S1E10 Twilight and Harry Potter: The Weird Emergence of Cult Fantasy Films

How have Twilight and Harry Potter outlined trends and cultural norms for decades? Are they suggesting the right things or are they manipulative?

• Twilight

  • Supernatural (vampire, werewolf) defines power→ satisfies emancipatory drive of teens 

  • Prototypical in depictions of men and women 

  • Relatable? Makes one feel superior to the characters?

  • Fulfills romantic expectations of teens because its imaginative and ‘pure’ (can be seen without real context)

  • Popularity? I don’t know tbh

• HP 

  • Coming of age story firmly focused on friendship 

  • Yet again, fantasy used to satisfy need for dominance 

  • Allows kids to assert control by being in imaginative world 

  • Instills morals in a way that twilight does not 

  • Very much a kids book vs. twilight that is anyone’s book (makes it more appealing)

• Why they matter as a global adolescent cultural fixation 

  • Defined social structures for teens 

  • Warped perceptions of both friendships and romance 

  • Outlines a social structure that demanded certain rules, references, and sensibilities 

  • BOTH SERIES HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON SUSTAINED FANDOM 

    • What does fan driven content look like? Why is it so effective?

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RESOURCES:

Twilight:

Why Twilight Continues to be so Popular

Reckoning with Twilight, 10 Years Later

At Its Core, the “Twilight” Saga is a Story About

Young Adult Fiction: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/05/from-harry-potter-to-twilight-the-enduring-draw-of-young-adult-fiction/239639/

Teen Fiction: https://www.cbr.com/harry-potter-vs-twilight-fandom-feud-explained/

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