This morning in Thinking Matters, an “online publication written for lay Christians in New Zealand,” ‘Stuart’ wrote a five point explanation of why Harry Potter is edifying reading titled ‘Muggle Matters – is Harry Potter a Doorway to the Occult?‘ I think articles like this, which despite their understandably poor grasp of Potter/Rowling trivia (what church she is in, when she said she wouldn’t discuss her faith, etc.), are very encouraging signs. Stuart thinks and, more importantly, writes, in a mainstream, mainline evangelical journal, that Harry Potter is more than “not dangerous” or “okay if handled judiciously” but excellent reading.

Perhaps it is time, then, to say “Mission Accomplished” in the battle to rescue Harry from the Harry Haters in culture war ghettos. Or, better, to acknowledge that we have already moved on to win high ground in the battle with Harry Hallowers, on the one hand, who see the Hogwarts adventures as disguised evangelical tracts rather than edifying reading, and, on the other hand, the academic Hairy Hearted who would dissect Harry as cultural artifact and deconstruct him into meaninglessness. [Read more…]

No, I’m not selling anything. I received my first e-vertisment, though, to buy some Harry Potter themed Christmas gifts which got me thinking. It’s two weeks until St. Nicholas Day on the Church Calendar and, yikes, tomorrow for you Gregorians out there. Did anyone see any great Harry gifts (other than ‘Hairy Heart’) during your Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping? Please share the “where” and “how much” for your finds.

My eight year old son’s favorite plate is the Harry Potter momento I bought for him at Nimbus 2003. My daughter at VMI refuses to relinquish the Whirlwood Wand she received at the same time (though she isn’t even allowed to bring unregistered weapons into her barracks room so it sits on a shelf at home). We also have a Sorting Hat, and, as you’d expect, quite a few books about Harry. What accessories do you own? Do you feel like an idiot when you buy “licensed products”? Outside of the wand (which a friend makes) and the books (which are life-essential), I sure do.

But my son might stop eating if his Potter plate disappeared; I certainly remember the Dennis the Menace, Huckleberry Hound, and Fred Flintstone headed spoons I used as a boy and how attached I was to them. Is there a tie-in between these real world objects and our experience of story? How does owning a piece of Potter paraphernalia compare, say, with watching a Potter movie? With reading Beedle? Is positive association and reinforcement part of imaginative experience and integration?

Joanne Rowling’s new book, Tales of Beedle the Bard (BTB), argues via satire that homosexuals should be allowed to marry and that those who deny them this right are politically dangerous, even evil.

I have very little time this morning so this will be a hurried explanation of the satirical allegory implicit to Dumbledore’s commentary on the tale, ‘Fountain of Fair Fortune’ and of the upside and downside of this argument in story, with a rushed review of how Harry Haters, Harry Hallowers, LeakyMug Fandom, and HogPro AllPros will almost certainly react to this news. Forgive me the haste and typos, please.

(For the best discussion of the five Beedle Tales, as mentioned yesterday, go to The Hog’s Head where there are threads dedicated to each story!)

First, the satire: [Read more…]

For a tale by tale discussion of Beedle the Bard (BTB) with separate threads for each tale, please head over to The Hog’s Head where Travis is on the job. I have just finished BTB and hope to put up a thought per day the next few days; the livelier conversation will surely be at The Hog’s Head, something akin to the Thirty Threads here after Hallows was published last July.

Tonight, I want to thank JohnABaptist for taking the reins today. I was able to celebrate the Feast, read Beedle, and meet my Friday deadline early thanks to JAB so I am very grateful.

Next, I feel obliged to answer the 12 questions I posted late last night for those at midnight releases: [Read more…]

It’s Beedle the Bard Day around the world. The volume of wizarding fairy tales that J K Rowling hand wrote for a few select friends and one lucky auction patron has now been repurposed into a specialty book and is launched into the market today to support one of Joanne’s favorite charities, The Children’s High Level Group. This is all wonderful, but one question keeps nagging at me–But why today?

What special significance does December 4th, 2008 have that it should be chosen as a date preferable to all other launch dates? Why should the Harry Potter Marketing Machine so noted for judiciously selecting dates that further augment the series’ legendary commercial drawing power choose today?

Today is, after all, a day in the middle of the week. A day when good children are in school. A day when Mommy and Daddy (and their credit cards) are at work. [Read more…]