Harry Potter and the Deathly Blow to My Creative Psyche

Everyone talked about how they cried at the end of the last installment of the Harry Potter movie series. But I shed no tears at the end. I said “Good riddance.”

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. How dare she! How dare she slander the amazing, unforgettable cinematic experience that is (was?) Harry Potter! And I do apologize. But not for my opinion. I apologize that you feel that way.

True, the movies are full of beautiful imagery. The acting is impeccable. And the story ain't half bad. But more than half of its missing and I believe that is a true injustice to such an amazing work of literature.

How many of us have read the books? Cover to cover, again and again? How many of us grew up with the series, learned about unconditional love and its triumphs over evil? How many of us dreamed that we’d wake up one morning to a snowy white owl perched outside our window, scroll in hand, our ticket to Hogwarts? I don’t have to tell you I am a total Potterhead.

But I am not a fan of the movies. I loved the world that I built in my head. J.K. Rowling’s amazing way of describing a world I had never imagined, her imagery, had formed this concrete picture in my mind’s eye. I believed Hogwarts, the wizarding world and all within it existed as they did in my head, and that was enough for me.

And then the first movie was released. I remember going to see it for my 11^th or 12^th birthday.

Worst. Present. Ever.

It was ruined. Harry Potter was ruined for me. The somewhat frumpy, not in the slightest bit attractive vision of Hermione Granger I had in my mind, was replaced by the quite classically beautiful movie substitute. Draco Malfoy’s appalling white hair was burned into my imagination. My psyche was wrought by the image of a Severus Snape who looked more like my mom than the sinister, looming figure of my past mental images. All of what I had imagined, what I had perceived through hearing the stories and reading them on my own was gone.

I believe that one of the BEST parts of reading are the images reading invokes. The imagination it stirs and the stories that readers themselves can create when expanding upon a work.

So, no, I don’t like the movies. And as I think about the other movies based on books, I do not really understand why, except for monetary gains, books are constantly being made into movies.

What do you all think? What about those of you who have only seen the movies? What about other literature that you have read that has been made into movies?

Will You Read JK Rowling's Next Work?

In all the Harry Potter mania I saw an article/ poll asking readers if they would read JK Rowling’s next book. The article said that she has admitted multiple times to be writing since she wrote the last Potter book. I wanted to ask you all the same question. Will you read her next book?

I’m not sure if I would read her next book or not. The Harry Potter books created an amazing world with such interesting descriptions. I don’t see how one author could create two of those worlds. Or would she even try? What if she wrote a different sort of book, something that wasn’t fantasy? Would it still be great, or was what made Harry Potter great, the fantasy elements and in-depth world.

Sometimes I don’t like to ruin series. I won’t see a sequel if I like a movie and I don’t think the sequel has potential, or if a series goes on too long and starts burning out I wont finish it. I don’t like to see books, TV show or movies ruined. If she wrote a bad book I don’t think the Harry Potter craze would be ruined but maybe it would just be awkward. I don’t think, after a series like Harry Potter, there could really be a high expectation from her next book. I mean, how could you top Harry Potter?

My odd choice against Harry Potter

I was very intrigued by the various posts and comments this week. I can relate to some of you because I also haven't read the Harry Potter series. Growing up, my parents never told me I wasn't allowed to read these books, it’s just that fantasy and magical books just don't interest me. Flying around on broomsticks and casting spells is just too far from real for me. My grandpa is and has been a magician since before I was born, thus my strange fault with accepting such ideas in writing baffles even myself.

Being able to perform slight of hand and visual illusions has changed my definition of magic. I’ve always seen magic as a performing art, so when irrational ideas of flying, spells, dragons, three-headed dogs, and self-moving staircases arise I’m almost instantly turned off by the text. Forcing your brain to think in ways and believe things you aren’t used to can be hard, especially for a slightly stubborn person like myself.

Chapter five in the course text, “The Pleasures of Children’s Literature,” includes the topic of book selections. The books I selected in my younger days weren’t dictated by my parents beliefs, I chose them because they were things I was interested in or because my teachers made me read them for school. My mom has read and loved each of the seven Harry Potter books but never forced me to read them.

I guess I prefer to read books that are more realistic and have distinct messages that relate to life experiences. I’m not saying that if there were a place to escape to like Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series I wouldn’t be on the first train out, assuming there’s room once the die-hards are aboard. But my mind has a hard time grasping those ideas knowing that they aren’t possible.

I’ve been extremely lucky to have the parents I do, that don’t force or prohibit their ideas and values upon me. Letting me grow and make my own decisions about what to read has shaped me into the person I am and what concepts I choose to wrap my mind around. I apologize to any Harry Potter or fantasy readers I may have offended, It just doesn’t interest me at all.