People have been debating which is better, Twilight or Harry Potter, for as long as both series have existed. Now we’re going to get an actual answer.
Later this month, the Seattle Public Library will host a debate put on by a local after-school reading program. The Great Debate: Harry Potter vs. Twilight will include two panels of three teenagers each who will debate the merits of each series. At the end, a panel of judges will declare, based on the arguments offered by the two sides, which series is the better.
Okay, so it’s not exactly the Lincoln-Douglas debates. But it’s still pretty cool.
The event, which is a fundraiser for the afterschool program Team Read, is the work of the organization’s program director Bill Eisele.
“We talked to high school students about what gets them excited about reading,” Eisele says. “They kept bringing up Harry Potter and Twilight. They got really excited about both these series.”
But Eisele says this will be no mere polite exchanging of opinions.
“The students really want to go at it, get down and dirty,” he says. “They have very strong opinions about which series is the better one. They want a verbal smackdown with a winner.”
The event will include a Harry Potter/Twilight trivia contest open to all, but the debate itself will be conducted by two teen panels being selected now, both of which will have prepared beforehand.
The event takes place on Saturday, March 21, at Seattle’s Central (downtown) Library in the Microsoft Auditorium, 4-5:30pm.
And rest assured, TheTorchOnline.com will be there to tape it all and post it here!
For more information on the debate, go to TeamRead.org or contact the Seattle library’s teen center, at (206) 615-1410 or teencenter@spl.org.
Which do you think is better? Take our poll:
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A fan video considers the question of which series is better:
A fan video considers the question of which series is better:
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Harry Potter is better because of these reasons:
1. Female characters have brains in HP
2. Better written
3. Has a plot
4. It isnt about an obbsesion with a sparkely dead man
5. 50 years from now Harry Potter will be remembered, while Twilight will be forgotten
6. WAAAY better graphics in the movie
7. There isnt always a happy ending in HP, which keeps it real
8. “The real difference is that JK Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.” -Stephen King
9. Harry Potter keeps it real
10. The fans dont dump boyfriends because they arent like Harry Potter (Edward Cullen)
11. Twilight stole HP Cedric and made him into an ugly dead, did i mention ugly, vampire.
Reasons Twilight is better:
1. ARE YOU CRAZY!?!?! TWILIGHT SUCKS!
You Meany! i respect both books! i like twilight more but i’m not totally dissing u haryy potterfans! thats hurtful! espesially to Stephanie Meyer! she isn’t in this debate! and honestly i have to agree that i hate the first book in the twilight sieries “Twilight” and the movie for “Twilight’. my fav is “New Moon” and i have to say they got the wolf shipshapers down good. and u say harry whats-his-name keeps it real have you at least READ ALL of the books? Read New Moon and Eclipse And the great huge Breaking Dawn (did i mention HUGE) and on twilight you have to at least read past the first 80 pages.
You Harry Potter people are soooooooooooooooooooo stupid no offense k. But really i agree theat people like twilight cuz Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson (personally i like Taylor :D) ya but they have read the books too! so they are just saying that in addidtion honestly i’m not lying but i fell asleep reading Harry Potter after the first page! i didn’t think that was possable! anyway i like Twilight because it is the pefect mix of love, action, mystery, and of course supernatural! i plan on reading the Harry books cuz well my mom forced me but like twihearts say:
1.) Insult twilight and i’ll LaPUSH u off a cliff
2.) I run with werewolves
3.)take the cover off Breaking Dawn and it becomes my bible
Well on the first book you have to at least read the first 80 pages then after that it’s noting but AWSOMENESS!!!!
~Leah Wolf
Leah,huh.
Look at what Twilight did to your english. Or maybe it already sucked. You fell asleep after reading the first page of Harry Potter? Your imagination is that tiny, huh.Your mum must be so embarrassed to have you as a child.
Twilight is clearly better. Its true romance through and through. And the twilight characters are at least talented. I do like the Harry Potters and I’ve read both series umpteen times. But my opinion is twilight series is best. (BTW I’m a sucker for romance) Twilight is deep and emotional and gives you insight into peoples thoughts. You laugh, with the characters, cry with them and hold your breath when somethings about to happen. In Harry Potter there is no emotion or anything like that.
Yes I am a Twilight Girl.
And PS: I’m Team Jacob
Wait. Did you say that Twilight is DEEP?!?! Twilight (and the rest of the series) were the most shallow books I had ever read in my life (and I read A LOT). There is a difference between lust and love. Bella was flat and boring. The only thing she ever thought about was Edward. Ok. Yeah. Really deep. Give me a break.
