Last night, I enjoyed my trek on my own to the theatre to see the latest Harry Potter film. I laughed, I sighed, I delighted in the ride! I know...some people think these movies and books are pure evil. There are people in my own circle that are shocked to learn I am such a big fan, but while I may disagree with their opinions, they are certainly entitled to them.
As for me, I might not practice magic or fly on a broom, but I confess with a twinkle in my eye, that I love the books. I’ve enjoyed reading and re-reading them and am eagerly awaiting the final book in the series, book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Why am I such a fan? Well, the author has such a vivid imagination, and each character is written with such detail and credibility. The events and people in the books capture your imagination just like Tolkien’s characters in Lord of the Rings. You enter that world with the author, and you feel like you are part of the story. You become a fellow student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry along with Harry, Hermione and Ron.
It feels alive and real to the readers, which is probably one of the biggest arguments I have heard against the books. There is some concern that kids today have trouble separating reality from fiction. Personally, I don’t buy that argument! I think children today are more exposed to violence, fantasy, etc. in every day life, in schools, on the big screen and televisions, in the news and other media, in games and video games. Children are much more exposed than I was as a child, and they were exposed before Harry Potter came on the scene. Sure, there may be some children that struggle with determining what is real or not, but this is not a new problem. And it certainly didn’t start with J. K. Rowling’s books!
When I was a kid, the Smurfs and Dungeons and Dragons were targets of similar debate. Every Saturday, my sister and I would watch the Smurfs and enjoy them along with the other Saturday morning cartoons. For those of you who missed the 70’s and 80’s, there used to be regular cartoon programs on Saturday mornings just for kids rather than all the news shows, etc. Imagine that! So anyway, the Smurfs were lovable tiny blue creatures that were always doing good, working together and fighting against the twisted Gargamel and his feline friend, Azrael. I don’t recall the biggest argument against the Smurfs really. I remember it having to do something with the names for Gargamel and Azrael being evil or representing some dark cause, and then there was something about the Smurfs themselves being part of some secret Communist propaganda. Now that just makes me laugh! It was a cartoon, people, and I certainly I didn’t feel compelled to become a Communist due to my exposure.
As for Dungeons and Dragons, I don’t know much about it at all, and so I certainly won’t go into any arguments for or against it here. However, I do believe that it along with any other game, pleasure or hobby needs to be enjoyed without excess or obsession. But isn’t that just plain common sense and part of personal responsibility?
As for Harry Potter, I admit that the books have gotten darker and more grown up with each new volume, but then, that seems quite natural to me. After all, the characters in the book are growing up as are the readers who have followed them from the first volume. And as for the darkness, well, the truth is that the adversaries in the books are growing in numbers and gaining strength just like the "bad guys" did in the Lord of the Rings series. Things always get darkest right before the end, and characters get stretched to the max right before the final climax when the ultimate battle happens, or all is revealed, etc. It makes sense to me…but then, remember, I’m rather scary myself. After all, I have a twinkle in my eye!
No comments:
Post a Comment