Can you do me a favor? Close your eyes.
Well, obviously you can't read this and close your eyes at the same time, so before you close your eyes, here is the favor I want; I want you to think of something - something that frightens you the most - your deepest fear.
Now open your eyes, and think about what you pictured.
What did you think about? Losing your spouse? Being in a car accident? Getting Lung cancer? Being drafted? Not getting accepted into the college of your dreams? Being wrongfully accused of murder?
Anyone here, while thinking of your deepest fears, picture Harry Potter at all? How about Hermione Granger? Ron Weasley?
The truth is, in 1997 Harry Potter hit the scenes via the pages of the Sorcerer's Stone; and almost instantly received praise. Just as instantly, though, Mr. Potter fell under controversy.
Harry Potter critics are relying on very questionable sources; claiming that the Harry Potter books as promoting satanic rituals, murder, and sex. By zeroing in on minuscule notes, some critics are taking their opinions beyond the realm of logic. These questionable sources include articles written by people who haven’t read the books, and Christian Fundamentalists that are poking at one or two scriptures from the Bible.
“Harry Potter Conditioning Kids to Love Magick, Witches, and to adopt the values and attitudes of the ‘Coming Great One,’” is one such website that claims “Harry and his friends are learning how to make drugs and the glory of taking them.” This comes from blatantly misinterpreting quotes from the books and twisting them to the opinion. The author found this reference to the glory of drugs when Professor Snape spoke to his potions class: “the delicate power of liquids...creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses.”
Harry Potter did not gain his popularity from Satan’s mystical powers or through the use of witchcraft; but because kids can relate to the struggles of the characters in their everyday lives. Dainne Durante (2003) contends that “Kids who love Harry Potter are in no more in danger of becoming witches than kids who love Finding Nemo are in are in danger of becoming fish,” Harry Potter has maintained his popularity because “as Harry grows older, so do his readers, hence the literary sophistication and darkness of his more recent adventures. Thus preteens who began with Harry eight years ago are finding his recent story still relevant to their lives.”
Who would have guessed that the fictional writings of J.K. Rowling could have had such a large impact on today’s youth? Or that these same writings would have ensnared the nation in such a controversy?
Work Cited
Durante, D. (2003) "Fears Over Harry Potter Unwarranted." 2 July 2003. Winona: Winona Daily News, 2003.
Cutting Edge (2007) "Harry Potter Conditioning Kids to Love Magick, Witches, and to Adopt the Values and Attitudes of the ‘Coming Great One." 15 Mar. 2007. Retrieved May 19, 2007 from Cuttingedge.org.
Ugh can't they find something better to whine about? I mean come on, they remind me of the people in the Witch trials.
Senerio: *a person gets into a fight with her husband and a month later he dies from cancer or something*
Townspeople: Witch! Witch!
...give me a break.
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Amen to that! There are more important things in the world to worry about. The release of the next Harry Potter movie should not derive our attentions from the more important things.
Furthermore, Harry Potter, goes without saying, is a very popular piece of entertainment. People would not care as much as they do now if it without its popularity. For example, some Milk Company tried to sue Silk Milk for using the term "Milk" in it's title. I do not know if you know, but "Silk Milk" is a Soy product that is lactose free. It is extremely tasty and is a hit among consumers. The Milk co. that sued "Silk Milk" didn't care about the "Silk Milk" title when it first came out. Now that "Silk Milk" is a competitive product they, all of a sudden, want to take the "Silk Milk" name to court.
Yeah... I just don't see Harry Potter and his band of wizardy friends replacing spiders in my night terrors.... even though those giant spiders did make quite a few appearances after I watched the Chamber of Secrets.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle
"No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong." Francois De La Rochefoucauld
Those overzealous Christians make me mad because they make a judgement on the book without reading it first. OR, they read too much into it and find evil in every sentence. It's just ridiculous. I mean, why pick on Harry Potter? Did no one complain about the works of Stephen King? What about other books that actually do push some moral limits? I can't think of any immoral books, but they're probably out there.
Or somebody will pretend they're out there.
"Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault." -Oscar Wilde
These people are taciturn and rude, projecting that "holier than thou" air that has earned them the contempt of nearly everyone around them. And they are corrupt even by their own standards. They are modern-day Puritans gone wrong, the ideological descendents of Inquisitors and witch-hunters. And they ARE the stuff of living nightmares worldwide.
"They are modern-day Puritans gone wrong," -
LOL, I couldn't help but chuckle when I read this line... so true!
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"Dream as though you'll live forever, but live as though there's no tomorrow" --James Dean
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/fanaile-essence
I will never let my children read Harry Potter books because they might become witches. Which would scare the crap out of me when they twinkle thier nose, and marry an airforce pilot. I would definately love to burn them at the stake, except Texas is pretty strict about burning anything in the lawn and it's real hard to find a microwave that fits people. Also, even though being turned into a newt might be an enlightening experience, I dont like being sticky.
I also dont want my kids to read Legend of the Five Rings, because having little samurai running around the house tends to freak out the house pets.
For that matter, I must also ban: Animal Farm... the cost of genetically transforming a kid into a pig is astronomical.
Lets not forget to banish from print the devious subversiveness that is the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I just KNOW the children will climb into the Lion cage at the zoo, to find out what quest Azlan wishes to send them on.
Fuck it, Im just going to go burn down the library. Hurray Fareinheit 451... atleast that book has influenced me the correct way.
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"One of the things that draws writers to writing, is that they can get things right that they got wrong in real life, by writing about them"
~ Tobias Wolffe