Harry Potter?

[Regina7]

I couldn’t find any old threads on this.

Do you let your kids read/watch Harry Potter? The new illustrated version has just been released. I know that my son, a reluctant reader, would love it. However, I also remember that the pastor at the Catholic school my kids used to attend said that parents should not let their kids read it (I’m guessing it’s because of the witchcraft, but Father didn’t really specify).

What do you all think?

 

[Kelfa28]

Hoo boy!

Haven’t seen one of these in awhile!

I’ll just start the popcorn now!

For the record, I grew up reading Harry Potter and loved every second of it.

I can’t wait for my kids to get a little older so we can grab the series, get some warm blankets and pjs and curl up with me so I can read it to them.
I don’t think I’d pick up an illustrated version though…only because I had the most fun imagining what the characters looked like.

Now that I’ve outed myself as a Harry Potter fan and a Catholic…I’m signing off to watch the fireworks go off.

 

[pensmama87]

The books emphasize self-sacrifice and love. The magic is not occult but an inherited ability and using those gifts wisely is also mentioned. The main character is “taken in” by a large family that is portrayed very, very positively. Oppression by government is also portrayed in a negative light.

I was not a big fan of the movies just because I don’t think they’re very good, but AFAIK there’s nothing morally objectionable about them.

 

[Regina7]

Hoo boy!

Haven’t seen one of these in awhile!

I’ll just start the popcorn now!

For the record, I grew up reading Harry Potter and loved every second of it.

I can’t wait for my kids to get a little older so we can grab the series, get some warm blankets and pjs and curl up with me so I can read it to them.
I don’t think I’d pick up an illustrated version though…only because I had the most fun imagining what the characters looked like.

Now that I’ve outed myself as a Harry Potter fan and a Catholic…I’m signing off to watch the fireworks go off.

I didn’t realize this would be so controversial.

I read the books as an adult (I’m older than you, Kelfa). I, too, enjoyed them. I was a nanny for a boy when they had just come out. He was a pretty bad student, mostly because he was a poor reader. He voluntarily started Harry Potter and had read up to the third book in one week. For this kid, that was amazing. This was seriously the first book he had voluntarily read. So I’ve seen firsthand how this series has gotten non-readers to read.

But…I keep hearing Father say that we parents should be ashamed of ourselves for letting our kids read it. Again, I personally never heard his argument why. I think I’d need a good explanation. It’s fantasy, I get it, but so is Lord of the Rings.

So someone please help!

 

[Regina7]

The books emphasize self-sacrifice and love. The magic is not occult but an inherited ability and using those gifts wisely is also mentioned. The main character is “taken in” by a large family that is portrayed very, very positively. Oppression by government is also portrayed in a negative light.

I was not a big fan of the movies just because I don’t think they’re very good, but AFAIK there’s nothing morally objectionable about them.

Right. Harry Potter and his friends were good, noble characters. It seems like a good portrayal of good versus evil.

 

[Lou2U]

I absolutely love Harry Potter!

There isn’t really “witchcraft” in it - none of the spells are real, and all the characters who use magic for evil get their comeuppance.

I’ve never really understood the argument against the books, because it is fantasy and it is fiction. So many other books have fantasy elements in them, like the Lord of the Rings (and IMHO, Harry Potter is much better!), and anything that gets your son reading will definitely benefit him.

Lou

 

[Xantippe]

The books emphasize self-sacrifice and love. The magic is not occult but an inherited ability and using those gifts wisely is also mentioned. The main character is “taken in” by a large family that is portrayed very, very positively. Oppression by government is also portrayed in a negative light.

I was not a big fan of the movies just because I don’t think they’re very good, but AFAIK there’s nothing morally objectionable about them.

I think the last movie is better than the last book, but the last book was kind of big and sloppy. I think they stopped editing Ms. Rowling around book 5.

I haven’t seen every one of the movies, but a number of them are way too scary for little kids. And for me, too!

 

[Kelfa28]

I didn’t realize this would be so controversial.

