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50 shades, 50 shades abuse, 50 shades plagiarism, 50shades of Theft, 50shades plagiarism, bad writing, plagiarism, twilight
Ladies and Gentlemen, here it is, the post you’ve all been waiting for: 50shades of Theft, the FINAL COUNTDOWN!!!
First things first, I want to reiterate something. I know that Fifty Shades of Grey is the adaption of “Master of the Universe.” (And by adaption, I mean that EL James went in and copy/pasted new names for all of the characters, and left everything else the same.) And I know that “Master of the Universe” started out as Twilight fanfiction. But as I’ve said before, “fanfiction” does not equal “writing the exact same story over again.” Fanfiction is taking the characters that you know and love, and giving them new stories so that you don’t have to let them go. ELJ took the characters, gave them new names, and had them end up recreating the same damn story thing under different circumstances. And I was even kind of okay with that. …..until she started making millions of dollars off of something she stole.
So here it is, everything in 50shades that was ripped off of Twilight. I have condensed some things into “plagiarism groups” (characters, settings, multiple repetitions of the same thing) to keep this a little more organized. Maybe…
I also want everyone to notice that for the vast majority of the plagiarism points, I don’t even have to specify if I am talking about Edward and Bella or Christian and Ana, since the statement holds true regardless of which couple you apply it to, because plagiarism. (Now, I will note that anytime I give a count of how many times something pops up, that is specific to 50shades.)
Also, when I put the amount of times something has shown up, bear in mind that I’m usually lowball estimating based on my notes and previous posts. Sometimes while I was reading this, my eyes just kind of glazed over because it was just that bad. I also might have missed some plagiarism points, and considering how many I came up with, that is just sad to think there could be even more.
1) Characters:
Ana = Bella
Christian = Edward
Carla = Renee
Bob = Phil
Ray = Charlie
José Sr. = Billy
José = Jacob
Paul = Mike
Carrick = Carlisle
Grace = Esme
Mia = Alice
Elliot = Emmett
Ethan = Jasper
Kate = Rosalie
*These are not generalizations, the Fifty Shades of Grey characters on the left were directly copied from the Twilight characters on the right. How they are related to people, how they end up coupled up at the end, their basic characterizations and physical descriptions, etc… If you are unfamiliar to the 50shades of Theft project, check these two previous entries for the explanations: Insane Character Deja Vu and More Insane Character Deja Vu.
2) Vehicles:
Ana’s vintage VW = Bella’s vintage Chevy
VW came from José’s mom, Chevy came from Jacob’s dad.
José does the mechanical work, Jacob kept the Chevy in great condition.
Christian’s Audi = Edward’s Volvo
Ana’s new Audi = Bella’s new Mercedes “Guardian”
3) Settings:
Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver, WA: the story had to take place in the Pacific Northwest, because I think ELJ learned everything she knows about American weather from Twilight.
Las Vegas, NV where Ana lived until she was 17 = Phoenix, AZ where Bella lived until she was 17
Savannah, GA where Carla and Bob live = Jacksonville, FL where Renee and Phil live
Ray lives in Montesano, WA which is about the size of Charlie’s home of Forks, WA
Rampant Plagiarism Points
4)The circumstances of the first meeting: the young girl has travelled to a location she would have preferred not to, because of circumstances beyond her control.
5)She turns her face up to the refreshing rain because she doesn’t care about things like makeup. (To be honest, 80% of the time, I don’t wear makeup. But I also don’t stand in the rain, especially after talking about how much I don’t like the rain.)
6)Ana works at a hardware store, whereas Bella works at an outdoor store. Since they are both so painfully clumsy, this is laughable.
7)The dream sequence rip-off occurs at least five times throughout this book.
8)The electrical current sensation when they touch, which is mentioned at least twice.
9)He is always obsessed with knowing her thoughts.
10)He saves her from almost getting run over (by bike, or by car, depending on which story).
11)His *amazing* smell is mentioned no less than half a dozen times.
12)“I’m no good for you.” Ya don’t say…
13)She was separated from her friends, accosted, rescued by the new guy, she reassured her friends she was fine, goes with the new guy (but in Ana’s case she’s unconscious). (This also ties into the scene in Eclipse when Jacob kissed Bella when she didn’t want him to.)
14)He seems older than his time.
15)His obsession with her eating habits is harped on at least seven times. (Bear in mind, all of these totals are for just the first book, not the whole trilogy…)
16)He is a dark wizard who can cast Confundus Charm. …okay, not really (we think), but his dazzling abilities get three or four (or maybe more) mentions.
17)“I’ve never slept with someone” = “I can’t sleep.” We know you can’t, Edward, neither can Ana because Christian won’t stop playing the piano at four in the morning.
18)On their first car ride together (at least, Bella’s first, and the first that Ana is conscious for) she’s pleasantly surprised that he’s listening to classical music, but discovers he likes modern stuff too.
