I've read both series and I actually like Twilight, but I don't think there's really any comparison between the two series other than that a lot of the same people like them. Which is not surprising, since they are marketed to the same people.
I think it was very clear why Katniss did everything that she did (and let's not forget, a lot of the time she did what she did not just because she wanted freedom and safety for herself, but also because she knew that failure to comply would result in the torture and death of her sister and the punishment of the entire district she came from).
I don't think the Hunger Games trilogy has anything at all to do with romance. I don't like genre romance novels as a general rule (Heyer and Austen hardly count, because they predate the formula and conventions of the genre, particularly the 'everyone must get exactly what they deserve' bits), but I also don't see criticism of genre romance as relevant in any way to Hunger Games.
Frankly it's barely relevant to Twilight--Twilight is creepy (and I say this as an unironic fan of the series) and has science-fictional weirdness that complicates it, which is one of the reasons romance critics tend to hate it--yes, if Edward were human he'd be a horrible person, but he hasn't been human for a damn long time, and 17 is a really unfortunate age to get your brain chemistry frozen in, then complicated with all kinds of vampire hormones and sensitivities, and yes, werewolf fixations are creepy as fuck, and the cause of much tragedy among the Quileutes, and just because the werewolves tell themselves comforting lies about how "wonderful" things are doesn't mean that Meyer thinks they're wonderful or that the readers should; the werewolves tell themselves comforting lies because they have to, because they don't have a choice about these fixations, they're not humans who need therapy, they are biologically different and it is tragic.
(I'm glad Meyer's other writing is science fiction. She is a terrible genre romance writer, but since genre romance really isn't my thing, I don't need her to be a good one as long as I like her story.)
Anyhow, if one hates genre romance, that would be in my book a recommendation for both series, not a strike against them. Twilight and the Hunger Games both completely lack any sense that the universe is fair and good people will face adversity but then be rewarded with all they deserve, whereas the bad will always get their comeuppance, and that sense of fairness or karma in the resolution is pretty much a requirement of the current romance genre. There's nothing easy or comfortable about the ending of the Hunger Games, and the stamp of PTSD on Katniss and Peeta is writ large; and while the Cullens themselves get a happy ending, the problems of that universe largely remain unsolved.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2010-10-26 05:21 pm (UTC)I think it was very clear why Katniss did everything that she did (and let's not forget, a lot of the time she did what she did not just because she wanted freedom and safety for herself, but also because she knew that failure to comply would result in the torture and death of her sister and the punishment of the entire district she came from).
I don't think the Hunger Games trilogy has anything at all to do with romance. I don't like genre romance novels as a general rule (Heyer and Austen hardly count, because they predate the formula and conventions of the genre, particularly the 'everyone must get exactly what they deserve' bits), but I also don't see criticism of genre romance as relevant in any way to Hunger Games.
Frankly it's barely relevant to Twilight--Twilight is creepy (and I say this as an unironic fan of the series) and has science-fictional weirdness that complicates it, which is one of the reasons romance critics tend to hate it--yes, if Edward were human he'd be a horrible person, but he hasn't been human for a damn long time, and 17 is a really unfortunate age to get your brain chemistry frozen in, then complicated with all kinds of vampire hormones and sensitivities, and yes, werewolf fixations are creepy as fuck, and the cause of much tragedy among the Quileutes, and just because the werewolves tell themselves comforting lies about how "wonderful" things are doesn't mean that Meyer thinks they're wonderful or that the readers should; the werewolves tell themselves comforting lies because they have to, because they don't have a choice about these fixations, they're not humans who need therapy, they are biologically different and it is tragic.
(I'm glad Meyer's other writing is science fiction. She is a terrible genre romance writer, but since genre romance really isn't my thing, I don't need her to be a good one as long as I like her story.)
Anyhow, if one hates genre romance, that would be in my book a recommendation for both series, not a strike against them. Twilight and the Hunger Games both completely lack any sense that the universe is fair and good people will face adversity but then be rewarded with all they deserve, whereas the bad will always get their comeuppance, and that sense of fairness or karma in the resolution is pretty much a requirement of the current romance genre. There's nothing easy or comfortable about the ending of the Hunger Games, and the stamp of PTSD on Katniss and Peeta is writ large; and while the Cullens themselves get a happy ending, the problems of that universe largely remain unsolved.