Harry Potter #2

I just realized that I published my thoughts on the 3rd movie before my thoughts on the 2nd movie.

Oops.


CAVEATS:
Just because I decided to watch these movies does not mean that I endorse them in any way.  I do still believe there is danger here.  I still believe there are references to real world paganism woven into the stories.  I decided to watch them purely as reference material, so that I can carry on intelligent conversations about the movies with actual Potter-fans.  My decision to watch them was mine, and mine alone.  I strongly caution the rest of you to think and pray really long and really hard before deciding to watch the movies yourselves.  In fact, I would strongly advise against watching them at all.  Yeah, I know, I'm not taking my own advice.


March 5, 2016: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Conditions have improved a bit in the Dursley household.  But not much.  Harry, still the neglected outcast, has finally been moved out of the cupboard under the stairs (probably because he outgrew that tiny space -- boys tend to experience growth spurts at that age).  But that's about it.  As long as Harry keeps his head down and stays out of the way, he gets by.

This becomes difficult when a house elf named Dobby suddenly shows up, intent of preventing Harry from going back to Hogwarts because something insidious is being planned to cause his demise.  The disturbance results in Harry getting in trouble and the Dursleys putting bars on his bedroom window to keep him from going anyway...

...which you'd think the neighbors would have noticed, which might have prompted someone to call England's Child Protective Services, who then could have come out and seen how poorly Harry was treated and removed him from the Dursleys' custody.  And maybe, just maybe, the Weasleys could have adopted him, and he'd actually have a family that cared about him and all that.

I'm just saying.

But this is not an ideal world, and so Harry remains with the Dursleys with bars nailed to his bedroom window.

Rant aside, Harry is rescued [kind of] by Ron and his older twin brothers by means of a flying car (because there are flying cars in the Harry Potter universe).  And thus they all head off to Hogwarts, where danger lurks in the form of a basilisk that is freezing people left, right, and center.  This can only mean one thing: the distant relation of a very bad guy has come to the school and opened the infamous Chamber of Secrets (roll credits...oh, wait).


Thoughts

The kids are definitely growing up because their performances have greatly improved since the 1st movie.  Special effects are still a bit on the cheesy side, but it's not quite as painful to watch.  I really did like the cinematography, specifically the lighting and use of Dutch angles to indicate when things are about to get hinky.

Recently, I had to play Hermione in a scene from the 1st movie for an acting class (my teammates' idea, not mine), and as part of the assignment I was required to critically analyze my character's thoughts and actions.  Having never seen the movies at that point, I observed that Hermione was definitely a bit of a show-off, which could have been an indication of insecurity.  Finally watching the #2 movie confirmed my suspicions.

We learn that Hermione's parents are both regular people, which leads to lots of teasing and becomes an important plot point later in the story.  This may explain why Hermione is such a know-it-all.  In order to counter the insecurity of not being a "pure blood" witch (not that it's a good thing to be a witch in the first place, but for purposes of this story...), Hermione has applied herself to the study of magic and accumulated as much knowledge as possible to prove that she's just as qualified to be at Hogwarts as anyone else.  She's trying to prove that she belongs with this crowd, that she is one of the cool kids, and she goes to extraordinary lengths to do so.

We also get another "bred in captivity" scene thanks to Dobby.  House elves are technically slaves, sworn to serve a house or family, and they can only be freed when their masters present them with new clothes (as to why this is, we will have to ask J. K. Rowlings).  Toward the end of the movie, Harry sees how Dobby is treated by the family he serves (ironically Draco Malfoy's equally blonde and nasty father).  And while Harry (and myself, to be honest) has been quite annoyed by the little rascal's various antics throughout the movie, Harry takes pity on him and tricks Mr. Malfoy into presenting Dobby with his (Harry's) sock, thus freeing the little guy from his servitude.  I could go off on a tangent about the trickery aspect and the disrespect for those in authority (this is prevalent throughout the series), but for now I'm just going to focus on Harry's character.  Just like with the snake at the zoo in Movie #1, Harry feels a connection with Dobby because of the way they've both been treated.  Dobby is shoved around and verbally abused.  Harry is neglected, starved, and also verbally abused.  They're both poorly dressed (seriously, compare Harry's clothing to Dudley's sometime).  Dobby is a servant, and Harry is certainly treated like one.  So, in the end, Harry shows compassion for Dobby by freeing him from his servitude...

...which is probably something Harry wishes someone would do for him...

...why hasn't anyone called England's Child Protective Services, again?


Concerns

You know, it just occurred to me as I was writing about how terrible the Dursleys are that the powers that be are using Harry's less-than-ideal family situation to pull readers in and make the whole magic thing look more attractive.

Think about it.  A neglected, abused orphan rises above his captors by way being a powerful wizard.  Being able to overcome those who bully us is attractive in any circumstance.  I think, in one way or another, we all struggle with this desire, whether it be to overcome to incessant pestering of a bully or the injustice of a strict taskmaster (our parents, our bosses, etc.).  If could be nothing, a pleasant coincidence that makes Harry's personal life more interesting.  Or it could be a ploy be which to reel us in deeper, make us more interested, keep us watching.  After all, if Harry can overcoming his abusers, why can't we?  And if he uses magic to do it, why can't we?

Now, those of us who are old enough to differentiate between the real world and the fantasy world know that we can't actually fly on broomsticks and turn people into cats with a spell or potion.  Granted, spells and potions are present in real-world paganism, but I have yet to see anyone fly around on a broomstick.  However, younger children may have trouble making the very important differentiation between what is real and plausible and what is fantasy in a fantasy world.  I had this problem so bad that I couldn't' go to movie theatres for several years because everything was just too real for me to handle and it freaked me out.  To this day, I consider myself the 10th member of the Fellowship of the Ring.

Kids generally have trouble telling the difference between the real world and the fantasy world.  This explains why my friend and I both experienced real memories we confused for dreams (until recently) and dreams we mistook for real memories.  Once I had a dream that my grandmother's cheek exploded and all kinds of yellow goop oozed out of it.  I wouldn't kiss her cheek for weeks after that.  My mom didn't understand why I was being so mean to my grandmother until I told her about the dream years later.

The trouble with Harry Potter is that the magical world and the real world aren't that much separated. The stories take place in places that children can physically touch and find on a map (King's Crossing Station in London, for example), and imply that there's another dimension -- a magical realm withing the real world that can only be accessed by witches and wizards and people like that.  This is where the smokescreen starts to turn into a spider's web.  The lines between reality and fantasy are blurred and the disregard for authority and the desire to overpower the bullies pull us in deeper.

This is why we must tread carefully, even around something that seems so fun and innocent.

Okay, I feel like I'm rambling a bit, and I have to get up in 4.5 hours, so I better go now.