Teens like the ‘dark side’

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Teens across the country mourned as Harry Potter, their most favourite wizard of all, bid adieu in the last series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Never had a vampire won the hearts of so many, before Edward Cullen, the gorgeous vampire of the Twilight series made an appearance. And it’s not just the big screen heroes that are luring the youngsters. Small screen favourites like Dexter Morgan — the blood stain pattern analyst from the Miami metro police department who moonlights as a serial killer is sweeping teens off their feet too.
Says 14-year-old Sonam Parmar, “I love Edward! He is the cutest vampire ever! Despite being a vampire, he is not evil and that is the best part about him. Inspite of having a very dark side to him, he is the dream lover for Bella and treats her like a princess.”
Fifteen year old Karthik Iyer looks up to Dexter. “Yes he is a killer, but he only kills bad people which makes him a good person at the end of the day. While it may not be within the law, it is very exciting to watch. It’s what our mythological heroes did anyway, but nobody judged them. On the contrary they were seen as being heroic and brave,” he says.
While these “hard from the outside and soft from the inside” heroes are attractive to youngsters today, experts say that it is also representative of the fact that teenagers now a days are looking for more than fairy tales of princes and princesses, magical kingdoms and happy endings. So, does it also mark the end of an era where children grew up reading a humble Tinkle digest, Chacha Chaudhry, Panchatantra or looked forward to watching Malgudi Days on a lazy sunday afternoon?
Sociologist Kamala Ganesh believes that the time has come to tweak Indian comics and books in a such way that it appeals to the current generation. “I am not saying that one should tamper with the basic characteristics of the characters and end up aping the West. But one should move ahead with the times,” she says. However, she adds, “Reading Indian books gives children a homely perspective on the world, which is essential for everybody.”
US-born Indian writer Rajal Pitroda agrees with this point of view. “Look at the popular American television series Glee. It is a lot like Bollywood, where people break into a song and dance every now and then. It’s nothing like the Western cinema. But it’s popular. We have to adapt and learn from each other and reinvent ourselves,” she says.