The Hunger Games released this past weekend to critical acclaim, both from fans and movie reviewers. With a current 85% on the Tomato-meter and raking in over $150,000,000 in its first weekend, I think it’s safe to say that the Hunger Games have been a success. The movie pleased both fans and those uninitiated, which is a tough feat with book-to-film adaptations.

I want to preface is opinion by stating that I have read every Twilight novel, every movie, and I’m not just ripping on them because it’s popular. I’m not here to personally attack Twilight fans for enjoying the books and movies because it’s their right to enjoy it, regardless of my opinions on the saga. If you meet me in the comments by insisting that I must have not read the books or seen the movies you have been categorically told otherwise.

Let’s start.

I don’t like Twilight. I read all five books (that’s including the Brief Second Life of Bree Tanner), and I’ve also read the snippit of Midnight Sun posted on Stephenie Meyer’s website. I think that the books are poorly written fluff with very little substance and subplots that border on pedophilia, spousal abuse, and blatant anti-feminism. That, however, is not the point of this article. The point is that while I do not like Twilight I don’t care if you do. I really, really don’t, and I’m not here to argue with fans about which fandom is better. It’s your right to enjoy a novel, a movie, or anything else you enjoy because that’s the nature of being an individual. I understand why people would like Twilight. I don’t hate you for liking it; I just think that everyone needs to stop comparing Twilight to everything else (and everything else to Twilight).

I am a huge fan of Harry Potter and the Hunger Games, among others. Lately I’ve been seeing a growing trend in asking if the Hunger Games is set to be the next “Twilight” or “Harry Potter”. I understand the idea behind this and it’s all based upon popularity. That, for me, is a problem.

Why does something need to be the “next” of anything. Can’t we let phenomenons sit on their own without picking them apart and comparing them to books that, albeit are in the same age group, have absolutely NOTHING in common?

Hunger Games will NEVER be the next Twilight or Harry Potter because the books aren’t even remotely similar to each other. Twilight and Harry Potter are almost in the same genre, but not quite. Hunger Games, on the other hand, isn’t even close to the same genre as those two, besides being aimed at young adults (somewhat inappropriately, I might add, but that’s an article for another day). Twilight fits loosely into the realm of paranormal romance, while Harry Potter is purely fantasy. Then we have Hunger Games, which is a post-apocalyptic gladiator scenario. Hell, I’m more inclined to compare Hunger Games to the myth of Theseus than I am to Harry Potter or Twilight. I don’t even think the themes are similar in nature, besides the fight to survive (that is arguably absent in Twilight, given that all indications toward a battle in the final book of the saga dissipate in the most lackluster fashion possible.) I feel as though Harry Potter and the Hunger Games have more of a crossover between the Hunger Games and Twilight given the target audiences.

I don’t understand the need to compare these fandoms to each other. There is some cross-over in the fans themselves, and I know a couple of people who are a fan of all three, but for the most part Twilight fans wouldn’t even be remotely interested in the Hunger Games if not for Stephenie Meyers’ gleaming review about how she practically wet herself in anticipation while reading the first book. If anything, Twilight fans are coming for the love triangle, which would explain the immaturity of the audience when I went to the midnight release of the Hunger Games. We need to stop doing this to ourselves because it always erupts in an argument that inevitably turns into a pissing contest about which series is better, which is an argument that can never be won.

You CANNOT compare Harry Potter, Hunger Games, or Twilight to each other, so stop trying.