Why is Harry Potter Evil But Lord of the Rings Heroic?

self | massadvj

[JoeMomma]

I just call 'em as I see 'em, and I don't have to have formal theological training to do that. There are some Christian parents who are willing to take responsibility for their children, and there are others who blame Harry Potter, the ACLU, and everyone but themselves.

It happens -- there are always some people who believe the everything is everyone else's fault but their own.

[JmyBryan]

Magic isn't real. Sorry, but both the good magic and the bad magic went out with the Middle Ages. Sheeeeeeeessshhhh!

[My2Cents]

WHAT IS WRONG WITH DOING SOMETHING TO MAKE A BUCK ??? I thought support of free-market capitalism was a cornerstone of the Conservative Movement. . .

Get off your high horse....We're not talking economic ideology here, but the intent of authors. Tolkien's books were less a commercial venture than a love of lore and myth to him. Sure, he sold the movie rights to LOTR before his death....The amount he received was something along the lines of $14,000, if memory serves me correctly.

[XJarhead]

Apparently, Tolkien was a bit shrewder when selling the movie rights than is commonly believed. I can't recall where I read the article, but his estate apparently gets a cut if the movie makes over a certain percentage of its costs. So it appears that his estate will be doing quite well....

[My2Cents]

Interesting. I had read that all but one of his heirs were opposed to the LOTRs movie series. Maybe their cut isn't as great as they'd like it to be.

[FrdmLvr]

Most of the bookstores I have been in lately feature witchcraft books written for children and are displayed on the table with the Harry Potter books. I definately think HP has piqued an interest in witchcraft in young children.

[Salgak]

Get off YOURS. I do what I do for a living to make a buck, you do too. . .why is a "commercial" motivation automatically suspect ?

[Quix]

Lots of brilliant people, even in our era, have noted that one of satan's greatest successes has been the delusion he's fostered among "enlightened" folk that he doesn't exist. You'll not likely enjoy the status of being his dupe many more years. He's a bit notorious for overplaying his hand. . . which he's likely to do increasingly in our era given his years, days are very much numbered, indeed.

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

In fact, many people who don't like LOTR blast it for its obvious Christian overtones, and view it as propaganda for Christianity.

Thanks X, for answering the questions about the 'angelic' nature of the Istari, while I was out provisioning my larder. I think that there are many who see this prototypical novel as being bound by its genre imitators. They say, 'wizards, dwarves, elves, it must be a child's fantasy'.

This is roughly the equivalent of saying that since a sword and sorcery novel like Conan the Barbarian is light entertainment, that the original story of this type, The Odyssey, is light entertainment also. Having closed their eyes to the possibility that LOTR is great literature, they are not able to see what is there.

[massadvj]

Thanks. Excellent post.

[BradyLS]

Apparently, Tolkien was a bit shrewder when selling the movie rights than is commonly believed. I can't recall where I read the article, but his estate apparently gets a cut if the movie makes over a certain percentage of its costs. So it appears that his estate will be doing quite well....

For the estates sake, I hope they make money. But the suits in Hollywood are notorious for making successful blockbusters look like they actually lose money. The trick is to get a percentage of the box office (gross) profits, not the net. A star from the first Batman movie was pissed because they got an absurdly small payout because supposedly they took a percentage of the net and not the gross.

[Nataku X]

Read the books. Voldemort is the most fiendishly evil & stereotypical villians around, despite what you hear from others who haven't read the books themselves. He kills & tortures everyone in his wake. He even -looks- evil... white skin, black attire, red eyes, almost no nose.

Extremely clear distinction. As opposed to, say, the ending of LotR. We'll see about the ending to HP though.

[John Farson]

Even if the estate doesn't receive a dime from the movie, they will make a killing with the renewed interest in the story. A good number of folks won't care to wait until next Christmas to learn the fate of the Fellowship.

[RnMomof7]

A lot of us are also members of the Got A Life Club. Eternal ones, that is :)

:>)

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"In LOTR, there are maybe 3 wizards on the entire planet, and any spell casting which occurs, if any, is minimal."

I agree. And, taking it a step further, LOTR stresses the importance of the 'lesser' beings or those not imbued with extraodinary powers, stepping up and going the distance. Relying only on their own courage and heart to get the job done for the greater good, with no thought of reward.
That's where the heroism comes in. Potter has none of it.

[John Farson]

What is morally ambiguous about the ending of LotR?

[Nataku X]

Frodo hesistates & loses a finger for it. It is Gollum who actually carries it through.

Don't get me wrong. I think LotR is much better literature and it is much more spiritually challenging than HP (which is mindless entertainment). However the lines between good (Dumbledore) and evil (Voldemort) are extremely sharp. Voldemort kills many people and for no reason, tortures others (including children). Very sharp distinction.

Just something to chew on. I'm not going to come back & answer anything (or make any new arguments). FWIW, I wouldn't let my child read either HP or LotR until they were in middle school.

[John Farson]

It is Gollum who actually carries it through.

Yes, greed tends to destroy itself. It was the good in Bilbo, and later Frodo, that kept them from killing Gollum. That Frodo faltered at the end does not obscure good and evil, IMO.

[Cascadians]

The ending of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, is one of the spiritually holiest passages we have ever read. A conscious return to God. The sublime and ultimate point of the entire epic.

[DJ MacWoW]

Let me quote a friend of mine.........

In chapter nine of the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry breaks the rules by flying a broom immediately after being ordered not to do so. The rule had been set in place moments before Harry chose to break it and was set for the safety of Harry and the other children. Because Harry turned out to be a natural on the broom, a good end, his breaking of the rule, the means, was justified. According to the end of chapter ten and the beginning of chapter eleven, the close friendship between Harry, Ron and Hermione begins in part because Hermione is finally willing to lie and break the rules. As the story develops we see Harry, Ron and Hermione breaking rules, sneaking into forbidden parts of the school, and lying. But, since it all works out in the end, it's OK. Is that the lesson we want our children to learn?