As our dear Hogwarts Professor mentioned, I do like to have as much contextual information as possible to take into consideration when evaluating things like a text’s meaning and importance; blame it on the fact I’m a historian by training. I do think contributions such as this remarkable documentary present great opportunities and challenges for scholars. On the one hand, despite its obvious merits, there is no disguising the fact this is a staged and highly manipulated (not necessarily in a bad sense) work; the creators and participants had planned goals and were self-conscious of the kind of messages they were sending with each frame and each word. I certainly wouldn’t consider this the end point of any investigation into Rowling’s world. That said, I think it’s a remarkable gift that must be considered when evaluating what Rowling understood herself to be doing by creating these works, and what they mean.

I think of how the scholarly dialogue about one of my other favorite authors, H.P. Lovecraft, currently functions. According to recent estimates, Lovecraft wrote more than 100,000 letters – detailed, thorough letters – to readers and fellow writers and members of amateur press associations about his craft, his works, and his intentions behind his art. Students of Lovecraft are still scratching the surface of these texts, more than half a century after his death. Imagine, instead of having to sift throught these letters as one of the the only means of having a glimpse into his personal and creative mind, getting the “Power Point Presentation” version of who he was, why he did what he did, and what it meant to him. Of course, there are many more factors to take into consideration when evaluating literature – certainly there can be much more in a work than what the writer realizes or intends – but what an incredible and generous starting place to offer anyone who wants to delve further into a story!

So I am optimistic, on the whole, when I think that we have the chance to capture the final moments of the writing of a pathbreaking series on film, for example. Certainly, Rowling might have acted differently if the cameras weren’t trained on her. But to have this kind of instant, immediate, intimate access documented for our consumption and consideration, and to have the luxury of her answers committed to film, gives us a great head start. We can’t accept it wholesale, but then again we can’t accept letters, notes, even diaries uncritically, either. And what fantastic foresight it shows to have caught J.K. Rowling at these moments, and not five years or fifteen years after the fact.

Yes, I am very heartened by these new kinds of resources. It’s a good time to be reading, and asking questions, and wanting to know more.

With James, however, Harry’s rose-colored glasses are knocked from his face and crushed. His father could easily be called mean, hateful, taunting and arrogant. Even though Harry does continue to love his father, the reader never receives a justifiable motivation for James’s actions toward Severus. James’s character seems to be seriously flawed but forgiven and loved.

So even though Jo has surrounded Harry with wonderful father figures to make up for the father she never had, as she alluded to in the interview, she still gave Harry a real father who fails to live up to the dream.

I’m softening on this, largely because of the possibility that the author is crafting a Potter-Silmarillion that will illumine the artistry of how she chose to put the books together (to include what she left out and why) and because of productions like this teevee program. If this had been another ‘Open Book Tour’ collection of Skeeter sound-bites, I would only have been confirmed in my opinion that it would be better for the future of her books if Ms. Rowling’s celebrity role disappeared. That isn’t going to happen for reasons good and not so good (her charity work and the Potter Industry, respectively). I am resigned to following the show as it plays out, to continue focusing on the texts — look at all those quizzes! — and to hoping we see more documentaries or media moments that are comparable to the excellent ‘Year in the Life’ production by the son of a former Archbishop of Canterbury.

I hope that answers your question, at least as much as you asked for what I think. I look forward to reading Dr. Sturgis’ response.

How does this type of documentary contribute to literary analyses of Ms. Rowling’s work & life? Does primary source material such as this change the approach or present new opportunities/challenges for a scholar?

It struck me this morning how incredibly unusual this documentary is with regards to providing source material on an author’s background & intentions. It seems to me that participating in such a documentary gives Ms. Rowling some control over how others now & in the future interpret her life & writing. Much like her comment, for example, that it was important to her to map out the next generation of the families in the Epilogue because the characters are hers. It would appear equally, if not more important to her given the mass media world of today, that she have her own say about her life experiences & the history of Harry’s story.

This type of access to an author’s personal history via such a audio/visual media would be a relatively new phenomnenon, I think. The primary source material for examing authors even 50-100 years ago would seem to be, at best, first-hand written journals or maybe audio recordings. That leaves room for quite a bit of interpretation & conjecture by a scholar looking into such an author’s life. Through this documentary, Ms. Rowling has made very clear statements about her personal hopes & fears, family relations, friendships, religious faith, & managing her wealth and fame.

Anyway, I just wanted to learn some thoughts from you experts on this subject. Thanks!

Lucky for me I just traced 2 ancestors back to mid-1700′s County Down & one back to Devon circa 1600. No joke!

The documentary was fantastic. My favorite parts were the return to the flat in Leeds and the ongoing thread throughout the documentary regarding “fame” as compared to the personal rewards of perseverance & a job well done. I do think it would be quite surreal to be sitting in a room of Hollywood execs & others trying to please YOU. The American Idol commercials running in between the documentary segments were a perfect counterpoint to that theme. “I WANT TO BE THE NEXT AMERICAN IDOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I will have to find some quiet time & watch it again before it comes down. If it is ever released on DVD, I will buy it. Those of you who may resist signing-in to have access to the video should re-consider. I usually refuse to do it in most online circumstances, but this one was worth it!

I decided to wait until all would be quiet around the house & I could really watch. I came back here to click the link & load it up again, and POOF! it had e-vanished.
Bummer.

Thanks muchly to those of you who watched & are posting about it. Hopefully it will be released for broader consumption in the future!

I thought, like many of you, that it was wonderfully done and very insightful. It gave me (us) a glimpse of who Jo Rowling is, not just through her words in Harry Potter. It was very inspiring, actually. I do hope that they include it on one of the DVDs as I’d like to watch it again.

I thought Runcie’s questions and commentary showed that he had spent a great deal of time actually observing Jo and listening to what she says, rather than just what fandom thinks they’ve heard.

Seeing her visit her childhood church and her flat, and hearing her talk of her father gives one a lot better understanding of the books, I think. I’m so very glad that she agreed to it–she must have a lot of respect for Runcie to be so open about very personal areas of her life. Her father is still living, right? I can’t imagine what he must feel if he heard what she had to say about him–or perhaps none of that is a surprise. Still, I find it very sad when children and parents aren’t able to reconcile.

Pat

Article in “The Banner”, a Christian denominational magazine, regarding the issues of good and evil in the books. The discussion on this website is obviously beyond this, but this article is a sign that some groups of previously anti-Potter Christians are waking up to the reality of Christian themes permeate the books. I’ll be interested to see what all comes to the “letters to the editor” in the next issue!

http://www.thebanner.org/magazine/article.cfm?article_id=1377