Hello world,
I’m sorry that I’ve been out of touch for so long. Lots has happened that has kept me busy, and now I have so much to say. I have even decided that there is so much that instead of writing one long, enormously massive blog post, I will break it up into different posts based on theme/subject. This one, since it is most present in my mind, is about the final chapter—the conclusion—to Harry Potter. I will not say anything about the plot, rather I will talk about my experience both long term and short term. I saw the movie at midnight this morning. This was my first midnight show ever, and it felt appropriate that this be my first experience. For some crazy reason (tickets were sold out at other places, so not that crazy), my friends and I decided to go to Mall of America to watch the movie. When we arrived at 9:30pm, there was already a nicely sized line—we couldn’t see the front of it, and it was looping around in crazy ways. Once we sat down, the theater usher who spoke to us (he gave us a speech about turning off electronics and threatening to arrest anyone who he caught recording during the movie) told us that someone had arrived at the mall and had waited in line since 8:45am, Thursday morning! They had been waiting in line for essentially 9 hours and 15 minutes (I say essentially becuase people were able to get into the theater well before midnight. I sat down a little before 11:30pm). This was also the only movie playing in the Mall of America theaters that evening/morning, and I believe there are 14 theaters. I don't know if they used all of the theaters, certainly at least 6 of them.
My evening with Harry Potter actually started at home, not with dressing up--although I will talk about that later--but with watching the Harvard University 2008 Graduation Speech by J.K. Rowling. (Link here: http://harvardmagazine.com/2008/06/the-fringe-benefits-failure-the-importance-imagination). I think it was one of the first times I've ever heard Rowling speak, and she was so incredibly eloquent. One of my friends wrote a lengthier blog post about it than I will, but she talked about the importance of failure, imagination, and friendships. I definitely recommend watching it if you have the time. And especially if you are a Potter nerd like me, you will appreciate all of the Potter references and jokes that she makes. She's surprisingly quite funny! Anyway, after watching her address, I watched Amy Poehler's speech to this year's Harvard graduating class, and she talked about defining moments:
"You were young children when you watched planes hit the World Trade Center. You quickly understood what it was like to feel out of control. Your formative teenage years were filled with orange alerts and rogue waves and unaccomplished missions. For my generation, it was AIDS. We all grow up afraid of something. Taking off your shoes at the airport. My generation had to get used to awkward PSAs from boys to men telling us to use protection. But during those tough times, we realized how wonderful it felt to be part of a group."Harvard gets some great speakers.... JEALOUS!! Anyway, my point in referencing these two speakers is that I believe (as many others do and have already stated) that Rowling and Harry Potter is a crucial part of our childhood, our formative years, and now even our young adult/adult years. And I realized something: even though 9/11 happened almost in the middle of the written Harry Potter series--with the movies, the series gets dragged out to 14 years versus the 10 writing years--in some ways, the two are very much intertwined. Harry Potter is largely about tolerance and acceptance: Muggles (normal, non-wizards/witches), Muggle-born wizards/witches (known pejoratively as "Mudbloods"), werewolves, giants/giantesses, etc. I would remiss not to mention Dumbledore's sexuality as obvious site of tolerance. At first when Rowling "outed" him, I thought, "Well that's pointless and stupid. What does that do?" The answer was seemingly "Nothing." Now, however, I see the wisdom and benefit in Dumbledore's homosexuality; because there truly is "nothing" in his sexuality. Dumbledore, the old, wise wizard (and professor) who Harry admires and looks up to, is yes, gay, but he is so much more. His sexuality is purely tangential and irrelevant to Harry's journey. Dumbledore's presence demonstrates how gay people--including gay teachers, who are the subjects of immense controversy, speculation, and discrimination--can be worthy role models, without sexuality playing a role in interactions. So, in "nothing," there is so much to learn about tolerance.
And back to 9/11: since 9/11 (well, for much longer, but bear with me), we as a world and particularly as a nation have encountered even more issues with racial tolerance (and many other kinds). Perhaps it's a stretch, but Rowling's books acted as a kind of "counter" to the racism that surrounded many 9/11 reactions. I'm sure Rowling did not anticipate this, but nevertheless her books guided us through that time period, also as an escape. It was an escape before 9/11, but during that troubling and confusing time, Harry Potter made us believe in childhood heroes, in magic, in another world that was different from our own. And as Amy Poehler said, "it felt [wonderful] to be part of a group." All of my friends, almost everyone my age, this was something that we could share together no matter where we came from or what our interests were. If we read, we were reading these books. People would bring these books to school to read during recess or free periods. Or some people would wait to read the books at night, under their covers, usually with a flashlight to enhance the reading experience. Hogwarts, King Cross Station, Hogsmeade, the Quidditch Field: these were places that became familiar to us when we followed Harry and his friends on his journey. At the movies, people dress up in a full range of intensity and Potter geekdom. People even bring Potter paraphernalia such as broomsticks (either from home or Potter merchandise) and wands. One guy had Hedwig on his shoulder; someone dressed as Professor Trelawney. Some kids started playing Quidditch in the big open space close to the line. Plenty of people like me didn't dress up, though. And all of this was being documented by a guy with a video camera, and he was interviewing people too. All of this seeming madness reminded me of how much Harry Potter--movies, books, characters, the world--affected people. I would even go so far as to say that it changed some people's lives. I will always remember Harry Potter as the series that "started" my brother's interest in reading. (I could be wrong, but this is my memory from seven years old.)
