Hopefully by now, you’ve seen the trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. We sat down immediately after watching to record out thoughts. What do you think of the trailer? Does the voice of the woman in the orphanage belong to J.K. Rowling?
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One of the over-arching meta-themes of the Harry Potter books is, without a doubt, choice. From early on the books the theme of choice is empasised, when the Sorting Hat defers to Harry’s wish to be in Gryffindor, or when Dumbledore makes it clear to Harry that it is his choices, far more than abilities that make him the wizard that he is. It’s clear that J.K. Rowling is a proponent of the idea that we make ourselves who we are and are ultimately responsible for who we become.
Putting aside a scientific discussion of free will and determinism, a greater question, from within the stories themselves, comes to light. With the conclusion of Book 7, and the revelation of Dumbledore’s less than altruistic motives, does J.K. Rowling’s position on free will and choice change? Did Harry, in fact, make all those choices of his own free will, or, perhaps, was he influenced by forces beyond his control? Despite Dumbledore’s protestations to the contrary, could Harry ever have avoided the final showdown with the Dark Lord, had he simply chosen to walk away?
In this week’s episode, we examine the nature of free will and choice as presented in the books after Book 7, and what J.K. Rowling might be saying about what it means to be free.
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Check out some of the books we talked about on this week’s episode.
Make sure to check out Penny’s post Deathly Hallows: One Year Later for a rundown on all that’s happened since Book 7 was released.
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This week, we begin our Patterns in Potter coverage for Book 6, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The theme of this book is quite ambiguous; in fact, it is ambiguous. Sorry if I’m not being too clear here, but you’ll have to listen to the podcast to figure the rest out.
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Today is a new month (June, for those of you who have been hiding under a rock), so please vote for us on Podcast Alley and as always rate and review us on iTunes and Odeo.
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What makes a leader? For centuries, philosophers have debated the essential qualities of a leader (the differences in what a culture values in it’s leaders is often a good indication of the values of said culture). When looking at Harry Potter, what are the qualities that J.K. Rowling seems to show as making a good leader? How do the characters in leadership roles respond to the power and authority they are given? In this podcast, we discuss all these issues. Many thanks to Greg from Toronto for joining us for this discussion.
Referenced in our discussion is the book Forty Ways to Look at Winston Chuchhill: A Breif Account of a Long Life.
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The more interviews J.K. Rowling gives, the more show topics we get. This time, J.K. Rowling spoke with the Dutch newspaper Volksrant (not to be confused with Volkswagon or Voltron) and discussed many topics. Amongst them were the issues of life after death in the Harry Potter books, as well as more details on Nazi parallels and her religious background. In this week’s episode, we explore and plumb the depths opened by these recent comments.
Happy Thanksgiving! Instead of going shopping with everyone else in the world, why not order yourself (or a loved one) a copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on DVD? Or get them one of our original Harry Potter t-shirts?
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UPDATE: We appreciate everyone’s patience with this week’s podcast. Unfortunately the podcast hosting service we were using was a bit messed up so the podcast wasn’t working- but we think it is fixed now. Please let us know if you have any more difficulty with it!
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Last week we discussed love, and focused on the distinctly maternal focus taken by J.K. Rowling. This week, we examine the father figures in Harry’s life. From his actual, albeit ephermeral father James, to surrogates in Lupin, Sirius and even, to some extent Snape, we take a look at Harry’s bevy or male role models, how they shaped his character and how they contributed to his being what appears to be, for all that we can tell, a good father to his children as well.
Make sure to vote for HPProgs for Best Podcast in the 2007 Weblog Awards! We’re hanging tough in 4th place! Thanks to everyone who’s voted!
There’s news this week, but we’re on the road, so we can’t provide links. Suffice it to say, Penny, at least, will be traveling to New York when Equus comes to town.
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Although in English we have one basic term for love, there’s really all different kinds of love: brotherly love, selfless love, erotic love, and all make some kind of appearance in the Harry Potter novels. In this week’s show, we take a look at love in Harry Potter and how the various relationships are expressed, and what the nature of those loves might be. Are all loves good? Can love in fact be bad?
Plus: the Top 5 tear-jerker moments from Deathly Hallows. Vote for yours below.
Also: HPProgs is a finalist in the category of Best Podcast in the 2007 Weblog Awards! Thanks for all your nomination votes! Voting for the final winner begins next week, you can vote once a day. We’ll post a link when the voting begins, we appreciate your help!
UPDATE: Voting is up, you can vote for us once a day!
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This week’s poll:
What is most tear-jerking moment in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?
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At the New York City stop on J.K. Rowling’s Open Book Tour, J.K. Rowling announced (in response to a question from the audience) that Dumbledore was gay. For various reasons, this has caused quite a stir. How does this change, if at all, how we perceive Dumbledore, how we view his childhood pursuit of power? Does this change the nature of the books, their appropriateness for children, or their religious character? All these questions, and a few others, are discussed in this week’s episode.
A few relevant links:
Vote for HPProgs in the 2007 Weblog Awards for Best Podcast!
This week’s poll:
How do you feel about Dumbledore being gay?
