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Muggles...

...is what I tweeted last night after having the privilege of attending a private screening of the movie hours before the midnight premiere. As much as the digital revolution has fragmented the shared experiences that we have, it has also greatly expanded the impact of those events that touch various peoples.

Witness Harry Potter. In the pre-digital world, this would have been an uniquely British story about wizards and boarding schools, but it has captivated global audiences and transcended the borders of its now-uber-wealthy writer. We were part of the crowd that spanned the globe to see this movie, which I can say, lives up to the hype.

On a Thursday evening, we could watch the lines of children queuing up to get a chance to say goodbye to a childhood growing up with Harry Potter and watching the actor grow from a plump-faced little boy into a serious actor and apparent alcoholic. It did not matter for 2.5 hours in the theater, of a movie that was pretty gripping from beginning to end. And in the end, the boy with the forehead scar... lived.

What also lived were the random costumes that adorned the young who snaked around the multiplex that we exited. Witches, goblins, a golden snitch. I heard accounts of people dressed as the Hogwarts Express and random schoolchildren from various houses, as well as various magical creatures. To which I say, well done and enjoy. This is a movie worth seeing (and seeing again), celebrating the end of an era on a wonderful story that will likely live on for generations.

Comments

Middle American Guy said…
I have to admit that when the HP series was just kicking off, I was a little condescending toward it all. That was when my love affair with the Lord of the Rings books (and movies) had just been rekindled. I spent too much time believing that LoTR was more sophisticated, had deeper moral lessons, etc.

I'm glad to say that smugness is gone now, and I can see how much there is to enjoy, and learn from, in the HP world.
07:48
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