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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Without question, Severus Snape is one of the most intriguing characters in J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world. In the beginning, he was simply a mean teacher, and obstacle for Harry; but by the end of the series, Snape became a paradigm of sacrifice for love and courage, to the point that Harry names his son after his once-despised teacher. In this episode, we take a closer look at Snape, now that we have the complete picture of his tale.
For an insightful and prescient examination of Snape’s character, check out Orson Scott Card’s essay Who is Snape? (If you haven’t already, read Orson Scott Card’s book Ender’s Game. You’ll thank me later.)
Check out our new Harry Potter t-shirt design; we call it “Always.” It looks good on most light colored tees (ignore the white background around the image; that will be removed when the shirt is printed).
There’s no question that there are religious/Christian undertones and themes to the Harry Potter books. In 2000, JK Rowling stated that if she were to divulge her religious beliefs, it would make the ending of the story obvious. Now that we’ve read Book 7, the religious content is clear; not only is Harry’s final battle with Voldemort very much a passion play, there are overarching religious themes to the entire book. What is the character of the religious content of Deathly Hallows in particular, and the Potter series in general? Is JK Rowling preaching or does she have a different intention? In this podcast, we explore the religious themes and try to figure out the religion of Harry Potter.
Ask not for whom the bell tolls, for in Book 7, it tolled for quite a few folks. The body count in the final book gets higher and higher as the book goes on. Some deaths, granted, were quite welcome, such as Bellatrix and Voldemort; others were tragic and shocking. All of them, however, held a special meaning for Harry and for the books. In this episode, we examine the specific meaning of that which gives ultimate meaning, the deaths of Deathly Hallows.
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Hedwig the Owl, Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody, Dobby the Free Elf, Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Colin Creevy and all those who gave their lives in the Battle of Hogwarts. And, of course, Severus Snape.
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!
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.
After some good discussion in the comments of last week’s post, we’re back to take a fresh look at Snape. Is Snape good or evil, or perhaps, neither (or both)? Most of us are under the presumption that there is some explanation for Snape’s actions: either he was working for Voldemort all along, and fooling Dumbledore, or he is truly faithful to Dumbledore and the Order, and killing Dumbledore was for some greater good. But what if neither are true? What if Snape just trying to get by for as long as possible without taking sides? And he would have gotten away with it too, if weren’t for those pesky kids! Tune in as we revisit the question of Snape with a new theory as to what his motivations were.
And the news (brought to you by Greg this week, for a change):
I know what you’re thinking…you want a podcast delving into the subject of…Occlumency and Legilimency! Your wish is granted (we always try to anticipate your needs…). This week, we explore the meaning of the mind in the HP books with a closer look at the inner workings of the wizarding psyche. We know you’ll like it!
Also, tune in to hear the winners of the “So You Think Our Accents are Rubbish?!?” contenst!
Those of you who tuned in to last week’s post-podcast comment frenzy undoubtedly did a head smack when reading Virigina Mama’s prognostication connecting Snape to Godric’s Hollow and the invisibility cloak. If you didn’t, you need to read it right now. Or listen to this week’s podcast, ‘cuz we took the ball and ran with it.
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.
In this podcast, Penny and I discuss Snape. Is he a good guy, acting under orders from Dumbledore? Or is he really a double-agent, still allied to Voldemort? Or is he both, or just out for himself? Along the way we discuss what effect perpetrating a murder has on oneself; is it possible that, even though Snape may have been acting on the side of good, that he may still be considered a murderer by the Wizarding World? Towards the end, Penny and I offer our prognostications as to not only Snape’s allegiences, but how it will all play out in Book 7.
Tune in to find out what we think, and leave your own thoughts in the comments. This discussion went in a very different direction then I had thought it would originally, I think you’ll like it.
A few administrative notes: we’re on iTunes! Now you can subscribe to the HPProgs podcast directly in iTunes, and leave reviews for the iTunes community. So please, visit our iTunes page, and if you have time, leave us a review, which will help more folks find out about the podcast. I’ll be updating the blog over the next few days with links to iTunes as well as to other podcasting services (Odeo, Podnova, etc.).
Thanks again for listening, please spread the word and send us your links!
. You’ll thank me later.)