I read the books as an adult (I’m older than you, Kelfa). I, too, enjoyed them. I was a nanny for a boy when they had just come out. He was a pretty bad student, mostly because he was a poor reader. He voluntarily started Harry Potter and had read up to the third book in one week. For this kid, that was amazing. This was seriously the first book he had voluntarily read. So I’ve seen firsthand how this series has gotten non-readers to read.

But…I keep hearing Father say that we parents should be ashamed of ourselves for letting our kids read it. Again, I personally never heard his argument why. I think I’d need a good explanation. It’s fantasy, I get it, but so is Lord of the Rings.

So someone please help!

I’ll just say this:

A majority if the objectors to the books haven’t read the series themselves and see it only as a set of books that teach witchcraft and the occult.

They haven’t read the stories and realized it’s just fiction that teaches about love, self sacrifice and good versus evil.

Kids are smart and can see the deeper meanings behind the books they read.

 

[Regina7]

I think the last movie is better than the last book, but the last book was kind of big and sloppy. I think they stopped editing Ms. Rowling around book 5.

I haven’t seen every one of the movies, but a number of them are way too scary for little kids. And for me, too!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie that was better than the book. In the case of Harry Potter, and many other movies, they focus more on violence, whereas the books focus more on the causes or effects of violence.

I definitely wouldn’t let son watch HP (he had nightmares for a month after watching ET). But the books…I’m leaning to yes.

 

[pensmama87]

I think the last movie is better than the last book, but the last book was kind of big and sloppy. I think they stopped editing Ms. Rowling around book 5.

I haven’t seen every one of the movies, but a number of them are way too scary for little kids. And for me, too!

I agree with you about the editing. The writing was not nearly “tight” enough. (I think this happens to a lot of series - they get really popular, publisher wants to keep churning them out, but you end up with a not-quite-finished product.)

I also think the last movie was probably the best one. But I found several of them painful to watch.

 

[pensmama87]

I’ve never really understood the argument against the books, because it is fantasy and it is fiction. So many other books have fantasy elements in them, like the Lord of the Rings**(and IMHO, Harry Potter is much better!)**, and anything that gets your son reading will definitely benefit him.

Ooooo, them’s fightin’ words. :nunchuk:

Actually, I’ve seen a lot more objection to Tolkien in evangelical circles, probably because his work is very Catholic. For some groups, that’s basically the same as paganism.

 

[bluerose]

But…I keep hearing Father say that we parents should be ashamed of ourselves for letting our kids read it. Again, I personally never heard his argument why. I think I’d need a good explanation. It’s fantasy, I get it, but so is Lord of the Rings.

So someone please help!

Is there any way you can ask Father specifically WHY? Or another priest?

 

[Lou2U]

Ooooo, them’s fightin’ words. :nunchuk:

Actually, I’ve seen a lot more objection to Tolkien in evangelical circles, probably because his work is very Catholic. For some groups, that’s basically the same as paganism.

Well, I’ll be ready to defend myself :knight1: :knight2:

I really like reading books that have Christian imagery because I actually got to learn about more than just the plot of a book. If nothing else, it was always something to talk about in English essays…

IMO, the people who say Harry Potter/the Lord of the Rings is evil seem to forget that banning a book leads to more people wanting to read it (Like Umbridge and Harry’s interview in book five!).

Lou

 

[Xantippe]

Early on, I think the problem is the kids. They look right, but they can’t act their way out of a paper bag, especially the boy who plays Ron. Making big surprised faces all the time isn’t acting.

(I just image googled “Ron Weasley looking surprised” and yep, I’m right–he does the same darn facial expression through the entire film series.)

I agree with you about the editing. The writing was not nearly “tight” enough. (I think this happens to a lot of series - they get really popular, publisher wants to keep churning them out, but you end up with a not-quite-finished product.)

I also think the last movie was probably the best one. But I found several of them painful to watch.

 

[Kelfa28]

Early on, I think the problem is the kids. They look right, but they can’t act their way out of a paper bag, especially the boy who plays Ron. Making big surprised faces all the time isn’t acting.

(I just image googled “Ron Weasley looking surprised” and yep, I’m right–he does the same darn facial expression through the entire film series.)

