Turtle Power

Monday, November 07, 2005

What is the big deal?

The following statement is probably going to be considered blasphemous to many of my friends: I honestly do not see what the big deal about Harry Potter is.

I'm sorry- I've tried my hardest to like it for quite some time!

I've read the first few books. I'm in the process of reading the fourth book. I've seen all the movies. And yet I still find myself dumbfounded to the mass appeal of this series.

When I was in London, we went on a group trip one weekend to Bath. On the way back, we stopped by Oxford, and toured Christ's Church College. Apparently parts of the Harry Potter movies were filmed there. The majority of the 30 or so people in the group were freaking out about this. I could have cared less. This is just one example of the many times that I have felt out of place for not being an obsessive Harry Potter fan.

Now, I am working at the educational software division of Scholast..., the company that publishes Harry Potter. My first week at work, I was given the sixth book of the series for free, a gift to the whole company from Scholast.. And apparently, we get to go to a free screening of the fourth movie the night before it opens. So now I am trudging through the 4th book so I will not be completely lost during the long movie. How/why do kids (and adults for that matter) want to sit through a 3 hour movie/ read an 800 page book?

So could someone please answer me why Harry Potter is so adored? And while you are at it, could you also explain to me the appeal of the Dave Matthews Band?

posted by Turtle Power at 2:16 PM

13 Comments:

  • Hahaha. I feel your pain. Especially since I was with you to witness to the Harry Potter freakout at Christ's Church College. It's truly mind boggling. And I'm not sure about the Dave Matthews Band, either...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/07/2005 3:45 PM  

  • Harry Potter Rox!!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/07/2005 7:56 PM  

  • Amy,

    I am completely with you about Dave Matthews... i really do not understand the big deal and "cult" following he has..... Harry Potter on the other hand ...I definately understand the big deal! .... The books are fantastically written and the characters and descriptions are so rich...and once you get a little ways in...you cant put the books down

    Let Harry into your heart Amy! Tell Scholastic i will take all the Harry Potter stuff ;)

    ~Laura

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/07/2005 9:32 PM  

  • Amy.... you're really walking on thin ice with me. Did you have any childhood at all? Are you so cynical and jaded that you can't appreciate J.K. Rowling's brainchild? The woman created a whole new world! Because of these books, the word "muggle" is now in the dictionary (actually I'm not sure if that's true, but if it isn't, it should be.) I'm frightened for you Amy... pretty soon you'll be shopping at Wal Mart!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/08/2005 8:36 AM  

  • Who left the Boyd Tinsley comment? Fess up!

    By Blogger Turtle Power, at 11/08/2005 10:56 AM  

  • Allie Says:
    I'm just glad you at least gave Harry a try. I was once like you. I didn't read HP till three summers ago-when the fourth book was already out. I refused to give in to the mainstream child fantasy. Well, then all my British friends said they would disown me. I started from the beginning and wouldn't tell anybody because I didn't want to be that poser fan. Well, now it doesn't matter anymore: I am a proud fan and we don't have to be EXACTLY the same you know. :) As for DMB, you know my feelings. It's all about letting go to the music. It's different everytime they perform. I am a biased holistic counselor though. We can have a long discussion at home over Boyd's rockin violin improvs. :)

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/08/2005 4:14 PM  

  • anonymous,

    please explain your wal-mart comment. that makes no sense at all. amy refuses to kowtow to mainstream tastes so that makes her a candidate to shop at wal-mart? what?

    By Blogger Listmaker, at 11/08/2005 7:19 PM  

  • Listmaker,
    I'm simply disappointed that Amy doesn't share my likes and dislikes. If you knew me, then you'd understand my love of Harry Potter and DMB, as well as my hatred for Wal Mart. Harry and Dave represent all that is good to me and Wal Mart is just plain EVIL...

    I'm just concerned that Amy is being romanced by the dark side.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/09/2005 10:14 AM  

  • anonymous,

    ok, good explanation.

    but i find it funny that someone who finds that the character of he who should not be named or whatever his name is hides behind a wall of anonymity. quite evil, i'd say.

    By Blogger Listmaker, at 11/09/2005 5:48 PM  

  • aren't people who shop at wal-mart more likely to listen to DMB and read harry potter?

    By Blogger youthlarge, at 11/09/2005 8:30 PM  

  • Youthlarge-
    People who shop at Wal Mart are likely to try and ban Harry Potter books and label them "tools of the occult." Wally world is run by a bunch of Jesus freaks and they attract a similar clientel.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/10/2005 4:39 PM  

  • being jesus freaks really might be the least of wal-mart's problems.

    and since WM is one of the leading music retailers in the country i'm sure that's where a fair portion of DMB fans get their fix of Matthews' nasally voice. so DMB fans = jesus freaks by your logic, right?

    By Blogger youthlarge, at 11/11/2005 12:30 PM  

  • As Charlie Brown said, "Arrrgggghhh! I've been doing my damnedest to rid the world of Wal-Mart and now it rears its ugly yellow face here at Turtle Power (which I came to via the almighty Listmakers site).

    Harry Potter, while it gets children into the habit of reading, isn't great literature. But in a country where so few people read one book per year at all (is it less than 10 percent?), Harry Potter takes on a status of divinity.

    In a world of pre-packaged commercial music, the DMB attains a slightly lower level of fame, but still receives a lions share of acclaim. Meanwhile, thousands of bands struggle to make it, working day jobs in order to scrape together the cashish to produce and record a record that will sell 5,000 units, if that.

    Sorry for the ramble, but Wal-Mart is the evil empire and I've been spending alot of time and energy lately to little avail, trying to overcome the whole mentality that promotes this culture of cheap merchandise and exploitive labor practices. IMHO, some of what drives the obsession with HP and DMB also fuels the need to embrace Wallyworld.

    By Blogger Jim, at 11/19/2005 9:41 AM  

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