An End to Bashing
A Defence of the Twilight Saga

Warning: Spoilers for the Mistborn Trilogy, and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince ahead.

Introduction

When someone hears the word “twilight”, few people immediately think of the time between dusk and dawn, between daylight and darkness. Now, the word gets one of two reactions—hate or love. Now of course, this is being very general: when I say “hate”, I mean anything from outright hate to mere dislike; when I say “love”, I mean anything from outright love to mere tolerance. Few people are neutral in this battle, and fewer still feel that common courtesies of accepting opinions ought to be followed. Since when was it acceptable for people to bash others simply because they like a series someone else hates? It has never been acceptable, and I still feel it remains unacceptable.

There comes a time when people need to grow up. The battle of opinions over the Twilight Saga must end. It has gotten as out-of-hand as the Zutara vs. Kataang shipping wars before the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Whether there’s a difference of opinion over a book or over a pairing, what good does it do to bash the opinions of others? You only make yourself feel bigger and better, and you’re only being a bully. There’s a difference when you parody something (or someone) without malicious intent and when you bash something (or someone) solely because you feel differently. If you’re all right with being branded a bully, then please, be my guest, and continue bashing anyone whose opinions differ from yours (whether it’s over books, pairings, or pickles). The rest of us will simply ignore your words—no matter how malicious—and go about our lives and proudly support our opinions, no matter how they differ from each other.

Why Bash?
What Reasons do Non-Fans Use for Bashing?

Has no non-fan of the Twilight Saga ever wondered why some people enjoy it so much?

I’m sure many of them have. The series is so loved by its fans simply because it could never happen in real life. When you read a fantasy series, you read it because you enjoy the idea of a story which is impossible to occur in reality. The Twilight Saga is a fantasy series, not teen fiction. It may be aimed for teens and young adults, but it is not teen fiction; it is fantasy. The story of an ordinary girl falling in love with an extraordinary boy (or vice-versa)? It’s a pathetically common theme among all authors.

What about when Elend Venture fell for Vin in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn Trilogy? Elend was nothing special: he was a noble who read forbidden books at dinner parties to defy his father. You don’t get much more ordinary than that. And of course Vin—chosen by both Ruin and Preservation—“was a Mistborn from birth, and her sister a Seeker. The death of that sister—and subsequent inheritance of power via the Hemalurgic spike used to kill that sister—left her twice as good at burning bronze as a typical Mistborn” (Sanderson, 492).  She was extraordinary in the most profound sense and even so, she fell for the most ordinary man of all. Is this not the same formula used for the romance between Bella Swann and Edward Cullen? An ordinary young girl who’s a bit more klutzy than most falls for the most ethereal man of all? A man who is no longer alive yet still fully capable of a love that puts her safety before all else? This does not seem to be all that different from Elend and Vin.

A second example might be seen in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  Again, the romance between Bella Swann and Edward Cullen is mirrored by Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin. Tonks was out-of-the-ordinary for a  Muggleborn witch who was also a Metamorphmagus but aside from this in-born trait, she was like any other girl. She wasn’t talented when it came to simple spells and much like Bella, she was clumsy to a fault. Lupin was in a similar position to Edward: not only was Lupin something he did not wish to be (a werewolf) but his first priority was always Tonks’s safety. He had continuously refused to marry her because he claimed he was “too old for [her], too poor...too dangerous” (Rowling, 582). Even though Lupin loved Tonks, he was willing to give up his own happiness so that she would be safe. Edward was the very same way; he was willing to give up his own happiness so that Bella could return to living a normal life, where she would be safe from sadistic vampires. Whether or not these men succeeded in their plans for the safety of their loved ones is not the issue; the fact is that they acted in the same manner, putting their loves before themselves.

Clearly, this theme is not uncommon in literature. There are a hundreds of examples out there, and I do not have the time to give any more here. I only wish to demonstrate that you can’t claim the Twilight Saga is bad based on an unrealistic romance. The romances in any fantasy story are going to be unrealistic. Therefore, this point has no validity. You cannot bash the Twilight Saga based on unrealistic relationships.

Another common point non-fans bring up to bash the series is the quality of the writing.

There is no way to judge the quality of literature. If you have seen the movie Dead Poet’s Society, you’ll remember that the textbook the students had gave a specific formula for evaluating how good or bad a poem was. Their teacher had them rip those pages out of their textbooks because there is no way to judge the quality of a poem: either you like it (for whatever reason) or you don’t (for whatever reason). The same can be applied to novels.

There is no way to evaluate how good or bad the writing is in a novel. You may think that Stephenie Meyer’s writing is of poor quality. You are free to think this, and no one should say “No, you’re wrong! I think it’s great and I’m right!”—people who do this ought to be ignored. While you are free to think her writing is poor, I am free to think otherwise. I can say: “No, I think you are wrong. I enjoy her writing very much, and in my opinion, I’ve read much worse.” You hear what I think, and you also hear that I am not trying to force this opinion on you. I could give examples for why I think this way, but regardless of what I do to defend my position, the fact remains that the quality of literature is subjective to the reader. What I consider bad writing and what I consider good writing may very well differ greatly from what you consider bad and good writing. That is the essence of opinion: the different thoughts people have on different things.

One other point should be made here: the Twilight Saga was Stephenie Meyer’s first series. If you are—like myself—a writer (of fanfiction, original stories, poetry, etc.), then you above all should know that one does not become an amazing writer on their very first try, nor even on their second, third or fourth tries. Becoming an amazing author takes time. No one starts out as an amazing author.  We might be “okay”, but we never begin as the best of the best. This holds true for Stephenie Meyer. Her writing will improve the more she writes, if she chooses to continue. Whether you like it then remains subjective to the way you like your literature. You may still think her writing is bad, and that’s fine. It’s your opinion. All I wish to say is that any argument against her books cannot be based upon the quality of her writing.

