So from what I'm gathering from the article by Noah Berlatsky, the battle between Bella from and Twilight and Katniss from the Hunger Games is about butch vs. femininity. Bella and Katniss are polar opposites as stated in the article. Bella is very dependent on Edward, and does indeed spend a lot of time trying to have sex with him and be with him in general. He protects her from all the bad vampires in the vampire world, and she watches as the damsel in distress she was written to be. Bella is a damsel in distress for the majority of the Twilight series, until Edward finally makes her a vampire and she could kill Katniss with a flick of the wrist, as Noah so comically states in the article. Also, let's not forget, Bella HATED Forks until she met Edward. She was on the phone with her mom and her mom had said to her "You would love Jacksonville." and Bella goes on to say "Forks is growing on me." And immediately her mom knew it was because of a boy and proceeds to ask Bella if that was the case, and Bella confirmed. Katniss, on the other hand, is a total badass from the beginning. I didn't read the books, but I went and saw the movie and when I saw Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss with her bow and arrow being a total badass, I couldn't help but cheer her on. In a way, Katniss made me feel empowered. Katniss is independent unlike Bella. She doesn't need Gale or Peeta, in fact while actually in the Games, she's pretty much the brains of the operation because Peeta has no survival skills compared to her. Katniss also is the matriarch of her family because her mom is still coping with the absence of Katniss and Prim's father. She has her shit together, and Bella is a complete mess throughout the entire Twilight series. Let's look at the way they carry themselves in comparison. There's Bella, who is super awkward and always running her fingers through her hair like the girly stereotype says girly girls do. Then there's Katniss, who's confident and walks with her head held high like every badass should.
So is being a tomboy better than being a girly girl? Not necessarily. Not every girly girl lives up to the damsel in distress stereotype, and not every tomboy is as much of a badass as Katniss. It is definitely possible for both to coexist peacefully. Like Noah says which I completely agree with, "Masculinity and femininity isn't a duel to the death. The many tween fans of both books know that, even if adult critics occasionally get confused."
So to wrap this up, movies like Mean Girls where the butch girl is weird and a lesbian to the girly girls, that doesn't have to happen nor should it. Tomboys, you keep it up and don't go shooting people with a bow and arrow. Girly girls, for the sake of your sanity, stay away from vampires. And werewolves. Just every mythical creature all together.
I also agree that being a tomboy isn't always better than a girly girl. In fact, I think every girl has a tomboy side and a girly girl side. Noah Berlatsky describes Bella as "emotional, out-of-control, mopey, makes horrible decisions, and is generally the nightmare troubled teen: a girly girl who rides her aimlessness and hormones straight to damnation" and describes Katniss as smart, fierce, independent, and sexually restrained". I think there is a part of us that let's our emotions get the best of us or be a little (too) boy crazy but, at the same time, we can be a fucking boss when we want/need to. Katniss and Bella may be total opposites but they both want something and they do every thing in their power to obtain it (which Berlatsky fails to praise). Anyway, Katniss turns into a domesticated mama while Bella turns into a badass vampire with super powers. Did the roles flip? Maybe so.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I would like the best of both worlds. I want be the girl who has a man that actually takes charge and wear the pants in the relationship and be I N D E P E N D E N T, do you know what I mean??
I agree, there are ups and downs to both butch and girly-girl. In this case, Bella and Katniss are on complete opposite spectrums and are taken to the extreme. I think what the adults see is that there is no mixture of the two in each character. The reasons that they prefer Katniss is because when people read we project ourselves as the character. No one wants to be like Bella, who can barely walk down the street without face-planting in the sidewalk. Katniss shows more of what women today are like--personality wise and who wouldn't want to pretend they were a bad-ass? Basically, as Noah states, "the relative discomfort with Bella, then, can be seen as reflecting a larger discomfort with femininity." I don't think he is necessarily stating that her femininity is uncomfortable for people, I mean, she is female, I think what it is, and it is part of why I dislike Twilight so much, is that it's over-played. Bella is a delicate, "emotional, out-of-control, mopey, makes horrible decisions...a girly-girl who rides her aimlessness and hormones straight to damnation" (literally). Who would want to be portrayed as that? Who in the world spends most of a year in a passive like coma over a break-up for who knows how long? Most girls after a break up get over it within two months and most definitely don't put their lives on hold to mope about it.
ReplyDeleteYou know I think that Noah doesn't represent Katniss' girly-ness enough. The reasons why people like her more is because, yeah she's a badass, a survivalist and a tom-boy, but Katniss is gentle and loving enough to sing to her dying friend and bury her in flowers. She wants a domestic life, to live in peace--something I find very feminine.
