I didn’t realize the insane popularity of J.K. Rowling’s work until I had my own computer with an internet connection (I believe I was between 16 and 18). Potter references abound on the internet; the problem was, I didn’t understand any of them. They might as well have been making posts and memes in German. You see, I’ve never read Harry Potter.
My sister and I were pretty young when Harry Potter came out. I was barely reading at all, in fact (I was a late reader). So my parents felt that we were not at a maturity level to comprehend the difference between fantasy and reality in Harry Potter. These were realistic children, living in a realistic world, casting realistic spells. So it was out
The second reason being that my mother has a bachelor’s degree in education. She is very well-read, and something of a literary critic. Mind you, she had no problem with the so-called “occult” elements in Harry Potter. We read The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Black Cauldron, A Wrinkle In Time, and other fantasy books growing up; magic wasn’t the problem. My mother, in her critical eye, thought that Harry Potter was rather poorly written. Calm down. Breath in and out slowly, dear reader. It’s not the end of the world that someone doesn’t like your favorite book. You still reading? Okay, I’ll continue. My mother also held the opinion that Harry himself was, well, a brat, with a bad attitude, who got whatever he wanted anyway. She felt that sent kids the wrong message. I wouldn’t know, so I’m not rendering an opinion.
While I still haven’t read Harry Potter, due to the proliferation of memes in the internet circles that I typically run in, I’ve become Potter literate. I understand most of the references now, only because I’ve had to look it up. It was rather annoying for a long time; being left out of a joke is frustrating. I recall visiting a friends’ house, where they have displayed on the wall the banners of the four houses; it took me about three years before I realized what they were. I would go there fairly frequently and every time I scratched my head trying to ascertain what they were.
While it is frustrating sometimes, I don’t feel as though I’ve been deprived. I had a rather rich, imaginative childhood, with or without Harry. I don’t see myself reading those books any time in the future either. My reading list is extensive enough without adding another series to it. That doesn’t rule out watching the movies, however. And nothing against the franchise itself, but it has a rather “toxic” fanbase. Many (probably about half) of the Potterheads I’ve met take the franchise far too seriously. It’s almost like a religion to them. I understand being emotionally attached, but this really isn’t that big of a deal.
In the end, Harry Potter doesn’t really seem like something I’d be all that interested in anyway. As I’ve said in other articles of this type, I’ll be content to let others enjoy it.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI'm Ian Wilson; an eccentric comic artist, just telling a story.
Archives
June 2021
Categories |