Saturday, March 31, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
HaPo is a PoMo?
While wandering through the posts on Barnes & Noble's Harry Potter discussion board (this isn't something I do often, believe me!), I came across a post by John Granger, author of Looking for God in Harry Potter, The Hidden Key to Harry Potter, and Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader. According to Granger, the Harry Potter novels constitute a "postmodern metanarrative" full of Christian allegory and symbolism.
Are we reading the same books? I certainly see some of the Christian symbolism--J. K. Rowling herself has stated that she is a Christian, but that she doesn't want to discuss her beliefs for fear that "the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what’s coming in the books." But postmodern?? Who is it in her books who states that "there is no good or evil"?
Good and evil often do a good job of hiding in Harry's world. People in positions of power and authority do terrible things; friends betray friends; distasteful and unlikable people stand up for what's right. But that is a far cry from the postmodern view that good and evil are subjective qualities. There may be a big question about Snape's loyalty, for example, but the fact remains that Snape is loyal to someone. Either he has chosen the good side or the bad side. We are in debate over which side he has chosen, not over whether there are sides at all.
I haven't read Granger's books, so I don't know the full extent of his ideas and theories. I know he is an avid supporter of the Harry Potter books, and that he defends them as Christian-friendly literature. I have The Hidden Key to Harry Potter but have never read it; now I'm very interested to see what he says.
Are we reading the same books? I certainly see some of the Christian symbolism--J. K. Rowling herself has stated that she is a Christian, but that she doesn't want to discuss her beliefs for fear that "the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what’s coming in the books." But postmodern?? Who is it in her books who states that "there is no good or evil"?
Good and evil often do a good job of hiding in Harry's world. People in positions of power and authority do terrible things; friends betray friends; distasteful and unlikable people stand up for what's right. But that is a far cry from the postmodern view that good and evil are subjective qualities. There may be a big question about Snape's loyalty, for example, but the fact remains that Snape is loyal to someone. Either he has chosen the good side or the bad side. We are in debate over which side he has chosen, not over whether there are sides at all.
I haven't read Granger's books, so I don't know the full extent of his ideas and theories. I know he is an avid supporter of the Harry Potter books, and that he defends them as Christian-friendly literature. I have The Hidden Key to Harry Potter but have never read it; now I'm very interested to see what he says.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Worth 1000 Words?
Or, in this case, 784 pages...
I have my theories as to what's going on here. Do you have yours...?
I have my theories as to what's going on here. Do you have yours...?
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Beware his bitty Bat Bogey Hex
If you were Tom Felton, wouldn't this freak you out a little?
On the other hand, I do find the tiny Quidditch supplies quite charming:
On the other hand, I do find the tiny Quidditch supplies quite charming:
View the whole mildly disturbing collection here. While you're there, be sure to check out the other doll collections on the same site, including the Frank and Joe Hardy dolls. I'm not entirely sure who the target consumer is for these, but I'll give a prize to the best caption for this photo:
Monday, March 26, 2007
If I Only Had the Guts...
Warning! Contains SPOILERS for Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events...and, sort of, for Lord of the Rings...
Questions/Comments for Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket), who will be speaking at Fresno State’s University Lecture Series tomorrow night:
1. I’ve noticed that in Book 10: The Slippery Slope, the series begins to take on a bit more of a serious and philosophical—even at times political—tone. Is it a coincidence that this is the first book of the series written after 9/11? Were you planning from the beginning for the series to take this direction, or did the events of 9/11 change the course of the plot in any way?
2. At the beginning of Book 12: The Penultimate Peril, you quote 18th/19th century economist Thomas Robert Malthus, referring to him as “one of our enemies.” What, in your opinion, did Malthus do that earned him the designation of “enemy”? Is it just that he had very different political and social views from your own? Is it your aim to encourage children to think of people who have ideas and viewpoints that differ from their own as “enemies”?
3. The hotel and its mirrored twin in The Penultimate Peril can be seen as an analogy to the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Did you actually mean for us to sympathize with the Baudelaires for burning down the hotel, and therefore, by extension, to sympathize with the terrorists who brought down the World Trade Center and killed nearly 3,000 innocent people? Are you saying that the “unfortunate events” in the terrorists’ lives brought them to the point where they felt trapped and they had no choice but to react in this way? Really? Seriously?
