More on Harry Potter
Sunday, November 21st, 2010Follow up post to My Comment About Harry Potter
Tonight we had one of the best family discussions I can ever remember. We discussed good and evil. We read scriptures. We read a couple of articles… all prompted by the third Harry Potter movie. We compared the protagonists and antagonists of HP v/s Narnia and Lord of the Rings. Where is God in this? Does HP glorify darkness? Should we allow ourselves to continue watching the rest of the movies knowing that these wizards take divination classes? Can there be good and bad sides of witchcraft? Are Potter and friends even practicing witchcraft or is it just innocent magic? Hmmm…………
So… will we keep watching the rest of the movies? Yes and no. I just don’t like them. Not only do references to witchcraft bother me, I’m really not a fantasy/fiction type of girl. These movies are long and I can hardly stand sitting through them. Two of our daughters (not including our youngest who has been put to bed for all of these) are bothered by them also. They closed their eyes through a good portion of tonight’s movie and they have no desire to see more. They are sensitive to visual images. They are my girls. For the fourth movie, we’ll have a knitting party in another room.
Our son (11) and our teens will watch the remainder of the movies with Daniel who really finds the story interesting. Any references to real witchcraft will be discussed just as it was tonight. They’ll have a blast and learn from them.
Movie #4 is next for the Jobes who are about a decade behind on the Potter craze. Plugged in (Focus on the Family’s movie review website) says this:
“Of course, this is film four. Families that consider the supernatural sinew that binds Harry Potter together more trouble than it’s worth probably put the kibosh on it a long time ago. The ones still with it have decided either a) sorcery isn’t a big deal, or b) while they oppose real-life witchcraft, non-stop spells and incantations are acceptable when used as a literary device.”
So… we’re a divided household on this one! If I know my non-HP girls, they will never ask to finish this series. Yet for those watching with Dad, I have absolutely no concerns.
The plugged-in review goes on to say…
“Even those in the “go with it” camp may find their patience tested with Goblet of Fire, the first film to warrant a PG-13 rating. It’s extremely grim at times and even features the death of a Hogwarts student. I was amazed at the number of small children seated around me in the theater. At what point will moms and dads who’ve been saying “yes” to voracious young Potter fans decide that things have gone too far? This could be it. Dumbledore warns Harry, “Soon we must face the choice between what is right and what is easy.” They’re not the only ones.”
Interesting. And I agree. I’m glad we ignored these movies existed until now. While I’m comfortable with our older children watching them with Daniel (and our oldest watching the new release alone), I’m glad Harry Potter was not a part of our lives when my teens and tweens were little.