Actually, no, the HP books do NOT send “the message that ‘Really cool kids practice magic and summon demons.’”
No offense, but because you have your fundmental facts wrong, your opinions — based on such misconceptions — persuade me only about you, not about the books that you’ve not read or have inserted non-existent materials into.
“No offense, but because you have your fundmental facts wrong, your opinions — based on such misconceptions — persuade me only about you, not about the books that you’ve not read or have inserted non-existent materials into.”
Sorry to disagree. I’ve read the first book and seen the movie. Harry Potter is cool. He’s the good guy. He practices magic. He wins. And, magic is clearly a morally neutral movie subject—good guys do it and bad guys do it.
I’m sure you have a deeper and more profound understanding of the literary depths of the series. I like to keep it simple when screening stuff for an eleven year old. He will. “Dad, was that cool when Harry blasted . . .?”
“No offense, but because you have your fundmental facts wrong, your opinions — based on such misconceptions — persuade me only about you, not about the books that you’ve not read or have inserted non-existent materials into.”
Sorry to disagree. I’ve read the first book and seen the movie. Harry Potter is cool. He’s the good guy. He practices magic. He wins. And, magic is clearly a morally neutral movie subject—good guys do it and bad guys do it.
I’m sure you have a deeper and more profound understanding of the literary depths of the series. I like to keep it simple when screening stuff for an eleven year old. He will. “Dad, was that cool when Harry blasted . . .?”
I know what you mean. The Harry Potter books aren’t set in a world of Muggles wanting to be wizards, or wizards wanting to be Muggles. The opposite, in fact.
Squibs (non-magical people from the wizarding world) and Mudbloods (magical people from the Muggle world) are a plot device. Without Harry Potter and Voldemort both growing up abandoned in the mundane non-magical world, their destinies and origins wouldn’t have made any sense and the whole ethnic purity aspect of the Death Eaters wouldn’t work.
But apart from the Muggleborns and the Squibs, these are explicitly described as two utterly seperate worlds that clash and don’t interact unless they are forced to.
Muggles who know of magic - especially the Dursleys - tend to despise magic and distrust it, and even the Prime Minister resents and distrusts his wizarding counterpart. Conversely, the blueblood wizarding world is massively prejudiced against Muggle-borns and those who show an interest in the Muggle world.
Wherever the two worlds collide, it’s a complete culture clash. Just look at the wizards who are supposed to interact with Muggles on a daily basis, in a professional capacity - they haven’t got a clue about anything.
The Muggle-born kids in Hogwarts aren’t allowed to exercise magic outside of the school context (in the same fashion, wizards aren’t supposed to play with Muggle technology outside of a controlled environment).
So I think too much is made of the magical setting.
In one world you travel by car and flying with a broomstick would be a major no-no, in the other world you travel by broomstick and cars are a no-no. And never the twain shall meet...
As for “cool kids practice magic”, that’s just daft.
The point is continually hammered home from the first book on, that for the most part, Hogwarts life is not that dissimilar to a normal school day in an independent boarding school; the novelty of the lessons being geared around using magic instead of technology and the pictures and stairs moving around soon wears off (after all it’s not really relevant to the plot), and those who study hard at it (like Hermione) are quickly identified as nerds.
By the time one gets halfway through the series, one notices the most fun to be had outside of class is through practical jokes, snacking, brawling, sneaking off into town, and trying to get a date - just like any normal school.