Therefore, bashing her writing also holds no validity. If the quality of writing is subjective to the reader, no one can make a valid argument based on this point. You don’t have to like her or her writing, however you also have no right to criticize it so much that it would make anyone want to curl up into a ball or crawl under a rock and never write again. When you do that, you’re nothing more than a bully. Constructive criticism is one thing; malicious criticism is unacceptable.

A third reason for bashing: the fans.

Of all the reasons for bashing the Twilight Saga that I’ve come across, this one has to be the worst. How can you hate something because of the fans? If you like it, you like it, and that’s that. If you hate it, you hate it, and that’s that. But to say you hate it because of the fans? That’s ridiculous. Why would you let anyone else control your opinions?

By saying you hate it (whether or not you liked it to begin with) because of the fans you are essentially letting the fans control your opinions. If you don’t like it, that’s great but please, make it for a reason other than the fans. Stand on your own two feet, and make up some valid arguments.

Another thing about the fans: don’t you dare paint us all with the same brush. First of all, we’re not all pre-teen girls—men and women of all ages like these books too. Secondly, you have no right to speak of pre-teen girls in such a demeaning way. Thirdly, most of us are respectful of the opinions of others. Not everyone is as classless as some of the fans and non-fans. Do not presume to say that we are all the same. Not all non-fans are classless, and not all fans are classless. It is as simple as that.

Speaking of young girls (and potentially boys as well), instead of criticising these people for their choice in reading material, why don’t you applaud them and encourage them? Adults don’t just say that kids don’t read nowadays for no reason: most don’t. They’re more interested in clothes, makeup, video games and the opposite sex to care about reading. If they are reading the Twilight Saga, you should be encouraging them to read more! You can suggest books you think are better or that may be similar to what they are reading so that a book will capture their interest. Have some respect for what other people enjoy.

Writing Quality Revisited
The Series Compared

As stated above, you cannot solely base your argument against the series on the quality of the writing. You are free to dislike it, and free to say that. So long as you have good examples which you can back up, you can use this as a support to your argument against the series. However, you need something much more solid to base your argument on in its entirety. This solidity comes in the form of accepting and respecting that there are people who have the opposite opinions. You are free to say what you think, but it is rendered useless and laughable when you refuse to accept and respect differing opinions in a mature manner.

This brings us to “good” literature which supposedly “outclasses” the Twilight Saga. Do not get me wrong; I am not saying that this series is the very best of the best. Frankly, I think it could be much better, but I also think it’s pretty darn good.

Many arguments bring up the notion of “good literature”. As we have concluded, writing quality is subjective. So it is impossible to make a list of “good literature” because there cannot be a unanimous conclusion on it.

First of all, many people like to bring up Shakespeare. He is practically the king of playwriting and sonnets, and I myself adore his work very much. However, you cannot compare Stephenie Meyer to Shakespeare and say that Shakespeare is better. They write for very different categories. Stephenie Meyer writes novels. Shakespeare wrote plays and poetry. These categories of writing are incomparable. You cannot compare a playwright with a novelist. Plays and novels are two very distinct types of literature, and so an author of one cannot be compared to an author of the other. You can connect them in an essay all you like, but when all is said and done, you cannot say one is better than the other as they write for totally different categories.

A novelist is only comparable to another novelist. Just like you can’t compare apples and oranges, you can’t compare a novelist to a playwright.

In that case, shall we compare her to J.K. Rowling, another favourite of non-fans? Well again, there is no question: J.K. Rowling is by far the better author, in my most humble opinion. Stephenie Meyer doesn’t even come close to the kind of storytelling J.K. Rowling is capable of. However, this doesn’t make Stephenie Meyer a bad author. I don’t want to repeat myself, but if literature quality is subjective, then I can like both of them, and consider them both good authors. How I would rank them is neither here nor there; the fact remains is that she is only comparable to another novelist and can still be considered a pretty good author. You don’t have to agree with me; you simply need to accept how I—or anyone else—feels about this issue.

Of course, I think J.K. Rowling is far outclassed as well. It is possible for every author to be outclassed by another simply because literature quality is subjective. Personally, my most favourite author is Robert Jordan—in my opinion, no one can even come close to comparing with his work. I look up to him more than any other author. Yet, even so, I still enjoy J.K. Rowling’s works and Stephenie Meyer’s: is this not an example that writing quality is subjective to the reader? What I consider good work may not be what you do, and therefore writing quality is subjective to the reader.

The Conclusion
Accept and Respect

After going through countless stamps, fan works, and the like here on deviantART and on other sites, I’ve tried to address the big points non-fans bring up against the series and against fans. In the end, this “War of Opinions” is simply ridiculous and needs to come to an end. Non-fans are welcome to dislike the books and the fans. The least you can do, however, is accept the fact that there are those who disagree with you and respect their opinions and feelings. It’s not that hard to express yourself in a polite, mature manner.

Fans are welcome to love the books and dislike the non-fans. The least you can do, however, is accept the fact that there are those who disagree with you and respect their opinions and feelings. It’s not that hard to express yourself in a polite, mature manner.

And if you are incapable of being polite and mature for any reason, don’t say anything at all.

Citations

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Vancouver, British Columbia: Raincoast Books, 2005.

Sanderson, Brandon. The Hero of Ages. New York, NY: Tom Doherty Associates, 2008.