Harry Potter?

[Regina7]

Obsession is what many Harry Potter fans are all about! I have friends (kids and adults) that dress like the characters, have HP parties, go to Harry Potter at Disney World every year…

Some of the “Harry Potter games” that kids played on the playground at my little girls school were a bit strange. My daughter thought they acted really creepy.

Frankly, it seems kinda weird. What the weirdest thing to me though is people that love HP insisting that people who haven’t read the books absolutely must and are depriving our children of this and that. I refuse to enter into those conversations any more.

(I have not read any of the books or seen any of the movies. I have four children and they were not interested so it never came in the house).

I think this is what the priest was upset about- the playground games and such.

Unfortunately, that priest is gone and I have no way to contact him.

This thread certainly has been interesting. I will be by a bookstore later today. I’ll report back with what the illustrated book is like.

 

[on_the_hill]

Funny!

I suppose that goes double for Dune?

Um…that was a book, right?

 

[Potter]

Um…that was a book, right?

A set of BIG ones. Space feudalism and spice wars.

 

[SouthCatholic]

Yes, this was an example of her getting caught up in her own legend. Prisoner of Azkaban was by far the best book in my opinion. It is where the series made the transition from a children’s series to a literary work. And Sirius Black was a great character in that book. She then abandoned him until the 5th book where we care about him again and she kills him. Even though I liked the third book it contains in it one of my pet peeves about the series in general. The ending. Ron’s Rat. Scampers who has been around for three books and is just a decoration as a “character” out of nowhere becomes the key player that ties the whole book together. This is poor storytelling. Now, anytime I see this kind of odd “twist” I refer to it as the Ron’s Rat ending. M Knight Shylamalan is NOTORIOUS for this. Perhaps it is the problem of not having the series formulated before writing each book but it leaves foreshadowing out as a legitimate literary tool.
This is where I get a little annoyed when people say Harry Potter and LOTR in the same breath. LOTR is an amazing world that was put together with one singular thought and consistency. Rowling was just as much along for the ride of the story as her readers were. And it shows. The leap from book one to book six shows a completely different author and style. Because she was changing as she wrote. Which adversely effects the story and limits the author’s talent. What little there was to begin with…

This is one of the reasons that in my opinion the movies were better than the books and the LOTR movies were not better than the books. With JK, any director could basically tell the story better than she could…

Actually Sirius, made an appearance in the fourth book when there were signs that Voldy was making a comeback. He hid in the cave near the school as the dog.

Also, I think she gradually killed off everyone Harry loved because ultimately Harry had to take on Voldy on his own. First, she killed off his parents, then Sirius, then Dumbledore, then Lupin. When she broke all those connections between Harry and those who knew and loved his parents and who knew and loved him, it gave him the strength and will to finish Voldy off for good. That is what needed to happen.

 

[Xantippe]

Um…that was a book, right?

I haven’t actually read it, but I got it for my husband as a gift, and it definitely has a huge glossary.

 

[Maximilan_Kolbe]

I haven’t actually read it, but I got it for my husband as a gift, and it definitely has a huge glossary.

Still better than the movie. Seeing Sting floating around on a throne, while neat I guess, didn’t save what was an awfully long and boring plot. Now had the rest of the Police been there with him on the dais, I may have given it a higher review.

 

[lax16]

I think this is what the priest was upset about- the playground games and such.

Unfortunately, that priest is gone and I have no way to contact him.

This thread certainly has been interesting. I will be by a bookstore later today. I’ll report back with what the illustrated book is like.

Believe it or not, the same little girl from the playground had a huge Harry Potter birthday party. The parents rented out a large home, brought in a magician and served food. It was a great party but it was a little dark and spooky.

Not sure why but it always seemed to take on an almost Halloween-like vibe.

I know that people who have read the books claim there is nothing evil in them, and I believe them, but there is something about the way some of the fans became so obsessed. Even adults. That’s what has me wondering about the whole Harry Potter thing.

People can say there is nothing wrong with HP but one has to wonder what the strong allure is all about.

 

[Bonnie]

People can say there is nothing wrong with HP but one has to wonder what the strong allure is all about.

People get nutty about all sorts of things. Ever go to a Star Trek convention? Heck of a lot of fun, but some people really get into the costumes.

Zenna Henderson, the author the People books (which I love), said the saddest fan letters she got were from people who believed the People were real, and would she please tell them where to find them.

Some people are always going to go overboard & there is nothing an author can do to stop it.

