Here’s a different take on the spiritual understanding and underpinnings of Harry Potter from Israel. It turns out Harry is not a Christ figure, which makes sense in a way; but who would have thought that Jesus would be cast as He-Who-Must-Not-Be Named? Talk about variance in Reader Response… [Read more…]
Harry Potter to be Taught in British Schools, etc.
May 2, 2008 by 15 Comments
And to be part of the A-Level Exams, no less. Read about it here and here.
However appropriate or inappropriate this selection may be, it certainly challenges the assumption that there will be a significant time lag between Ms. Rowling’s popular success and her acceptance by the Academy. The Brits have made our favorite boy wizard hero no small part of their secondary school English curriculum.
Perhaps this means there will soon be an endowed chair in Hogwarts Studies at Eton for which I can apply… [Read more…]
How Does an Author’s Celebrity Affect Reader Response?
May 1, 2008 by 27 Comments
No, I still don’t want to discuss the merits of Ms. Rowling’s law suit against the publishers of Mr. Vander Ark’s Lexicon. That is a subject for the judge trying the case — and everyone who thinks they know how it will turn out and what that ruling will mean in the long term is kidding themselves and, frankly, wasting their time in an especially unedifying way.
On the other hand, on a site for serious readers, I am obliged to note trends in criticism of Ms. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels. Linda McCabe sent me a link this morning to an article by a notable writer about Ms. Rowling and her lawsuit that suggests that a backlash against Ms. Rowling is building and that this will affect understanding of her books for years to come.
That — and how much our beliefs about an author color our understanding of his or work — are subjects worth talking about. Do we love or loath Harry largely as a function of how we feel about Ms. Rowling? [Read more…]
The Platypus As Postmodern Mammal: Understanding Rowling’s Depth and Success
April 23, 2008 by 25 Comments
Okay, Wizard Rock is a blast but it’s time to put Potter-mania and Fandom aside and get back to the books and some serious thinking, folks. Here are three notes on Umberto Eco and how to think about the narrative of the Harry Potter stories, especially about why it resonates so universally.
The first is a delightful introduction to the man himself in I Invented Dan Brown, a Jerusalem Post interview with Italian novelist and semiotics professor Umberto Eco: [Read more…]
Wizard Rockumentary Review: HogPro Reporter Arabella Figg At Spokane World Premiere
April 18, 2008 by 13 Comments
A Guest post — with photos — from HogPro stringer (and real-life Spokesman-Review freelance correspondent in Spokane, WA), Arabella Figg! Thank you, Arabella, for this HogwartsProfessor.com Exclusive:
A Rockumentary That’s Wizard!
By Arabella Figg (Deborah Chan, Muggle Alias)—April 18, 2008
“Arabella, please send us a full report!”—John Granger
When John Granger announced at Hogwarts Professor that young twin sisters and filmmakers Megan and Mallory Schuyler had made a documentary feature film on Harry Potter wizard rock and the world premiere was in my hometown of Spokane, WA I was floored.
Wizard rock? Enough of it for a documentary? Made by Spokanites? I could attend a unique Harry Potter event? Wow!
My fan participation has been limited to HogPro. I knew nothing of the wizard rock subculture and was eager to have my Harry Potter horizons broadened.
The Filmmakers
“I feel we’ve grown up through this project.”—Megan Schuyler
“It’s our contribution.”—Mallory Schuyler
(Mallory, Deborah, and Megan: photo by Richard Chan)
The Schuylers (Griffinclaw Productions) traveled cross-country for two years to document wizard rock and its musicians of all ages, styles and creativity. It was Mallory who coined the term “rocking and rowling.” [Read more…]
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