Okay, now on to the discussion. 

DT-PT's LotR poll got me interested in doing a Fantasy poll of my own. 

I grew up with Harry Potter the same way many other before me grew up with Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit or Narnia. It captured my imagination and helped plant my interest firmly in the fantasy fiction genre of literature. If it hadn't been for these stories, I may not be as avid a fantasy reader today. 

So the series obviously has sentimental value to me, but I honestly think I would have still grown to like it had I been introduced to it later on. It's just got that special quality that makes it a true classic. Now that the film adaptations are about to come to a close, it got me to thinking, how many of my fellows here are fans? How many think it's stupid kids stuff? How many are simply indifferent or have never read it? Tell me your thoughts. Just . . . for those who don't enjoy it, try not to be a****les about it, alright? We all like different stuff for our own reasons. 

Here is the trailer for the final Harry Potter film that was released just two days ago:

If there ARE any Potter fans here, it would be fun to see how many of you were introduced to the story through the film adaptations rather than the books. I know the movies get a lot of hell from some of the die-hard fans, but I enjoy them immensely. 

*shudders* I know. Well, that's alright. The teens that were reading Potter back in the day are growing into adults who enjoy these films, and will most likely share the books and movies with their children. Twilight appeals to fat, lonely fifteen-year-old girls who will probably have restraining orders filed against them by famous men by the time they are in their thirties. Which of the two influences do you think will last? 

I recommend you read the last three. The plot becomes so involved and so much more is revealed, the quality of the story skyrockets. 

I know that all too well. I'm 15 (turning 16 in September) now so I go to school with these people and I know Twilight fans are completely insane. They just plain scare me. There are still remaining Potter fans though, and I've noticed these people are a much more intelligent type. I know it's rude to stereotype, but it's true.

Just out of curiosity, are you a Stephen King fan? Because he said something about Stephanie Meyer (the 'author' behind Twilight) that really pissed off her disciples, but made perfect sense to everybody else. If you are even a little familiar with real literature, you've at least heard of Stephen King, and know how successful he has been. However, the Twi-zis are so enveloped in this dreamland that they have no idea who he is. Some of the reactions over his comment are truly hysterical. 

Yes, I am a huge King fan.  My bookshelf in the basement is full of Stephen King books. I have not seen this comment that he made, I'll have to check it out.

 

I just read what Stephen King said about Meyer.  Another author I need to check out.

I love him, too. You've read The Dark Tower series, I'm assuming? 

Anyway, here is the quote:

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b82354_smackdown_of_week_stephen_king_vs.html - http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b82354_smackdown_of_week_stephen_king_vs.htm l

Some people theorize that she herself is mentally ill. She seems to truly believe that 'true love' somehow means the guy has to turn into a controlling stalker. 

Not all vampire fiction is bad. I love True Blood, and that's based on a book series. Anne Rice is also quite popular, and most likely for good reason. Not all authors of that type of stuff are hacks. 

I have. Probably my favourite book series of all time.

Anyways I read up on the quote. The reaction from Twilight fans was hilarious. One of them actually says ""Steven King doesn't know what a real book was if it hit him in the face. He's just a bloody guy who is jealous of Edward's good looks." That last sentence sums up the intelligence of most Twilight fans quite nicely.

I really can't see how one can be jealous of a fictional character's looks which is only described in text.

That being said, it has a nice, magical, almost child-like fantasy about it that only things like Every-Flavoured Beans, magic joke shops, and hidden train platforms can convey. I know that one of the arguments in this thread is that that story grows more mature, but it's the more childlike quantities that I enjoy most about it. Truthfully, I found the series weakest in the sixth and seventh book, where the plot sort of turned towards a Legend of Zelda style plot. The last book was particularly painful, because the first half had me thinking that no reasonable person would behave the way that Harry was behaving.

Hmm, you're the very first person I have ever spoken to who stills believes the Potter stories to be little kid-friendly. even after reading the final three books. But hey, if that's the aspect to the stories you liked, I guess that's fine. To say the series isn't complex or mature, however, is doing it a great injustice. my opinion. 

And this is coming from a guy who reads stuff like The Wheel of Time, A Song of Ice and Fire and The Dark Tower. 

Have you read any of the last three volumes of the series? Just curious. 

My girlfriend read the Twilight series because she was curious was the fuss was about. The entire time she complained about the writing, and at the end seemed mystified that it was so popular. So much so that she ended up re-reading it with the intention of figuring out what she missed. After multiple go-throughs, she's finally given up and admits that it's insanity that it's so popular.

Maybe girls nowaday have a thing for creepy undead guys and man-eating wolves. What is the story? Just a girls choice between bestiality and necrophelia? The writing is just poor. I'm guessing it's only popular cause girls are getting caught up in the fantasy.

Oh, well. You're loss.  At least check out the trailer I posted at the top of the thread so you can see how much darker the story gets by the end. For me? 

The only of those series I've read is the Dark Tower, which I quite enjoyed, and the end of which was pretty mind-bending (couldn't get through the first Wheel of Time book, don't know why). And I am not saying that Harry Potter does not mature - although, getting "darker" and "more mature" are not necessarily the same things - I am just saying that, in contrast to the things that I read nowadays, it is relatively less mature.

I'm not really sure what about Potter is less kid-friendly in the last three books - I mean, Dementors were introduced in the third book and death has always been a prevalent aspect of the book (Harry's parents' death has always been in the background, for example, and the third book has a suspected serial killer as one of the main elements). In terms of complexity, the younger kids are challenging themselves with plots that have so many moving pieces, the better, as far as I am concerned.

Although there are some big events in book two that end up playing huge roles in books 6 and 7.

If I have one complaint about the books, it would be that I do indeed feel she took too long in revealing the 'real' plot. Teenage angst ended up being too much of a focus for a little too long. I honestly think had you pushed forward into book 6, however, you would have gotten back into it. Everything sort of shifts in that one. 

And the seventh book is nothing like any of the previous books. 

 

 Yeah that's pretty much it....

 

I admit, I am of the generation that tore through those books like a starving dog ripping up a New York strip. They may not be the best stories I've ever read, and they may be childish in many aspects, but I cared so much about it at the time that I can only look back on it with fondness. Sure, this series is no literary masterpiece, but it was to me when I was twelve, so it has a special place for me.

 

The movies, too, are objectively nothing special, but really I just enjoy watching the stories I devoured so ravenously come to life on the screen. For that reason, I think that preview may be onto something when it calls itself "The Motion Picture Event of a Generation". I know I'll be in the theater for that one, regardless of how "immature" the books may be to me now.

Yeah book 5 was the worst, there was a little bit of that in book 6 too so I dont see how people are saying those are some of the more "mature" books.  The best book in the series was the fourth

 

I still like HP despite this, though. 

*ahem*

GTFO

It's spelled 'Anne'. 

And no, I've never read a single page written by the woman. However, she has managed to stick around much longer than your typical hack, so I'm assuming she's more than just a fad. In comparison to Stephenie Meyer, the woman's a master wordsmith, I'm sure.

And another stab at the heart from Hollywood:

Guillermo del Toro wrote: ]There's stuff that I really would love to do. Like always, I'm like a broken record, I would love to be doing [At the] Mountains of Madness, but still, even now, it's very difficult for the studios to take the step of doing an R-rated tentpole movie with a tough ending, no love story, [and] set in period

http://thefilmstage.com/2010/06/10/guillermo-del-toro-writingproducing-new-van-helsing-film/ - Source