I have read both Harry Potter & Twilight series more than 10 times already. There is no contest. JKR is an absolute genius and, sorry to say, SM is a bit along Harlequin Mills & Boons type. Twilight is catchy because of the lovey-dovey theme and a way overboard Edward character. HP on the other hand is way, way very well pieced together. No superlative word can even describe the creative genius of JK Rowling. Sometimes i think SM borrowed some ideas from HP. Like Sirius “Black” the wolf animagus (the quileutes are not really werewolves like Remus Lupin but shape-shifters). Like the existence of an authority figure like the Ministry of Magic and the Volturri. The Clearwaters too. Actually so many little things. I’ll read them over again so i can enumerate.
I’ve gotta say that I’m a Harry Potter fan.
I agree with all the Harry Potter fans before me with beautiful arguments, don’t want to make you reread the same stuff, but about the incredible characters and story and their development over the years, and the range of emotions it inspires, I agree wholeheartedly.
I’ve been hooked since I picked up the first book at eight years old, and, at sixteen, I STILL love it. It’s lasted through MY teenage development, and even my fifty year old dad loves it.
As for Twilight, I’m sorry to say that I don’t have an accurate argument for it either way. It’s one of the two books in my life that I started and put aside willingly because I didn’t want to finish. (the other was Johnny Tremain when I was ten, I thought it was too depressing.) I suppose I’ll go try again, just so I can have some argument material.
But what I’ve read of it and what I’ve heard, I don’t think it stands up to Harry Potter as well at all.
Also, Robert Pattinson really needs to wash his hair. Somebody make him do it.
Okay so i’m going to put this out there first, i believe that Harry Potter is the better series and here’s why. Also I have read both series and enjoyed them along with many other books and series.
1. The plot line is better and more in depth. Now some people have been accussing Twilight of having no plot and while i agree that its’ plot happens to be overly simplistic and at some points borring it does still have some type of plot, but HP’s plot just happens to be more thought out and in depth.
2. The characterization of Harry Potter is more realalistic. J.K Rowlings definitely spent some time developing her characters and making sure that they evolved the way you would expect an actual person to evolve. She is able to take not only the main characters but also the side characters and turn them into round characters. Unfortantly for Twilight not only are the side characters flat and one dimensional but so are her main characters Edward, Bella, and Jakob.
3. The actually writing of the Harry Potter books are much better than the Twilight series. Twilight doesn’t have any double meanings in it or any critical thought needed to understand it. It’s very flat and very obvious in what is being said. Where Harry Potter has metaphores and similies throughout the book creating a more indepth meaning to the series.
Now i’m not saying the Harry Potter series is without flaw, the series is not perfect and people who take either Harry Potter or Twilight and hold it up to the light and say either one are the best books every written are insulting many accomplished writers. Also i feel it needs to be said that J.K. Rowlings was not the first person to write a series like Harry Potter with backround knowledge played in and she most certainly is not the first person to create a sophisticated, advanced world within her novel. Travel back a few years people and read The Lord of the Rings series, that series has its own language to go with it or how about the Chronicles or Narnia.
Another thing i feel is important is that people need to place books in a catagorie. I would consider the Twilight series a souly entertainment series. There is honestly no educational material in it, it’s not trying to teach anyone anything. Now something like Pride and Prejudice, is a novel to teach and influence. Twilight and Pride and Prejudice, while both love stories, are completely different. Also anyone who is so influenced by a book that they end up changing themselves are kinda sad my oppinion. People should not base themselves on music, books, and TV and anyone who trys to blame who they are on any of those things is a spineless coward that needs to grow a set and man up to who they are. So people need to stop claiming that books are bad influences because of the characters. Let me stress this… the characters are fictional. Please for the sake of the future base your life on reality if you need a role model pick someone who actually exists in our world. Sorry for my ranting but i felt that needed to be said. So of this rant simply comes from me noticesing things people are saying. Also if anyone wants a really good book to read try Hannah Greens I Never Promised you a Rose Garden. It came out before the song so no she didn’t steal the title, but it is an awsome book.
Nicole
To clarify, Twihards, there is a difference between entertainment and actual class. Comparing Twilight to HP is like comparing the Black Eyed Peas to Symphony number 9 by Beethoven. Both are entertainment, but the latter has some serious class. Hence, HP wins, not because of the fans, but because of the characters, the plot line, the message etc.
