Goonies Never Say Die

In my news perusal this morning, I came across an article that suggested the idea that the Harry Potter franchise might be loosing it's magical touch. The author cited the competition from the Twilight series as the catalyst for what may seem to be a declining audience. Although by the end of the article the author pointed out that she was still a die-hard Potterian, I still gasp in horror that anyone could even suggest such a coup could occur at this point.

Think about it...

Is there honestly anyone out there who would rather go to Forks High School over Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? No. Exactly.

Is there anyone out there who would honestly prefer blood over pumpkin juice and chocolate frogs? No. Exactly.

Look, Twilight is new. It's shiny. It's sexy and passionate. Harry Potter isn't sexy, he's heroic and thrilling. Twilight makes it really easy for a bunch of tweeners to swoon and forget about reality while they get sucked into Stephanie Meyer's own personal fantasy world. Because let's face it, Stephanie Meyer is Bella Swan, or rather, Bella Swan's life is the life Stephanie Meyer never lived. Apologies all around if you hadn't figured that one out yet.

But let's break down Bella for a second. Meyer states within the first few pages of the first book that Bella's defining character trait is her strong sense of self confidence. Bella then meets Edward and spends the next three and a half novels worrying that she isn't worthy to be around him, dazzled, and in a constant state of "weak in the knees." Some strong, independent woman.

You could argue that Edward Cullen is Meyer's secondary protagonist. She is writing another version of the books from his perspective, after all. But even if you consider that point, Edward is so controlling of Bella and moody for, well, three and a half novels, that it's a completely unhealthy relationship. Anyone who actually understands the concept of love, real and true love, knows that trusting your other half is a non-issue. Edward claims that his control issues only have to do with himself and his own insecurities, but um, so do most emotionally abusive partners. So I can't really accept Edward's love as 100%. I accept that Bella and Edward believe what they have is honest and total, but it's a very immature relationship on many levels. While a large majority of Meyer's readers want to model their perfect relationships after either Edward and Bella now, I believe, and fervently hope, that a little emotional growth will prove how unrealistic and undesirable an existance that is.

So while Meyer's fans will grow out of their fantasies with her characters. J.K. Rowling's fans will keep theirs for a few simple reasons:

1) Harry Potter is the classic hero, surrounded by complex secondary characters and powerful emotions. There is real loss and real triumph within Harry's story. Who dies in Twilight? That's right, Irina. No one cared about her. In fact, unless you've just finished reading the books, or are some crazy word-nerd, you probably forgot all about her, didn't you? But no one forgets about Sirius, Dumbledore, Hedwig, Dobby, Fred, and Snape (and oh so many more)! Readers were terrified by the time the last book came out to read which character they would lose in the final battle. A fear which Stephanie Meyer completely protected her readers from when she debuted Bella's amazing ability to force field everyone around her.

2) Harry defeats Lord Voldemort. A force so powerful ordinary wizards are afraid to even speak his name. Voldemort has forgotten how to love, he has no motivations except gaining more evil, corrupt power. He is Iago and will never be forgotten. Conversely, neither will Harry Potter, their names are linked in many ways.

3) What J.K. Rowling did with her story was to show us how evil can come to exist. Through the books readers traced Voldemort's beginnings back to the boy Tom Riddle and watched in retrospect as he became more wicked and cruel. Readers were able to see the mistakes made by others when they were wooed by Riddle into helping him climb the ladder of power. At the same time, those same readers were able to watch first hand, Harry's own journey as he prepared for his destiny. Rowling delicately wove the theme of maternal love and humanity into each book so that even though Dumbledore gives both readers and Harry the answer early on, it's not until the very end that full comprehension occurs.

That is a true work of literary art. Harry Potter fans will keep their some of their fantasies because Rowling encourages her readers to think big. By the end of her series there is a feeling of excitement and ability. As a reader I wanted to become my own personal Harry Potter and change the world. I wanted to defeat the Voldemorts of today. I still do.

I think it's obvious that because the Twilight series has only recently been published in it's entirety and the movie versions only begun filming for it to seem more popular now. Readers were coming off of the Harry Potter high and were craving a new adventure. It was easy to jump on the Twilight wagon. I don't think Meyer's story would have gained the amount of success that it did without Rowling's series before it. I also have no doubt that in ten years Harry Potter will be considered a classic fantasy hero and Bella Swan will have become a moment in pop culture. And just like the moment when I was able to turn the final page of the seventh book and look back on the whole series with contentment and a sigh of awe, perspective, I believe, will be everything.