4. I like the whole Lord of the Rings thing you’ve got going on at the end of Book 13: The End, where Count Olaf has been spared by the Baudelaires, and so he's miraculously there when he is needed to carry Kit to safety when no one else could save her. It’s really not the same as Lord of the Rings, of course, because Count Olaf is actually the source of the problems in the first place, so Kit would never have needed saving at all if it weren’t for him. But I like your story way better, so I suggest we rewrite the end of Return of the King, and they could find out that it’s actually Sauron who has to destroy the ring, and they’d be all like, “Mighty Sauron, we’re so glad our warmongering has come to an end. Now, because we controlled our powerful urge to seek violent revenge against you, you are in precisely the right place at the right time to destroy the…hey, Sauron, man, come back with that ring…”
Questions/Comments for Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket), who will be speaking at Fresno State’s University Lecture Series tomorrow night:
1. I’ve noticed that in Book 10: The Slippery Slope, the series begins to take on a bit more of a serious and philosophical—even at times political—tone. Is it a coincidence that this is the first book of the series written after 9/11? Were you planning from the beginning for the series to take this direction, or did the events of 9/11 change the course of the plot in any way?
2. At the beginning of Book 12: The Penultimate Peril, you quote 18th/19th century economist Thomas Robert Malthus, referring to him as “one of our enemies.” What, in your opinion, did Malthus do that earned him the designation of “enemy”? Is it just that he had very different political and social views from your own? Is it your aim to encourage children to think of people who have ideas and viewpoints that differ from their own as “enemies”?
3. The hotel and its mirrored twin in The Penultimate Peril can be seen as an analogy to the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Did you actually mean for us to sympathize with the Baudelaires for burning down the hotel, and therefore, by extension, to sympathize with the terrorists who brought down the World Trade Center and killed nearly 3,000 innocent people? Are you saying that the “unfortunate events” in the terrorists’ lives brought them to the point where they felt trapped and they had no choice but to react in this way? Really? Seriously?
4. I like the whole Lord of the Rings thing you’ve got going on at the end of Book 13: The End, where Count Olaf has been spared by the Baudelaires, and so he's miraculously there when he is needed to carry Kit to safety when no one else could save her. It’s really not the same as Lord of the Rings, of course, because Count Olaf is actually the source of the problems in the first place, so Kit would never have needed saving at all if it weren’t for him. But I like your story way better, so I suggest we rewrite the end of Return of the King, and they could find out that it’s actually Sauron who has to destroy the ring, and they’d be all like, “Mighty Sauron, we’re so glad our warmongering has come to an end. Now, because we controlled our powerful urge to seek violent revenge against you, you are in precisely the right place at the right time to destroy the…hey, Sauron, man, come back with that ring…”
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Open Minds
Somewhere in TV Land...
US Senator Patricia Mills (R-NY) cannot be bullied into voting with the party on a bill to fund a new oil pipeline after discovering that the documentation attesting to its safety was falsified, and the pipes are almost certain to rupture, causing "the ecological equivalent of Iraq." Mills' husband, afraid of what his evil oil-business cronies will do to him when he can't deliver the vote, and hoping to step into his wife's Senatorial seat, murders both his wife and her Muslim Chief of Staff (you know, just to throw everyone off).
That'll teach her to think for herself.
Meanwhile, back in the real world...
CA State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) discovers that three of his colleagues will be attending a pro-business fundraising event. To punish them for their moderate views, he has the locks changed on their office doors, at the taxpayers' expense.
That'll teach them to think for themselves.
US Senator Patricia Mills (R-NY) cannot be bullied into voting with the party on a bill to fund a new oil pipeline after discovering that the documentation attesting to its safety was falsified, and the pipes are almost certain to rupture, causing "the ecological equivalent of Iraq." Mills' husband, afraid of what his evil oil-business cronies will do to him when he can't deliver the vote, and hoping to step into his wife's Senatorial seat, murders both his wife and her Muslim Chief of Staff (you know, just to throw everyone off).
That'll teach her to think for herself.
Meanwhile, back in the real world...
CA State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) discovers that three of his colleagues will be attending a pro-business fundraising event. To punish them for their moderate views, he has the locks changed on their office doors, at the taxpayers' expense.
That'll teach them to think for themselves.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Constant Vigilance, People, Constant Vigilance!
Welcome to my new blog, Constant Vigilance! I've been thinking about starting a blog of my own for a very long time, and I've finally decided to just take the plunge. I can't promise to be too consistent about posting, but I'll do the best I can.
Amy thought of the title for my blog, and since I liked it, and the url was available, I decided to go with it. Most of you will know that it is a quote from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, one of my favorite books. The Harry Potter books teach us, among many other things, that we must constantly be aware of the evil around us in the world--even when it hides cleverly among us--and be ready and willing to fight it. When I feel most like writing, it is usually a topic close to this one, so I believe the title is appropriate.
I read a lot of children's and young adult literature, and I plan to review the books here as I read them for anyone who is interested.
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