Hey! You know I love to read so it is just natural that I love Harry Potter and Twilight. See I think ‘Harry Potter is way better, nothing can beat it’ well here comes Twilight! Still I thought Harry Potter is way better!
I read the entire twilgiht saga before i read harry potter and i think that harry potter is way better. There is just more to harry potter than there is Twilgiht and the plot is better. Twilight was predictable and boring. But, they are two different books so you can’t really compare them. It just depends on what genre you like best.
Twilight has one kind of love. They love each other so much that it hurts when they are apart and they try to kill themselves if they think the other is dead. its disgusting. twilight is sending a bad mesage, getting married and pregnant just out of high school? Bella is pathetic and cant do anything for herself. she always has to have edward come save her. Harry Potter reaches people of all ages, not just teenage girls. and to those people who say Harry Potter is too confusing: its not, you’re just stupid and dont know a good plot when you see one.
The problem isn’t getting married & having a child out of high school. People used to do it all the time; just because it’s not as common nowadays doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it though.
But everything else you said about Twilight was spot on.
*CONTAINS SPOILERS*
Ok you are very wrong with your statement
1. Twilight has different kinds of love
Bella loves Edward as a husband
She loves Jacob as a friend
She loves Renesmee, Carlisle, Esme, Renee, Charlie, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper and Alice as family.
2. Twilight is not sending a bad message. Its a story ok if people want to marrt straight off and have kids thats their choice.
3. If you have read breaking dawn you will know that in the end Bella saves everyone proving she can do stuff for herslef.
4. It is not just for teen girls cos my mum read it so did my auntie and lots of other adults.
5. Twilight has a good plot too.
What she meant by Twilight reaches out to teenage girls is:It relates to teenage girls. Guys won’t feel that way neither would kids. Your mum and aunty WERE teenage girls. But, no one can relate to it as nobody has a sparkly vampire for a boyfriend. At least in Harry Potter, the characters are human.
Hey,
we will never tell which one is better because its all a matter of opinion. Personaly I think Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn are better. But I have read both books and think both are outstanding.
It’s pretty obvious Harry Potter is just way better than Twilight. In fact, Twilight shouldn’t even be compared to Harry Potter. Period.
Meyer doesn’t let the good guys die or get burned(in Twilight’s case) whereas in Harry Potter, the characters die and for a reason.
In Twilight, the Cullens have to do so much just to protect Bella, a depressed loner who had no life before Edward.Come to think of it, she still doesn’t due to the fact she is with Edward now.
The characters in Harry Potter are just so deep, you feel emotions when things happen.
Most Twilight fans just love the actors.
Most didn’t even knew the book existed before the movie came out.
Wait, I said Twilight shouldn’t be compared to Harry Potter Why am I comparing them?
Oh right, I want to make a great difference in the world when the justice stooped so low because of Twilight. And knock some sense into dumb Twilight lovers.
So if I wasn’t clear at all, Harry Potter obviously wins this debate because it’s epic,well-thought, and DEEP. Screw you Twilight.
harry potter beats twilight by far, i found twilight borin but i love all of the harry potter movies GO HARRY POTTER!!!
Greetings People of the General Populace–
I did not enjoy the Twilight series when I read it, and found many plot weaknesses, loopholes and inconsistancies. The Cullens didn’t think reasonably-their plans were often overly difficult and ridiculous, Bella was a whining, weak main character who couldn’t stand on her own, and Edward was downright strange-it is not sweet to watch somebody while they sleep. It is a betrayal of trust.
Harry Potter, on the other hand, is a much stronger series. It has its weaknesses but overall it is much stronger, creative, and questioning of the world. The main characters are cocerned about more than themselves or their love interest. There is a battle of good and evil, what is right and what is wrong, and choosing what is right over power and conquest.
Twilight Fans- I would have much more respect for you and your arguments if you did not simply shout ‘TWILIGHT IS BETTER HP IS POOOOPPP’ etc in all caps, but instead gave a reasonalbe argument. Shouting does not make you right, nor does simply repeating your sentiment. If you give valid reasons WHY Twilight is better I will be happy to listen to them. Until then, I will hold my view.
To be honest, the “Twihards” comments are so ridiculous I don’t think it’s worth bothering to try and reason with them (twilightlover, demonstrates that the Potter fans carefully though out comments aren’t being read). To equal a debate both sides need to have a strong argument, and seeing as the “Twihards” seem incapable of forming one, HP has already won (although it would have done that anyway).