Posted on 07/13/2009 5:02:19 PM PDT by Artemis Webb
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican lauded the latest Harry Potter film on Monday, saying "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" made the age-old debate over good vs. evil crystal clear.
The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano even gave two thumbs up to the film's treatment of adolescent love, saying it achieved the "correct balance" and made the stars more credible to the general audience.
The newspaper said the film, which opens Wednesday, was the best adaptation yet of the J.K. Rowling series about the adventures of the bespectacled child wizard Harry Potter and his Hogwarts chums as they battle Harry's nemesis, the evil sorcerer Voldemort.
While criticizing Rowling for omitting any explicit "reference to the transcendent" in her books, L'Osservatore said the latest installment nevertheless makes clear that good should overcome evil "and that sometimes this requires costs and sacrifice."
(Excerpt) Read more at movies.yahoo.com ...
“L’Oservatore Romano” is anewspaper. It does not equal “The Vatican.”
It figures.
I have always felt that Harry Potter is basically conservative although
i’m sure jk rowling would howl at the thought. the same thing
with buffy tv show. Despite being written and produced by liberals,
they can’t help but make the point that passivity doesn’t work.
that evil must be fought. remember the horror of vigo mortenson
when parallels were drawn between the was in afghanistan and lord
of the rings?
I didn't hear of that.
“It figures.”
What? Catholics are Christians, aren’t they?
Vatican or not, I’m always glad to hear of devout Christians willing to give Harry Potter a chance instead of going on book-banning witch hunts. That kind of stuff just feeds the “ignorant Fundie” stereotype. The magic in Harry Potter has about as much to do with Satan as the magic in fairy tales, myths, Arthurian legends, Lord of the Rings, Beowulf, and other classics. Why makes those suitable for children, but not Harry Potter?
Yes, it makes witchcraft look fun (as do Cinderella and Lord of the Rings) but kids are going to be gravely disappointed in “the real thing” if they think it’s going to be like Harry Potter.
i meant war. gee, my eyesight is bad.
Fantasy lends itself very well to conservative ideas. Moral absolutes, courage, devoted relationships, religious piety, good fighting evil, the folly of pacifism...the list goes on.
“Why makes those suitable for children, but not Harry Potter?”
Should be “what,” not “why.” Whoops.
Hopefully they will have the good sense not to try it. Evil is made sweet, to tempt, delude and then destroy.
The previews show a bit too much “kissy” teenagers to cause me some concern with my 8 and 6 year olds. Should I be?
I don’t think so.
The character of Harry has a simple kiss (described as a “peck”) with a character. The character of Hermione “plants one” on Ron Weasley but it’s just one scene.
As for the teenage romances in the Half Blood Prince, it's hand holding, googly eyes, and lots of smooching. There are no intimations of anything more. So it's a safe kind of romance story for pre-teens and teens alike.
Nah, the kissy face stuff is probably tame; it was in the books. Now, the havoc wreaked by Voldemort, or the fight scenes between his followers and the others, that might be a little intense for your kids. I don't know what the rating is going to be, so you might ought to wait until someone you know and trust has seen it.
When our kids were young, and we wanted to find out all about the movies they wanted to see, we went to the Kids in Mind website. They have very extensive reviews that especially cover the areas of sexuality, language and violence, so you'll be forewarned if there's anything in the movie that you don't want your kids to see.
Thank you so much. TV bombards my young children with smut when they overhear what Mom and Dad are watching. 8am and it's a morning show touting "life with two daddys". 11am and it's a Cialis ad and "make sure you're healthy enough for sex". Today at 3:45 right after Kristinn on MSNBC, it was "Republicans impeached Bill Clinton over a b**w j*b". We are going to have to start wearing headphones.
Our kids are college aged now, so those things aren't as distressing to us as they used to be. But our kids sure don't like them! THEY get embarrassed now, when we're watching TV and the Enzyte, Cialis, or feminine hygeine commercials come on.
While it is hard to say about the movie, there seems to be quite a lot of Ron and Lavender kissy-face in the book.
Are your kids familiar with the story? A major character is killed, and I think it may be too dark for a 6 YO.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.