With the rain, fog, and flannels of Humboldt winter rolling in, we have officially entered “Twilight season.” The young adult book and movie series featuring anxious teen Bella Swan and her lovers, vampire Edward Cullen and werewolf Jacob Black, remains a cultural phenomenon. Its oversaturated blue tint and moody atmosphere bring out our angsty, lip-biting, hair-behind-ear-tucking selves as the colder weather sets in.
“Bella’s always complaining about the rain and the wet, and it’s very wet here, so she would not be happy,” senior Ava Tempelaere said, “But maybe she would find a nice sparkly boyfriend at high school and go in the woods.”
Twilight’s vitamin-D-deficient atmosphere has coined the term “hoa hoa hoa season” on social media about the song “Eyes on Fire” by Blue Foundation in the first movie. Creators reenact scenes with the song in the background, exaggerating elements with captions like “Things I do during Hoa Hoa Hoa season” and “Me when the weather starts to feel like Hoa Hoa Hoa.”
“You can see the wetness in the air and you hear faintly in the background the soundtrack of Twilight. Nobody knows the song, but only that one part,” Tempelaere said when asked what “hoa hoa hoa” meant.
Tempelaere is an avid Twilight consumer, saying that the movie’s poor execution makes the entertainment value higher. She feels they are so terrible that it’s “turned all the way back around” to being great.
This sentiment seems to resonate with viewers, as particularly cringeworthy or terrible lines from the series have become iconic pop culture references.
“I saw a sticker in the parking lot the other day that was like ‘Why the hell are you honking loca?’” senior Amara Rex laughed.
Rex and Tempelaere cited the “spider monkey,” “skin of a killer,” honeymoon, and horrifying pregnancy scenes as the most memorable and meme-able moments of the story.
As a self-professed “team Edward” fan, Rex feels that the rolling of the Humboldt fog has ushered in another season of Twilight. While most autumnal movies have cozy, warm vibes, Twilight employs a depressing and washed-out motif. We see Bella begin school and become gradually more haggard, something we can relate to with our descent into seasonal depression and the drudgery of schoolwork. It is comforting to snuggle up with a blanket and watch the love triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob unfold.
“Every single fall season I need to rewatch them [the movies]. I’ve even read the books,” Rex said.
