Comments on: Potter Hysteria

By: Be Lambic or Green » Blog Archive » Wizardly Skepticism

Be Lambic or Green » Blog Archive » Wizardly Skepticism — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 12:27:01 +0000

[...] houldn’t be used to further personal agendas wotever that means. I’ll let Mark explain it better. Mark spoke his piece and then got sent flying by Hagrid pattin [...]

By: Sahfi

Sahfi — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 22:16:12 +0000

Judy Bloom would question her purpose in life if she heard you say that. Good. She should. “Are you there, God, it’s me Margaret” was gross. It’s better not to teach kids about their bodies. See how well it worked out in “Carrie”?

OK. Here’s an idea…the kind of idea that keeps me from getting invited to respectable parties…we could send all the hysterical Jesus freaks and shrinks a picture of Tinky Winky touching himself while he reads a Harry Potter book with the other Teletubbies watching. Actually, I’ll bet you that more than one of them would make it his computer’s wallpaper. In fact, we could have a whole calendar made that was full of all the books and movies and shows that people thought were morally corrupt. If we sold more than 1000 of them I bet a church in Kansas would explode.

By: John

John — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 23:44:26 +0000

I think half of the people who think the Harry Potter series is a bad influence or satanic or whatever probably haven’t even read the books (like me, except for the first two). It’s really just an opportunity for them to exploit a hugely popular series in order to promote whatever uptight brigade of do-gooders they’re trying to fund.

For those who think the books are too traumatic, I think JK Rowling said it best when she said she never knew of a child who was happier not having been scared a little bit in their youth.

By: Kerry

Kerry — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 13:20:37 +0000

Very well said.
Having never actually READ Harry Potter books, I can’t say anything about them per se, but, like you, I started reading books at a very early age and some of it was very scary stuff indeed.

My Father has always told me that what he hates most about children’s litterature is the “Disneyfication” and cleaning up of classic tales. Take for example, the stories of the Brothers Grimm. I read them when I was very young. The originals. The ones with sex, death, cannibalism, and the likes. Yes, some of it was quite scary for a little kid, but I knew it was a story and only that.

In this age of supposed enlightenment and great education, I find it very sad that some people can’t see a story for what it is, and not try to dissect it and find it’s hidden meanings. It’s as if parents don’t want their children to develop imaginations.

Anyway, John’s gone and bought the whole series of Harry Potter books so I can’t wait to get in to them, just to see what on earth is so BAD about them. Or, for something good to read. Whichever.