Episode #99: Literary Criticism and Harry Potter
Hey everyone! In this week’s episode, we had on two LOVELY guests who we met at Portus: Nikki and Darcy. They are a lot smarter than we are and actually have an educational background in Literature, so we picked their brains a little on the different aspects of literary criticism and how they relate to Harry Potter. Better get your thinking caps on because this is an episode for intelligent folks (like yourselves) and we think you’ll enjoy it!
We also briefly (notice how the word is both bold and italicized) spoke about the new Harry Potter Exhibition….well mostly about our failure to take anyone up on the offer of preview tickets. And we asked for some advice and help in planning a special party!
So please enjoy this episode and as usual we look forward to hearing your comments, thoughts, and suggestions!
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Tags: Harry Potter, Harry Potter Top 10, hpprogs, Kids and Harry Potter, Literary Criticism
May 7th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
?????? Where are the comments????? What an interesting show! #99 pre congrats on your pre-centenial show! Have anything special planned for episode 100? Wowzers!
First let me say I found all the female members of the discussion to sound extremely articulate and interesting. Excellent job on bringing up new looks in what will soon be a series that ended a year ago. The points made by them were very thought provoking as shown by Greg and his inconsistant stammering! Still they managed to reel the conversation back into the circle very tactfully! The whole conversation reminded me of Michal’s past comments at least in style and content.
Key points to me were how the Harry Potter series may have had some mistakes in how events and cannon rules contradicted themselves but the content and moral ambiguity of the story lines allow for an understanding and connection to be made by the reader. So many readers from so many ages and backgrounds can connect the characters and moral messages of good/bad and personnas to actual events and beliefs in their own lives and history. Be it old testament message connections or an Asop’s fable it was written in such a way to allow for it to be molded into what people individually need or want it to be.
The only other books I have seen used and talked about in such a way is the Bible. I am not saying Harry Potter is a religous message from heaven , but that the style of writing the meaning, messages and characters I consider to be comparable.
The Dumbledore sexuality thing? Yawn… I don’t find a whole lot of sexuality points made in the book as I don’t think it was meant to be there other than the expression of the power of love which I only read expressed in very traditional and conservative ways. The author’s statement about Dumbledore’s sexuality was I think an afterthought maybe to show her openmindedness to less traditional views of love even though not written about. In any case it changes nothing about the meaning of the book or how I view the Dumbledore character as I wasn’t really wondering about what sexual pref he was. Not the first thing that jumps into my mind when I meet or speak to people either. That would be their business and not mine and I would afford the Headmaster the same courtesy.
Thanks for a great Harry Potter moment that I haven’t had in a long while.
Maybe I am lost again but I was wondering if there was a link to the other smartmouth podcast here or if it was left out intentionally because of it’s more adult ( if that is the way to look at it) presentation?
PS. Greg I was just joking about your stammering….. maybe? You know I love you! Just not in a Dumbledore kinda way…. Thanks for a great show to all the participants!
May 7th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Am I the only one who knew that Dumbledore was gay? That felt the love affair or romantic infatuation between young Dumbledore and Grindelwald? To me, in reading the text, it was obvious that Dumbledore was in love with Grindelwald but also enthralled with his views and that doesn’t invalidate his struggle with defining his personal philosophies and his personal ethical battle.
Great discussion, though.
May 7th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
I have not listened to the whole show yet but I had to comment on your son’s Harry Potter party. I have thrown 2 HP parties now and this site is the best for ideas! http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/html/harry_potter.html
You can pick and choose from each of the party ideas to fit your party. We have had a blast! As for muggle quidditch, we set it up for the youth group at Church. We used hula hoops hung from the drop ceilings for the goals. We also used tennis rackets for the beaters, nurf balls for the bludgers, a dodge ball for the quaffle and a tennis ball for the snitch. For house play if you have a big yard you could just use one hula hoop per side maybe hanging from a tree or even a play set of some sort. It is fun to be creative!
One other idea I saw somewhere and really wanted to make but I ran out of time was to make a dementor out off a big ball/balloon shaped piñata covered in a black plastic tablecloth then have the kids practice their Expecto Patronum charm while swinging a bat for the piñata game. You can “shred” the table cloth to look like the dementor and hang up each side of the tablecloth to form the arms. FUN!
May 8th, 2009 at 10:41 am
I feel like even though we talked for a LONG time, there is still so much I would like to have talked about. For example, is there one piece of information you’ve gotten from Rowling since the last book that has drastically changed the way you view some aspect of the series? Is there something she could say that would totally change the meaning of the work for you
May 10th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
[...] New episode of HP Progs! It’s on Literary Criticism and Harry Potter. [...]