I agree with this, there are ups and downs and honestly it all comes down to personal preference. Bella is made out to be the extreme of her "passiveness" (until the end of course) but Katniss is drawn to an extreme as well. Its not really fair to make them out to be normal girls, Bella is going to be more heartbroken about her break up bc he's a freaking vampire undead thing, thats a little different than a 17 year old fuckboy from high school. Katniss is going to a lil more badass than a normal girl bc hello she's been told to kill for sport. Their characters are drawn to an extreme for a reason, and there are girls who identify with both. In the real world there are girls who want nothing more than to be a cute little housewife, and then there are also girls who want nothing more than to, I don't know, join the navy seals and be a complete badass. Personally I don't think theres anything wrong with either of those aspirations.
ReplyDeleteAs for the article I feel as though both sides were represented fairly, he pointed out why people think Bella is weak and then also kind of disproved it. And why people think Katniss is so strong and disproved that too. It was cool and not what i was expecting from the title or like the first few paragraphs.
I agree with your perspective on bella and katnis. I think the answer to the question,”who would win?” definitely depends on the time period they fought. And yes I know the article “Twightlight vs. Hunger Games: Why Do So Many Grown Ups Hate Bella” isn't literally asking who would win in a fight, but I think it’s interesting to notice that bella would kick Katnis’s ass if they fought after she became a vampire. The whole article is about bella being a typical teenage girl falling in love and being “swooney bella”, while katnis is the badass tomboy that’s “tough as nails”. I like how you emphasized how girly girl bella all the sudden started liking Forks because she met a boy. I feel like that most definitely fits the girly girl characteristics. And how you said, “she doesn't need peta or gale” because she’s independent and basically took care of peta in the hunger games. The fact that bella is weak and dependent on a boy, and katnis is independent and doesn't need a man makes the stereotype of a “tomboy” seem better than a “girly girl”. Which (like you said) is not the case. Now a days I feel like there are more feminist out there that speak up and want women to be strong and self reliant, which is why adults favor katnis.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on the point about Katniss and Bella being complete opposites. Bella is the complete stereotypical boy crazy teenage girl while Katniss is the perfect picture of what a female badass is. I love your answer to, “is being a tomboy better than being a girly girl?”. I agree that the two can coexist peacefully and not every person is the epitome of what the stereotypes say. Movies and books tend to sort of exaggerate on things and not everything is like that. As for second wave feminists who look down on the girly girls, I don’t think they should. You can still be girly and somewhat of a badass. You don’t have to be one or the other. Same goes for the third wave feminists, you can be a tomboy and like some girly things or we can eventually become the opposite of what were just like Bella and Katniss. It’s time we get rid of “you have to be one thing or the other”. I think we should appreciate and “understand each other’s desires and each other’s strength” like Noah Berlatsky states. Whether you are girly or a tomboy, I think feminists will appreciate either because each side has their own strengths.
ReplyDeleteI liked the comedic feel at the end of your comment. Not only that but I feel it gave me an opinion. I wonder if Noah .B. called Bella such bad things and labelled her with negative words such as emotional and irrational to make a point. Maybe I am wrong but why is being emotional bad? And why does Katniss get praised for killing people and being more masculine. I am pretty sure we all know the answer to that. Society praises masculinity. I am honestly trying to unveil her argument. Maybe it is women won’t be “put into good light without a man”. Maybe it is women who are tougher are wrongly represented. Maybe both more masculine and feminine women and portrayed in extreme lights. I disagree with your comment because Bella is a girl who is emotional and “helpless” and your comment seemed to explain how that is inferior to Katniss, or the tougher more masculine women. I believe that both women do exist but one shouldn’t be a “hot commodity” and the other being a constant nuisance to get away from. One thing about the article that I felt was nicely said was that critics sometimes get confused and critique things wrong. I completely agree.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement that being a tomboy isn't necessarily better than being a girly girl. It is simply a matter of opinion, or preferences which is what another commenter stated above. The author does a good job of comparing and contrasting both types of women, however fails to mention that there are many different types far and in between. Katniss and Bella are like extreme versions of tomboy-badass and girly-girl. I think any girl could relate to some aspects of both characters. I also agree with another commenter that the author used such negative words to describe Bella's extreme feminism to paint a picture in a certain way. Which leads me to believe that the author also feels some type of way towards girly girls. The author never truly states what is so wrong with wanting to be loved at the age of 17. Most girls, even guys, in this day and age don't have to worry about the things Katniss worries about. Young adults are still trying to find themselves, which is ultimately what Bella is doing. I do like how the author in the end stated that the characters would admire each others strengths and desires which is how all women should feel towards one another, especially since we are in this fight together. The fight to not be labeled as a girly-girl or tomboy and seen as weak or too empowered if we do relate to these labels.
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