I know I’m not the only one excited about the release of the first of the last of the Harry Potter movies. My facebook news feed is full of Potter anticipation and several of my friends already went to see it at midnight early this morning. Have you seen it? Are you planning on seeing it this weekend? I won’t be going to see it this weekend, unfortunately. We’ve planned on it being our Thanksgiving family movie next week. At any rate, I thought I’d revisit my previous posts on Potter as it relates to topics generally discussed on my blog (right to life, family, contraception, homosexuality, etc…):
Harry Potter, Magic and Contraception – the link to the original article in this post is no longer available and I can’t find it anywhere, just FYI.
To Rowling’s Credit – on Rowling’s revelation that the character of Dumbledore is supposed to be gay.
Bonus: Catholics and Harry Potter – a post I wrote on my dad’s Catholic blog
11/20 update – another bonus: Deeper Magic, Deeper Meanings in Harry Potter – an interview with the author of the book One Fine Potion: The Literary Magic of Harry Potter on the importance of community, the handling of power, the need for redemption in Rowling’s work.
12 Comments on “Happy Potter Day! *Updated*”
The text of your father is one of the wisest evaluations of Harry Potter I’ve ever read.
In my opinion the magic in the books symbolizes the talents and traits we have been given. It is up to us how we use it; do we use them for creating good in the world or harming. Our talents themselves are innocent. Harry Potter books are full of description of courage, taking the stand for the just cause against the evil, friendship and values which are sadly disappearing in the Western world today. Yet we see only the magic as itself, and not the way how the magic-users use it – and what motivations they have.
It is just that the more one has been given, the more capable one is – and also the greater the downfall if the capability is used for sinister purposes. J.R.R. Tolkien treats this issue really nicely in the Ring trilogy – and also in the Silmarillion. And, yes, ascetism can create St. Benedict, but it can also create Adolf Hitler. It is up to us how we use our talents, our skills and our traits. To choose between good and evil. In my humble opinion, that is the greatest lesson to be learnt in Harry Potter – and in the traditional fairy tales as well.
To use a history re-enactor’s expression, the herb garden of a witch and a nun is the same. It all depends whether one uses the herbs for causing harm or healing – the herbs themselves are innocent.
I don’t understand your affection for Harry Potter … what do you think of Michael D. O’Brien and his writings on Harry Potter? And Fr. Euteneuer who has criticized Potter and Twilight? And, of course, the Pope did too, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger.
http://www.studiobrien.com/writings_on_fantasy/preface-to-harry-potter.html
Jeanette: see my post Catholics and Harry Potter – I explain it all there.
For what it’s worth, I do not like Twilight. But that’s mostly because I just think it’s a stupid story and I find Bella’s complete dependency on Edward for her own personal happiness to be pathetic and, quite frankly, a more dangerous aspect of the book than the concept of friendly vampires and werewolves. It would be just as dangerous even if Edward was a regular teenage boy she had these feelings about.
Note: I updated this post with a link to an interview with the author of One Fine Potion: The Literary Magic of Harry Potter
In it she says, responding to critics of Harry Potter:
My daughter wanted to see it at midnight. I wanted to wait for it to come out on Netflix. I told her that we’d compromise and get it when it comes out on Netflix and then watch it at midnight when it arrived. She failed to see the humor.
Chelsea, please see the following commentary I posted on Free Republic which is a quote from O’Brien’s book, Harry Potter and The Paganization of Culture. I know you’re an avid reader. This might be a book you’d like to read at some point in time (it can be read in a day or two), so that you could comment on it. He disagrees [at times] with your assessment on the link you left for me above to read …
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2631342/posts?page=218#218
Jeanette – I read the commentary. I’ve read every argument there has been about it on both sides and I still don’t see – after also reading through all seven books myself – anything inherently wrong with them. From a magical/fantasy standpoint, I don’t see much difference between them and what’s in the Lord of the Rings or the Narnia series. At the same time, I also do not consider them “childrens” books and do not approve of parents just letting their children (young children especially) read these – or any other books, for that matter – without either reading it themselves first or reading with them, as I mentioned in the post I wrote on my dad’s website.
If memory serves me correctly, O’Brien also criticizes Tolkien for his Lord of The Rings trilogy and the magic therein. Could be something wrong with that man.
Subvet ~ Your memory is not serving you well. O’Brien is very fond of Tolkien. Saying something is “wrong” with O’Brien, when *you* are the one that is wrong, makes you look a little bit foolish.
And Chelsea, if you haven’t read O’Brien’s book in its entirety, then you haven’t read everything out there yet. I would still love for you to read it sometime and comment on it via your blog. In other words for you to debate him on his points.
Jeanette – if this was another blog, maybe. As it is, I try to keep this blog on the topic of family/life issues, hence, the only posts I did on here regarding Harry Potter were related to those issues specifically and not HP in general. Also, I’ve got enough on my list of books I actually want to read and am trying to get through reading right now. I’ve done my Potter research, including reading O’Brien’s take through some interviews he did a few years ago and, quite frankly, I’m tired of the whole debate.
I was so looking forward to your thoughts. 🙁 Maybe another time …