Journal topic 12: Biography of popular celebrity

Adams, I. (2008). Robert Pattinson: Eternally yours, an unauthorized biography. New York: HarperEntertainment.

This is a biography of Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen in the movie version of the worldwide phenomenon that is Twilight (the book series written by Stephenie Meyer). With chapter titles like “Be Still Our Hearts!”, “Rob’s Dazzling Roots” and “Rob the Heartthrob!” (the exclamation points exist in the original), this is not a book that focuses on scholarly character analysis or in-depth historical fact. Adams writes for the teenage general public and for diehard fans. The point is not to turn a critical eye toward the actor and his career, but rather to fuel his popularity and provide trivia fodder about Pattinson. Eternally Yours shares the same flavor as sensationalized tabloids or teen fan magazines. Sample sentences include “But this gifted (and stunningly attractive) young actor better get used to the attention because his starring role as the world’s hottest vampire has secured his spot in our hearts” and “So it looks like fans can add ‘humble’ to the long list of admirable traits that make him dream!” It is truthful in that it does contain facts and career details of his childhood in London, his personal attributes, his acting roles through 2008 and his musical interests (and OME* his shoe size is a 10!) Plus, it’s difficult to write a richly textured biography when the subject is 23 years old and has only been in the spotlight for the last three years. Much of the content is focused on Twilight and Harry Potter, including quotes about Rob from the director and his co-stars, behind the scenes details on filming and the same sorts of questions/answers aimed at Pattinson during the promotional tour of the movies. It is entirely age appropriate for teens and it does not delve more than a surface level of the celebrity persona because this age doesn’t want anymore than that. His non-blockbuster movies are only mentioned in passing. If anything, it helps blur the line between Robert Pattinson and Edward Cullen as if they were inseparable parts of the same whole.

While this isn’t an epic piece of literature by any means, it is very popular for this age group. My public library owns multiple copies of this book with short waiting lists for each copy. (More evidence of demand from the fandom: all of the color photos in the middle of the book were ripped out in my copy.) If I were in charge of collection development, I would also purchase this book for our library. It would circulate well, especially with all of the hype on New Moon. It would be easy to amp up the Edward vs. Jacob storyline by setting up a display with the Twilight series and any biographies on Kristen Stewart, Taylor Launtner or other actors in the movies. It would also have cross appeal with the Vampire Diaries series, a popular new paranormal television show based on the books. Since the Twilight movies will extend through at least the next two years, this is a book that would continue to circulate (until the paperback copy was completely destroyed.)

*OME stands for “Oh my Edward!”, an expression coined by fans of Twilight.