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Okay, so this is mainl going to be random rants and my writing. I write a lot, so...
Oh, and I have a few novel-length stories, so I'm going to post them each in seperate journal entries. They are a bit old, but it's just easier than linking to them when I post chapter 2-whatever...
This is an example of the types of things I might post. Rants like this. And fiction...
Disclaimer: I am not trying to insult anyone, especially Twilight fans. I don’t like it personally, but that’s not what this is about. I’m just stating an opinion. Don’t take it the wrong way. I say read and let read, just don’t force it on me and I won’t care.
Intro - Everywhere I look, I see blog sites, poll sites, and popular entertainment sites say that Twilight is the new Harry Potter, Harry Potter is irrelevant, Twilight it better than Harry Potter, Harry Potter isn’t popular anymore because of Twilight. I’m sick of it, completely sick of it. Now, my opinions on Twilight are completely irrelevant in this argument. I would be extremely upset that someone was saying that about Harry Potter regardless of what they were, regardless of whether or not I liked it, regardless of the quality of literature it is, even if it was the next Shakespeare, which Twilight isn’t.
The truth is, when something has been a part of your life for so long (eight years and counting), has been the thing you go to no matter what you’re feeling, has essentially been your best friend for eight years, and someone goes and says it’s not as good as something else, is being replaced and just bad compared to something else, you are going to be upset. And that’s the bottom line. My best friend has been insulted.
So that’s what this is about. Not insulting Twilight back, because I don’t believe that fans should have a hater’s opinion shoved in their face. This rant is simply to state the reasons that Harry Potter is not irrelevant, and that it’s here to stay, regardless of whether or not it’s on the New York Times bestseller list and Twilight is. And now, for the reasons:
1. It is possible to live in harmony.
I think it is possible to live in harmony. There are plenty of Harry Potter fans that like Twilight as well; one of the founders of Mugglenet, the biggest Harry Potter fansite ever, has a Twilight site, too. Harry Potter has lived in harmony with great stand-bys like Narnia and Middle Earth for years. Why can’t Twilight just join their elite number? That what Harry Potter did when it was written. There is a huge difference between replacing and joining. The bottom line is, whether or not you like it, these children’s classics, aren’t going anywhere, and neither is Harry Potter. So fans need to stop using Harry Potter’s success to boost their own series’ popularity. I want to quote two reviews about the series…
Like Gameboys, Teletubbies and films by George Lucas, Harry Potter has permeated the national child consciousness.
-----The Independent on Sunday
That’s fair, I’d say. It might not leave popular culture anytime soon, but it’s not replacing anything either.
Move over, Harry Potter.
-----USA Today
If Twilight has enough staying power, it will stay the same way Narnia has stayed, and the same way Harry Potter is going to stay, always in the background of society’s mind, and always will be remembered. But it isn’t going to push anything out of the way. Just like it is possible to love Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and Harry Potter at the same time, or a combination of the four, so is it possible to love a combination of Twilight, Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. Get used to it. Twilight isn’t the be all end all of literature. Nothing is.
But hey, don’t take my word for it. Even your beloved Stephanie Meyer admits that she doesn’t have anything on J.K. Rowling’s phenomenon…
“It’s terribly flattering to be compared to her, but there’s never going to be another J.K. Rowling; that’s a phenomenon that’s not gonna happen again.”
Now, she’s an author of the series, and she probably knows what she’s talking about. Not to mention that if she can admit it, so should you be able to. If you don’t believe it coming from me, believe it coming from her. There are some things that just have shoes too big to fill.
2. Twilight hasn’t been around long enough to claim that, and you can never be sure if it will be.
Harry has been super popular for more than ten years, as can be shown by the fact that it was on the New York Times bestseller list for ten years without a break. Now, I’m not saying Twilight won’t be, because you can never really predict that kind of thing, and while I could form my own opinions, this rant is not the right place. The truth is, publishers didn’t want to publish Harry Potter at first. They said it was too long to be popular with kids. It took her forever to get published, and no one thought it would go anywhere. So I can’t say that Twilight doesn’t have staying power, because maybe it does. I’m not an editor, and if they can’t predict it, then I definitely can’t. But I don’t think anyone should count their chickens before they hatch, and that’s what all these articles are doing. You can’t predict popularity, and just like no one thought Harry Potter go anywhere, and it did, so might Twilight be super hyped to last, and then not. And then who looks like an idiot? All the people claiming it was going to last forever, not the people shaking their heads in dismay, like me.
