Bella Swan and Kristen Stewart: Why do they have so many anti-fans and haters?

The question about why people hate Kristen Stewart or Bella Swan (or Edward Cullen or Twilight, itself) are still very common into my Twilight blog. Many diehard fans who love The Twilight Saga and their beloved Lead Actress & Actor truly do not understand why all the hate exists; and are looking for an explanation.

There are actually three logical ones that barely have anything to do with Kstew or Rpatz. They have to do with 'accidental' fan over-obsessions due to rare, professionally-negligent publishing (not every fan became overly-obsessed); and Tabloid & Paparazzi manipulation of both Twilight & Anti-Twilight Fans, alike.

Regarding Twilight's unusual over-obsessions, for those of you who simply do not understand how 'extreme' they can be... One of the TwiMoms in one of my email exchanges about trying to get over her obsession, said it best:

"We put ourselves in twilight and not just 'go along on the ride' like you would in LOTR or Star Wars.... Yeah, that Stephanie knows how to suck us girls in! XD"

Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson both have had to deal with Anti-fans & Haters since they were cast in the very first Twilight film in 2007/2008.

Why?

Not everyone who hates the character of Bella Swan, also hates her Human alter-ego, Kristen Stewart - and vise versa. There are many Twilight Fans who love the character Bella Swan; and yet, can't stand the way Kristen Stewart played her character.

There are also many Anti-Twilight fans who did not appreciate the character of Bella Swan - who have become diehard fans & supporters of Kristen Stewart simply because of her resilience in the face of so much anti-fan, tabloid & paparazzi harassment. (I would be one of them - Robert Pattinson & Taylor Lautner have the same respect from many Anti-Twilight fans for the same reasons.)

And, of course, there are many other variations of opinions surrounding Bella Swan and/or Kristen Stewart in between those two extreme opinions from Twilight Fangirlz & Anti-Fans of all ages...

Kristen Stewart has been one of Twilight's most ardent supporters since she she was cast as Bella Swan. She's defended the love story; she's defended both the unbelievable and offensive aspects of it; and she's defended her devoted fans.

“Anybody who wants to talk sh-t about ‘Twilight’ I completely get it, but there’s something there that I’m endlessly, and to this day, f–king proud of,” she said. “My memory of it felt — still feels — really good.” Kristen Stewart, Interview Magazine

Yeah, an Anti-Twilight fan can respect an opinion like that. ;)

1) The character of Bella Swan is a turn-off for many people as you have seen and read about over and over again by book reviewers. Honestly, if *I* had not met Bella through Kristen Stewart via the movies - I can certainly see myself not liking her very well, either.

Stephenie Meyer doesn’t give readers enough of a foundation to 'relate' to Bella; nor does she introduce her as a ‘heroine’. Her character is written as a passive-aggressive, whiny, and even bitter 30-something year old woman. Easy to dislike; but also easy to rewrite in your mind because of the too-shallow way that the character of Bella Swan was introduced. (This is 'What's Wrong with Twilight, Chapter One'?)

When Stephenie Meyer wrote The Twilight Saga, she left many intentional (and amateur) 'blanks' for fans to fill in for themselves (such as the Honeymoon sex scene, ha!).

Because of this shallow character & storyline writing, many readers (and eventually watchers) had to actually help (yeah, it was almost involuntary for some of us) write the storyline and 'flesh out' all of the characters - including Edward.

It was easy for fans to 'slip into' the character of Bella Swan and 'become her'; while also tinkering with the character of Edward Cullen to make him a more personalized 'Prince Charming' - as opposed to Stephenie's version.

Where do you think a character like Christian Grey came from? EL James recreated Twilight and the characters of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen via her fanfiction blockbuster, 50 Shades of Grey, to personally suit her.

