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Anyone else NOT read Harry Potter?

2K views 45 replies 32 participants last post by  Lori Biever-Launder 
#1 ·
Hi Ladies,
First off, I am not a Harry Potter fan. My children and I read excepts from the last 2 books and it just turned us off. I'm getting really sick of all the Harry hype. It bothers me to see children dressed up as witches and goblins and glorifying witchcraft. Some of these children actually want to become witches (from the interviews I have seen and heard and from talking to local kids). They think witchcraft is "cool". That breaks my heart.:( And the interview with the author of these books this morning bothered me too. She made a comment about how her husband didn't understand that to write good children's literature, you had to kill off a character. YUCK!!! Getting off my :soapbox: now.
 
#4 ·
I haven't read any of the books but I did see one of the movies. For me as an adult is was entertaining, but you are right Debbie, I think it could be harmful to young children that don't really understand what they are reading or watching.
 
#7 ·
I haven't read any of the books, did see one of the movies on TV (DH & I got it PPV to see what all the hype was about) ... fell asleep in the middle of it, LOL. I just don't get it. Then again, I'm not the target audience.

I don't think it's dangerous in a witchcraft kind of way... the characters aren't, from what I've seen, promoting "real" witchcraft- they're totally fictional, just like dragons or Tinker Belle. It seems to me that kids wouldn't think of the witchcraft aspect as real if the adults (on TV mainly) wouldn't point it out constantly. When we were kids we wanted to deflect bullets with our bracelets like Wonder Woman... we grew out of that and learned to tell reality from fiction.

As for the killing off a character comment by the author, though- I agree with Debbie- that's crazy.

In a way, I see this just like the car crash in LA last night that was on the news- it was blamed on the Fast and the Furious movie. Like people never drove fast before that movie?

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OK, I just reread what I wrote and hope it didn't come off too argumentative. I know not everyone agrees with me, and I'm not aiming my posts at anyone here.... just MHO! :soapbox:
 
#9 ·
I have to admit I didn't read the books or see the movies, we do own both movies and my husband and daughter has seen them BUT they are not my thing..

I think they are being promoted so much because kids actually read them and getting kids to read is hard so instead of just watching tv or playin video games kids are reading and that is a good thing as for the "witchcraft" thing I think it is harmless in the whole scheme of things, it is fantasy and it is so out there I don't think kids think of it as real, at least the target audience I think understand that it is not "real"

Eileen
 
#10 ·
I haven't read any of the books or seen the movie and really have no desire to. Steve has said he wouldn't buy or rent the movie. I'm glad Ashley is not 'into' HP
 
#11 ·
I agree wholeheartedly with you, Debbie. My kids are not allowed to read these books, nor do they desire to. I feel like it is glorifying witchcraft, wizards, etc. and that does not go along with what we are taught in church or in the Bible. I am against them, too.
 
#12 ·
I will be reading it.
I think of it as fantasy. I've read all the books & throughly enjoyed them. I think of it as magic not "witchcraft".:)
 
#14 ·
I've read all of the books except for "The Order of the Phoinx". I think that if it gets children to READ it is a plus!!

As far as the "witchcraft/wizardry is concerned, if the parents decipher this to their kids then there should be no problem. I think the biggest problem is, these kids that want to begin to "practice" witchcraft, aren't being monitored by thier parents.

Kids old enough to read these books should already KNOW the difference between REALITY & FANTASY!!

It's NOT about trying to teach kids to believe in the dark arts but, that these thing DO exist in our society.
 
#15 ·
I read part of a HP book to see if it was appropriate for our dd to read, I did not like anything about it and as a Christian see it as promoting witchcraft and other not so nice things. HP is not allowed in our home and dd is not allowed to see the movies.
 
#17 ·
My kids are all teenagers or grown but they have seen it and DS read a couple of the books. I don't think it promotes witchcraft anymore than Bewitched promoted it when we were kids :D. I agree with Darlene that I have to think of it as magic and not witchcraft. :D
 
#18 ·
Harry Potter is pure fantasy and not meant to be seen in any other light.

I agree that witchcraft is not to be taken lightly, however, these stories are not about witchcraft. They are about an orphaned boy, his dreams and the problems he faces... the environment he lives in is colorful and provides entertaining "asides".

I've seen both movies and found nothing harmful about them. An idea is like a gun...it's the person and the manner in which it's used that makes it dangerous or harmful.

These movies are meant to be entertainment...not training films for witches and warlocks. Any child who spouts off about how they want to be a witch or wizard doesn't have the parental guidance they should have. Nor do they have a clue as to what a witch or wizard actually is.

So long as a parent teaches a child to destinguish between fantasy and reality, these movies and books shouldn't be a problem!
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Ladies,
I've had this debate with my own Mom (devout Christian and wife to a Weslian Minister) many times. I hope that I haven't offended any of you, but I feel very strongly that parental guidance is essential.