Quite frankly, it’s upstart-ish to say you’re going places, to say you’re never going to be forgotten. Twilight hasn’t been around long enough to say it has staying power. Harry Potter was always humble, and the popularity is a lot less annoying that way. Saying that you are the next Harry Potter is simply using Harry Potter’s popularity to boost your own standing in the polls. Harry Potter publicized itself, it didn’t need the help of other famous books to help it. I think we all know what goes through a Twilight-virgin’s mind when they see “Twilight the next Harry Potter”, don’t we? If Twilight is the next Harry Potter, I should read it! And, thus, more popularity it gains. Get real, and get your own name your own way. Do the work! If Twilight will stay, it’ll stay, but don’t pretend to know it will. You haven’t been around long enough to know that.
3. They are too different to be put into the same category.
Now, this is really an extension of the first reason, but I thought I’d just give it it’s own number because I just have too much to say to put it within the first one. One of the reasons they can, and should, live in harmony is because they are so damn different from each other. Really! Let me quote Sodahead, which is basically a polling site. They gave tiny synopses for each series for their poll “which series is hotter? Twilight or Harry Potter.” Here is the one for Twilight:
“Twilight is an action-packed modern-day love story between a teenage girl named Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, a vampire. Twilight is not your usual high-school romance series. Edward and Bella's passionate love for each other leads to a constant struggle to keep Bella alive and unharmed.”
Now lets look at the one for Harry Potter, shall we?
“Harry Potter is a series of adventures of a young wizard named Harry Potter and his two wizard friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The story is based upon Harry's struggle against an evil wizard Lord Voldemort who killed Harry's parents to conquer their world.”
Now, whether or not I agree that this does either series real justice, the fact is that these are accurate descriptions of the most basic concept of each series. And look at how different they are. Yes, Harry Potter and Twilight are both labeled under the “fantasy” genre, but there is a wide spectrum that qualifies as fantasy. It just so happens that Harry Potter and Twilight are on almost opposite ends of the spectrum. I say almost because in both there a mythical world coexisting with a normal one, whereas there are plenty of fantasies where the mythical world is the whole world (ie, Lord of the Rings, Eragon). But that’s not the point. The point is that why do two series’ that are so very different have to compete with each other? It’s comparing apples to oranges. You can like both…and they are just not comparable, and it’s time all of us realize it.
Just because they are both so popular, we insist on comparing them, but the truth is, there is more than on role to fill in the hearts and minds of readers. Harry Potter fills one, and Twilight fills a role that is completely different. They are not vying for the same one. Harry Potter can’t fill a teenager’s ache for romance, as there isn’t much of it in there, and Twilight can’t fill a young adult’s desire for a good adventure epic with great morals. I’m not saying either is better than the other (although those who look at my page can guess), but they are just too different to compare. Popular does not equal the same.
4. Harry Potter has timeless morals and eternally relatable characters.
Now, this rant is basically why Harry Potter isn’t going anywhere, so not all my arguments are about both of them. This reason isn’t about the morals Twilight doesn’t have, it’s just about the morals that Harry Potter does have. Now this list is only the more complex ones, but here is the shortened version of all the morals/themes that can be found in Harry Potter:
~Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.
~The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.
~To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.
~It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.
~It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
Now, those are the complex morals that come from an adult who, hopefully, has already learned those lessons. Here is a list of morals that a 12 year-old girl could out of the series. I know that a young girl could take these out of Harry Potter because it was a young girl who compiled the list.
~People are different. Some are really cool. Some are really horrible, and you just have to deal with it. (Evil and goodness come in a lot of shapes and sizes. Beware)
~You have to look past the things you see, past first appearances. (Things are not always as they seem. It’s wise to remember that and not judge a book by it’s cover)
~It's a lot about diversity--social and economic. (Accept all walks of life, for they are all valid, especially when it comes to race.)
~People need second chances. (Forgiveness is one of the greatest virtues of all.)
~Friends are really important. Parents are really important. (You are never alone.
Those are just some of them. And all of them are themes that are never going to go away. But it’s also about death. Many intellectuals have also said that there are themes of normality, oppression, survival, and overcoming imposing odds. Not to mention the trials and tribulations of adolescence, something everyone can relate to, tolerance, as stated before, power/abuse of power, love, prejudice, and free choice. All of these are things that young children need to learn and that adults often need reestablished.
And then there are the characters. We’ve all felt like we had to prove ourselves, like Hermione, in a world that won’t accept us. We’ve all felt (whether it was warranted or not) that we are carrying the world on our shoulders, like Harry. We’ve all felt that we are being pushed aside and yearned for the spotlight, like Ron. Most of us have felt at some point that we are being protected too much, and just want to live our lives, like Ginny. There are just so many aspects of the characters that we can relate to, that we’ll always be able to relate to. And that’s another reason that Harry Potter isn’t going anywhere: because there is always going to be something in it that every person who opens it will be able to relate to.
Conclusion - And, in conclusion Harry Potter isn’t going anywhere any time soon. And it’s high time some of you Twilight fans realized it.