The Great Fantasy Face-off: Harry Potter vs. Twilight
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In the big picture, wizardry wins out : Stephenie Meyer, the author of the trendy “Twilight” series, once stated in an interview that if “Twilight’s” Edward were to get into a fight with Harry Potter, the boy wizard would be vampire food.
Don’t get too ahead of yourself, Ms. Meyer.
Of course, there’s no denying that the story of the forbidden love between human Bella and vampire Edward has taken over every aspect of popular culture. In the past year, the franchise has released one blockbuster movie, with the second film, “New Moon,” opening Friday. The faces of the films’ young stars fill tabloid covers and Hot Topic merchandise.
Does this mean, however, that the world of Quidditch, Hippogriffs and Dumbledore’s Army is now defunct and obsolete? As a fan of both series, I would have to disagree. Harry Potter was the first of its kind. Back in 1997, when “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” was first published, it started everything that the “Twilight” fandom has since copied: Midnight releases, fan sites, fan fiction, and even music groups based on the text. No book series initially marketed to children had ever generated the book sales “Harry Potter” did, sale records “Twilight” is still trying to emulate. As for box office sales, it’s easiest to say that the vampires have some catching up to do.
But the differences between the two extend far beyond the numbers. It goes down to a matter of values that lie beneath the stories.
Both works of fiction extol the virtues of love, but different aspects of the term. Whereas “Twilight” speaks of eternal romance that pushes its teenage characters into bouts of obsession and stalking, “Harry Potter” encourages a love for all humankind. Harry and his friends sacrifice themselves time and time again in order to protect the fate of the world. They use their love for family and friends to fight for the common good. This love fuels strong, vital friendships and support systems.
In “Twilight,” Bella abandons any friendships she had to devote herself completely to her boyfriend’s world. She gives up her family and future to be with Edward. In contrast, you would never read that Hermione disbanded S. P. E. W. just because she loved a certain redheaded boy. Harry may be the boy-who-lived, but Potter is filled with strong female characters. “Twilight” encourages girls to have no career aspirations, and wait for some dangerous figure to come along and sweep them off their feet.
I’m certain Meyer didn’t plan to espouse this ideal, but she did. Perhaps it’s on account of her lack of planning. The story goes that Meyer had a dream about the characters, and popped out four books in two years. If you’re a lucky owner of one of the first “Twilight” editions, you may also notice the slew of spelling and grammar mistakes. Rowling began plotting and writing the Potter series in 1990, pulling in an anthology’s worth of mythology, legend and literary allusions.
In the end, the bickering between “Harry Potter” and “Twilight” fans is pretty petty. When you come right down to it, the fact remains that Universal Studios is opening the Wizarding World of Harry Potter this summer.
Could you imagine Twilight: The Theme Park?
I didn’t think so.
Carlene Miller is a senior at Alden High School.
'Twilight creates a fantasy world to believe in
“When you can live forever, what do you live for?” Despite some public criticism, Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight,” the book saga now becoming a movie saga, is one of the most popular franchises ever. Whether it’s a young teenage girl or her mom, it seems everyone has heard of “Twilight,” seen the movie or read the books. Not only is it popular, it is also one of the best ever. The characters are relatable, the story is mesmerizing and intriguing, and the movies bring fiction to life.
I first fell under the spell of “Twilight” when I was a sophomore. At least one of my friends was always reading one of the books, and they were constantly encouraging me to join in on the fun so we could talk about it. I honestly didn’t know what the big deal was. The only interesting books I had ever felt the need to discuss with my friends were the “Harry Potter” series.
Despite my presumptions, I went home to find that I already owned the book (which was buried in my bookshelf) but never bothered to crack it open. I was convinced that there wasn’t anything special about this book. Then I read this: “Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something.” When Bella Swan uttered those words on Page One, I was hooked. This was the sign that this story was something special. From that day on, I was obsessed with “Twilight.”
The story spans over four books, “Twilight,” “New Moon,” “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn,” which were published from 2005-08 and have sold over 53 million copies worldwide. The novels tell the tale of Isabella “Bella” Swan, a reserved, clumsy, stubborn girl who moves to Forks, Wash., to live with her father. It’s there where she meets and falls in love with Edward Cullen, a vampire. The rest is fictional history.
The novels have it all: Romance, action and the classic battle of good vs. evil. The main character of Bella is relatable to many “Twilight” readers because she is a normal teenage girl as opposed to an 11-year-old boy with supernatural powers. Her feelings and emotions are so well conveyed through Meyer’s expert first-person writing that the reader never has to question Bella’s actions.
Edward Cullen is an entrancing hero, with added intrigue because of his vampire nature. Their love story is captivating and has all the elements of a classic romance novel, being based on the works of
Jane Austen, Emily Bronte and William Shakespeare. It also has an appealing fantasy world, with the vampire Cullen family and the Quilete tribe of werewolves, including Jacob Black. All of the characters, whether they are human or immortal, have such distinct and humanlike qualities that they seem like real people.
The movie industry has taken hold of the “Twilight” saga. While some argue that the movies degrade the franchise because they are not as good as the books, let’s face it: Are the movies EVER as good as the book? The “Twilight” series, however, has (so far) done a very good representation of the stories, making each element of the film an exact replica of what the books describe without leaving out any significant plots or characters, as has been the case with the popular “Harry Potter” films.
With the second installment of “Twilight,” “New Moon,” coming out Friday, fans are already gearing up for the premiere, proving that “Twilight” has a large fan following. From past instances, anything with such a large fan following combined with a story that includes the power of love, relatable characters, mesmerizing whimsical worlds, intense action sequences and an ultimate battle of good vs. evil is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
“Harry Potter” fans’ main argument is that “Harry Potter” is better because it has more depth, more story line and more characters. “Harry Potter” also has three more books and 1,600 more pages than “Twilight” to develop more plotlines and characters. Ultimately, “Twilight” and “Harry Potter” are two different things. Is it even fair to compare them?
Mary Best is a senior at Alden High School.
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