Are you missing Harry Potter? I know I live in pretty much a constant state of Post-Potter Depression. But good news is here: J.K. Rowling’s new book comes out tomorrow. Sure, it’s not about Harry Potter, but it’s from Rowling, so it’s got to be good. It’s titled The Casual Vacancy. The New Yorker did a great profile on her. Check it out!
Posts Tagged ‘harry potter’
Harry Potter Nostalgia
Monday, September 24th, 2012 | Georgie MorvisA Wildly Uninformed Preview of the Deathly Hallows
Monday, November 22nd, 2010 | Craig OstrinI’m not entirely sure what I’m doing here. I’ve spent the last three years of my college life defending my total indifference to the Harry Potter phenomenon. Oh sure, I was just as into the series as anyone when I was younger. In fact, thanks to my British uncle, I read the first one before it even came out in the U.S. (which makes me better than you). I ate those books up—right up to “Goblet of Fire.”
That’s when I got off the Potter train. After the fourth installment, it seemed like these books were just following the same formula as they got longer and longer for no real reason. The first three were pretty manageable, but “Goblet” was a monster of a book and frankly, I had better things to read at the time.
Through no desire of my own, I have managed to see the film adaptation of “Goblet” no less than three times. I’m not really sure how it happened, but it did. I’ve also seen movies one, two and six. Having no clue what went on the fifth book, you can imagine I was pretty confused during “Half-Blood Prince,” but hey, my friends paid for the ticket, and the theater served liquor.
Speaking of the sixth movie, my friends say Snape is on Harry’s side, but he did not look friendly at the end of “Half-Blood.” I mean, did you see what he did to poor Dumbledore? Expect a long-awaited showdown between the Boy Wonder and Severus Snape. Harry will definitely be out for revenge.
That said, I don’t think Dumbledore will stay down for long. Expect him to follow in the long tradition of magical grey-haired mentors: if you strike him down, it’ll only make him more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
The real question is, how will Dumbledore make his triumphant return? Will it be a dramatic ride over the horizon with an army of giant eagles at his back, swooping in to save Harry from certain death, à la Gandalf? Or will he appear to Harry at crucial moments, magically guiding him from the beyond, in classic Obi Wan style? I can’t wait to see how they handle the post-Voldemort barbecue celebration in the forests of Hogwarts. Perhaps we’ll even get to see what Harry’s parents look like when their ghosts join in the festivities.
I might be getting ahead of myself here, but it’s pretty obvious that what we’ve seen so far is a textbook example of the Godfather Misdirection Method. Sure, you think Harry Potter’s the main character, because that’s what you’ve been led to believe over the last ten years. In fact, “Deathly Hallows Part 2” will almost certainly reveal once and for all that Dumbledore was the star of the story all along. Trust me, it’s much harder to convey in literature, but once you see it on the big screen, you’ll understand.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the ground Ms. Rowling is breaking here. According to my research, there has never been a gay protagonist in any film ever. So when you’re settling into your seats tonight at the theater, remember that you’re witnessing history being made.
No research whatsoever was done for this article. Please send adoring letters to [email protected] and hate mail to [email protected].
YouTube Video of the Week
Saturday, November 13th, 2010 | Steph SperaWith the release of the first of the what-I’m-hoping-will-be-epic two Harry Potter movies coming up in less than a week, here is a video of Dan Radcliffe singing the Period Table of Elements on Graham Norton in front of an amused Rihanna and confused Colin Ferrell.
Brilliant, he is.
LeakyCon 2009: A Harry Potter Conference in Boston
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 | Student Life StaffFrom May 21-24, hundreds of Harry Potter fans gathered at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel for LeakyCon 2009. What is LeakyCon? I’m glad you asked. It was a Harry Potter conference held in Boston this past week, organized by The-Leaky-Cauldron.org. Yes, there are HP conferences.
Amidst strange looks from passerbys, Potter fans from around the world came together, dressed in costumes, to celebrate their love for the series and have fun at the same time. I was one of those fans.
This was my first Potter conference, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had read the schedule beforehand, but I didn’t know exactly how everything was going to happen. The conference opened with food of course (The Opening Feast) at the Castle across from the hotel (which was made into the Great Hall).
I, having just arrived from the T, was not in my costume. I was not alone, but some fans went all out and dressed as various characters from the books. There were of course various students and all of the houses were represented: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. Then there were the much more creative costumes: Dumbledore and Hagrid took time out of their busy schedules to come to the conference and talk to one of the many Bellatrix Lestranges that were mingling about.
After the feasting came the real fun: Wizard Rock (Wrock). The first of three concerts at the con, “Evil Night” featured performances from Wiz-Hop group Swish and Flick, the out-of-place Justin Flinch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills, The Parselmouths, and the more well-known Draco and the Malfoys. Ultimately, this opening night embodied what the con was all about: a bunch of Harry Potter-obsessed fans getting together to join in some Potter fun.
Throughout the rest of the conference, I went to a few talks, including one in which Leaky Cauldron staffer (and PotterCast host) Sue Upton exalted the virtues of the Hufflepuffs (concluding that everyone has a little Hufflepuff in them with a few exceptions (someone who will not be named in this blog)) and another that examined the different types of bigotry found in “Harry Potter”.
I caught a screening of the documentary “We Are Wizards”, which helped to portray the Potter fandom at its core. I was able to see my favorite Potter podcast (PotterCast) record a live show. I got to attend to a Q&A with Leaky Cauldron webmistress, PotterCaster, and “Harry, A History”-author Melissa Anelli. And of course, I wrocked out multiple times, seeing thirteen bands total (in addition to those mentioned above: Tonks and the Aurors, Gred & Forge, The Whomping Willows, Harry and the Potters, Ministry of Magic, RiddleTm, The Mudbloods, The Moaning Myrtles, and The Remus Lupins).
LeakyCon 2009 had to be one of the best experiences I have had in a long time. It was fun and interesting. I had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world who were all interested in the same thing: Harry Potter. Everyone was super friendly, willing to talk to anyone about anything concerning Harry Potter or life. The feeling of community was unbeatable. Plus, who can top the experience of jumping around screaming “Harry Potter!” at the top of your lungs to the tune of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” with Harry and the Potters? Trust me: it is an incredible sight and sound.
It’s difficult to sum up the awesomeness that was LeakyCon for those who did not attend (or those who don’t obsess about HP as I do), but it’s kind of like an extended family coming together for a reunion, except we all like each other. It was a giant three-day party, complete with costumes and wrocking tunes!
As Harry and the Potters sing in their song “The Weapon”: “And there’s one thing that I’ve got/One thing that you’ve got inside you, too/One thing that we’ve got/And the one thing we’ve got is enough/To save us all/The weapon we have is love.”
If you want to see videos, YouTube “leakycon”. There are tons of videos of the wizard rock and really the whole conference!