Watch out!
I have only recently become aware of the fact that people who are fans of a particular book, show, movie, etc. refer to themselves as a "fandom." I knew that sort of thing existed for Star Wars and Star Trek, but I didn't realize until I joined Deviant Art and saw all the fan art there that this is a pretty widespread phenomenon of my generation. I have no idea why this exists. It probably would not have occurred to me to draw characters from my favorite books or movies on a regular basis had I not seen that other people did that.
Recently, what with the Twilight movie coming out soon, I've been hearing a lot of people comparing Twilight to Harry Potter. Most currently, I've been aware of stories that refer to a "war" between the Twilight and the HP "fandoms." How do fandoms have a war? Send each other mean comments on their fanart/fanfiction or something? What the hell does a fandom war even mean?
And, even more annoying than this pseudo-war, is the media's attempt to liken Twilight to Harry Potter. I've read them both and enjoyed them both, but they are so different that there is no comparison.
In Harry Potter, Rowling created a world complete with its own history, politics, customs, classes, and prejudices. Like Tolkein, she spent many years creating a vast, complex world(I'm not saying it's anywhere near as detailed as LOTR - don't jump down my throat please). Her books focus on an epic battle between good and evil, in which the protagonist does not simply face a creepy villain, but also intolerance, bigotry, and corruption. Her books have a clear philosophy, grounded in references to classical works and figures. Her characters have detailed pasts, motivations, complicated relationships, and both good and evil in their personalities.
Twilight is silly, shallow, romantic fluff focusing on the love interests of one girl. Meyer interprets vampire legends in a very interesting way, but her characters are aways either all-good of all-bad, they never change, and they're all gorgeous and perfectly paired with their soulmates. It's fun escapism, but it's obvisouly not great literature.
So STOP comparing them, please. We can all see that it's just an effort to sell more books and movie tickets by linking Twilight to an already-established media empire. And, if you are a member of one of these "fandoms" give up the "war" please. Who gives a fuck that the next HP movie got pushed back til Spring and Twilight took its place? That was a business decision, not a victory for the Twilight fandom. This is all just ridiculous. It's like the Trekkies and the Star Wars nerds going at it. Get a life, please.
Recently, what with the Twilight movie coming out soon, I've been hearing a lot of people comparing Twilight to Harry Potter. Most currently, I've been aware of stories that refer to a "war" between the Twilight and the HP "fandoms." How do fandoms have a war? Send each other mean comments on their fanart/fanfiction or something? What the hell does a fandom war even mean?
And, even more annoying than this pseudo-war, is the media's attempt to liken Twilight to Harry Potter. I've read them both and enjoyed them both, but they are so different that there is no comparison.
In Harry Potter, Rowling created a world complete with its own history, politics, customs, classes, and prejudices. Like Tolkein, she spent many years creating a vast, complex world(I'm not saying it's anywhere near as detailed as LOTR - don't jump down my throat please). Her books focus on an epic battle between good and evil, in which the protagonist does not simply face a creepy villain, but also intolerance, bigotry, and corruption. Her books have a clear philosophy, grounded in references to classical works and figures. Her characters have detailed pasts, motivations, complicated relationships, and both good and evil in their personalities.
Twilight is silly, shallow, romantic fluff focusing on the love interests of one girl. Meyer interprets vampire legends in a very interesting way, but her characters are aways either all-good of all-bad, they never change, and they're all gorgeous and perfectly paired with their soulmates. It's fun escapism, but it's obvisouly not great literature.
So STOP comparing them, please. We can all see that it's just an effort to sell more books and movie tickets by linking Twilight to an already-established media empire. And, if you are a member of one of these "fandoms" give up the "war" please. Who gives a fuck that the next HP movie got pushed back til Spring and Twilight took its place? That was a business decision, not a victory for the Twilight fandom. This is all just ridiculous. It's like the Trekkies and the Star Wars nerds going at it. Get a life, please.