The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s, and interviewees’, own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
The After Series by Anna Todd is something that took teenagers by storm back in 2013. It was in the era of great success for One Direction (although I would argue One Direction was successful throughout their whole existence, including now). There were many Wattpad books featuring this “dark Harry”. A version of Harry Styles where he is this bad boy that a girl gets to save and make better (Don’t judge we were all really young). The After series blew up on Wattpad, and me and friends read it together and loved it. A year later, the books were picked up to be published. And a few years after that, we got news that the books were going to be turned into a movie series. After fans went wild, including me who was ready to see Harry Styles (or Hardin Scott as they renamed him for the published version) on the big screen. My best friend Victoria was super excited because she was invested in the books. She quickly made an After fan account (@hessasociety on Instagram) where she posted updates and edits from the clips of the movie. She is my After library. If I have a question, she is who I go to.
So when I was disappointed with the first movie, I understood why it wasn’t as good. Victoria informed me about all the things happening behind the scenes. Despite the first movie not being amazing, the second movie was picked up. I was super excited because Victoria told me that Anna, the author, was on set everyday, it was going to be Rated R instead, and some actors I love were going to be in it. If you’re a fan of the books, you know it was pretty explicit, so one of the criticisms of the first movie was that it was so mild. The new actors in it were Dyaln Sprouse (Suite Life of Zack and Cody), Candace Accola (The Vampire Diaries), and Charlie Weber (How to Get Away With Murder). Victoria, our friend Laiba, and I decided to watch the movie together upon its release. Immediately, you could tell it stuck way more to the books than the first movie. I don’t even remember the books that much, but I was recognizing lines. Overall, the acting and plot made a lot more sense. And although people can argue that the movie is cheesy—and I see the points and they are valid—but it isn’t true to the original story. Some things just needed to be the way they are to keep the integrity of the books. I guess some things could’ve been altered to make it a better movie, but I think this movie is for the fans, not for the people looking for a good rom-com. We, the fans, are the only ones that can truly appreciate how it is.
Despite my thoughts on the movie, I have seen it get so much hate. I could respond to them, but my knowledge is limited. However, my friend Victoria knows everything, so I thought I would interview her to get her thoughts. My friend Laiba is also a big fan, and I thought her input would be interesting, so she is also apart of this interview.
- Why was the first movie not as good as it could’ve been?
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Victoria: There are a few reasons why the first movie was not as good as it could’ve been. The first reason is the director, Jenny Gage. This director had her own vision for the movie. Her vision was a much more timid version than the story in the books. It was a more teen-friendly romance with less risks, passion, depth, and character. The second reason is the studio. The studio wanted to appeal to a broader audience by making the movie PG-13, instead of Rated-R (which if being a book adaptation, the book is very much so-NOT PG-13). The studio knew that simple teen romance movies sell, and it would be much less of a risk creating a PG-13 movie that will be able to reach a broader audience. As our friend Laiba says in her response, cliche is definitely what they were going for in the first movie to be safe and appeal to a greater audience.
Laiba: The first movie was too censored. If they followed the books a little more, there could’ve been so much more potential. I feel like the first movie didn’t go into the characters as much. We barely knew the mind of Tessa and the horrible relationship she has with her mother as well as how damaged Hardin truly is. I also believe they made it into a cliche romance rather than the unique story that it is.
- There is an article published on the HerCampus website about how ‘After We Collided’ is setting feminism back. What is your response to that?
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Laiba: It’s a fictional movie. No one is calling it inspiring and life changing. No one looks at a fantasy book to reconstruct politics. A book/movie has a target audience, and for this it’s the hopeless romantics.
Victoria: It made me almost defensive, in a way. It seemed a little nonsensical to think that the main character, Tessa, doesn’t have a mind of her own and is enslaved to Hardin. In the books, and as shown in the second movie (After We Collided), Tessa’s confidence and sexuality is explored and embraced much more. I think it’s actually an important and good thing for feminism in that case, as since the beginning of time, women’s sexuality is not something that is ever praised. To say that it’s “setting back feminism” is a bit dramatic, as this franchise/series does not claim to be the example that young women need to follow in regards to Hessa’s relationship. It’s meant to show a very flawed relationship, with two people working through their past trama’s and difficulties. If you believe this movie is negatively influencing your ability to think about what a real and healthy relationship is for a woman, and then maybe you’re too young to be watching it.
- What do you say to the people who say that this movie is insensitive to Harry Styles?
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Laiba: It’s a fictional book that just so happened to have his name in it. No one is saying this is how he acts, but people want to believe the story is based on him just to find things to hate about it.
Victoria: If anyone says that, they must not have ever heard of Wattpad.com. There are millions of Harry Styles Fanfictions out there in the world; this one just so happened to become popular. It is every author’s dream to become published and that’s just what the author of After, Anna Todd, did. Once published, the books took on their own identity, away from Harry Styles. The books were merely written using his name and image, but were in no way a reflection of his actual character and personality as the book is completely fictional.
- I have been looking at ‘After’ reviews, and some say that the movie features an uninteresting couple. I have also seen that the story has no plot. It’s just instances in this couple’s relationship that lead to nothing new or important to have a whole movie about. Anything to say about this?
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Laiba: I thought the same at first, but I think this movie was just to see how the relationship affected both of them. It’s the middle portion of their entire story.
Victoria: It’s understandable to hear when a lot of the core depth and details regarding their relationship was discarded in the first movie’s production, making it much more bland.
- Do you think the people in charge should take these criticisms to make the next movie better?
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Laiba: Definitely
Victoria: I think they should and they are, given the many limitations they may have.
- What are your hopes for the next 2 movies?
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Victoria: For the next 2 movies, I hope to see even greater character development and more aspects from the books that fans love.
Laiba: I just would like more drama and character development. I want to see Hardin and Tessa become the best version of themselves.
- Anything else you want to say about the movie that you didn’t get a chance to say in the questions asked?
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Laiba: I need them to stop changing the actors so much, and I want to see more of the minor characters, and I need the movies to be longer.
Victoria: They were never meant to be cinematic masterpieces. I wish people would stop criticizing them as if they ever claimed to be.
END OF INTERVIEW.
Hopefully, their responses change your mind about the After Series as a whole.