But the highlight of the movie for me was watching Hermoine Granger's evolution. Smart, resourceful, courageous -- she's clearly the star of this film. And, in particular, it's hard not to contrast her with another popular teenager character: Bella in Twilight.
Earlier this week, I posted this article on my Facebook, which discusses some of the differences between the women in Harry Potter and Twilight. The author's pre-teen daughter offers the following explanation of the differences between Potter and Twilight fans:
There are 'Potter' people, and there are people who like Stephenie Meyer's 'Twilight' series -- and very little overlap exists between the two groups. 'Twilight' fans imagine their teenage selves being fought over by men, she says; 'Potter' fans want to fight for good alongside the men. My daughter knows which type of young woman she wants to be.
Now, don't get me wrong: I enjoyed the Twilight series. But I thought that passage captured the key distinction between the female protagonists in the series and explains why Harry Potter captured my attention in a way that Twilight never will.
Both are teenagers transplanted into new worlds (Hogwarts, Washington). Both face issues of complicated teenage emotions: navigating feeling like ''the other'' in new environments, raging hormones, parents who just don't understand. Both face imminent dangers to their lives.
But I think the notable difference is how they react to these challenges. When Ron chooses Lavender Brown for the object of his affection, Hermoine is upset -- but she moves on with her life (even while studiously ignoring him). When Edward leaves Bella, she falls apart, sinking into depression and self-destructive behavior.
And when faced with threats to their lives, they each take different paths: Bella spends a large part of the series allowing Edward and Jacob to handle the evil vampires (until, of course, Edward can impart his own superhuman powers to Bella). Hermoine? She's not waiting around for the boys to fix things; years of diligent academic pursuits have made her a force to be reckoned with, one who can decipher ancient runes, tell off the Minister of Magic for his violation of Magical Laws, and conjure potions beyond most wizards' ordinary capabilities. Clearly, she's no wallflower waiting to be rescued.
Stephanie Meyer has defended her portrayal of Bella after critics lambasted the series for being anti-feminist, explaining that feminism is about choice and Bella needs to make the choices that are right for her. While I'm not going to argue about whether Twilight is anti-feminist or not, I do think that there's an important distinction in how each character approaches presented hardships.
And, for that, give me plucky, feisty Hermoine over sullen, woe-is-me Bella any day.
Ok, so here are a few points from someone who rather ashamedly admits to be a Twihard and only came to read the Harry Potter series this summer (and absolutely loved it):
ReplyDelete1) The type of threats that Bella faces vs. Hermione and company are very different even though supernatural. Twilight's threats are only to be handled by brute force - no magic spells, not much "book learning" can come to their aid, and a human without supernatural powers (Bella, or any of the kids at that high school, even the male students) doesn't stand a chance. The fact that Hermione starts out with supernatural powers - that is, being a wizard - puts it into an apples to oranges comparison to some extent because she has threats that can be met by her supernatural qualities. She has tools that a similarly hard-working, intelligent, feisty Muggle girl would not have.
2) That said, I got frustrated that Harry is the hero when he's actually the stupid, lazy guy and fell into the woe-is-me whining often enough. Why is he the hero and not Hermione, the hard worker, very intelligent, very courageous wizard? In that regard I think it could be argued that HP is anti-feminist in a much more subversive way.
3) In the end, no matter which team - Team Jacob, Team Edward, or Team Harry - Bella is a whiny and annoying character.
Also, Emma Watson is significantly cuter than whatsherface.
ReplyDeleteEspecially with her new pixie cut.
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