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I never got into Harry Potter much. Read the first book, saw a couple of movies. They seem pretty good, just not my thing.
I just don’t like that kind of magic. I’m not being silly here, either. The “wave your wand and say a spell” is so antithetical to the kind of magic that I believe is important. But it’s fun to read about, I know, and I think it’s great that kids are reading more because of it. I’m aware of at least one case where a cool kid has graduated from Rowling to Ursula K. LeGuin. That can’t be bad!
Have you ever read “The Crystal Cave” or “The Hollow Hills” by Mary Stewart? Now there’s a Merlin I could get into. I always wondered how a woman could write as a man and a magician, and know so much about the thoughts of both.
I hope snarky adult critics don’t waste their time and make fools of themselves analyzing and paralyzing what essentially should be a romp for children and teens. That kind of thing always makes me feel sorry for a generation, like when those over-reaching NPR music, film or book critics try to make everything so dramatic with their emoting voices … “The texture of Fiddy’s lyrics give his works a depth which one formerly only associated with the likes of Blake…”
That kind of thing would only give a bad taste to the kids of the generation that is really part of the Potter phenomenon.
The other side of the coin is how the present generation of “young people” (teens and above) have tried to do in Tolkien with fandom of special-effects movies and accessories. Damn, it was about language as much as plot. Now it’s about celebrities (many of whom don’t give an orc’s arse about Tolkein) and green-screens.
I cringe when I hear people talk about Tolkien in terms of “Too bad the books weren’t as good as the movies, duuuude.”
Seems like most Potter fans don’t have this problem, because they grew up with the books and the movies, and the books were basically written with movies in mind. Rowling doesn’t seem to be rolling in anything but lucre, while Tolkien spins in his grave (hear that humming sound?)
But the gist of this isn’t to complain about anyone ruining stuff for me, it’s just to plead with other adults to give it a rest and let the young fans have what is really theirs. Why do adults have to control everything?
I’m actually sorry I felt the need to comment on this.
Hotcha!
Professor Homunculus
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