When I was very young, the adults in my life were often just absent enough to keep me relatively alone, but not absent enough for me to wind up electrocuting myself with a fork in an electrical socket. It wasn’t until I was a little older, maybe seven or eight, that my mother finally started coming home from work with enough energy for us to do things together. We wound up reading together, taking turns at some “tougher” books that she thought I would like. Of particular merit and interest was, of course, Harry Potter. With the announcement earlier this year that there would be more movies set within the Harry Potter universe, the potential for the setting to continue well into the foreseeable future.
Was Harry Potter a family activity for you when you were younger? Is it something that you would want to share with your children? What sorts of inspiration would you like to see be utilized by the writers as the setting continues to grow in popularity and scope? Do you think the Malleus Maleficarum, or any of the texts that we’ve read for class, could or will be referenced? If so, how?
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That is certainly unfortunate that you ended up electrocuting yourself with a fork in an electrical socket. But Harry Potter was not a "family activity" for me until I became older and the movies and stories really caught up with people around the world.
ReplyDeleteMy first interaction with Harry Potter wasn't the best. I remember one year for Christmas my grandparents came over with their gifts for me and my siblings and we were all so excited - especially since the boxes were huge and heavy. I should point out that I was about 7 at this point, and books held little to no interest for me unless they were filled with pictures. So, when I opened up my present and saw the first 4 Harry Potter books I was pretty pissed. My mom read them, my grandmother read them, I did not. I remember spending summers by the pool when my grandmother read Order of the Phoenix as it just came out while she watched me and my sister swim, I remember my mom getting the seventh book in the mail and reading it all in one day. It wasn't until my freshman year of high school that I actually fell in love with reading. Between then and now I've probably read HP all the way through more than a dozen times, I would literally just cycle through the books over and over for weeks. HP became a way for me to bond with my mom and my friends and it was great. Harry Potter was my gateway drug into literature.
ReplyDeleteI get that family atmosphere. But was Harry Potter itself a family activity? Strangely enough - no! And with my mothers interests, it really should have been.
ReplyDeleteBut I can say I do not think I will be making Harry Potter a part of my child's development. When they are older I will of course recommend them but I feel like there are other books worth while to explore. Things that need a mothers push for the kid to actually read! :P
I get that family atmosphere. But was Harry Potter itself a family activity? Strangely enough - no! And with my mothers interests, it really should have been.
ReplyDeleteBut I can say I do not think I will be making Harry Potter a part of my child's development. When they are older I will of course recommend them but I feel like there are other books worth while to explore. Things that need a mothers push for the kid to actually read! :P
I get that family atmosphere. But was Harry Potter itself a family activity? Strangely enough - no! And with my mothers interests, it really should have been.
ReplyDeleteBut I can say I do not think I will be making Harry Potter a part of my child's development. When they are older I will of course recommend them but I feel like there are other books worth while to explore. Things that need a mothers push for the kid to actually read! :P
harry Potter was a family activity for me growing. Especially when it came to the moves. My parents were all about the messages the movies were trying to send to the public as if any of us cared, we just wanted to see harry on the big screen again as he dueled with voldemort. I definitely ail tell my kids about it one day
ReplyDeleteMy mom and I read the first 2 Harry Potter books together, and we have seen all the movies together, so for us it was a family thing. I don't know what should happen to make sure popularity for the novels continue to grow. Maybe it will on it's own, maybe these book will be the books that speak to this time, and be discussed in future English classes.
ReplyDelete