Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Never in a million years did I expect to be watching this movie, never in a million years. It just goes to show, "never say never," the next thing you know the very thing you never say never to, can happen to you. The way I see it, saying never is right up there with willing things for yourself... and sometimes God has a different plan that you do. This is how I felt when this movie was assigned as part of our film class. We would be watching this film for educational purposes, to analyze it discern what messages it had for the audiences... and we were warned, it would be subtle.

Subtle indeed is the witchcraft in the film, as one is transported into a sort of Narnia where witchcraft is abundant and considered quite normal. Yes, it's a place where witchcraft is quite normal, a kid even goes to school to learn their craft. It all fantasy, fantastical like the world of Oz, spells and magic much like the classic tales of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, right?

Quite frankly, after hearing all the scuttlebutt for years about the horrors of Harry Potter in the minds of children, I was surprised I did not find the whole thing to be much more offensive. And after viewing it, I would say it was much like many other make-believe stories... like Wizard of Oz, Narnia, and Sleeping Beauty, it is a movie in which the element of magic and witchcraft was definitely there. Much like these other stories we can see it separated out as being used for both the evil side and for the good. This all has me wondering just a bit, what it is that makes Harry Potter so much different then the rest.

Take a look at Harry the Hero. He is humble... courageous and before your eyes you see kids ho want to do well in "school" and who are willing to sacrifice themselves for one another. You see honesty and integrity rewarded, dishonesty condemned. Harry, not only loves his parents whom he has never met, but he has all the makings of a "hero," he even resists the evil forces and defeats them. It's obvious, the world of real witchcraft and magic, is not Harry Potter's world.

So, what can be wrong with all of that?

Me thinks the problem is quite subtle. You see, Harry Potter is the hero...a nd now all the little boys and girls want to be heroic like Harry too. They all want to emulate him, learn the things that he did, even venture out into the forbidden places they are told they are not to go, because that is what this hero did. They now see nothing wrong with being or wanting to be a wizard or a witch, especially if such a thing can be used to produce good.

The mean "muggles..." (as presented in the movie) believe that witchcraft is bad or evil... but the movie and the hero, just proved to them it is not. Now, having no idea what exactly they may be getting into when they playfully learn all the ins and outs of "magic," when they emulate their hero, wear black hats and draw pentagrams or maybe even cat some spells, because they love an imaginary hero... they obviously venture forth unafraid or unaware, into something God has clearly warned about, perhaps even something their own muggles do not like, or prefer to keep "hush-hush" about.

I tend to think the degree to which a person loves or hates this movie is multidimensional. I think a great part of it hinges upon how one views the literalness of the Word of God, particularly in regards to the issue of witchcraft and magic.

A couple of observations are:
Harry's Name

Now, what does hair mean is the scripture. Samson was Hairy.... and God is the potter, we are the clay. So what is with the name.. Harry Potter. What kind of a hero is he?

I note that his name is known everywhere. The script to the movie relates that he is even prophesied about... "This boy will be famous. There won't be a child in our world who doesn't know his name."

In the movie, drinking the blood of a unicorn is a "monstrous" thing to do, "only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips." Voldemort, the "bad guy" does this.

Strangely and perhaps to no particular reasoning, I related this to Jesus, the pure and holy one being slain for our sins.. and saying, you must eat my flesh and drink my blood...

I wondered why Voldermort the bad guy, does this,, and why the blood of the unicorn is so powerful... and yet a curse... I wonder if Christian children make the connection too, as they maybe make their first holy communion, or hear about how the blood of Jesus saves and partake in the blood of the lamb, believing that through JEsus Christ, the sinless one of God who was slain for our transgression , for their salvation.

Children learn in the movie, how to tell if a person is a wizard, or has magic capabilities. In fact Harry is a wizard and he can know this is true if " things happen that you cannot explain when you are angry or scared."

Other interesting things to note in the presentation...

Wizards like Harry can talk to animals... snakes in particular

The sorcerers stone is guarded by a three headed dog

Harry gets to be a "seeker."

When the children are in the "devils snare..." (caught in a strangling plant) all they have to do is relax to escape. (I likened this to maybe resting in Jesus, but ask, "why would you rest in the devil's snare.") One boy does not relaz and magic is done to create sunlight, the sunlight shines on the devil's snare and the boy escapes. Devil's snare hates son light,, oopps I mean sunlight.

Aside from the various spiritual dynamics, which are rather hard to truely discern, Harry Potter is a painfully childish kid's adventure movie that has gruesome elements but portrays some of the "good character qualities" we would like kids to pursue. On the surface it can be a seemingly harmless film with good morals and values, and it is hard to really find fault with a film that is like so many other films, unless of course you are convinced in your own mind that witchcraft is evil.

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive The Bus!

Have you met the pigeon yet?
My girls (Heather and Bethany and I are always looking for fun books. This one is one that Heather found at a garage sale and showed to us. If you love pigeons, like birds or even like humor, this is it. This book is too funny! Not only that, consider it rather amusing that it has won the prestigious Caldecott Award... given for... (look at the cover) ART!

That is kinda funny too.

Okay so there is a pigeon, a bus and bus driver and the bus driver says, "Whatever you do, do not let the pigeon drive the bus." The pigeon does everything possible to get the reader to let him drive the bus, but being obedient to the bus driver and knowing that pigeons cannot drive buses we cannot help but get him to do what the bus driver said, and we do not let him do it. Try as he might, ... and he does try, very hard.

Why this book won the art award I do not know. If the book is good for toddlers to read and learn how to be a nuisance or why their mommies and daddies do not give in when they behave like the pigeon.. I do not know, I just know it is rather amusing.... and so, I mention it here on this blog.

And, if you do have this book, or simply find it at some yard sale someday, whatever you do, do not give in...
"Do not let the naughty, whiny pigeon drive the bus!"

The City and The City

I recently read a very intriguing book – The City & The City by China Mieville, published by Del Rey/Ballantine Books – which unfortunately I cannot freely recommend.

Basic premise: two physical cities occupy the same location, but due to reasons lost in the past the citizens of each city are ‘unable’ to see the other city. When a crime is committed that breaches that boundary between cities, our hero, Inspector Tyador Borlú, not only solves the crime, but also explores, at great cost to himself, what the actual boundary is and what it really means to breach that boundary.

This is a book about perceptions, about voluntary blindness, about what happens when we choose to create our own reality. It also explores the idea of us vs. them, and what happens when the boundaries separating us & them are breached. In recent months the Lord has had me meditating on perception vs. reality; this book was timely in prodding along my reluctant journey in that direction. It also provoked several great discussions with my dh about the roles – both legitimate and destructive – that boundaries serve in our lives.

My reservation in actually recommending The City and The City is due to Mieville’s extreme use of gratuitous swearing. Neither the author nor the characters are believers, and the book revolves around the seamy side of the crime world, so some swearing would perhaps not be unexpected. Because Mieville’s curse words of choice do not include taking the Lord’s name in vain (something I just can’t stomach!), I was able to gloss over the liberal cursing as I read. However, I deeply regret the excessive swearing, as it renders an intriguing and possibly valuable book into a near miss.