Mr.Lazarow announced today in class that he's going to start readingTwilight so he can learn what sorts of things are in his students' minds. It was interesting that he said this today because a few days ago I was actually thinking about the impacts of popular culture on people, or specifically young people. What are your thoughts about the influence of the popular culture, especially fantasy books or one of those superhero movies/comics?
In addition, I know some fans like to dress like Harry Potter or want to (may be) date a vampire and have other vague fantasies about these 'stuff'. However, I came to a thought that these stories do not represent the readers' characters or reflect the audience's thoughts. I agree that we can learn about an individual by observing his/her interest but how does one's preference of books demonstrate something about one's character?
Lastly, in the book Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwall explains the principle of the stickiness flavor-more simply, how does something become widely popular. What made Twilight or Harry Potter 'stick' in our culture? I'm really interested in hearing your opinions about this.
Jennifer Park
9 comments:
I think that these types of fantasy books (probably fantasy in general) tend to be very popular with young people. I think that it has to do with the escape of reality. It just seems to appeal to our rebellious (for lack of a better word) side.
I also think that creativity has something to do with it. I am specifically referring to Harry Potter and Twilight in this case. There are the standard and traditional view of witches and vampires. As kids, we imagined witches with green skin, long black dresses and boils on their noses. We imagined vampires as blood sucking creatures that can't enter the sunlight and dress in long black capes (Dracula comes to mind). Both books take this view and alter it. They even include a warrent specifically for young people- school. They make it seem like these sort of things are possible to happen in everyday situations, that you can suddenly become this person with magical powers or come across a mythical being such as a 'glittering' vampire.
I think that you would be able to figure out something about a person's personality after observing many books that the person has read. Obviously, you can't judge something so complex from one instance, but I do think that eventually you should come across a trend in certain elements, such as types of characters, similar plots, etc.
I honestly don't believe that there's any one reason why certain things "stick" in teen culture. Honestly, if anyone else swears that Twilight "stuck" thanks to easy-to-relate-to characters (18 year old falls in love with impossibly hot vampire, has a child with said hot guy, and is set for life thanks to her ridiculously rich vampire husband? Psh. < sarcasm >I meet one every day.< / sarcasm >)I will vomit. What separates the Twilights of our world from the horrid LoTR knockoffs that are consigned to a dusty death in the Fantasy section of the book store? It really just depends on the caprices of the demographic. Of course, marketers can hold as many teen study groups or whatnot as they want, but we often don't know what we want until it's in front of us. It's the whole cyclic nature of marketing coming back to haunt us.
Since Harry Potter has been around for a longer time, there are actual viable theories on why it "stuck". First off, it was marketed towards a younger age group (At first) that is, arguably, easier to predict than the teen demographic. One theory that I've heard is that it simply came at the "right time". Just as children were being sucked in by TVs at earlier and earlier ages, Harry Potter filled the role of bringing them back to books. Then, there's always the whole fascination with the universe that J.K. Rowling created, but that's an entirely different story.
I think that fantasy books in general are used to escape an unfavorable reality. If kids don't like school, they can read about a school full of magic and wizards and whatnot. If you're going through that teen angst -hate-this-stupid-town/ I'll-never-find-the-one phase, you can read a book about a girl who hates where she lives, but gets to fall in love with an incredibly hot, glittering immortal. These series allow you to get away from a situation that you don't enjoy and get lost in the story of someone who has the opposite. It's almost as if "you can too if you follow your dreams".
I think they became such a large part of our popular culture because they started with the underground. There are the kids who were wearing Ugg boots before everyone else, and there are kids who read Twilight and the Harry Potter series before the movies were released (because the movies, in my opinion, really started the boom). Those beloved Cool Hunters picked up on these kids and made the series into what they are today.
(Megan West)
YAY FOR REMEMBERING!!!!
In response to your first question (the relationship between character and reading preferences), I don't really think that your choice in reading material truly demonstrates your true character. You might be able to draw inferences about their character (the kid reading the Sophie's World [intro to philosophy book] would be more "indie"/underground/whatever than the other one reading Twilight), but isn't that just stereotyping? It may be true for a significant majority of people (a direct relationship between what they read and who they are) but the rest could just be pretending.
Does that make any sense?
