The two hit films of the year for all ages go head to head in our original and fun comparison tool. Twilight has been the hit movie of the year, thanks to a host of heart throbs for both boys and girls and an exciting story line which paints vampires in a whole new light. Harry Potter on the other hand has been around for over 10 years, and has developed into a 6 movie mega franchise, with books translated into every language imaginable.
Use our tool to find out whether Harry Potter or Twilight is the most searched about topic on the Internet on any given day. Find out whether it's the tales of sorcery in Harry Potter, or the stories of friendly vampires in Twilight that is leading the rankings on the Internet.
UPDATE: There is a Harry Potter Marathon being hosted by up and coming free lotto site, iLotto.com, being held in West London. It is invite only so those lucky enough to attend let us all know what it was like! Apparently the event is being funded by a Casino UK - I wonder which one.
However, for every person that hated or feared the fantasy worlds created by these two hugely popular franchises, there were hundreds that loved them wholeheartedly. Now, both Twilight and Harry Potter are considered classics of our times, and it's hard to imagine popular culture without them.
So why is it that these two stories became so popular? On the surface, they seem very different: Twilight is a romance, while Harry Potter is more of a fantasy adventure. Yet underneath the surface, we find many similarities that explain why Twilight and Harry Potter are so very appealing.
The first similarity is wholesomeness. It might seem strange to call a novel about vampires wholesome, but the fact is that Twilight actually promotes chastity, marriage, and family values, which is extremely rare in popular culture today. Harry Potter is also quite wholesome, as it is about a band of plucky young wizards fighting evils large (Voldemort) and small (bullies like Draco). As in Twilight, the Harry Potter characters are good role models because they support chastity and family values. A very strong subplot in the entire series is Harry's need to find his own sense of family after the death of his parents, whether it be through the father figure of Dumbledore, the avuncular Hagrid, or the sibling-like pack of Weasleys.
Another similarity between Twilight and Harry Potter is that both allow the audience to transport themselves to a fantasy world. The imagination runs wild in the universe of Harry Potter, where magic is around every corner. Twilight's world is closer to our own, but it also provides ample room for fantasy--specifically the fantasy of eternal, undying romantic love.
One key difference between Twilight and Harry Potter is the portrayal of young women. Twilight's Bella is a feminist's nightmare, because she wants nothing more than to be a housewife. Potter's Hermione, on the other hand, takes a more active role. She is definitely the most intelligent of the three main characters in Harry Potter, and she stands beside Ron and Harry throughout even the most dangerous adventures. Many people point to this difference between Hermione and Bella as the reason that Harry Potter is better than Twilight. However, if we're being really honest, both girls' choices are equally valid, because they are in fact choices. Bella is not forced to set her sights on purely domestic ambitions; it is her choice to do so.
Perhaps the most compelling reason to love Twilight and Harry Potter is that both franchises are so huge. Because there are so many books and movies in each series, they create an immersive experience that provides years of enjoyment, making the characters like old friends, regardless of which series we actually love the most.
56% Man of Steel Superman's return to the big screen is mostly successful, as Man of Steel provides enough exhilarating action and spectacle to overcome its occasional detours into generic blockbuster territory. 85% This Is the End Energetic, self-deprecating performances and enough guffaw-inducing humor make up for the flaws in This Is the End loosely written script. 50% Now You See Me Now You See Me's thinly sketched characters and scattered plot rely on directorial sleight of hand to distract audiences -- and director Louis Leterrier lacks sufficient cinematic prestidigitation to pull it off in the final act. 71% Fast & Furious 6 With high-octane humor and terrific action scenes, Fast & Furious 6 builds upon the winning blockbuster formula that made Fast 5 a critical and commercial success. 38% The Purge Half social allegory, half home-invasion thriller, The Purge attempts to use thriller formula to make an intelligent point -- but ultimately only ends up sinking in numbing violence and tired clichés. |
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