May 12th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Your guests were outstanding. It’s the quality of conversation that raises some podcasts above others. It’s great to have fun and banter, but that underlying depth of knowledge makes your work a cut above others.
I was in Chicago in February covering the Chicago Auto Show for work and they were already putting up the street adds for the Harry Potter exhibit. It has been a long time since my last visit to the museum, I think back in the late 80s so a trip down may be in order.
I would like to see an exhibit on the concept and production art along with the original artwork for the books, UK and US. The Art Institute in Chicago is opening a new Modern Art wing this month. Putting together a traveling exhibit of the art as a double header to go with the movie exhibit would be a great double header in my book.
May 14th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
I felt the big problem with Rowling’s revelation about Dumbledore was that when you originally read the text of “Deathly Hallows,” you had NO IDEA that he once had a gay infatuation with Gellert Grindelwald, at least not easily interpreted. In short, it felt very “ex post facto” and (in my opinion!) did not significantly add to the story, and in fact raises some VERY serious questions when Rita Skeeter made some pointed remarks about the Dumbledore-Harry Potter relationship (whether you liked it or not).
May 16th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
yyyyyyyyyyyaayyyyyyyyyyyyy
May 18th, 2009 at 4:44 am
I love reading (and hearing) critical analysis of the HP books, so I really enjoyed this episode! Regarding the “Dumbledore is gay” thing, I admit that when I read Deathly Hallows I though, “Ooh, people are going to be shipping Dumbledore/Grindelwald!” However, I just assumed that it was only due to my slashy goggles, as I read a lot of slash fanfic, and and I didn’t think that she actually intended them to be gay (or bi) in canon.
May 20th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
I know that the episode has been out for thirteen days, and I am way late in singing praise, but better late than never, right? Anyway, I wanted to tell you that it was an awesome episode.
Also, ideas for a Harry Potter Party: for my little sister’s Halloween party, we bought a hat that looked like the sorting hat, and I sorted all the guests into house, then “the hat” told them. We had a scavenger hunt where they had to find things around the house/yard, and they got points for different things they found. You could go farther and keep the houses as teams for different party activities, then offer a reward to the team who earned the most points. Have caution and pick teams carefully, so you don’t have one team where all the kids are older/just plain better at the sort of thing you have planned, cause they will make it less fun for everyone else.
May 20th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I am not finished with the episode, but I feel the need to interject in your discussion and since you can’t hear me talking back, I came here to comment.
I am about 17 min. from the end of the podcast and I wish I could ask about modernity vs post modernity. To give a short summary: we have been in Modernity since the age of enlightenment, where we find an absolute truth to everything. Greg is firmly in this camp. He wanted there to be a “right” or “correct” answer to interpretation. Post Modernity is a shift that has been happening for the last 50 or so years. PM people see multiple truths and sometimes an unending amounts of possible truths. It sounds as if your guests were more firmly on this side. Any reading and interpretation can be correct.
On the thoughts about the bible I am very glad we can have different interpretations. I have a hard time with people who believe in one and only one interpretation of the Bible. (I’m finishing my master in christian education, I’m a youth pastor and a pastor’s wife) There are many times when the constant reinterpretation of the text is so important. For example, we have classes on Feminist/Womanist Theology – I have used a feminist understand of God as non gendered to talk to a girl who has been hurt by her father. And to only see God one way (Male/Father) this might only cause her more pain. To be able to use the lenses of our culture/experience/rational, scientific thought – we are able to interpret God’s text for today’s world. Now, I understand a modernist would say that I am changing God’s intended message, but then, I think that God multiple messages for all of us.
I think the same about HP. I love the creativeness of the fandom. I can go to one place and talk about Harry as a Christ figure and to another place and talk about how Remus’ “furry little problem” is the same way we look at a person with Aids. We can’t do this without multiple interpretations!
Sorry to go off on a religious tangent, but I blame Greg because he did it first.
Penny and Greg – love this episode! (love smart mouths too!) Thanks for all the work you have put into 99 shows!!! That is impressive!
I hope to meet you both at Azkatraz!
May 20th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
I loved the literary critiscm in this episode. I recently reread the sorcer’s stone and i was wondering one or two things. Did we ever find out about the watch that Dumbledore had? Was it just a 17 year old watch? Another interesting thing i found was at the end of the the chapter where harry was sorted he had a dream where he was being told to change into Slytherin. The horocrux in harry? I found these interesting. I would love to here what you guys think about this and other things that happened.
