I saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire yesterday and am hard at work on my review.
You can warm up for this year’s edition of “Christians for Harry Potter versus Christians against Harry Potter” by reading Russ Breimeier’s new article, posted today at CT Movies: “Redeeming Harry Potter.”
Have any of you come to appreciate Rowling’s stories more as they’ve progressed? Or has your enthusiasm lessened? Or have you never been hooked by them at all?
I’ve been a fan of Harry Potter since before he was a fad… and my fandom hasn’t ebbed.
And, to be frank, I don’t entirely understand the brouhaha.
It’s difficult for anyone who believes that violence in the media influences our children to cast stones at folks who believe that Harry Potter can have a negative influence — but in the end, though I stumble to articulate a defense of my position, I can’t help but think that folks that are complaining about Harry Potter are just silly.
The only concern I have is a concern I have generally with media aimed at children: is that it glorifies disobedience to some degree.
Out of all honesty I have always felt Harry Potter to be a bit over rated.
I’m a late arriver to the series. Both my eldest son, and my wife have read all the books. I, however, was not interested in this bit of juvenile fiction, though I did mock those who found anything about it to be Satanic (The Onion published a fantastic article on this subject)
I watched the first three films on DVD and thought each one got better, and the themes in Azkaban *really* spoke to me. This last August I decided I wanted to be “caught up” with all the books before Goblet released and made my life miserable for a couple of weeks (I track boxoffice grosses for a living).
I am now two-thirds of the way through Order of the Phoenix and I have to say that this series should go down as one of the greatest fantasy series of modern literature. Rowling’s themes of Good vs. Evil, her portrayal of the angst, not just of growing up, but of trying to get it right, are tremendous. She’s drawn me into her world so completely that I find myself reading far into the night when I should be sleeping!
I’ve never understood how “Christians” can in one breath defend Tolkien and Lewis and in the next castigate Rowling. This “party-line” mentality is one of the things that worries me most about contemporary Christianity.
A true story follows, I know it’s true because one of my best friends is one of the principle actors.
My friend attends a church that had the usual Potterite/anti-Potterite polarization. A lady in his Sunday School class blasted the entire class (40 or so people) with an email “proving” that the Potter books were Satanic. My friend read some of the quotations and went looking for the “interviews” with Rowling and could not find them. Finally in frustration he cut out one of the most outlandish sentences quoted and pasted it into a search engine. The very first hit was the above mentioned Onion article.
As Christians, the world believes we’re fools. Giving the world more ammunition is seriously counter-productive. Unless you’re prepared to tell me WHY Tolkien and Lewis’s use of magic is “good” and Rowling’s is “evil,” please don’t spout off about it. Even more, if you haven’t actually read the source material, can you really form a reasonable opinion on the subject?
“I’ve never understood how “Christians” can in one breath defend Tolkien and Lewis and in the next castigate Rowling. This ‘party-line’ mentality is one of the things that worries me most about contemporary Christianity.”
Which is even sillier when you consider that Rowling is a Presbyterian.
Finally saw “The New World” and I think your review is right on. It’s a downright travesty how overlooked this film has been. In regard to why it hasn’t received much Oscar attention, I think your review sums it up:
“Ultimately, The New World defines true love as something more than desire, nostalgia, or sexual chemistry. It boldly condones a higher love characterized by selflessness and fidelity, love that shelters, protects, honors, and heals.”
Also, I left the theater feeling extremely positive. The good vibe probably had something to do with lack of Oscar attention as well.