 

[lax16]

People get nutty about all sorts of things. Ever go to a Star Trek convention? Heck of a lot of fun, but some people really get into the costumes.

Zenna Henderson, the author the People books (which I love), said the saddest fan letters she got were from people who believed the People were real, and would she please tell them where to find them.

Some people are always going to go overboard & there is nothing an author can do to stop it.

You are so right! No, I have never been to a Star Trek convention but I can imagine people can get really into it.

And I agree that it can be really fun.

The one difference, and just bear with me for a moment, is that there is something different about the “fun” with HP.

For example:

A former friend of mine, who is a devout Christian, invited my son to go to Harry Potter World with them. My son, who is very good friends with her son, declined the offer. He said he just didn’t like it. Thought it was kinda weird. Now, this same son reads the Lord of the Rings, among many other things so he is not opposed to fantasy in literature.
The mother became unglued. She was screaming at me that I was “all wrong about Harry Potter” and “I needed to have my kids read it” etc etc.

It was crazy. I didn’t argue with or even disagree with her. I said, for whatever reason, none of my four kids liked it and end of story. She took it as a personal attack.

I don’t see or hear people taking it as a personal attack if I were to say Trekkies are “out there” or I don’t like Star Trek. Nobody cares. Nobody is pushing it down my throat.

I used the other example about the kids on the playground at my daughter’s school playing Harry Potter. My daughter was only five/six at the time, but she kept saying that their games were weird and creepy. The mother was, once again, obsessed with HP. Pushing it on others. The birthday party was kinda spooky, almost like a Halloween party.

I can’t put my finger on it, but there is a difference between HP and other fantasy books/movies/tv shows. It does something to the fans that is not normal. If people like it, fine. I haven’t read or seen one book or movie in the series so I can’t comment on the content.

I am strictly responding to the very weird behavior of some of the fans that I have experienced.

btw - the son who thinks HP is creepy loves to go to Comic Con every year. He is an avid reader and likes to dress up at Halloween and for school theme days. He is not against having fun.

 

[Xantippe]

People get nutty about all sorts of things. Ever go to a Star Trek convention? Heck of a lot of fun, but some people really get into the costumes.

Zenna Henderson, the author the People books (which I love), said the saddest fan letters she got were from people who believed the People were real, and would she please tell them where to find them.

Some people are always going to go overboard & there is nothing an author can do to stop it.

I have connections in the Twilight area, and people were always coming and wanting to find vampires in the woods…(Not sure how seriously.)

 

[Sen]

I’ve seen that kind of creepy behavior from fans of other things before. People do crazy things. I remember when Mass Effect 3 came out, the ending wasn’t what fans were expecting or wanting and they lost their minds. Started a huge campaign to get Bioware to release a new ending for the game. Some of the stuff they did was kind of amusing, raising money to send a thousand cupcakes with red, green, and blue frosting and a note saying “whatever color you choose they all taste the same” to the Bioware offices for instance. Some of the stuff they did, the game developers got death threats, wasn’t so amusing. If you dared point out that you actually liked a really unpopular portion of the ending you were ripped to shreds. And a sizable portion of the fan base really believed the ending of the game was all supposed to be a dream and any day now Bioware was going to release the “real” ending. They were very convinced of this and spent considerable energy trying to convince other people of this. So yeah, crazy fans aren’t confined to just Harry Potter.

 

[lax16]

I’ve seen that kind of creepy behavior from fans of other things before. People do crazy things. I remember when Mass Effect 3 came out, the ending wasn’t what fans were expecting or wanting and they lost their minds. Started a huge campaign to get Bioware to release a new ending for the game. Some of the stuff they did was kind of amusing, raising money to send a thousand cupcakes with red, green, and blue frosting and a note saying “whatever color you choose they all taste the same” to the Bioware offices for instance. Some of the stuff they did, the game developers got death threats, wasn’t so amusing. If you dared point out that you actually liked a really unpopular portion of the ending you were ripped to shreds. And a sizable portion of the fan base really believed the ending of the game was all supposed to be a dream and any day now Bioware was going to release the “real” ending. They were very convinced of this and spent considerable energy trying to convince other people of this. So yeah, crazy fans aren’t confined to just Harry Potter.

Definitely not. But anything that makes a person a “crazy fan” should be questioned.

 

[styrgwillidar]

At the top of your menu on the left is a search tab. Click it.
Then on the left is a field you can populate called “search by keyword” It is under the “search forums” headline. Type in Harry Potter and then there is a drop down menu underneath the field. Make sure it is not on “search entire threads” And set it to search titles.