May 28th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Hi guys!
I just wanted to let you know that your podcast is really great, and has helped me through a tough time. I’ve listened to Smartmouths since it started, and that was how I found Hp Progs.
My grandad was recently diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, and earlier this week we ahd to make the 3 hour drive to visit him in hospital. My mother’s side of the family do not get on well, and tensions were running very high between her and her sister, my aunt, who has had to come over here from the US to help settle her dad’s affairs.
Last time I went down to visit, which was when he had a stroke a few weeks ago, I had new episodes of Mugglecast and Smartmouths to listen to. This time, because of the memorial day break SM took, I decided to download the last 5 episodes of Hp Progs the night before we drove down.
I got through all 5 episodes, and the helped a lot with keeping my mind off what was going on, and helping me keep it together. It’s amazing what such a small thing like listening to people discuss Harry Potter can keep you calm and even make you laugh during such a diffucult time, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making it easier for me. I subscribed to your podcast, and willd efinitely enjoy listening to it in the future, even if it was a sad circumstance that encouraged me to go and listen to it in the first place.
May 30th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Great episode, Greg & Penny. Great interview. Sorry it’s taken me so long to get around to listening to the podcast. Been quite a bit behind on podcasts.
Like the discussion on literary criticism very much. I’m more in Greg’s camp on some things regarding criticism & meaning in the texts. I think it’s because we’ve swung such a broad pendulum from the old canard that a text may only have one fixed meaning to the other side which says a text can mean anything I want it to mean. And that multiple interpretations can all be right, even though we know rationally that some interpretations are wrong or at least not the best interpretation compared to others.
Thanks for such a great episode. Looking forward to Azkatraz.
June 11th, 2009 at 2:36 am
J.K. Rowling has said that she doesn’t promote witchcraft in Harry Potter books. J.K. Rowling has also said that she doesn’t believe in witchcraft “in the sense” how critics say, and that she doesn’t “believe in magic in the way” how she has described magic in her books. Does she believe then witchcraft and magic in other ways and why she has very accurately written about witchcraft and magic? It seems that she knows very much about those things. J.K. Rowling has also said that she has researched mythology, folklore and occult beliefs (pagan religions, celtic religions, druids religions, witchcraft, and satanism) in order to write her books. She knows also that majority of the spells, which are used in her Harry Potter books are used in real life, in witchcraft and occultism. It is very obvious that she knows what she has been doing as writing her books. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books are stories about evil, not about good things. Those books are not harmless fiction, but tell for real evil witchcraft with magic spells and other evil things. Rowling has not written Harry Potter books merely by using fiction, but has used precise and accurate knowledge of occultism and her Potter books are not thus only a fiction, but based also to real evil.
J.K. Rowling has said that she is a Christian, and that she believes to God. Why Christian who believe in God write books, which emphasize witchcraft and sorcery and occultism? I think that she thinks that she believes, but actually she doesn’t believe as it has been written in the Bible. Because he/she who really believe to God and the Bible don’t write a book saying that there is good and bad witches, because the Bible say that all witches are evil. J.K. Rowling says in her books that Harry’s witchcraft is good and this one statement alone is enough to prove that Harry Potter books are evil. Of course there is also much more evil in those books. All books which promote witchcraft and don’t say that it is evil are evil books. There is no matter is author Christian or not, if he/she writes such books. The Bible says that all witchcraft and sorcery are evil, and so we have to believe as Christians.
http://koti.phnet.fi/petripaavola/HarryPotterbooks.html
June 16th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
telson, all I can say is we’ve heard all this before. Please do us & yourself a favor & go read John Granger’s “How Harry Cast His Spell,” or if you can’t stand the word ’spell,’ go find the old edition entitled “Looking for God in Harry Potter.” And read also Travis Prinzi’s “Harry Potter & Imagination.”
Because otherwise your points are obviously written as if you had never read the HP books at all. Your statement “She knows also that majority of the spells, which are used in her Harry Potter books are used in real life, in witchcraft and occultism,” is patently ridiculous & incorrect. Nobody is going to take you seriously with comments like that.
July 31st, 2009 at 11:26 pm
revgeorge, while I think telson is probably a spammer who will never visit this site again, I appreciate you taking the opportunity to defend not only Rowling’s books but also point out the wonderful academic literature that is available.
Also, I just have to say how lovely it was to meet (or see again)everyone at Azkatraz. I am already looking forward to Infinitus.