The Chocolate Criticism

Never heard of this before? Actually you have. Think again. Nope it’s not one of those chocolate-not-good-for-you thing. And it definitely have nothing to do with the amount of chocolate we consume a day. In reality, it has nothing to do with chocolate! GOT YOU! Don’t get me wrong, I am among those who can’t live without chocolate every day. Chocolate is my first love. But this is all about that criticism “popular culture” or campus culture get. Some people call it chocolate culture. And those books that are based on these chocolate culture dear naïve readers are termed chocolate books.

Apparently these books don’t deal with serious issues, Its main target audience is the youth( that I agree upon), it has mostly bad language ( what ‘they’ mean is you know language that is not sophisticated and complicated with weird metaphors and idioms) and they are mostly about love, environment, friendship, girls worried over a pimple and guys dead keen on buying the latest model cars. ‘They’ say that these books are not ‘academic’ material. ‘they’ say that  these books are like chocolate, popular but worthless after one intake. Twilight  Harry Potter and of course Meg Cabot fans must have faced this criticism. Aaah, now you get it. Yes that is what I call “chocolate criticism”

Now I do love reading these books but call me a hypocrite if you  want I kind of agree with these criticizers. I mean these books do have shallow girls , youth portrayed as materialistic and the language doesn’t  really categorize in the “literature” category. Yet. But that doesn’t mean that these books don’t have any worth in them. But these portray the reality of today’s lifestyle. They tell you about modern life, the changing trends and fads-without being melodramatic and in an informal style of writing AND without needing to turn the pages of a dictionary like most “academic oriented books novels”. 

Moreover if you read between the lines you  find deep philosophy etched in these book. A good academician dear criticizers can find philosophy and learning even  in a rock. All you need to do is look. Take Meg Cabot books for example, in ‘Princess Diaries’,  it might all be about a princess who cares mostly about how big her bust is or how to get the guy she likes to like her back. But when you look in deeper you learn that living in a small apartment with a few close friends is much better than living in a palace. It teaches you about the importance of simplicity in life.

These chocolate books do covey or debate on some issue that is prominent in our society. Take obesity for instance or environmental problems. These may be small ones in some “academicians” mind but they do have their importance and someone should talk about them. Take Meg Cabot again. Her “size 12 is not fat” is a book that speaks about obesity is a completely different manner. And princess Mia was a sucker for environmental issues. I don’t understand why people consider patriarchy, economic development, terrorism, modernism , post-modernism and many other ‘isms’ as the only topics need to be addressed upon. Everything has its own importance. Every issue need to be looked into , not mocked at.

You know the Harry Potter series used to be my bed time stories. I remember being in my cozy bed with my sister reading the book or narrating the story to me. I am sure many of you can relate to it. Remember the times your mind used to travel with Harry, when he was in the Hogwart Express, or flying in a Firebolt . The times your heart leapt in your throat when Harry turned around to face Voldemort or the Basilisk. The times you overjoyed at his catching the snitch, the times you cried at someone’s death, be it Severus or Dumbledore. Yeah. That was one book we all enjoyed and still the ‘academicians’ criticized it. Well I literally grew up with that book and guess what ? I am perfectly fine. In fact more than fine, my imagination soared up, my love for my parents increased, I started valuing friendship more, learnt that bookish knowledge is not enough and many more to add in the list.

I am sure many of have many books that were labeled as “chocolatish” but still loved it and just love to point out its great impact on you. One such book for me was Stephanie Meyer’s  ‘The Host’. What can I say, that book just made me think like never before. . This book is about what it means to be human, about identity and about individualism. In a strange manner it questions many things in our society especially the ruthless nature of man. Sometimes dear sober criticizers, these chocolate books, can teach you more than anything you ever read. Maybe it is the style of writing that captures your attention till the end, maybe it is the slap slack humor that makes us laugh, maybe it is the everyday events portrayed so lively that we can relate to, whatever the reason , these books are part of the reason reading haven’t died yet.

Come to think of it. They are like chocolate. Tasty, popular, come in attractive packaging, soothes you, calms you down when you have a bad day and relieves your stress. At the same time they do have medicinal properties. Cocoa was used throughout in history as a poultice for injured feet, to cure the problems of liver, for women and their menstrual cycles, as a perfect cure for hangovers, insomnia and problems with concentration . Apparently one ounce of chocolate contains as much nutrition as a pound of beef! Wait till my dad hears that! The point is, fellow lovers of chocolate and chocolate books, be happy if someone  gives you the chocolate criticism. They don’t realize it is a compliment not a criticism!

So there you go, the perfect criticism for “chocolate criticism”. Well at least I hope it is. So grab a chocolate fellows. Sit back and enjoy every bite of that creamy delight. Let me go grab mine. Adios!