Hoosier Daddy,

Any idea why the search would be incomplete, i.e. not uncover some threads? I recall a couple one thread in Aug 2011 and another in ~feb 2011, one going well over 1,000 comments, and they don’t come up in the search results, even when I adjust to cover that time frame and get results prior to and after?

 

[Bonnie]

Definitely not. But anything that makes a person a “crazy fan” should be questioned.

Um, no. There are some crazy Catholics. Do we blame the Church? Or does the problem lie in the person?

A book, tv show, movie, game - whatever - doesn’t “make” anyone a “crazy fan.” That is an individual problem.

 

[lax16]

Um, no. There are some crazy Catholics. Do we blame the Church? Or does the problem lie in the person?

A book, tv show, movie, game - whatever - doesn’t “make” anyone a “crazy fan.” That is an individual problem.

What do you mean by crazy Catholics?

I disagree, Bonnie. There are definitely people being influenced by violent video games, movies about the occult, etc. They can certainly be made “crazy” by evil in tv, books, movies.

By the way, I didn’t say we should blame anybody or anything, I said we should question.

 

[Bonnie]

What do you mean by crazy Catholics?

Short list: those who believe every little thing is a sin & obsess over it, those who believe that blessed objects have magical powers, those who are more Catholic than the pope (or at the least think they would do a better job), those who confuse politics & religion, those who hate certain ethnic groups & still think they are good Catholics, those who think they can bargain & make deals with God. If I thought about it longer I could come up with a longer list, but I think that’s enough. I’m sure some will disagree with me & say those are legitimate Catholic positions.

I disagree, Bonnie. There are definitely people being influenced by violent video games, movies about the occult, etc. They can certainly be made “crazy” by evil in tv, books, movies…

I don’t think anyone can be “made crazy” by any of those things. What it may do is worsen a person’s mental health if they already have problems. I’ve read murder mysteries for 40+ years & I still haven’t murdered anyone. I’ve listened to rock music for even longer & don’t have any impulse to use bad language, have random sex, worship the devil, or anything else - generally, I’m just tempted to dance.

I’ve watched movies like Matrix (several times), Cloud Atlas, Kill Bill, & others, yet have no desire to shoot a bunch of people, or even to upset the status quo.

So no - movies, books, video games, music, and TV shows, don’t “make” anyone do anything or become crazy. People who claim to be influenced by these things already have the desire or mental health issues.

 

[Xantippe]

Short list: those who believe every little thing is a sin & obsess over it, those who believe that blessed objects have magical powers, those who are more Catholic than the pope (or at the least think they would do a better job), those who confuse politics & religion, those who hate certain ethnic groups & still think they are good Catholics, those who think they can bargain & make deals with God. If I thought about it longer I could come up with a longer list, but I think that’s enough. I’m sure some will disagree with me & say those are legitimate Catholic positions.

Yeah. Or people that are WAY into apparitions.

 

[Rico_S]

A former friend of mine, who is a devout Christian, invited my son to go to Harry Potter World with them. My son, who is very good friends with her son, declined the offer. He said he just didn’t like it. Thought it was kinda weird. Now, this same son reads the Lord of the Rings, among many other things so he is not opposed to fantasy in literature.
The mother became unglued. She was screaming at me that I was “all wrong about Harry Potter” and “I needed to have my kids read it” etc etc.

It was crazy. I didn’t argue with or even disagree with her. I said, for whatever reason, none of my four kids liked it and end of story. She took it as a personal attack.

I don’t see or hear people taking it as a personal attack if I were to say Trekkies are “out there” or I don’t like Star Trek. Nobody cares. Nobody is pushing it down my throat.

.

I totally understand what you are saying, but I have an idea that may explain the reaction. You don’t have many in religious circles make a silly claims that the fictional Star Trek universe is inherently evil, that they aliens are an affront to the bible and that their children shouldn’t watch star trek b/c it will open the door to Satan, etc etc. So if your kids said, "no I don’t want to go watch star trek…there is little chance that “I don’t want to go” could be misconstrued as “Star Trek is of the devil and you shouldn’t watch it.” However, with Potter, as we have seen in this thread, but even moreso in older threads, there is a sizeable contingent of Christians that makes those types of claims against Potter. It would be my contention that over the top reactions like you have witnessed are likely born of a misconception that the decision (or your children’s decision) to avoid Potter is born of this type of thinking as opposed simply a difference in taste.

