to say

I will never grow tired of any Twilight analysis. Watched a bunch. And this is one is the most interesting one

1:12:56 I completely understand Dan Olson's exhilaration about this "transcendentally awful phrase". It's magical every time.

Bible nerd popping in to add that the Greek word for resurrection is "anastasis" (ἀνάστασις). So on top of all the cruciform elements in the section on Fifty Shades, the two main characters are named Christian and Resurrection.

Lowkey painful to witness how my intimate, deep, dark feelings are actually so basic that philosophers have been tearing them apart for like, 500 years, but it's worth it to have the clarity and joy of you articulating the how and why behind them so effectively. Thank you.

This was my first contrapoints video. I watched it twice. Then, I went back and watched all the older videos. I just want to say i want Nyatalie back and also any time something doesnt go my way, I say, "Contrapoints? More like dissapoints." In my head and in my heart. I love you

clicked on this like "eh I don't care about twilight, but guess I'll see what contra says about it..." and got literally your BEST and most interesting video yet holyyy moly

Can we take a moment to appreciate Natalie's mastery of leitmotifs? Watching the video I can identify over 20 different tracks that correspond to their associated videos from Envy, Shame, Cancelling, Opulence, Beauty, The Hunger and even the Nostalgia tangent. Makes it feel like a cinematic universe of ideas and feelings being channeled through a modern-day Oracle of Delphi.

I love how often in this it seems like you're strawmanning someone saying something outrageous and then cut directly to them saying the exact thing you implied they said

The internet is slowly becoming so weird to me, and one of the biggest things is how much I see genders hating each other in heterossexuality. As a gay man, I get a little sad seeing all these femme and masc personas hating each other so much (it goes beyond the straights, but they are in the roots of it). I can see this dynamic as an interdiction that creates desire, and it was always there, but what about tenderness? You are a saint bringing the understanding of fusion to the scared and lost heterossexuals of our time. And you're not even straight nor cis! You bring the very questions that torment the youth and dissolve barriers of normalcy and queerness ❤

I wrote my philosophy final in high school on power dynamics and religion in twilight- mostly about ethics and transcending power, centering Carlisle. This video feels like the 10x longer follow-up essay that I’ve been meaning to write for years now….. but better.

Part 3, specifically the discussion around "My Secret Garden", made me think of the modern day misunderstanding of the song "Baby it's Cold Outside." At the time it was understood that she DID want to stay but had to be "convinced" like a "proper lady." These days, we listen to the song and condemn him for not respecting her boundaries when she said no. Specifically the "hey what's in this drink" line was widely condemned, but that was slang during the time the song released that denoted there was hardly any alcohol in the drink at all and they would've preferred a stiffer pour. Baby it's Cold Outside basically was a ravishment fantasy song that absolved the woman of blame so they could do exactly what both of them wanted to do in which the man provides her with excuses, shows he is on the same page, and basically offers himself up as a scapegoat to take the social blame.

You have NO IDEA how much I needed a two-hour contrapoints video about Twilight right now. The universe doesn't usually provide in such a direct and specific way but man am I grateful for this.

Not read the books or seen the movies but listened to this over 2 evenings. Great stuff

I read most of the books in high school because everyone was talking about it. I had mixed feelings about it, making fun of a lot of it, but also liking the idea of being desired (although not in the way the characters depict it). My ex had told me before that he basically obsessed over me before we dated: Carving our initials into a tree, vowing “I would be his someday,” etc. At the time I thought it was endearing, completely forgetting all the red flags I had read in those books, and I had a bad home life, which he took advantage of. He would systematically isolate me when we did date and would abuse me. I was 19 at the time and in retrospect as a 30 year old, I see so clearly the flags that were there that I had ignored previously. Despite everything, I don’t regret it, as if I didn’t endure my suffering, I wouldn’t have met my fiancé when I was out celebrating being single again when my ex & I finally broke up. In my adult years, I discovered I have a kink for being dominated (lightly - nothing heavy or extreme). I suppose these books somewhat were my first awakening to that? I realized that I want not only the love of my partner, but to have the trust with them to entrust myself with them and my kink (as you can imagine, that’s difficult). I also think that some women who are viewed as “strong and independent” who have the kink have it because they want to be able to let loose for once. I know it somewhat feels like that for me, as I handle most things in my partnership with my fiancé. So being able to have someone else in charge can also be a relief in a sense.

Please, never quit. The quality of this is so high it makes the whole experience exquisite. I love how the internet has made it possible for creators like you to just create.

"I can name at least three people who are attracted to men." This is my new favorite Natalie Wynn quote.

Queen Victoria was still alive when Barabra Cartlan was born which explains everything about her tbh.

17:10 This description of Edward just reminds me of Legoshi from Beastars. In fact, the connections between love, lust, hunger, and predation you describe just remind me of Beastars as a whole.

