Opinions on Harry Potter craze on kids... - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Austin85 · #1 11-20-2005, 01:44 AM

This may not be as hot a topic as Murtha or Mobil Delvac vs Synthetic, but anyone else besides me think that Harry Potter books were NOT a positive influence on kids??

I just look back to what I read at that age ; say 8 to 12 for example, and it was nowhere near as freaky as HP books.....My favorite book was The Ted Williams Story.

Ara T. · #2 11-20-2005, 02:19 AM

Look what's on TV, if books can't compete with whats on screen then kids would never read.

cmac2012 · #3 11-20-2005, 03:34 AM

I have mixed feelings as well. It's good that kids get excited about reading I guess, but I wonder about a little too much escapism; fantasies of how they would take care of so and so if only they had the kind of magic Harry Potter has.

When I was a kid, I was crazy about the Black Stallion series -- also escapism, I suppose, but a more realistic and perhaps, more healthy sort.

MS Fowler · #4 11-20-2005, 06:07 AM

Escapist fantasy as a genre of literature has been around for a long time. IS the Potter series different from the Tolkein "ring" series? Are they not simply morality plays? " Good" battles "evil" and "good" wins. Both have sorcery and magic; yet I don't see the outrage against Tolkein.
A few years ago when the first Lord of the Rings movie came out, I went to see it with some friends. One of them was a very well read instructor, and he wondered if I followed the plot- since I had never read Tolkein. I responded, " I think I understood it---people dress in white were "good"; anything dressed in black and oozing blood was "evil".
How hard was that?

Botnst · #5 11-20-2005, 08:57 AM

My kids are avid Potter readers. My wife read a couple of them and her judgement was, "No harm."

If a kid didn't have a pretty good grasp of reality then there might be a problem. But heck, that kind of kid might be endangered by TV or a rampant Diffenbachia.

B

Uriah · #6 11-20-2005, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

When I was a kid, I was crazy about the Black Stallion series -- also escapism, I suppose, but a more realistic and perhaps, more healthy sort.

That's my wife's FAVOURITE series by far. She loves reading them to my 5 year old, although I prefer to read her Narnia myself.

I like Tolkien as well as several other fantasy writers, but that's not what I like to read the most by far.

I didn't think much of Harry Potter and my kids won't be reading it anytime real soon, but my mom likes it for some reason.

Jim H · #7 11-20-2005, 09:15 AM

I used to read The Hardy Boys.

They solved mysteries too, but could not rely on magic to help.

I think 'escape' stories actually help to form an active imagination, and therefore belong in the 'Good' column.

Benzadmiral · #8 11-20-2005, 09:51 AM

-- taught by the HP series, unlike a lot of modern fiction, is that Harry is not a victim. He takes an active hand in the events of his life, instead of wringing his hands and wailing, "If only I had [such-and-such a power, a girlfriend, more money, etc.]!" He works hard to learn and to control his magic skills, learns painful lessons, and is not always sure of the right path to take. He's loyal to and risks his life for his friends, and receives loyalty in return.

Is any of this a bad lesson for any kid (or any open-minded adult) to learn?

And if you think that all the kids will take away from Harry Potter is the wish-fulfillment stuff, I think you're underrating the average kid. When I devoured Roy Rogers, James Bond, and Ellery Queen, I had a lot of the wish-fulfillment stuff, sure, but I saw through to the underlying lessons about honorable vs. evil behavior and about the value of learning, and they helped me grow up right.

Ra_ · #9 11-20-2005, 09:58 AM

I don't know what that woman did, to electrify all these kids...
but kudos to her, for getting millions of kids to read fat books!

They now have a love for reading that will serve them well.

GermanStar · #10 11-20-2005, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ra_

I don't know what that woman did, to electrify all these kids...
but kudos to her, for getting millions of kids to read fat books!

They now have a love for reading that will serve them well.

What he said. Two thumbs up!

GermanStar · #11 11-20-2005, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MS Fowler

A few years ago when the first Lord of the Rings movie came out, I went to see it with some friends. One of them was a very well read instructor, and he wondered if I followed the plot- since I had never read Tolkein. I responded, " I think I understood it---people dress in white were "good"; anything dressed in black and oozing blood was "evil".
How hard was that?

No, I think you were watching Star Wars.

Uriah · #12 11-20-2005, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by w126

I don't understand the hype, but it doesn't hurt to have every major media outlet plugging it.

I was into "Dr. Who", the Tom Baker years and read most of the books. Other than that I wasn't hooked on any series.

I used to LOVE Baker era Dr. Who.

My buddy Brian though is really into Dr. Who, up to the point of buying a few of the origional props, manuscripts, ect... I like it, but not quite that much.

Botnst · #13 11-20-2005, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uriah

I used to LOVE Baker era Dr. Who.

My buddy Brian though is really into Dr. Who, up to the point of buying a few of the origional props, manuscripts, ect... I like it, but not quite that much.

I used to have a Tardis coffee cup, though some people thought it looked like a police box or phone booth. Pour hot coffee in it and the Tardis would disappear. As the cup cooled the Tardis would slowly reappear.

Bot

Hatterasguy · #14 11-20-2005, 01:14 PM

I fail to see the harm in it. My sister read the books and says they are great. At least this gets kids reading and not playing video games ect. I grew up on Animorph(sp?) books those were probably about as weird as Potter. What about Star War's and 007? I watched that stuff all the time when I was a kid and turned out fine.

Although for some reason I want a British sports car, PPK, and have this strange attraction to Money Penny.

BobK · #15 11-20-2005, 02:33 PM

My wife is an english teacher (6th grade) and highly approves of HP. I have read all the books at least once, as has my wife. My youngest son (now 14) has read them more times than I care to count. He read book 6 in about 6 hours. The books are no worse than much other material available and in fact as noted earlier, have morality plays in them and place great valve on most virtues. HP has done more to get kids reading than anything else since TV hit the mainstream I think. Most kids are a lot smarter than we think and can handle the fantasy/reality issue quite well. Personally, I can't wait for the final book. I hope it is 1000 pages.
Now about the newest movie. The three of us went to see it Friday night. I expected to enjoy it and did. That being said, I was also very disappionted in the movie. I thought a lot of the camera work was poor, but we are stuck with it. The editing was very choppy and really hurt the picture. I understand that there was actually more than an hour of film that they did not use because they wanted to keep the movie short. That was such a big mistake. I think they should recall the film and re-edit it to include most of the deleted parts. One of the LOTR movies went over 3 hours 20 minutes. People sat thru that and enjoyed it. I suspect it had more to do with keeping theater owners happy. Shorter move for same price equals more profit (less man hours for crews).
A final note: I think my wife actually has JKR's atugraph on one of her HP books. Got it at an English teachers conference in NYC one year. You know those english teachers--Rowdy bunch!