19)The entire scene that was lifted in which Jess grills Bella on: “so you like like him” and “has he kissed you yet.”
20)The male-best-friend’s constant calling to apologize.
21)The helicopter harness, and later the parachute harness and glider harness are all the scene of Edward strapping Bella into the Jeep’s offroading harness.
22)Christian’s apartment was decorated by Esme Cullen.
23)“Christian can play piano! Christian can do everything!” Well, Derp. He’s Edward Cullen, of course he can.
24)The Big Reveal: “I enjoy BDSM” vs. “Okay, I’m really a vampire.” And potentially, Carlisle’s cross is hanging in the Red Room of Pain.
25)She’s just so darned good in the kitchen, which is amazing considering how clumsy she usually is.
26)The super-discreet phone call where Christian is listening in on Ana and she’s not allowed to say anything so she just repeats “yes” and “please” over and over again, just like when James calls Bella and Alice is right there.
27)Their habit of surreptitiously talking about private matters in the middle of a restaurant while he ignores the hot, interested server. We see this at least three or four times.
28)“I’m glad you can’t read my mind.”
29)The phone conversation between her and the male-best-friend where he grovels for forgiveness and she grants it.
30)The male-best-friend assuming it’s the money that she is attracted to.
31)Doing internet research on the MacBook, but for BDSM instead of Vampire Lore.
32)The email thing, which Bug figured out. Bella mainly communicated with her mom via email (and I remembered that in New Moon the film version, we see Bella trying to email Alice). ELJ just took this idea and ran with it. (At least Meyer was kind enough to not give us date and timestamps.) In case you were wondering, there are dozens of emails.
33)Her step-dad and mom can’t come to the graduation because he injured himself somehow.
34)They have the most high-schoolish college graduation EVER. Because it was based on a high school graduation.
35)Tess = Wuthering Heights for the purposes of including a classic novel that is the favorite of the heroine and speaks to the circumstances of her life.
36)His sudden mood changes. And the word “mercurial” is specifically mentioned at least twice.
37)Her car just isn’t good enough. (This was just a ploy by Christian, and also Edward to an extent, to remove something from her life that would tie her to a potential love rival.)
38)The twist of Christian, and not José, smothering Ana with his body heat as he slept.
39)She smells “divine” to him. Almost mouth-watering?
40)He’s such a good dancer, that dancing becomes effortless for her.
41)He tackles (or “tackles” *wink, wink*) her on the couch of his room/the boathouse on her first visit to meet his family. His younger adoptive sister walks in shortly after and is nonplussed by the sight of them together.
42)She spends some time sunning by the Atlantic Ocean with her mom, sharing a tender moment, on her one and only visit to her mother’s home in the entire series.
43)Her mom and dad had marriage issues because they were too young.
44)She calls him her “boyfriend” only for ease of reference.
45)His eyes are all lit up and he’s super excited to show her his running/gliding skills.
46)La Traviata just randomly pops up…
47)They share that magical time that exists between night and day. (Twilight or dawn..? Eh, just flip a coin.)
48)He always knows where she is because he can read minds/stalks her.
49)Her mom is a complete failure in the kitchen.
50)She talks in her sleep.
51)She is concerned that in her sleep talking she may have confessed her undying love.
52)There are two tickets to and from the visit to her mom. (In one version, he flies with her; in the other version, he just doesn’t want her interacting with other people.)
53)She has to get permission to see her male-best-friend.
54)He’s always “waiting for the running and the screaming.”
55)According to him, she’s been in danger since they first met.
56)“I should let you go, I’m no good for you.”
57)He freaks out because she admits how strong her feelings for him are.
58)When they separate, she loses it and does the howling, screaming in pain and anguish thing on her bed.
So that’s 58 plagiarism points, after I have consolidated the characters, settings, and the vehicles, as well as only counted once things such as his smell, the restaurant thing, his obsession with her eating habits, and the dazzling thing.
And there’s still people who say Fifty Shades of Grey has nothing in common with Twilight, because it doesn’t have vampires or werewolves in it.
Come on people! Really???
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akaKody 
BWAHAHAHAHAAHAAHA!
I KNEW I couldn’t have been the only one! Thank you so much for this list…I’m printing it out as 58 reasons to give 50 Shades a miss. 😀
Best,
J.S. Wayne
Glad you enjoyed the post! The bad thing is, this only covers the first book. There’s even more plagiarism in books 2 and 3!
#2 was the only one I read, because it was the only one in the library. After reading it, cover to cover, I determined that I’d read all I needed to. This is a really, really sad commentary on the publishing industry, that they’d let this pass without more than a shrug. And where exactly is Stephanie Meyer in all this? She’s been pretty quiet on the topic, from what I’ve heard…or not.
Very succinct!
