First off, to those of you who regularly read this blog that are not named Dania Frandsen, I apologize. I had every intention of posting last Saturday, then again on Monday before today. However, I realized that I was interested in posting so much because I had been manipulated. Very subtly, Dania created a competition to rouse my competitive spirit and thus get me to post more often. I won't stand for being manipulated, so I refused to post. I considered ceasing the blog altogether, but decided it would not be fair to punish the rest of you for Dania's underhanded tactics.
I had no intention of posting today, though. I was planning on taking the week off. And then today came. "Harry Potter Day", as it has affectionately been dubbed. I thought I had mentally prepared myself. I really did my best to be positive on this day, but the onslaught was just too much. For those of you who don't know, I hate Harry Potter. I hate it worse than I hate the movie Enchanted, the genre of rap, and the taste of green beans. About the only thing I can think of at this moment that I hate more than Harry Potter is the Twilight series. At least with Twilight, there is a large, vocal portion of the population that recognizes its failings. That is about its only redeeming quality. But that is a topic for another day.
Today, we are talking about Harry Potter. At one point in time, there was controversy about the series being satanic. I might just agree, but for different reasons. The books do not attempt to teach satanic, devil-worshiping messages. They actually have some good morals to them, if you read them in the right way. No, the problem with Harry Potter is not the content of the books. The problem is the quality of that content in conjunction with the series' overwhelming popularity. I don't think there is a single person reading this blog (at least, I hope not) that would disagree with the statement that The Lord of the Rings is much, much better than Harry Potter. The writing of The Lord of the Rings has a beauty Harry Potter doesn't even come close to. Compare the films based off these two series. The Lord of the Rings trilogy of movies earned 17 Oscars. The Harry Potter series, with six films released and the seventh to be released in a matter of hours, has yet to win one. The Return of the King alone won 11. Yet how much more are we celebrating the release of this film than we did The Return of the King? I don't believe (although I'm not sure) the BYU Bell Tower played The Lord of the Rings theme when any of the films were released. Harry Potter has become part of our cultural identity, poisoning our society, and that is a true tragedy. We are allowing J.K. Rowling and her conspirators to milk this cash cow dry. Honestly, is there any good reason to make the 7th movie in two parts? Yes, because they can make a whole lot more money by having a second movie. If there were any book that was worth the attention to detail to make into two movies, it was the fourth; the third book was better, but it was shorter and more easily condensed. But they didn't try and make the fourth into two films. Instead, they make the last one into two films, when the first half of the book, according to my brother who I very much trust on this matter (I have not actually read it for myself; I didn't have the heart), is basically "Harry being emo in the woods." And students around the world are going to trudge to school half asleep (if at all) to watch that? If that doesn't indicate a problem with our society, I don't know what does. The only saving grace of Harry Potter is that it started out good. The first, third, and fourth books were fun and well-written. Of course, that only set it up for its later fall, but the series did have its moments. Which is about the only thing that gets it put above Twilight.
While I can understand your point of view, as a hard core Harry Potter fan I feel like I should stand up for the series. It's true that Harry Potter does not rank at the same level as Lord of the Rings, but frankly is there anything that does? Perhaps our society should have gotten more excited about the movies, but as you mentioned about the Oscars, LotR did receive the glory and attention it deserved.
ReplyDeleteHowever, to place Harry Potter on the same level as Twilight is, to me, scandalous. Rowling does have her flat moments, but so do all authors. The fact that Hollywood has botched bringing it to the screen is sad, but should not reflect poorly on the actual books. If you look at the series as a whole, it seems to me that Harry Potter is likely to become a treasured classic. Here are a few reasons why.
There are so many little details and deep developments that show how much Rowling thought this story through. It is not a Stephanie Myers that happened to succeed the first time and so dragged out for several more books. If you take the time to read all seven books side by side, you will notice these things. There is the Vanishing Cabinet that was mentioned in passing in the second book that became pivotal in the sixth. There is the constant connection between Harry and Voldemort that continues to build in little nuances until the climactic battle in the final book. There is the character development that leaves fans crying not for the main characters, but for that beloved secondary figure. There are depths that bring people back to reread again and again, because it is actually a complex story.
Next is one of the major themes, the Hero's Journey. Much of the world's great literature follows this theme; the Odyssey, Hamlet, Ender's Game, even Lord of the Rings. Stories that contain this progression of the main character have hung around through the ages and crop up across all different countries. Personally, I think this is because it follows Christ's story and thus resonates with the soul, but that is beside the point. Harry Potter is a prime example of this deep idea, if you know what to look for. That is why it will still be read and loved when Twilight has been put in a box with thousands of other dime romance novels that the next generation has never heard of.
The last reason to love Harry Potter is the uniqueness of the wizard world. While Rowling may not equal Tolkien in the number of new creations that fill her books, she has assuredly expanded the imagination in a way most authors do not. The number of magical books, laws, creatures, and concepts she came up with are astonishing. I love the chapter in the seventh book that goes more in depth on wand lore. The idea of house-elfs is also an interesting concept. She may not have invented a new language, but Rowling has created a rich and deep culture that adds to the literary merit of her books.
I’m not saying that you have to love Harry Potter. If you don’t like it, fine. But maybe reconsider before you degrade such an interesting series mainly for the reason that the media is hyped up about it.
Good call, David. Harry Potter pales in comparison to Lord of the Rings; so pale that it looks sickly. I mean, I enjoy Harry Potter. But you bring up a valid point, that being: Harry Potter = overrated. Lord of the Rings = underrated. Good man, David.
ReplyDeleteThe day Harry Potter becomes a "treasured classic" will be a sad day indeed. Let me start by saying that I took it overboard with my comparison to Twilight. I really do despise Twilight much more than I do Harry Potter. The recent explosion of Harry Potter mania polarized me against the books to an extent that is not an accurate representation of my views, but why should I refrain from hating the fruit just because the roots are the actual problem?
ReplyDeleteYou mention, however, several points which I wish to disabuse you on. You claim Rowling has "her flat moments" but defend it by saying "so do all authors." A flat moment, however, is not for an entire 1000+ page book. Or a couple of 300+ page books. When I put down the second book, I was disappointed by the quality of the writing. Luckily, Rowling redeemed herself with the third and fourth books. The fifth book, however, was a struggle to get through. In the name of finishing the series, I persevered, but I did not enjoy it. I hoped that once again a recovery would be made in the next book, but I was sadly disappointed. The sixth fared no better than the fifth. After reading, I could not stomach the thought of reading the seventh again. I tried. I reread the third and fourth books trying to restore my faith in Rowling. I couldn't do it. I was too disgusted by the fifth and sixth books to read another. That is not a flat moment; that is a flat book, and not all authors have that.
Secondly, you speak of the "character development" that causes fans to cry for the "beloved secondary figure." I would like to point out, however, that the big shocking death of the seventh book was Hedwig. Please show me passages that show the development of Hedwig as a character. I don't see them, and I attribute the weeping of the fans to their own silliness rather than great writing on Rowling's part.
Thirdly, you address the Hero's Journey archetype as a reason to respect Harry Potter. While there is nothing wrong with using this archetype, and there are several good things about it, the archetype itself does not a classic make. I wonder just how many works that deal with this theme are lost in library bookshelves, seldom to be read again. I sure hope that Harry Potter is not added to the list of classics just by being a merely decent example of the Hero's Journey.