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Harry Potter's legacy
I've avoided Harry Potter until this week. Before now, I had not read any of the books, nor seen any of the films. I did read my friend Tom Morris' If Harry Potter Ran General Electric. Tom loves the series. It all seemed a bit juvenile. What a snob I am. I heard an interview with the director and producer for the latest film on XM radio's Cinemagic Reel Time show. They played audio clips from the film and talked about what they were trying to do with the story. I was very impressed with what I heard. So, I went out an rented the first four films. I've watched the first two. The second is quite good, much better than the first. I'm getting ready to watch the third tonight and the fourth tommorrow and see if any of my family will go see the latest on Sunday. My daughter thinks I'm just trying to act like a kid. She doesn't like the fanaticism of her HP friends. I plan to read the books now. I think what Rowling has done is remarkable. It is a mythic tale for our time. What impresses me most is that it seems so medieval. And that is what I think attracts young people to the story, just as Tolkien did a half century ago. What I think speaks to people is the struggle against world changing events, not by technology alone, but by human commitment to shared endeavor. This is the theme of Life Free or Die Hard and Transformers. It is the first theme of the 21st century. An Additional Thought that came to me later: The other thing that makes this so medieval is that Harry's authenticity as a leader is not really through his courage in the face of the dark forces, but his suffering. It is his suffering that makes him the person he is. His friends and teachers see this, and his courage in the face of his suffering that makes him such a compelling character. Courage can easily be testosterone-infused hubris. Here it is humility and resignation to destiny that he must fulfill. Very much like Frodo.
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