Good-bye, Harry.

by Gail Z. Martin

OK, I’ll say it.  I’m going to miss Harry Potter.

For the last ten years, we’ve either had a book or a movie to look forward to, and I enjoyed every single one of them.  I loved sharing them with my kids, and I loved them myself.  The world of Harry Potter was just plain fun, with its wonderful word-play (like the Penseive), great characters, and a tangible level of realism.

I also loved the other level of Harry’s books.  The friendship, self-sacrifice, heroism and power of community, all of which seem to be in short supply these days.  The triumph of democracy over oligarchy (mud-bloods vs. pure bloods), and the power of seeing something through to the end.  Rare qualities, all of them, and the saving grace of humanity.

With my kids, I’ve seen all of the movies multiple times.  To me, they never get old.  I have my personal favorites—Sorcerer’s Stone and Goblet of Fire.  And while I quibbled from time to time over the length of coverage some Quidditch matches received (then again, I’m not a sports person), I didn’t really mind.

One of the things that meant a lot to me was that in the end, it was the regular people who overthrew tyranny and fascist rule.  The mud-bloods and the half-giants, the dwarves and the orphans, the misfits and the outcasts triumphed over powerful special interests who would have subjugated everyone to enrich a few.  Voldemort tried to seduce the wizarding world through greed and power.

And he would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn’t for those meddling kids.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Gail Z. Martin

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


CAPTCHA Image
Reload Image