I’m not saying that they are correct in making the assumption that you believe Potter is evil and that is why you don’t like it and your kids think its creepy, but I think that is in the back of their mind and sort of fuels their reaction.

My daughter was friends with a girl from a very kind devout family. They were playing over at their house once and the mother overheard them playing Harry Potter and the mother told their child that my daughter would not be allowed to come over to play again if she plays Harry Potter. Apparently, it was banned at their house for the reasons you often here spelled out. The mother even told me there were real spells in the book…lol. I mean seriously. Some Latin phrases are “real spells.” And what exactly is a “real spell?” Anyway, not surprisingly we drifted apart.

But you see, there is a real contingent of people who think to read Harry Potter is to court the devil. So my guess is that many parents who “overreact” when they hear your kids aren’t into Potter might make the poor assumption that you are part of that contingent…and don’t take your reasons for face value.

 

[lax16]

I totally understand what you are saying, but I have an idea that may explain the reaction. You don’t have many in religious circles make a silly claims that the fictional Star Trek universe is inherently evil, that they aliens are an affront to the bible and that their children shouldn’t watch star trek b/c it will open the door to Satan, etc etc. So if your kids said, "no I don’t want to go watch star trek…there is little chance that “I don’t want to go” could be misconstrued as “Star Trek is of the devil and you shouldn’t watch it.” However, with Potter, as we have seen in this thread, but even moreso in older threads, there is a sizeable contingent of Christians that makes those types of claims against Potter. It would be my contention that over the top reactions like you have witnessed are likely born of a misconception that the decision (or your children’s decision) to avoid Potter is born of this type of thinking as opposed simply a difference in taste.

I’m not saying that they are correct in making the assumption that you believe Potter is evil and that is why you don’t like it and your kids think its creepy, but I think that is in the back of their mind and sort of fuels their reaction.

My daughter was friends with a girl from a very kind devout family. They were playing over at their house once and the mother overheard them playing Harry Potter and the mother told their child that my daughter would not be allowed to come over to play again if she plays Harry Potter. Apparently, it was banned at their house for the reasons you often here spelled out. The mother even told me there were real spells in the book…lol. I mean seriously. Some Latin phrases are “real spells.” And what exactly is a “real spell?” Anyway, not surprisingly we drifted apart.

But you see, there is a real contingent of people who think to read Harry Potter is to court the devil. So my guess is that many parents who “overreact” when they hear your kids aren’t into Potter might make the poor assumption that you are part of that contingent…and don’t take your reasons for face value.

I see your point.

I just have one question - why do people feel the need to defend Harry Potter so vehemently? Obviously nobody wants to be told that it is evil if it is something they really like to read and watch. And certainly nobody wants to be criticized as a parent.

Who cares if some people claim it is courting the devil? What is it about HP that causes this type of reaction? That is what I find the most concerning.

 

[lax16]

Short list: those who believe every little thing is a sin & obsess over it, those who believe that blessed objects have magical powers, those who are more Catholic than the pope (or at the least think they would do a better job), those who confuse politics & religion, those who hate certain ethnic groups & still think they are good Catholics, those who think they can bargain & make deals with God. If I thought about it longer I could come up with a longer list, but I think that’s enough. I’m sure some will disagree with me & say those are legitimate Catholic positions.

I wouldn’t say these are legitimate Catholic positions - believing blessed objects have magical powers has never been taught by the Church as far as I know.

People who think they are more Catholic than the Pope or who are racist would not be crazy in my book.

I don’t think anyone can be “made crazy” by any of those things. What it may do is worsen a person’s mental health if they already have problems. I’ve read murder mysteries for 40+ years & I still haven’t murdered anyone. I’ve listened to rock music for even longer & don’t have any impulse to use bad language, have random sex, worship the devil, or anything else - generally, I’m just tempted to dance.

I’ve watched movies like Matrix (several times), Cloud Atlas, Kill Bill, & others, yet have no desire to shoot a bunch of people, or even to upset the status quo.

So no - movies, books, video games, music, and TV shows, don’t “make” anyone do anything or become crazy. People who claim to be influenced by these things already have the desire or mental health issues.

Please do a google search on the affects violence on television has on young children. There is a great deal of research showing it is very harmful.

I have a friend who teaches a class to middle schoolers about the affects of certain types of music and how it does affect our sexuality and use of profanity. She has a very personal story to back up the research as well.