Oh, and regarding the "stickiness" of Harry Potter and Twilight. I see it as a manifestation of the dominant "me" culture that our generation is so famous for. (Wasn't Time magazine's Person of the Year "me"/the individual?) Both of the books are, one could argue, either highly relateable (the release of the Harry Potter series in such a way that the reader experienced Harry's childhood at relatively the same time as their own childhood) or pretty easy to alter to fit our own "story" (Bella is such an "empty"/flat character that the reader can easily substitute themselves for her). They market themselves towards the individual.
Yes, Grace, what you said does in fact make sense (at least for me it does). I agree with you that there are definitely certain stereotypes that people generally draw upon when making conclusions about others' personalities based on what they read. And of course, as you stated, these stereotypes may be applicable for the majority of readers, yet there are likely still readers who do not fit the stereotype associated with whatever books they are reading / have read in the past.
Like Tiffany, I tend to doubt that there is a specific single reason why certain books/movies/etc. "stick" in teen culture. This (how or why something "sticks" or doesn't with teens) is actually something that I too have always wondered about.
Clearly, there are always the teens who set the trends, the ones sought after by the "Cool Hunters," as Megan reminds us. However, I don't think it is possible to come up with specific reasons why certain things "stick" or not, because although such reasons may be shared among different books/movies/etc., they are not universal. Is there a list of set criteria that can be "checked off" to predict if a certain book/movie/etc. will be popular and "stick" in teen culture? Most certainly not, since whether or not something "sticks" is entirely dependent upon the reactions of teens themselves. And these reactions, as we all know through personal experience, are not limited in any way. I agree with Tiffany: it all comes down to the caprices of our population.
(Janet Lee)
Well, there's actually a very interesting article on this that I read recently from the Atlantic Monthly(www.doiop.com/atlanticvampires).
Anyway, there is a certain vicarious element in reading Twilight. Although I haven't read the books personally, I'm sure that many readers (especially girls) enjoy picturing themselves in Bella's place with the apparently perfect Edward. Even if such a perfect boyfriend cannot exist in the real world, it's still enjoyable to read such a fantasy. I've heard the Twilight series described as a "fanfiction" by many, and for good reason.
Regarding its "stickiness" and popularity, it is noteworthy that many readers/females fell for Edward hard and started to form fan groups around the book on the Internet. These groups steadily grew, and when Meyer herself began responding online, she fanned the fire even more. Considering that critical reception of the books has been mixed (to say the least), Twilight's popularity started from the grass roots up. At a certain point (the tipping point), the the book crossed over into the mainstream, and the rest is history.
(Eric Wei)
Does it also strike anyone else that these books are based on idealism? Remember how Mr. Lazarow mentioned that, as a people, we go through phases of realism and romanticism? I personally believe that this current period is a romantic one. Maybe because we are so fed up with outward struggles, we hide internally and construct imaginary worlds for ourselves. Trust me, escape is a must every now and then.
These works need not directly describe their readers, but they can surely describe the types of traits that the readers aspire to possess. Even when Edward makes a show of abandoning Bella, we know that he will return because we are expecting the idealism that our lives lacks.
It can be safe to say that Twilight, Harry Potter, etc.. were popularized at strategic times because there are books like them that were unable to top the charts. To pinpoint exactly what made them successful, however, would be impossible. We know this from our studies of Hayakawa; different contexts appeal to different people for different reasons due to our different intensional/extensional maps and territories.
As much as we deny it, we want a happy ending. We crave perfection because it is one thing that we cannot have. It's all human nature, really. So why should Bella, of all people, get to fall in love with the epitomy of a perfect man/vampire? Why her and not me? I'm just like her, this could happen to me! This is bound to be some of our subconscious thought.
(Sam Maliha)
As is evident from our discussions on "Merchants of Cool," pop culture is a two way street. Those who market their products (in this case fantasy novels), intentionally attempt to appeal to a constituency that will buy. The most eligible candidates are teenagers, who have too much money for their own good, too much time on their hands, and a natural inclination to latch on to fads. On the other hand, those who are marketed to influence what is sold to them. As numerous posts have already mentioned, the resurgence of interest in fantasy has been greatly responsible for the success of Twilight and Harry Potter.
(Most) Teenagers live sheltered lives as well, prompting them to seek entertainment that is escapist, but non-threatening . They attempt to be rebellious, but not too rebellious. These books fit the status quo and are only slightly controversial, therefore leading to mass appeal.
(Taylor Burke)
Post a Comment