Team Potter: quality trumps over-saturated romance

Let me bite the bullet here–I don’t like Twilight. I don’t like the plot, I don’t like the characters and I especially don’t like the mass hysteria that ensues whenever the word Twilight is uttered. The notion that Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series is better than J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series or is “the new Harry Potter” is one I honestly find laughable.

The first problem with Twilight is the plot. For a series with such a massive following, the plot line is surprisingly one-dimensional. For those who have not read the series, Meyer chronicles the plight of a teenage girl, Bella, who falls in love with a vampire named Edward. This continues, with a few twists and turns of course, one being the entrance of a werewolf named Jacob, throughout the four-book series.

Harry Potter, on the other hand, showcases what I like to refer to as two separate plots. There is the underlying plot, which is what the seven-book series is based upon, and the “mini-plot,” which is unique to every book and is resolved at the end of each. I like Rowling’s system because while there is continuity throughout the series with the underlying plot, each book is unique and not repetitive.

In addition to Twilight’s plot, I take issue with what the plot is built around–namely, the characters. Twilight’s characters are overly stereotypical, drastically underdeveloped, extreme and just plain weak. Let’s take totally submissive Bella. She swoons over Edward and wants to become a vampire simply because he is one. Bella lets the whims of Edward, an abusive creeper, completely control her emotional well-being, and whenever their hot-cold relationship is cold she becomes nearly suicidal.

The Harry Potter characters have their flaws, and jealousy is prominent throughout the series, but the characters are unique and fully developed with quirks, pet peeves and other traits that remain constant in the books. They are also relatable at some point or another in the series. And personally, I have never felt that I can relate to superficial, stereotypical Bella or her plight.

I think it’s great to have an opinion, but I’m frequently annoyed by Twilight fans arguing over the series. Team Jacob or Team Edward? Team Edward or Team Jacob? Who cares! I still don’t understand why there’s even an Edward vs. Jacob conflict. “Team Edward” believes Bella should have been with Edward, and “Team Jacob” believes Bella should have been with Jacob. It’s the plot of the story, and taking sides does absolutely nothing! It’s like a crazed Harry Potter fan being “Team Hermione” because they feel Harry should have ended up with Hermione instead of Ginny. It’s totally pointless. Seeing these fanatics talk, I would expect them to be arguing over what to do about the rising unemployment rate, not two fictional characters.

There may very well be Harry Potter fanatics who walk around attempting to cast Patronus spells and sitting on a broomstick trying to fly, but I have yet to encounter anyone telling me I have a Harry Potter broom in my house, like Twilight fans have told me I drive the “Twilight car” (a silver Volvo sedan).

It’s great that there’s something sparking passion and debate—I just wish it was something substantial.

Team Cullen: passionate fan base can speaks for itself

Right now the world is currently split between three types of people—those who love Twilight, those who hate it and those who are clueless to its existence. Harry Potter fans make up the largest demographic of the anti-Twilight movement because these two series have been so widely compared and debated. Although Harry Potter may be the older, longer and more widely known series, Twilight has slowly but surely gained momentum on J.K Rowling’s masterpiece. There are, however, certain reasons why Twilight has specific edges over Harry Potter.

Written in a simplistic and direct style, Twilight is easy to understand without making adults and teenagers feel like they are reading a children’s book. Stephanie Meyer, the author of Twilight, develops a vampire love story plot that uses simple dictation and syntax, making it a fast-paced read that doesn’t leave the readers puzzled or confused. On the other hand, Harry Potter has a very intricate and sometimes convoluted plot that requires reading the books repeatedly to grasp plot lines, something even the most die-hard Harry Potter fans will confess to doing.

The most important thing to remember is that Twilight was not written to become the next “literary masterpiece.” Harry Potter fans will often say that Twilight “sucks because it is the most stupidest book ever,” (which only speaks volumes about the people who make those remarks) but the truth is that Twilight is popular because it appeals to teenage girls’ dreams and fantasies. Edward Cullen is the perfect “gentleman,” Bella is the relatable average girl and Jacob is that best friend who you can’t seem to let go.

The characters in Twilight that have inspired thousands of crazy fans to divide into Team Jacob, Team Edward and even Team Jasper, are brought to life by Meyer’s writing. There is just no denying the intense and serious fan base that the Twilight series creates. Some Harry Potter fans have confessed that while reading Twilight, they were inexorably and inexplicably addicted to the series. Harry Potter, while undeniably written in a more advanced style with a strong plot, has not inspired the same fanaticism.

Several Harry Potter fans say that Twilight encourages abusive relationships and unrealistic love, but many Twilight fans understand, as should Harry Potter fans, that Twilight was written as a fiction novel and should not be taken too seriously. Just like there aren’t Harry Potter fans who believe they are wizards or have converted to Wicca, Twilight fans do not use the books as models for relationships or advice on how to land the dreamy vampire classmate at their school. And those anti-Twilight supporters who declare that “Twilight breeds crazy fans and teaches girls to be slaves to jerks” should realize that it is equally unhealthy that there are Harry Potter fans who spend their free time pretending to cast “stupefy” charms at each other while constantly waiting for their Hogwarts admission letters to arrive.

Reading Twilight is like eating chocolate or cookies. The fans of Twilight are not addicted to the well-developed writing style or the advanced vocabulary. Instead, Twilight draws fans in with its characters and story line that gives teenagers all around the world the ability to daydream about that “perfect gentleman” or that fairy-tale happy ending. In the end, Twilight is that catchy and intriguing guilty pleasure story that readers crave like candy—sometimes overly sweet and unhealthy, but oh so addicting.