The other thing that my friends and I talked about one night, an aspect of Harry Potter that resonates with me is this: Harry, Ron, and Hermione are average-looking people. They are not sexy or hot or extraordinarily attractive as most teenage heroes and heroines typically are or become. Now, the movies did not take note of this aspect of the books, as the characters got older, which is fine--whatever, makes for some great eye candy on the screen. On the other hand, part of what drew me to the series--perhaps unconsciously as a kid, but now consciously--is that these people I look up to are people who I can associate with more realistically. I'm not the most buff or the sexiest guy on the planet, so who am I going to relate to better: Ryan Reynolds as the Green Lantern, or Harry, Ron, and Hermione? Furthermore, Hermione (again, more and better-articulated in a friend's blog post) became a nerd who nerds like me look to as a role model. I'll quote my friend, Hannah:
"Hermione Granger is the best thing to happen to nerdy girls across the globe. Almost every one of my friends (past and present, male and female) identifies with Hermione. Hermione Granger made it okay to be a nerd. (I want to say that Hermione made it great to be a nerd, but there are always those who don't like nerds - and girls.) She was a role model, but more importantly she was a promise. While most other nerdy girls in young adult fiction longed to be a part of the popular crowd and changed themselves to get there (of course learning from their mistakes later), Hermione was our guiding light. Hermione was a promise that nerdy girls could handle the mockery thrown at them, that they would one day find a way to style their hair successfully and that they would have friends and find love. She showed us that being smart wasn't a bad thing, but more importantly, she taught us the value of our own knowledge and intelligence outside of the classroom as well as in it. Rowling presented us with a fantasy of a nerdy girl, and as we aspired to be Hermione, being a nerdy girl was made that much easier."All that applies to a nerdy boy like me too.
And even as I write these words, I feel myself wanting to reach back and fall back into that world. One of my favorite dreams as a child was being a wizard and being with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The dream only happened once, but it felt so real, and I kept hoping that it would happen again. Alas... Hogwarts has been my home and my world for so many years. And even though I was kind of tired last night and mentally and emotionally distanced from the movie event, I realize now: this world is complete. And that terrifies me. I've been terrified of a lot of things recently, and it seems that I'm afraid to grow up, to be an adult. Which is somewhat paradoxical, because I've always wanted to be older. When I was younger, I frequently wanted to sit at the adult table. Every now and then, I would roll my eyes at my parents, because I was so sure that I knew that I was smarter than them and could make better decisions. But now, I'm verging on my 21st birthday--a little under 4 months!!--and then there will really be very few age milestones for me. There will be event milestones--first car, first house, marriage (hopefully), and other exciting things--, but I will be fully an adult in the eyes of the law (just the whole drinking thing, you know) and will only have those thrilling decade birthdays to look forward to. Harry Potter has always been with me, since 1997 and now it ends (although, arguably it's still happening with the theme park and the new online Pottermore). It has dominated my childhood, and its conclusion feels like a conclusion to my childhood. I never thought I'd be Peter Pan, but here I am, I guess, wanting to go to Never Land. Look on Facebook, and you will see that countless teenagers, young adults, and adolescents are putting up statuses about their childhoods ending. I'm not alone in this feeling.
But even though it is complete, I know, deep down, Harry and his world will always be there, on a bookshelf or in movie cases, for me to return to. And as corny as it sounds, Harry is in my heart. He's been there for a while, growing and solidifying as I matured year after year with him. I have so many memories surrounding Harry Potter. They are some of my best memories: sitting in my parents bed with one of them reading the 4th book to me, Harry Potter birthday party, receiving Harry Potter in the mail at camp then staying up late to read it all the way through, competitions with my cousins and friends to see who could read the books the fastest, watching the movies, and now this, the final chapter of the Harry Potter world. I know I will cherish these memories forever. When I have my own house/apartment, there will be a place for Harry Potter on my bookshelf. I know that I will undoubtedly attempt to introduce Harry Potter to my children, but I know that they will never have the same attachment to it that I did, do, and will continue to have with it.
I don't really know how to end this post, since my heart is quite literally overflowing with more and more things to say. But Harry, Ron, and Hermione--and Dumbledore and Sirius and Dobby and Snape and Neville and you Weasleys--I must say goodbye, for now. Normally, I just do one line, but for you, I give you a whole song. To Harry, with love.
"Those school girl days
Of telling tales and biting nails are gone
But in my mind I know
They will still live on and on
But how do you thank someone
Who has taken you
From crayons to perfume?
Oh, it isn't easy but I'll try
If you wanted the sky
I would write across the sky in letters
That would soar a thousand feet high
To sir, with love
The time has come
For closing books and long
Last looks must end
And as I leave, I know that
I am leaving my best friend
A friend who taught me right from wrong
And weak from strong that's a lot to learn
What can I give you in return?
If you wanted the moon
I would try to make a start but I
Would rather you let give my heart
To sir, with love."
-"To Sir, with Love," Lulu, To Sir, with Love
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