This cartoon was inspired by an advertisement at NewsMax for a DVD titled, Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged (Making Evil Look Innocent).
Then CNN reported that author Rowling hints she may kill Harry. I don't know if it's premeditated, but this is an excellent way to keep the suspense alive; it makes the life-and-death situations in the series more threatening. An interesting quote from Rowling: "I really don't believe in magic. I believe in some kinds -- the magic of imagination and the magic of love. But the magic of waving a wand and making things happen, no."
The Ayn Rand Institute has a good editorial by Dianne L. Durante on the virtues of the Harry Potter series: Vitamins, Minerals and Harry Potter. Excerpt: "By means of the theme, plot and characterization -- particularly as they involve the hero -- every children's story implicitly addresses such broad questions as: Is the world fundamentally a benevolent or a malevolent place? Can one rely on one's own mind or not? Is life to be eagerly embraced or fearfully skirted? Can the good succeed or does evil ultimately win? ... The Harry Potter series appeals to so many children (and, adults, too) because the answers it gives to these questions are overwhelmingly positive. It shows a world in which happiness can be achieved, villains can be defeated, and the means of success can be learned. When my seven-year-old races around the dining room table swathed in an old bathrobe, with a broomstick made of a mini-blind wand and cardboard, she is not expressing an interest in witches or the supernatural. Rather, she is trying on the personality of an independent, courageous, intelligent individual who conquers evil."
Posted by Forkum at June 27, 2003 06:03 AM
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