I'm sick of this ridiculous discussion.
Twilight vs. Harry Potter: Entertainment blogs continue to discuss which is better Harry Potter or Twilight. Let’s put an end to it.
It all started when Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince got pushed from its original release date of FALL 2008 to SUMMER 2009, leaving the slot open for a movie based on a book called “Twilight” that would soon take over the female teens and tweens of the world. There have been a concerning amount of stories lately regarding Twilight and Harry Potter, saying that Twilight has overtaken Harry Potter in popularity. I love Harry Potter, with all my heart, I have read each book multiple times and I challenge you to stump me with a Potter trivia question. I have read the Twilight series, I found the books enjoyable for the most part, albeit ridiculous and corny, and they are definitely in the guilty pleasure category. The Harry Potter movies definitely lacked the spirit of the book and did not start capturing the essence of it until the third movie.
These are cute kids, they are actors, not sex symbols cast in the movie to make it sell. They are attractive, yes, but that is not their only purpose.
Twilight works much better as a movie, it improved upon the book, it took out unnecessarily painful proclamations of undying love – although some were still kept – and added an entertaining soundtrack and score. To top it off, Twilight has some rather delicious eye candy that makes it appealing to watch.
THESE people are sex symbols, the Twilight book does not play up, or even talk about Bella being hot, let alone a crazy sexy woman in the arms of her vampire. This picture is an advertising gimmick.
The popularity of Twilight is solely the product of simple psychology of what teen/tween girls like, good advertising, attractive actors/actresses, and the 5th grade level that the books are written in that makes them so easy to read.
Twilight is a ROMANCE series that happens to have vampires, it has no artistic merit, it’s written as if a seventeen year old actually wrote it. Harry Potter is a fantasy series with a rich plot, well developed characters, its own mythology (it’s a little borrowed, but so is everything really), and intelligently crafted prose. Harry Potter can be enjoyed by people – male and female – of all ages.
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Persephone13
Jon Henner
Palindrome
Man Talk Now
Lonnie Lazar
mad_typist
Salon.com
Comments
Cogent analysis, well-written, with appropriate illustrations. For the record, I am a fan of Tolkien as a writer, enjoyed the Potter films without having read the books themselves, and believed Twilight was merely my favorite time of day until I read about its other meaning here.
It's nice to know that, even at my advanced age, it's still possible to learn something new every day.
BTW, most newspapers and magazines are written at the 5th to 8th grade level.
Go HP!!
Twilight, the movie, was good. I'm not surprised by the "new craze"- there is always a "new craze."
P.S. I totally agree that from the literary point of view Harry Potter is a worthy candidate for a classic, unlike the enjoyable but less worthy Twilight.
Anyway, I totally agree with you.
Just wait until those Twilight fans decide to upgrade to grown-up vampire novels and get smacked in the face with Lestat. Heh.
After I read the first three Twilight books, I felt a embarrassed for wasting so much time on them. Not embarrassed enough to keep me from reading the fourth one, of course ;)
No matter what anyone says, the whole book is about Christian values that ought to be outdated. The man is the one in charge, he will take care of you, you don't need to do anything as long as he is there. If he leaves you you are helpless and lost. If he does something wrong it is probably your fault. You should base your life around his and wait until marriage to have sex. The people who talk about how Bella is a strong female character make me sick.
The relationship between Edward and Bella is horrible - even in fiction. I read New Moon and was disgusted! Jacob was a way better role model for girls and boys.
I'm worried that this will warp the minds of an entire generation of people, all those between 12 and 25 who are reading these books. I know that people have analytical insight, but not everyone can seperate fact from fiction.
Bella appears to be a strong female lead, but she's not, which is too bad. Hermione is a far better role model. (I am a Hermione-type girl for sure). Tough, smart, quick-witted, not appearance obsessed. We could use more ladies like that, and you, out there.
I have sisters that like Twilight and I think they just like Shilo Buff. Or whatever his name is.
And may I say that Harry Potter looks like he's from another planet, but in a cute way? That boy is clearly half-alien. A very wealthy half-alien.