Ut Humiliter Opinor

Hogwarts iPod

I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this morning. The early information on this was about how much darker this book would be than the last. I didn’t find that to be the case. Order of the Phoenix was a much more sinister book - evil was within the Ministry and Hogwarts itself. The Order was active in pursuing the Death-Eaters, and Harry’s leadership came into bloom with his Dark Arts study group, the DA. (more…)

Joel Stein didn’t even wait until Friday to start trashing the new Harry Potter book in his latest humor column:

Hogwarts fans, you’re stupid, stupid, stupid

Next Saturday, when the sixth Harry Potter book comes out, at the very least I want you to stammer excuses when I see “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” on your nightstand. I want you to claim you’re reading it to make sure it’s OK for your kids, or your future kids, or even, if you have to, for kids in general.

I make no such excuses. I enjoy reading them. Initially I thought they would be for my kids, but I found I actually liked them (unlike some of the other stuff for their age).

After a generation of boomers choosing to remain in a state of stunted adolescence — wearing jeans, smoking pot and cranking their BMW stereos to blast Eminem songs they clearly don’t like — the next generation has opted for a stunted toddlerhood … When we share our entertainment palette with the Wiggles set — watching comic book movies and teenage singing talent shows — we deny an attempt to understand human emotion.

Maybe you’ll feel better Joel, when you realize that not only am I reading Harry Potter along with my kids, but that they are reading things like “Romeo & Juliet” and watching things like “Phantom of the Opera” with me. Dumbing down of entertainment is certainly a problem, but don’t assume that enjoying Harry Potter means that you ignore the important works of our society. A little balance is a good thing.