She returns

While a lot of people see Twilight as a golden example of heterosexual media, Kristen Stewart interprets it differently, earlier this year she said: "It's such a gay movie! I mean, jesus christ, Taylor and Rob and me, and it's so hidden and not OK, I mean, a Mormon woman wrote this book. It's all about oppression, about wanting what's going to destroy you. That's a very gothic, gay inclination that I love." She recognizes that the book is about fulfilling fantasies which are discouraged by society, for a heterosexual woman in the LDS church that means your hand being grazed by a big strong sparkly rich vampire man, but for a gay person the theme of "forbidden love" itself feels gay.

as a trans man and a christian who hasnt watched your videos and who loves thinking about gender and sexuality and christianity this was surprising and hilarious and thought provoking all at once. Thank you!

There were no less than 5 times through out this video that i completely forgot i was watching a twilight video until it was mentioned again. At least twice I was really confused as to why it was even brought up

I've always wondered at those women who fall in love with serial killers, but Natalie's explaination makes perfect sense. Of course it's a power fantasy. It's the fantasy of being so transcendently desirable that even the most inhuman among us can't help but fall for you, that he is tamed by your feminine power. And then you have the power of his violence at your disposal. Very interesting.

This video was really powerful for me. I’ve been an avid hater of romance books which pair women with abusive men. It’s always been a reflection of my fear that the women around me will find those relationships to be acceptable and therefore get hurt by the men around them. I had never thought to compare it to my own darker fascinations, nor was able to unstand there was a sameness to it all. The truth is, I was severely sexually abused as a child and I struggle to think logically about those sorts of topics, where I see similarities, I feel fear. At least now I can express that I am afraid, not necessarily that I dislike the media.

Divine's "EAT SHIT!" would have been perfect after mentioning leviticus

Natalie is a machine that turns things I am not interested in into things I am interested in

two years ago my mormon friend accosted me and forced me to watch all of the twilight movies with her. I had never interacted with the series, despite growing up mormon myself and having several peers and moms in my life who were obsessed. And I was BESIDE myself because of the themes of sex and power, will to power, religion, basically everything you covered in this video. I devoured the books, but unfortunately my friend did not read into them as deeply as I did and was not interested to analyze the mormon theology or the eroticism of abstinence/unfulfilled desire with me. I never found anyone to talk about it with and couldn’t find a video online of the caliber that I wanted. And now, this. thank you!!! You are insightful, funny, and a perfect presenter. love you mommy!

I read the Twilight saga when I was 12, and I remember having a lot of contempt for Bella in New Moon. I found her grieving of Edward pathetic, unrealistic, and toxic. In that, I felt a kind of smug superiority to both her and Meyer; I would never be so torn up over a man because I was strong and independent. I’m now 20 years old and currently experiencing limerence following a breakup. It’s more painful than I could’ve ever imagined. Combined with pre-existing mental health issues it’s almost unbearable. I can barely eat, sleep, or study. There isn’t a moment of the day I don’t feel physically ill. I constantly imagine all the other people my ex could be pursuing and think “Why not me?” I didn’t think I would ever relate to Bella in this way, but here I am. Turns out she is me and I am her. I am thoroughly humbled. Edit: wow hello, I didn’t expect this comment to resonate with so many people. Thanks for the support everyone! The Internet can be cool sometimes.

I could listen to Mother play the piano forever. Natalie, you are so gifted. Your passion for music makes it all the more beautiful.

"im switching to twilight" - Natalie ContraPoints Wynn, The Witch Trials of J.K Rowling

THE PRODIGAL MOTHER HAS RETURNED

2:14:28 “…a heart warming classic beloved by children to this day of all ages” 🤣

Man, this has to be my favorite Contrapoints video yet. So intelligent, so witty. I've never felt so enlightened and it was all about Twilight. Amazing work!

"some people are born straight, and others have straightness thrust upon them." Absolutely S-tier setup for that line.

Her refusal to finish the "antici....pation" was absolutely despicable. Permanent cancellation effective immediately.

Natalie is so damm funny. One of my personal favorite things about history is Elliot just dunking on the 1800s equivalent of bodice rippers, as if she didn’t publish a 700 page Gothic romance herself. Not like other girls, but the 1870s.

this is incredible, my inner-middle-schooler feels seen for the first time thank you so much for all you've done for humanity

losing my mind over "bella and her polycule of monster men are taking the ring to mordor" 52:37

Just realised she ended her last video saying ‘she’s switching to Twilight’ It wasn’t a joke

I love how in Part 5 Natalie aligned the neckline of her dress exactly with the pattern on the chair to make the shape of a bleeding heart. This has got to be like my 8th watch, there's always something new to notice

This was genuinely one of the best and most enlightening things I have ever seen. It hit so many sweet spots and tied up so many particular interests for me it's honestly difficult to believe. Your works once helped me build the basis of my current worldview and identity, and now they still hit me with breakthrough revelations. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.