Harry Potter vs. Twilight
 

Fan devotion…

It has been a while since I legitimately wrote anything, particularly in the paragraph-forme, so I thought tonight I would do so.  However, in this pursuit, I found the great challenge of finding a subject.  There’s my life; I could have written about that, however I only enjoy proliferating such depressing tales about the internet so much.  Instead I turned to Facebook to find my writing subject, and to my displeasure I saw that none of my friends are on the same page…it seems as though people’s lives do not clearly trend in predictable ways, and nor do they correlate with one and another.  How inconvenient!   Luckily though, I stayed true to my cause and found something to write about.

Whether you’re a “Twihard” or you’ve been stricken by “Pottermania”, you belong to something called a “fandom”.  Short for “fan dominion” these subcultures are characterized for their mutual interest in a particular item.  Most of the time this item is some form or derivation of multimedia, whether it be the vampiric erotica spawned from the “Twilight” series or the just-short-of-an-epic “Harry Potter” series.  

What strikes my interest in these fandoms (the likes of which I may belong to, most particularly the fandom centering around the works of ESTEEMED author J.R.R. Tolkien) is the hostile attitude members of one fandom have toward another.  Back in the day it used to be the Trekies versus the Star Wars fans, but now they have retired from the shame-soaked battlefield to pursue jobs as middle-aged folk.  Today the main fandom war centers around those who enjoy “Twilight” and “Harry Potter”.  Like all wars it is dirty, mud being slinged by both parties, and like all nerd matters, it is fought in the sanctity of a dark room behind a glowing monitor.

People find it very easy to pick on “Twihards”, for they are accused of destroying social values, creating unrealistic expectations for men, and brainwashing schoolgirls.  Maybe this is true, I have to say that I maybe allured to a person should they sport glowing skin…but I’m getting off track.  I am fine with accusation, but I struggle to cope with this when the accusations come from a fanboy/fangirl; especially one that worships Harry Potter!  For crying out loud, its fans dress up in cloaks and pretend to fly about on broomsticks!  I have seen it, there’s a Quidditch team at my school, and it’s the most ridiculous looking thing I have ever seen!  These people have the gall to berate 13 year old girls for falling in love with a mysterious character with a dark past.  Next time I witness this, I’m going to pull out a picture of Sirius Black or Professor Lupin and watch as they squeal.

Whatever the case, fan devotion is fan devotion.  Stop being a douche, pull out that 700 page tome, and go back to Hogwarts.