Teenage Girls: Credit Where Credit's Due

I've never seen a Twilight movie. I never had anything against the franchise, it just didn't seem like my cup of tea at the time. As a result of this, the Robert Pattinson craze kind of passed me over.

I had an idea of who he was as a public figure: a young actor who was very publicly cheated on by Kristen Stewart. But I had no idea who he was as an actor.

Then I watched 'Tenet'.

"Wait, this is the vampire dude?"

To say I was surprised with how affable and charming Robert Pattinson was as the affable and charming Neil in 'Tenet' is an understatement. I loved the chemistry him and John David Washington had and as the (basically) narrator of the movie, he did a great job not just falling into the exposition role.

After I came home from watching 'Tenet', I immediately did some research. Right, 'The Lighthouse' (2019) - I meant to watch that last year. But hold up, this guy has done two movies with David Cronenberg and worked with the Safdie Brothers pre-'Uncut Gems' (2019)?

I set to work. I watched 'Cosmopolis' (2012) - loved it, shades of 'American Psycho' (1997); 'High Life' (2018) - stunning science fiction; 'The Rover' (2014) - not quite my thing but I get the appeal; 'Life' (2015) - oddly one of my favourites despite it not being the strongest movie; 'The King' (2019) - I just fast forwarded to his part and he is hilarious; and finally, 'The Lighthouse' (2019) - a weird effing movie that I absolutely loved.

Of all these movies, it was 'The Lighthouse' that really impressed me. Going toe to toe with a film giant like Willem Dafoe is challenging, but Pattinson did it with aggressive authority.

I didn't think I judged Pattinson for Twilight, but I clearly did given how surprised I was. I judged this guy for being in a franchise that I hadn't even seen. And it wasn't just that I misjudged him, I really misjudged him. He's a bloody brilliant actor, and also a seemingly hilarious human being (he blew up his microwave while a GQ writer was just trying to get some info on 'Tenet').

An element to this "journey" I keep coming back to is why I had such a negative perception about the Twilight franchise when I've never seen it. What created this viewpoint? Surely it isn't just about it being a bad movie. I think we can all agree that the DCEU hasn't exactly been churning out classics but yet we aren't judging Henry Cavill and Jason Mamoa for it.

So what is the difference?

The answer: pre-teen and teenage girls.

There is an odd phenomenon where the general public is aggressively dismissive to things that this demographic deems to be popular. I was once a teenage girl and the Backstreet Boys were my world. Part of that world included hearing how BSB were ruining music.

It's interesting then hearing 'I Want it That Way' playing on the radio 20+ years later. Or hearing boys my age say how good 'Everybody (Backstreet's Back)' and 'As Long As You Love Me' are. When these songs and that group were loved (and I mean loved) by young females, it was instantly a given that it was bad. But given some time and maybe some maturity on everyone else's part, it seemed everyone else caught up with us.

I think the same happened with Robert Pattinson. Pre-teen and teenage girls alike knew something the rest of us didn't.

It is offensive to just assume these girls just thought Pattinson was handsome and that is what drove the hysteria around him. Pre-teen/Teenage girls are smart, despite what everyone wants to believe. They aren't driven by only hormones and superficial ideals.

In the last few years there has been a reckoning of sorts about racial and gender issues and with that an investigation into why we're in the position we find ourselves today.

It's very common for women to lack confidence. Whether it's in the office, at home, or in love, a lot of women lack the surety that a lot of men take for granted. It isn't a far stretch to connect the dots here.

Pattinson is currently looking to get a clean bill of health and restart 'The Batman' production. I was fairly indifferent to his casting when it was announced last year, but now I'm really excited to see his take on the vigilante. Taking on a superhero as legendary as Batman is a tough job for any actor, but there's little doubt from me that Pattinson will rise to the occasion and be the Batman for a whole new era.

But then, there's literally thousands of girls and women out there who knew what he was capable of back in 2008. Glad I caught up.