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Radio,
Film & Television Harry
Potter, Plain and Simple
Like a modern day fairy tale, Joanne Kathleen Rowling's series of books about Harry Potter has transformed her from a public assistance recipient into the wealthiest woman in England, after the Queen. Box office receipts for the new movie, based on the first book, broke all records, passing Jurassic Park, the previous three-day record holder. A quick search for "Harry Potter" will now produce over 500,000 internet sites. Shortly after publication in 1997, the first
book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, won the British Book Awards
Children's Book of the Year, and the Smarties Prize. This book was
followed by Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 1998, Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 1999, and Harry Potter and the
Goblet of Fire in 2000. By the time Goblet of Fire was released
-- on July 8th, 2000 -- the first three books had already sold more than 30
million copies in more than 30 languages. And weeks before it was
released, Goblet of Fire became the number one best seller. By July
1st, there had been more than 280,000 preorders on Amazon.com alone. So it
was that in 2000, the 35-year-old Rowling became the highest-earning woman in
Britain, netting more than £20.5 million (about $30 million) over the previous
year. She also received an OBE (Order of the British Empire), the medal of
achievement awarded by the queen, in March 2001. Being a fan of science
fiction and fantasy, I was intrigued when a friend recommended the Harry Potter
series. I found that a twelve year old neighbor had the first three books
and borrowed them from her. {We had to wait together for the publication
of the fourth book.} I was immediately captivated by the clear and easy
style of the writing. Ms. Rowling has a delightful sense of humor and a
remarkable imagination. Along with the "conventional" fantasy
bestiary of fire-breathing dragons, unicorns, centaurs, giants, trolls, dwarfs,
and such like, there are also inspired new elements that will probably become
the standards of fantasy in the future.
Like the classic Cinderella, Harry grew up with relatives who mistreated him. His room is a cabinet under the stairs. On his 11th birthday, Harry receives a letter addressed to him from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His uncle destroys the letter without letting Harry see it. Thereafter, letters arrive in alarming numbers, being delivered by all sorts of owls. In an act of desperation, the family moves away to an isolated cabin. In the middle of the night Hagrid, the giant groundskeeper of Hogwarts, breaks into the cabin looking for Harry. He tells Harry that he is a wizard, as were his mother and father, and that he has been invited to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hagrid takes Harry off to London to shop for his school supplies. Harry is taken to a bank run by trolls where his parents had filled a vault with gold for him. While there, Hagrid makes a withdrawal from another vault, initiating the mystery for which this first volume was named. Feeling wealthy for
the first time in his life, Harry proceeds to buy his wand, his cloak, his owl
companion, and various other magical books and supplies. Each of these
purchases is an adventure in itself. All the shopping is done on an alley
that can only be entered by magicians, and “Muggles” (non-magical people)
don’t know of its existence. Magic is involved again when Harry’s wand
chooses him (which one would expect to be the other way around) and with some
ominous portents, we learn that it has a twin.
During his first lesson on flying broomsticks, Harry is seen in some remarkable maneuvers and a teacher recommends him for a seeker position on the Quidditch team. This is unheard of, of course, as “first-years” never get to play on the Quidditch teams, and certainly not as a seeker. The school has four “houses” which compete against each other. They earn points for scholarly acumen or other worthwhile deeds, and lose them for disciplinary reasons or other blunders. Winning a Quidditch match earns many points for your house. Quidditch is played on broomsticks on a Quidditch field. Three “Chasers” on each team throw a “quaffle” to each other and try to make 10 points by getting it through the levitated hoops, which are the goals. Each team has a “Keeper”, who tries to block the opponents shots. There are also two “bludgers” -- independently-minded balls that try to knock you away from your goal. The two “Beaters” on each team knock the bludgers around with clubs to try to keep them away from teammates. Finally, there is one “golden snitch,” a small ball with wings. The “Seeker” on each team must try to capture the golden snitch for 150 points, ending the game.
While the Harry Potter movie has
splendid special effects throughout, the Quidditch match was easily the
tour-de-force. Most of the scenes in the book can be well imagined, fueled
by Ms. Rowling’s very descriptive prose, and the movie only confirms one’s
own imagination. The frantic Quidditch match, however, must be seen to be
believed, and through Hollywood it becomes a reality. Like claims that Superman would inspire children to jump off a roof, then, these criticisms have little value to parents who would like their children to have active imaginations and an ability to see their own worth. The Harry Potter books offer children a way to see an inner value. Like the Ugly Duckling, in the right environment Harry blossoms into a bright, capable boy -- one who is sure both of himself and his place in the world. Ted Buxton
of Bristol is a photographer and father of two now-grown children, Josh and Bre.
He works, with his wife Linda, at the Parent-Child Center in Middlebury. . ******* ******* If you would like to submit something for The Movies feature, or if you simply would like to suggest something you think we ought to cover, e-mail us at ... radiofilmtv@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* If you would like to advertise in this section, or throughout the magazine, please visit our Advertising Info Pages ... or call, write, or e-mail ads@downstreetmagazine.com. ******* ******* |
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So
what is it about Harry Potter that is so appealing?
