Is Harry Potter merely entertainment?

BP News ^ | 6-3-04 | Phil Boatwright

[Frank_Discussion]

For me, it was Barbara Eden on I Dream of Jeannie...

[kevkrom]

he kids in Harry Potter gravitate to sorcery in order to accomplish these attributes

Actually, they generally resort to good old fashioned bravery and resourcefulness. Relying on a magic spell to save the day would ruin the narrative structure by some kind of deus ex machina.

[Always Right]

I'm sorry... I am about as religious as they come and still not in a convent, but I just don't buy that the Harry Potter concerns are any worse than wishing I was the good witch Windy of the Wizard of Oz when I was a little girl.

I always blamed the TV show 'Bewitched' as responsible for the downfall of society....Elizabeth Montgomery twikling her nose was just pure evil.

[flashbunny]

What this thread needs is that "aww, not this SH&$ again" pic...

[exile]

"If they want to learn "magic", I'll buy them some trick cards."

You know, witchcraft is pure superstitious garbage, but I don't know if I'd let my kids practice stage magic, either. I wouldn't want them to end up like Seigfried & Roy ;)

[Frank_Discussion]

"You can be religious and not be discerning." Absolutely. As a matter of fact, that street runs both ways, and you should consider that.

[kevkrom]

I don't know if I'd let my kids practice stage magic, either. I wouldn't want them to end up like Seigfried & Roy

Or worse... if they get used to misdirection and hand-waving they could become politicians -- or even journalists!

[nina0113]

Movie opens tomorrow! And I for one cannot wait.

I wish it was one more week - I took tomorrow off to do a whole bunch of errands, and the temptation to play hooky and go see it is awfully strong. I'm looking forward to the movie much more than the next book - the last one needed some serious editing, and it seems that everyone's afraid to edit her now - too important.

[cripplecreek]

The Potter books and movies are no threat to anyone. I watched the movies out of curiosity and found them to be entertaining but nothing more. There is no attack on christianity or overt promotion of the occult in the stories.

The Star wars movies have more religious content that the Potter series. Much ado about nothing.

[maryz]

I urge all good people of Christian faith to burn this evil book forthwith."

Actually, right on the money about Moby Dick -- read it sometime checking the use of Bible quotes and references. I like Harry Potter, though -- much less anti-Christian.

[zeugma]

The movies are pretty vacuous, but the books have a lot of interesting subthemes. I've read each of the HP books as they've come out (after my daughter of course), and have found them to be great opportunities to discuss a number of things brought up in the books, like racism and other less virulent forms of prejudice, justice, destiny, free will and other concepts. The world of Harry Potter is not a perfect place. It has many of the same kinds of evils that exist in the real world, but, being a fictional place, is much easier to discuss with a youngster.

Overall, I like the books. I think many of the people who criticise it are reacting emotionally to the topic without having taken the time to really look into it.

[Bella_Bru]

No kidding!

[jaime1959]

More nutso Christian paranoia about Harry Potter.

[Dead Corpse]

It'd be so cool be be Buck Rogers.

It'd be so cool to be Tarzan.

It'd be so cool to be Foghorn Leghorn.

Get over it... Potter has as much to do with modern paganism as Liberals do with small government.

[Xenalyte]

"I love Harry Potter. I think it would be so cool to be a witch," Sharon, age 11, says.

That's my answer to anyone who says J.K. Rowling's adventure series is harmless fantasy.

I'd like to be a fakir - you know, those Indian dudes who climb the ropes and such. It would be so cool.

However, like as I might, I AM NOT A FAKIR AND WILL NEVER BE ONE.

Sharon, age 11, is not a witch and will never be one. No matter how many times she brandishes her magic wand, "Expecto Patronus" will never work for her.

Sometimes people are just plain stupid.

[Xenalyte]

I am about as religious as they come and still not in a convent, but I just don't buy that the Harry Potter concerns are any worse than wishing I was the good witch Windy of the Wizard of Oz when I was a little girl.

Begone, demon! I cast thee out!

[Frank_Discussion]

"It'd be so cool to be Foghorn Leghorn."

I say, I say, LOL, boy!

[r9etb]

It's fiction. Pure and simple.

It's a little more than fiction -- I think if you look at them critically, you can see that Rowling may be engaged in some religious allegory.

Note, for example, that the HP books have pretty much the same moral message as LOTR and the Narnia books. Indeed, Rowling has adopted many aspects of those universes. For example, many of the HP magical creatures are characters in Lewis's Narnia. The Dumbledore/Gandalf connection is likewise obvious. And of course, we could paint the kids as either Lewis's Pevensie children, or Tolkein's Hobbits....

The symbolism of the houses is suggestive, too -- Slytherin, home of the dark side, is represented by a serpent. Can't think where else the dark side is shown as such... ;-) Gryffindor is symbolized by a lion. (Aslan, anyone?) The Raven (Ravenclaw's symbol) has some interesting and suggestive Christian meanings, and the Badger (Hufflepuff) is likewise suggestive.

[Wyatt's Torch]

The Star wars movies have more religious content that the Potter series.

Yeah, and I tried for years to make that "Force" thing work. I just stopped short of drawing pentagrams on the walls and sacrificing goats in my room though...whew!

[Bella_Bru]

Oh, I already took tomorrow off. I put in for that months ago. :-)