In the case of Twilight, I can understand the criticism of the works, but not the hatred of the fans.
Disclosure
Let me admit my personal biases. I prefer urban fantasy and sci fi to paranormal romance. Romance may add spice to a subplot, but I like complex and evolving main characters who are involved in either perpetrating or foiling a nefarious plot of cosmic proportions (and it doesn't hurt if ever so often something goes “bing'”or “bang”). I have read all of the Twilight books (I read a lot) but I could only sit through half of one Twilight movie. At first, I thought Twilight could be an interesting story despite some clunky moments if the reader used some imagination. As I kept reading, I was bothered by paternalistic and controlling nature of the main vampire, Edward Sparkle Pants, and the self-absorbed void of personality of the leading lady, Cinder Bella. I like strong female characters, so it annoyed me that Bella appears to care about nothing besides her True Love, which seems to be an outside force or curse of some kind rather than a choice on her part. By the final book, I was reading more to criticize the plot than to find out what happened. In this, I am a bit like the blogger from Mark Reads Twilight. I admit that I am opinionated and I am willing to complain about what I personally dislike even when it would be simpler to avoid it altogether.
Everyone is Entitled to Guilty Pleasures
The problem with moving from dislike of Twilight to dislike of Twilight fans is that in dumping on the easy target, we give the message that every little pleasure must conform to some group standard. This attitude discourages escapism, fantasy, and imagination, three things I embrace whenever possible. As long as no one gets hurt or used, people should be allowed to explore all manner of oddities and eccentricities. Fiction is a great way to do this. It may not always raise our collective consciousness, but somethings can be done just because a person wants to do them.
Tearing down other people's fun takes a bit of joy out of life and makes most of us hypocrites. There are some men, who I know for a fact enjoy fart jokes, who look down their suddenly superior noses at “Twilight moms”. There are people who spend vast quantities of time on YouTube watching videos of water skiing squirrels who will nonetheless sneer at those teens who sport a “Team Edward” shirt. Few can easily pull off acting as the epitome of maturity and culture without seeming simultaneously as if they have a large stick in an uncomfortable place. Admittedly, it may be that any number of fantasy books are the literary equivalent of bubble gum rock, but it may also be that sometimes, when no one else is there to see you, dancing to massed produced pop crap can be fun.
There are times to have fun. To be honest, most books I read are not chosen for intellectual challenges and insights into the human condition that shake my world-view. I pick books that capture my fancy for any number superficial or trivial reasons. In fact, if an author is trying to make some sort of point, it is probably necessary to drop several heavy anvils during the story in order to impact my thick head. I will not apologize for my harmless entertainment, and I don't think anyone else should have to either.
Live and Let Live
The human psyche is a weird and mysterious place. People should be encouraged to take their enjoyment as they find it. So I will defend Twilight fans in the same way I would stick up for furries, trainspotters and herpetologists. They are not hurting anyone; why not let them be? Anyone worth knowing has a few quirks and sometimes you have to embrace your inner dork. Any type of fandom is good if it enriches the life of the fan.
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