It was the kids early on.

They cast both Rupert Grint and Emma Watson in main roles with almost zero acting experience. Nothing beyond school plays.

I think Daniele Radcliffe had acted in tv shows and commercials.

Emma was actually pretty good but it was clear Rupert needed a lot of work.

I don’t think the kids started figuring out how they needed to look on camera and how to portray the characters until the third movie.
Once the third movie came out they got better and better at it.

With the books…I think the best written book was the third one. I think you got the most bang for your buck in terms of story and character development.
It’s the most fun to read, it fleshes out the best and most interesting characters, it has one of the best plot twists I’ve ever seen and it’s to the point and not the door stoppers that the later books were.

 

[Xantippe]

It was the kids early on.

They cast both Rupert Grint and Emma Watson in main roles with almost zero acting experience. Nothing beyond school plays.

I think Daniele Radcliffe had acted in tv shows and commercials.

Emma was actually pretty good but it was clear Rupert needed a lot of work.

I don’t think the kids started figuring out how they needed to look on camera and how to portray the characters until the third movie.
Once the third movie came out they got better and better at it.

With the books…I think the best written book was the third one. I think you got the most bang for your buck in terms of story and character development.
It’s the most fun to read, it fleshes out the best and most interesting characters, it has one of the best plot twists I’ve ever seen and it’s to the point and not the door stoppers that the later books were.

4 is a door-stopper, but I think it’s my favorite.

I’m older than you, so I got to read them as a young adult/mom. It was so exciting to get the books as they came out, sloppy editing and all!

 

[Kelfa28]

Just to add on…I hunk the third book is the last truly “kid friendly” book in the series.

It starts to get very dark and tackles many dark themes around the end of the fourth book.

The fifth book is the last decently edited book. It’s also the longest and, in my opinion, the darkest out of the whole series.

 

[Kelfa28]

4 is a door-stopper, but I think it’s my favorite.

I’m older than you, so I got to read them as a young adult/mom. It was so exciting to get the books as they came out, sloppy editing and all!

I was old enough to get my hands on the third book and read it and start counting down the days for the fourth to come out.

I was the generation that Rowling wrote the books for as we aged.

I graduated from high school and the following week I has my last dance recital and got to go to Wal Mart at 7 am to grab a fresh copy of the 7th and final book on the way to the recital.

It was a great way to end my childhood. After the recital I went home to enjoy the last book of a series I started reading when I was 12.

 

[z_0101]

But…I keep hearing Father say that we parents should be ashamed of ourselves for letting our kids read it. Again, I personally never heard his argument why. I think I’d need a good explanation. It’s fantasy, I get it, but so is Lord of the Rings.

So someone please help!

Ah, The Lord of the Rings…
EWTN - J.R.R. TOLKIEN - The Irish Family
The inspiration for the great fantasy novels of J.R.R. Tolkien cannot be separated from his profoundly Catholic approach to life:

“The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work,” he wrote, “unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like “religion”, to cults or practices, in the Imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism” (Letter 142).

In fact, two of the great loves in the hidden world of Tolkien’s imagination were the Eucharist and Our Lady, - upon which all my own small perception of beauty both in majesty and simplicity is founded". By way of encouraging his son, he once wrote:

“Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament … There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves upon earth … which every man’s heart desires” (p. 53).

From what you’ve said, I get the impression that your pastor would object to Tolkien’s works as well.

Perhaps take the above material to your Pastor and ask him to clarify his position? Maybe there’s something more going on here than meets the eye? I suspect he’s only seen the covers and read an excerpt or two and not the actual books.

 

[Xantippe]

Awwww!

Getting to wait for the LOTR movies was the same way for me.

I was old enough to get my hands on the third book and read it and start counting down the days for the fourth to come out.

I was the generation that Rowling wrote the books for as we aged.

I graduated from high school and the following week I has my last dance recital and got to go to Wal Mart at 7 am to grab a fresh copy of the 7th and final book on the way to the recital.

It was a great way to end my childhood. After the recital I went home to enjoy the last book of a series I started reading when I was 12.