My poor PNW. Watch them film the 50 Shades movies here like Twilight. I almost hope they do so I can point out the same locations they’d probably use. A lot of Twilight was filmed in Oregon.
This many…similarities…is too many to be coincidental.
Another one is Chedward’s compete lack of friends outside of his family, and Katealie not liking him, but warming up after a while. The two “siblings” (Kate/Rose and Ethan/Jasper) marry the other two “siblings” (Elliot/Emmet and Mia/Alice, respectively). One of the Cullens/Greys is a doctor and the kids are all adopted. Chedward was orphaned as a minor, though the circumstances of the others are unknown in 50 Shades. Also women falling all over Chedward, at least in Anabella’s mind. You also touched on the professional concert pianist skills as its own number. They also look just like their Twilight characters. Mia and Alice have the EXACT same perky personality and insta-love for Anabella. Here are another eight to add to the list.
Oh, yeah. All of that is definitely in there. I just ended up lumping “she stole all the characters” into one thing because I was going to lose my mind… There were a few characterizations that did make it into the long list if they particularly stood out, such as the piano thing, the klutz who is an amazingly great cook, or the sometimes single mom who never did learn to cook.
And yeah, your corner is probably going to be invaded by 50shades film crews. So sorry.
I promise to go under cover as much as possible and get pictures and share any dirt I can find out. If I’m (un)lucky, maybe I could get an extra role as one of the many blondes. I quit dying my hair, so I’m back to blonde. Not many of us around here. I’d love to have dirt to spill.
I’ve got a friend organizing protests already for when the movies are release. “Abuse is not romance,” is the planned chant. She’s going to be contacting the Slut Walk organizers to see if she/we can get them on board.
Hope you don’t mind, I shared this on FB.
I absolutely love your re-caps/plagiarism points.
Please, share on! For more 50 recap fun, check out http://jennytrout.blogspot.com She gives the entire breakdown on every chapter. And it is hilarious.
#58 – – Ana did the fetal-position-howling-in-pain thing early in the book, too. When Christian didn’t kiss her (after her “near-death” with the cyclist).
It’s bad enough SQID stole the characters, but couldn’t she have developed them even _slightly_, so the 21yo college grad didn’t act like a 5yo?? At least Bella had a reason to howl.
Yeah I’ve had this conversation a couple of times: Bella is still a teen in high school. Ana should be a little more mature, a little more aware, and better able to cope with her emotions, seeing as how she’s out of her teen years and through college. And yet, Ana is just the watered down version of Bella.
Most excellent review of all the blatant stealing. I had the (dis)pleasure of reading it as fanfic. Quit partway through because it was so horrible. Then was horrified to see it turned into a “real” book that she could bilk people out of millions with. I’m still disappointed that Stephenie Meyer did nothing about it.
I think SMeyers was paid off quietly.
When I was starting my blog I was thinking about which should be my first review. Ranting about this piece of utter bull****? I decided to write about something that I actually like, because this thing (I refuse to call it a book) can easily give one a tumor. Be careful when reading it, people.
Yes, reading this has definitely been an experience. A bad one. Like fixing your first cup of coffee in the morning and discovering that the pot was full of ants.
Initially I had no intentions whatsoever of reading it. But people I knew were reading it and talking about how “new and exciting and original” it was. And when I would mention, “no, it’s a horrible book and a total rip-off,” they would counter with, “you haven’t even read it, there’s no vampires or werewolves in it AT ALL!” So guess what? I read the stupid thing. Now, more than ever, I’m convinced that it is a rip-off, as well as being a horrible excuse for a book.
Great list! Thanks for all your hard work; you deserve a prize or something for having to read through that.
On the plane thing … I call bullshit. Most of the time, flights are oversubscribed. On a couple of my transatlantic flights I’ve had to wait until 10 minutes before the gate opened to either get a seat number or get a new flight. I’ve been on flights where single fliers are bribed with $500 to wait for the next flight.I don’t care where she’s sitting on that plane, or how much money Christian spent on that ticket, that seat is getting filled, and some lucky person with a coach ticket is getting lucky. What could Christian really do to stop that?
*high-five*
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Wow. This makes me wish Meyer had pursued a plagiarism case; she probably would have won. But she chose to stay far, far away from it. Pity.
Late to the party, but what I always thought was interesting was how even though Carrick = Carlisle, the ‘original’ character E.L. James came up with that ‘turned’ Christian also had a lot in common with Carlisle.
Elena. that is. Between the blonde hair, the saving him from his ‘illness’ (where he was going to end up like his drug addicted mother,) the fact that she takes a relatively parental role, and the whole ‘saving him through BDSM and being his Domme (or sire?)’…Even when E.L. James isn’t obviously plagiarizing, she’s still plagiarizing.
One of the things I picked up on from Jenny Trout’s recaps is how both Ana and Christian look at each other under or through their eye lashes, which I distinctly remember being in Twilight.
Also where he saves her from sexual assault.