This phenomenon is BEYOND true, which makes things VERY personal (and sometimes intimate) for fans who became 'accidentally' too-obsessed... Here is where *my* mind was wanting to take these characters while I still believed it was a worthy fictional escape - to the stars!! (I'm such a space/SciFi nut, ha! No, not everyone had a '50 Shades of Grey' slant going on in their minds. ;)

I also had quite the elaborate story going on where Bella was actually the daughter of Buffy and Spike - and they cast a spell on her similar to the one Angel had cast on Connor in order to protect her. This explained for me why Edward couldn't read Bella's mind. (I was ignoring the sparkle stuff, ha!) Joss Whedon would have been proud. ;)

For those of you who responded to the Bella Poll (above) with #3 - you essentially 'rewrote' the character of Bella Swan to be more 'like you' and/or like the person you want to be. You have a brilliant imagination. Truly. Not every fan was able to do that. Many people simply continued to dislike her. ;)

This is why both Twilight & Anti-Twilight obsessions became ‘too personal’ for each fan who became too-obsessed; and it is also why both ‘types’ of fans can become so ridiculously obsessed. (Right, most of you 'robsessed' girls? ;)

There is no right or wrong way to answer this poll. We all 'knew what we knew' and did whatever with it...

For the record, I've asked this question in different places - those who answer with #1 often truly do not understand why the other two options are included. That is because those types of fans have The Twilight Saga in their heads pretty close to how Stephenie Meyer wrote it - because they were often less familiar or didn't care about the vampire part of the story.

2) Since so many Twilight & Anti-Twilight Fans have the character of Bella Swan 'rewritten' in their minds to be more 'like them'...

People either agreed with the way Kristen Stewart played Bella; or they couldn't stand the way she played that character - in much the same way that we sometimes feel like we 'really click' with another person; or have a conflicting personality with someone that makes us dislike them.

For instance, *I* happen to be an 'Aries' as Kristen is; and her personality has always seemed similar to mine. That is probably why I have always liked the way she played the character of Bella Swan - despite the fact that I am not a big fan of the way Stephenie Meyer wrote The Twilight Saga.

And since the beginning of the Twilight Movie Fancraze, Kristen Stewart has been judged harshly - simply for 'NOT BEING LIKE' her anti-fans - for every little thing long before the misogynistic 'cheating' scandal came down in 2012.

Considering the insurmountable literary evidence, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson both did a really great job of bringing personality & substance to their Twilight characters in the movies. Enough so that people wanted to see and know more about them...

And the more Hollywood's paparazzi and tabloids could dig up for us, the better!!

Also, since many fans read the books after watching the first Twilight movie (or didn't read the books at all); those fans often used [their perceptions of] Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson to flesh out the characters (in their minds) - INSTEAD of having to insert as much of their own internal substance, interests and personalities into the shallowness of the characters as so many book fans, did.

This is simply a variation of Twilight obsessions... Movie fans can certainly become fascinated with their own, personalized 'recreation' of Twilight's characters and/or storyline - as opposed (as much) to the celebrity Stars.

Twilight obsessions vary in how personal they became for each person, depending on their mind's experience with it. Remember, many fans didn't become overly-obsessed, at all.

But, this is how so many fans became extra-obsessed with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. And, if you were an original book fan who was also able to transfer your Bella/Edward obsessions over to Kristen/Robert - double whammy.

Bottom line, if a fan's PERSONAL VIEW of Bella Swan didn't match up with how 'they thought' Kristen Stewart should have played the part (or 'act like an actress worthy enough to be standing next to Edward Cullen/Robert Pattinson') - many Twilight and Anti-twilight fans came to despise her.

3) People everywhere - whether they were Twilight Fans, or not - have been manipulated by tabloid stories and paparazzi images that constantly portray her in a negative light – like, she's a slob who doesn’t smile, she's a bad actress who can’t show expression, she’s ungrateful for her celebrity status, etc.

Kristen Stewart is also judged for the way she reacts to this constant harassment – flips off the paparazzi; and is candid about the celebrity chaos that surrounds her in interviews: “No one could have signed up for this.”

Isn’t she just an ungrateful celebrity snot?

When you realize that both Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson (yes, both of them) dress down the way that they do; and seldom smile for candid paparazzi photos - so that those photos will bring in the least amount of money for the papz, as possible - it is easier to give them a break.

It also makes it easier to see why tabloids & paparazzi have always been so cruel towards them. They are obviously very poor sports about not getting the money-making celebrity pictures and/or 'exclusives' from them that they want.

So let's abuse our Free Speech & Free Press constitutional protections to make up lie after lie for money off of their obsessed fans; while making Kristen & Robert's real lives a living hell; and impossible to remain together as a couple.