Harry Potter
With the release of the third Harry Potter movie last June and its subsequent release this month on video/DVD, and the much talked about 6th book: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the debate about Harry continues to rage amongst the Christian community. The main objection surrounds the downplaying of the occult to children. The main point is that Harry Potter will prompt kids in this internet age to go looking for actual witchcraft information online. While this is definitely a concern, to intelligent kids and their parents, this should not be a major problem.
The first thing made plain in the books is that their are magic folk and non-magic folk, also known as muggles. No amount of magical items (wands, charms, etc.) are going to work for a muggle. Only when magical power is present within the individual, can it be amplified and directed by a wand or charm. Then there's the fact that a wand, in order to be effective, has to have a magical core comprised of a unicorn tail hair, phoenix feather, veela hair, etc. in order to work. Since none of these creatures exist, or because according to the books these creatures are kept "hidden" from muggles to protect them, even possessing such an item is impossible. I guess even the magical world has endangered species requiring human protection.
The books strongly imply, without overtly saying so directly, that magical ability is a genetic trait that kicks in with the onset of puberty (Harry was 11 when he first noticed it by setting a snake loose on his insufferable cousin Dudley). In the 2nd movie, Hagrid tells Harry, Ron, and Hermione, after Malfoy calls Hermione a "mudblood" (a derogatory term for half-breed), that most wizards are half blood or less because they'd have died out otherwise. (In the book it's Ron who explains this in between belching slugs.) The Malfoys think they're better than everyone one else because they're "pure blood." From another description given in the 5th book, this seems to be, more or less, due to inbreeding since there are few families left who are of pure magical lineage (the Malfoys, Blacks, and the Weasleys among them). This was a problem back in medieval times amongst the various royal families of Europe.
If parents would read these books with their kids, not only would they find them enjoyable for themselves, they would be able to explain these things to their kids. Perhaps I'm just more comfortable with this genre given its close association with science fiction, which as every good writer/fan knows, has to have a basis in reality if it's going to be good. Fantasy has become more of a separate genre of late, but earlier on was linked with science fiction (sci-fi/fantasy). J.K. Rowling has carefully thought through these background items and has laid certain groundrules that apply to the world she has created in her books. This needs to be understood and explained if parents are to have peace of mind and kids are to have a solid grounding in reality.
NOTE: To put it in a context that fits the Harry Potter world, one could say that the occult paraphernalia, witchcraft, sorcery, etc. that is believed by muggles to be the real thing is a "cover story" designed to throw off those who would discover the true magical world. The charlatans who believe and practice these things discredit those who would believe otherwise, thereby keeping the true magical world concealed from prying eyes.
The first thing made plain in the books is that their are magic folk and non-magic folk, also known as muggles. No amount of magical items (wands, charms, etc.) are going to work for a muggle. Only when magical power is present within the individual, can it be amplified and directed by a wand or charm. Then there's the fact that a wand, in order to be effective, has to have a magical core comprised of a unicorn tail hair, phoenix feather, veela hair, etc. in order to work. Since none of these creatures exist, or because according to the books these creatures are kept "hidden" from muggles to protect them, even possessing such an item is impossible. I guess even the magical world has endangered species requiring human protection.
The books strongly imply, without overtly saying so directly, that magical ability is a genetic trait that kicks in with the onset of puberty (Harry was 11 when he first noticed it by setting a snake loose on his insufferable cousin Dudley). In the 2nd movie, Hagrid tells Harry, Ron, and Hermione, after Malfoy calls Hermione a "mudblood" (a derogatory term for half-breed), that most wizards are half blood or less because they'd have died out otherwise. (In the book it's Ron who explains this in between belching slugs.) The Malfoys think they're better than everyone one else because they're "pure blood." From another description given in the 5th book, this seems to be, more or less, due to inbreeding since there are few families left who are of pure magical lineage (the Malfoys, Blacks, and the Weasleys among them). This was a problem back in medieval times amongst the various royal families of Europe.
If parents would read these books with their kids, not only would they find them enjoyable for themselves, they would be able to explain these things to their kids. Perhaps I'm just more comfortable with this genre given its close association with science fiction, which as every good writer/fan knows, has to have a basis in reality if it's going to be good. Fantasy has become more of a separate genre of late, but earlier on was linked with science fiction (sci-fi/fantasy). J.K. Rowling has carefully thought through these background items and has laid certain groundrules that apply to the world she has created in her books. This needs to be understood and explained if parents are to have peace of mind and kids are to have a solid grounding in reality.
NOTE: To put it in a context that fits the Harry Potter world, one could say that the occult paraphernalia, witchcraft, sorcery, etc. that is believed by muggles to be the real thing is a "cover story" designed to throw off those who would discover the true magical world. The charlatans who believe and practice these things discredit those who would believe otherwise, thereby keeping the true magical world concealed from prying eyes.
posted by Postmann | 11:32 AM
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