I kick off the month of July with a little tidbit I found on the interwebs. Since the final installment of the Harry Potter movie franchise is to be released later this month (July 14th here in Manila, although I've heard that it's already shwoing in Madrid, whut!?), it is quite fitting that July's first post be a statement by Alan Rickman (who plays Professor Severus Snape) as found in Empire Magazine. Enjoy!
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| Click to enlarge! Engorgio! |
The first time I read that, I got goosebumps.Witnessing the last movie of this epic (yes, I said epic—because it IS!) series is going to be bittersweet.
I'll be the first to admit that I am a 20-something year-old adult who reads (and re-reads) the Harry Potter series in my free time—I just finished rereading Book IV of the series: HP and the Goblet of Fire, and am ready to reread the next one: HP and the Order of the Phoenix.
This is the nth time I've reread the HP series, but it's different. I, along with millions of Potter-Heads across the globe, are rereading the entire series in anticipation of the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. HP I - VII movie marathons are running worldwide (My younger siblings and I are probs gonna do that this weekend).
It was one thing waiting for Book VII to be released; the wait for this movie, the very last one, is an entirely different thing.
Perhaps it's because for many of us this is the last narrative presentation of the series we have grown to love. I mean, yes, there will be documentaries. Yes, there will be video games, and fan fiction and parodies and conventions and collectibles, but the story itself—it's over...
O.
M.
G.
Over.
Rowling herself has released a statement years ago that Book VII will be the last she writes of Potter. No Harry as an adult. No more revisiting. In short, no more Harry. There is a finite supply of Potter-narrative-as-told-by-Rowling, and it looks like as we each get out of our cinema seats after the credits have rolled—it's over. It's really going to be over. Nothing to be added, nothing else to look forward to for Harry, Ron and Hermione... Alan Rickman said it himself: "absolutely the last time".
Or perhaps as this final chapter ends for Harry Potter, and so the chapter on our own prolonged "childhoods" ends as well. I mean, I can't speak for Potter fans who got into the series as adults, but I was introduced to the series as a wee tween—just a little bit older than Harry was when he took his first tentative step towards platform 9¾. So for me, Hogwarts and High School are inextricably linked. This is the last vestige of childhood/adolescence we 20-somethings cling to.
As a college student: "Well, I already started the series, and it's pretty good, I can't stop ready now..."
or
"Are you kidding? The narrative is totally complex! The characters are archetypal symbols, and most are drawn from classical literature and mythology. It's absolutely for adults!" (Defensive much?)
Since the books took years to complete (and years of waiting on our part), and the movies are just about to be completed, we were afforded a lengthy indulgence into the world of Hogwarts, of witchcraft and of wizardry. We were allowed to escape our everyday Muggle lives (and now our everyday Muggle adult lives) and be part of an amazing story. Now that it's about to end, we'll be faced with the bleak truth that it might not be as acceptable for us to read stories (not literature) that's, quite frankly, meant for kids. No more fantasy worlds. No more far off places. And no more wizarding duels...
WHAT AM I SAYING?!
Of course it's ok!!! Me? —Grow up??? Eeeew. Mature? Maybe. Wisen up? Hopefully. Grrrow up? Doubtful.
It's ok, my peers and adult friends. Indulge! Because not only is an active and stimulated imagination your best accessory, it's also the cheapest and most fulfilling form of entertainment.
And I'll say it again: I am a 20-something-year-old who rereads the Harry Potter series in my spare time. And in ten years I'll be a 30-something-year-old who rereads the Harry Potter series in my spare time.
So Real World—
EXPECTO PATRONUM!
I'll be the first to admit that I am a 20-something year-old adult who reads (and re-reads) the Harry Potter series in my free time—I just finished rereading Book IV of the series: HP and the Goblet of Fire, and am ready to reread the next one: HP and the Order of the Phoenix.
This is the nth time I've reread the HP series, but it's different. I, along with millions of Potter-Heads across the globe, are rereading the entire series in anticipation of the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. HP I - VII movie marathons are running worldwide (My younger siblings and I are probs gonna do that this weekend).
It was one thing waiting for Book VII to be released; the wait for this movie, the very last one, is an entirely different thing.
Perhaps it's because for many of us this is the last narrative presentation of the series we have grown to love. I mean, yes, there will be documentaries. Yes, there will be video games, and fan fiction and parodies and conventions and collectibles, but the story itself—it's over...
O.
M.
G.
Over.
Rowling herself has released a statement years ago that Book VII will be the last she writes of Potter. No Harry as an adult. No more revisiting. In short, no more Harry. There is a finite supply of Potter-narrative-as-told-by-Rowling, and it looks like as we each get out of our cinema seats after the credits have rolled—it's over. It's really going to be over. Nothing to be added, nothing else to look forward to for Harry, Ron and Hermione... Alan Rickman said it himself: "absolutely the last time".
Or perhaps as this final chapter ends for Harry Potter, and so the chapter on our own prolonged "childhoods" ends as well. I mean, I can't speak for Potter fans who got into the series as adults, but I was introduced to the series as a wee tween—just a little bit older than Harry was when he took his first tentative step towards platform 9¾. So for me, Hogwarts and High School are inextricably linked. This is the last vestige of childhood/adolescence we 20-somethings cling to.
As a college student: "Well, I already started the series, and it's pretty good, I can't stop ready now..."
or
"Are you kidding? The narrative is totally complex! The characters are archetypal symbols, and most are drawn from classical literature and mythology. It's absolutely for adults!" (Defensive much?)
Since the books took years to complete (and years of waiting on our part), and the movies are just about to be completed, we were afforded a lengthy indulgence into the world of Hogwarts, of witchcraft and of wizardry. We were allowed to escape our everyday Muggle lives (and now our everyday Muggle adult lives) and be part of an amazing story. Now that it's about to end, we'll be faced with the bleak truth that it might not be as acceptable for us to read stories (not literature) that's, quite frankly, meant for kids. No more fantasy worlds. No more far off places. And no more wizarding duels...
WHAT AM I SAYING?!
Of course it's ok!!! Me? —Grow up??? Eeeew. Mature? Maybe. Wisen up? Hopefully. Grrrow up? Doubtful.
It's ok, my peers and adult friends. Indulge! Because not only is an active and stimulated imagination your best accessory, it's also the cheapest and most fulfilling form of entertainment.
And I'll say it again: I am a 20-something-year-old who rereads the Harry Potter series in my spare time. And in ten years I'll be a 30-something-year-old who rereads the Harry Potter series in my spare time.
So Real World—
EXPECTO PATRONUM!
(PS. My patronus is most definitely a cat.)
More Potty-Talk this month!
<3
Image From:
Honestly I can't remember... I think I got this off of either Facebook or Tumblr...
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