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J.K. Rowling has begin her Open Book Tour, with stops in Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York City. At the press conference at the LA appearance, J.K. Rowling spoke for the first time at length on the religious themes of the Harry Potter books, speaking openly about the Christian themes and references in Book 7. She also spoke about Snape, Dumbledore, the Harry Potter Encyclopedia and how she broke the news of the fate of the trio to the actors who portrayed them.
For reference, check out our original post on the religion of Harry Potter.
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If you have a few minutes, please vote for HPProgs for Best Podcast in the 2007 Weblog Awards!
This week’s Top 5! Vote for your most memorable character from the Harry Potter novels:
Who is the most memorable character in the Harry Potter series?
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Voldermort’s downfall was a long time coming. Despite his efforts to ensure his longevity, Voldemort’s overall approach to life almost guarunteed his defeat. By ignoring the signifcance of some very important “deeper magics,” Voldemort opened up a proverbial chink in his armor that ultimately led to his demise. In Chapter 35, King’s Cross, an etherieal Dumbledore sums it up nicely:
That which Voldemort does not value, he takes no trouble to comprehend. Of house elves and children’s tales, of love, loyalty and innoncence, Voldemort knows and understands nothing. NOTHING. That they all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the reach of any magic, is a truth he has never grasped.
In this week’s episode, we take a deeper look at the general and specific causes of Voldemort’s downfall, paying particular attention to Dumbledore’s assessment.
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Before Deathly Hallows, our view of Dumbledore was nothing less than a saint; although Harry had his questions with his methods, certainly there was nary a doubt as to his motives. In Book 7, quite a different picture of the wizened old wizard is presented. Harry spends much of the book struggling with the Dumbledore he knew and the true person who Dumbledore was. We learn the dark secrets of Dumbledore’s past, and Harry’s role in the greater plan to defeat Voldemort. In this episode, we take a closer look at Dumbledore, his history and philosophy (both past and present).
For some great Owen Wilson sound effects, check out the World-of-Owen audio page.
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*Deathly Hallows Spoilers Included*
It’s been less than a week since the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, yet most of us have now read the book more than once; inevitably, bits and pieces need to be re-read to make sense of them. In addition to re-reading, the comments on our last post were extremely amazing, and really helped make sense of the book. This week, we look back through the comments and pull out a few topics to discuss further: a possible relationship between Harry and Voldemort? Examples of Voldemort’s spells not working, references to Nazis, the fittingness of Snape’s death. What was the purpose of the epilogue? And what did we need the Deathly Hallows for anyhow? Of course, there’s more questions that need to be discussed (who discovered magic later in life? Where did Harry’s parents get all that money from?), but they’ll have to wait until next time.
Thanks so much for all the great comments, keep them coming, we couldn’t do the show without them!
In the News:
Make sure to listen to our interview on The James Madison Show from Friday, July 20. The interview can be found a the website if you click the podcast button. Special thanks to James and Frank for having us on.
Don’t forget to order your HPProgs t-shirts! Contact us if you’re interested in a red, white or black limited edition t-shirt.
Join in on the HPProgs Thank-You Book to JK Rowling!
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I think I know how Harry Potter will end. I’m almost 100% certain that I’ve figured it out, based on the title of Book 7.
As I said before, I think the “Deathly Hallows” is the name for the magic by which Harry became protected from Lord Voldemort when Lily died for him out of love. Lily’s performed a “deathly hallowing” of Harry, making him immune to Voldemort’s powers. In Book 7, Harry will learn this magic, and devise a way to use it so that he, Harry, is killed by Voldemort. The key: Harry’s deathly hallow will be on behalf of the entire world, rendering the entire world immune to Voldemort’s power.
The beauty of this is that, in Book 4, when Voldemort used Harry’s blood to reincarnate himself, he undid the protection provided to Harry by Lily’s original Deathly Hallow. Voldemort can now kill Harry, allowing Harry the chance to die on behalf of everyone, leaving Voldemort helpless. This is why Dumbledore smiled upon hearing that Voldemort used Harry’s blood: Dumbledore understood that Voldemort, in his wanton determination to destroy Harry (mostly out of vanity), had opened the door for Harry to defeat him with the one weapon he could not wield: Love.
So that’s it. That’s how it’s going to end. It’s the prognostication to end all prognostications (we’ll still podcast, of course).
After thinking about this a bit more, I think it’s likely that the Deathly Hallows refers to what happened to Harry when Lily died to save him, i.e. Harry became consecrated by Lily’s death for his sake. Keep in mind that this took place in Godric’s Hollow, on All Hallows Eve. So perhaps Harry is going to be finding out more about the nature of how his mother’s death protected him, and how he can use that to defeat Voldemort. Methinks we will finally find out what Dumbledore was smiling about at the end of Book 4.
October 31, Halloween, has special significance in the Wizarding World; not only does it mark the anniversary of Nearly Headless Nick’s nearly-beheading, it’s also the date that Lord Voldemort attacked the Potter’s in Godric’s Hollow. In memory, we’ve got a special All Hallow’s Eve edition of HPProgs discussing just what went down on that fateful night. There’s a lot we don’t know, which, of course, calls for some prognosticating.
For some background info on Godric’s Hollow, check out the HP Lexicon’s page on Godric’s Hollow, as well as this timeline of the events leading up to October 31, 1981.
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