We're all familiar with the recent uproar around the Twilight saga. What with the announcement of a movie adaptation and a lot of controversy (some say Twilight is terrible, others are neutral, others are Twilight-lovers), it has just led up to one of the most anticipated movies in history, smashing all the records set so wonderfully by Potter.
There has recently been a lot of Potter vs Twilight controversy. There are four sides: Con-Twilight, Pro-Twilight, "I-don't-care" and, "There doesn't have to be a war, I like them both". But why has this erupted? It seems all teens talk about these days are Twilight. What happened to Potter?
While some might say Potter is dead, that is very untrue. While main Harry Potter books are no longer on the New York Times Best-Seller List (presumably, they were bumped off by Twilight), the only thing to get ahead of Twilight (which holds the first four spots on the list) was Beedle the Bard, Rowling's newest Potter book, which goes to show that Harry Potter is, in fact, more popular than Twilight. And not without reason.
Twilight is targeted towards teenaged girls. After all, what fifteen-year-old girl could resist an ordinary girl falling in love with a five hundred year old vampire? Harry Potter is targeted towards boys and girls of any age, be it 75 or 10. But why has the uproar arisen?
There are many reasons. Twilight, being a fantasy novel for young adults, is naturally the rival for Potter, a fantasy targeted at the same people. But it's not just that. When Warner Bros. announced (on the 14th of August) that "Half-Blood Prince" was to be delayed until July 17, fans were furious. But even worse, on the 16th, Twilight was pushed forward to the same date Harry Potter was supposed to be released. This gave Twilight more publicity and a reason for Twilight fans to tease the fans of Potter.
What's worse, when that day rolled around, it was greeted with incredulous enthusiasm, despite the fact that it got terrible reviews. It broke all the records and it made no difference how bad the movie was. It got enough publicity to ensure records broken. And it will make no difference for the next film.
What with fans being upset about the delay, with Twilight breaking its records, things are a bit chaotic. Facebook has created a LOT of "anti-Twilight" and "anti-Potter" groups because of the uproar. Which gives Twilight more publicity. So really, hating Twilight will just get it more views. So if you hate it, don't start a Facebook group.
As Stephen King puts it, "Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people. ... The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good."