So long as our children are well informed and can destinguish the difference between fantasy and reality, reading books like HP purely for entertainment can be an exciting way to get a child to READ!

Would you take classics like "The Hobbit" or "The Lord Of The Ring I, II, III" away from children, as well? They really delve into dark and evil places...human imagination.

King Arthur... Merlin...Sheakspear...Greek and Roman Mythology...The Odyssey...

Ok... :soapbox: completed
 
#19 ·
As a member of the library community, I believe that all forms of knowledge should be available to everyone. I live in a very, VERY conservative community and books are challenged on a regualr basis. We have all of the Harry Potter books in our system in every form that we need--Spanish, English, CD, cassette, VHS and DVD. I have read all four of the other books and will read number five when my boys are done reading it. We actually bought TWO copies of the book for our home use.

Knowledge is POWER. This power enables one to make informed decisions about the world around him/her.

Harry does talk about wizards and witchcraft but in a purely fantasy form. My boys are well aware that there's no such thing as giants, hufflepuffs, talking paintings, etc. They enjoy using their imagination just as much as I do. I am a fan of several fanatsy authors--Mercedes Lackey being one of my favorites. She has wizards in her books too and not ONCE have I ever been tempted to try to become one!:D

I am in favor of anything that promotes reading in children as long as it's not illegal. When I came home from work today, I found BOTH of my boys engroseed in their copies of "The Order of the Phoenix". They didn't move from their respective couches for over TWO hours! They went to a Harry Potter party at the library last night from 10-12 with DH. They played games and got to try to win some toys and a copy of the book. Over 150 people showed up for this party! It was all in good, clean fun and everyone had a wonderful time!

As a final note, I will offer up the following story: my S-I-L didn't allow her boys to read HP for the longest time, but DID let them watch all of the Star Wars sagas and own toys, books, etc. based on them. Now I ask you this: just how different is a Jedi form a wizard? If one looks closely at the themes in these respective stories, one can find some remarkable similarities. She finally relented and now all three boys enjoy the books.

FWIW, how many of you who don't allow HP in your homes allow Star Wars?
 
#20 ·
Kathy I was going to point out the same thing about bewitched :D Then again my mom's parents would not let them watch that show either :eek: I remember my dad would try to censor what Newspaper comics I could read, and my grandma did not want my sister and I watching 90210 because of all the sex and drugs :eek: Man that show is soooo tame compared to the reality shows they have today!!! and others that I just can't think of...

anyways i'm sidetracking..

I never wanted to read the books since it seemed like a kids thing at first, and didn't seem appealing, then finally after it had been around a while we got the HP movie from carls parents...

It was so boring I couldn't keep my eyes open :( I was surprised that kids were 'into' it so much because I as an adult couldn't follow it, BUT I also hated and couldn't finish watching Blair Witch Project, because I also thought it was boring. But we all know how big of a hit THAT one was as well :D Must be just my weird movie tastes
 
#21 ·
AMEN LORI!!!
Witchcraft is part of our history. I know some people objected to the 3rd because it talked about "human sacrifice" when in fact it was referring to the Druids which did have human sacrifice, it is part of history. Should we not let our children learn that part of history now.
Remember, those who do not know and understand history are bound to repeat it!
I do not care for the Potter books simply because they are not my genre. Dd read the 1st and 2nd and tired of them. She said it was too many characters to keep track of.
I too am a librarian and have seen kids move on from Potter to Wizard of Oz (that series was banned by a lot of libraries in it's day too), to the Lemony Snickets to Jacques. So they are reading and I believe that is a wonderful thing.

A good library has something to offend everyone.

If you get a chance go to the ALA web site and check out the banned book list. It will knock your socks off what people have and do object to.
 
#23 ·
The Harry Potter books got my teen that hates to read, to actually sit and read. He has read them all. Although he has since grown to a point that he has no interest, my middle son started to try and read the first book. All three of my boys have seen the movies, and they are all aware that it is not real. If a child has a problem determining that what is real and what it is not, then I would have to say that the parents are not doing their job. Through out the years there have been many books, tv shows, and movies about some sort of magic etc... As some have said in earlier posts, many people watched Bewitched, and they turned out just fine. There will always be something that some one does not agree with. You will never be able to please everyone. I look at it this way. You can choose not to buy or read the books, but you can not give an informed opinion on the books unless you have read them. I for one have not read them. I have seen the movies. I look forward to any future movies that may come out. I just don't have a desire to sit and read an 800 page book. Harry Potter isn't for everyone.
 
#25 ·
i have seen both movies and they fascinate me. i love the special effects. i see them as pure entertainment.:D i am currently reading the first book, but hope to read them all.:)
 
#26 ·
Yup...Narnia runs along the same lines...loved the PBS program! Would love to read the book!
 
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