Twilight vs. Team Feminist. Part One: Hermione's Shadow

By Kari Tervo

I just started watching the Twilight saga, five years after the first movie came out. I had known the basics of the plot forever, because the franchise is larger than life. I think Twilight has had more covers of Entertainment Weekly than the Entertainment Weekly logo. I decided to give it a sit-down and see what I’d been missing. 

I’m on the third movie now, Eclipse, and I’m enjoying the series. It’s a timeless story with modern (and monster) flourishes. The special effects are cool, and the cinematography is magical (that’s the kind of stuff we say out here in Hollywood). I admit I’m having a little trouble even looking at creepy, pasty-faced Edward (I do not see what that girl sees in him). That’s the primary reason I’m leaning Team Jacob, but I’m hoping that kid can learn to control his aggro a little. Maybe put him on a light dose of anti-psychotic. But another thing keeps creeping into my mind, like Edward stalking Bella in her room while she’s sleeping: All the feminist critiques I’ve seen floating around about Twilight.


A lot of feminists hate Twilight. If you Google “Twilight” and “anti-feminist,” you get around 30,000 results. I started watching the series fully expecting to cringe frequently from a feminist perspective. Instead, I’m left scratching my head. I just don’t see how Twilight is so anti-feminist. I’m here to defend Twilight from a feminist perspective. Over a few posts, I’ll cover just a few areas of criticism and explain why I think they have it wrong. Here’s the first one:

CLICK AND RAWR FOR MORE BELLA AND HERMIONE AFTER THE JUMP!

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News: JK Rowling and WB Teaming For More Harry Potter! Sort of.

J.K. Rowling is headed back to the world of Harry Potter.  This time as the screenwriter for a film not featuring Harry but Newt Scamander, the author of Hogwarts textbook"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

She says:  “It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of 'Fantastic Beasts', realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood.

As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros.

Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.

I particularly want to thank Kevin Tsujihara of Warner Bros. for his support in this project, which would not have happened without him. I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.”

What do you think?  Do you want more of the magical Harry Potter universe even if those beloved characters aren't a part of it?

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