|
|
David Spates Somehow the world will survive Harry Potter If I wrote only about subjects I knew something
about, I'd have a tough time pumping out this column every week.
I've never let minimal knowledge of a subject stop me. That being
said, I'd like to weigh in on the Harry Potter brouhaha. There are some folks out there up in arms
because they say the Harry Potter movie and books promote witchcraft.
It puts dark ideas into the heads of children, Harry's opponents
contend. I haven't read a Harry Potter book. I doubt I will.
I haven't seen the movie. Again, I doubt I will. However, I've
seen The Wizard of Oz, and I feel that qualifies me, as
much as anyone, to comment on the media's portrayal of witchcraft. Now, perhaps I'm in the minority on this,
but I don't believe in witchcraft. I also don't believe in hobgoblins,
elves, ghosts, boogeymen, trolls, wizards, warlocks, Darth Vader,
the Tooth Fairy or the ability of the NBA to produce an interesting
regular season. I believe there are some misguided people who
do terrible things in the name of witchcraft, but simply calling
something witchcraft doesn't mean it's actually witchcraft. A
few high school kids with haphazardly dyed hair and black nail
polish reciting Marilyn Manson song lyrics over a Ouija board
doesn't constitute witchcraft in my book. Could it lead to danger?
Absolutely, but it doesn't have anything more to do with witchcraft
than the terrorist attacks had to do with the true teachings
of Islam. Harry Potter is, after all, make-believe,
right? It's not based in reality any more than Dorothy, the Tin
Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, but for some reason no one gets
in a twist over The Wizard of Oz. You remember The Wizard of Oz don't
you? In addition to flying monkeys, a sentient hay-filled Scarecrow
and an Emerald City that was home to a bunch of 4-footers, it
also featured witches. It featured lots of witches, actually.
The Wicked Witch of the East, whose screen time was somewhat
limited, was squashed by Dorothy's house. For some reason, the
Wicked Witch of the West blamed Dorothy for this. I guess she
thought Dorothy was somehow piloting her flying house and made
a conscious decision to land on the East Coast's leading distributor
of Wicca. Then, of course, there's Glinda, the Good Witch of
the North and resident shoe thief of Oz. I can only presume the
Witch of the South, be she good or bad, had to stay home that
day. Maybe one of her Munchkins was running a fever. Righteous witches against naughty witches
-- it's a major component of The Wizard of Oz, and from
what little I know about Harry Potter, it's a central focus there,
too. So why does The Wizard of Oz get a free pass and
Harry Potter is blamed for promoting witchcraft? I also think that people who are worried a
Harry Potter movie is going to corrupt their children are selling
their kids way short. Kids are smarter than that. You were smarter
than that. So was I. We knew the difference between real life
and make-believe, and the few kids who have trouble distinguishing
reality from fantasy are in dire need of parental attention,
i.e. those dim-witted children who perform pro wrestling moves
on their little brothers. If your kid doesn't know that jumping
off the deck onto a 6-year-old's throat isn't a mistake, you
have failed in a critical function as a parent. Why anyone would
let their young child watch wrestling is beyond me. What's going
through these people's heads? If they were to come across a TV
show showing simulated sex, they'd change the channel in a flash.
A show featuring simulated violence, however, is circled in the
TV listings with great anticipation. Fire up the microwave popcorn
and crack open a Yoo-Hoo! Simulated or not, neither sex nor violence
is appropriate for young children. But back to Harry Potter. Kids are smarter than most people, particularly
parents, think. We like stories of magic and sorcery. There are
dozens of tales of magic and wizardry that don't catch heat like
Harry Potter does. How about The Hobbit? Anyone have a
problem with that? Lord of the Rings? What about King
Arthur pulling the sword from the stone? Will that corrupt your
little darling? How about the classics? Should schools stop teaching
Homer's The Odyssey? There's lots of magical stuff in
that. And shame on the ancient Greeks and Romans for spinning
tales of Hercules, Apollo and their ilk. Take the magic and sorcery
out of ancient mythology and all you're left with are Mediterranean
people wearing togas. How about The Force and the Jedi Knights
in Star Wars? I was 7 when that movie came out, and it
had nothing but a positive effect on me. I knew lightsabers weren't
real. Relax. If you want to go see the Harry Potter
movie, go see it. If you don't want to, stay home. It really
doesn't make a difference. Not a bit. · · · |