The thing I found most striking when watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the contrast between the old world values in the film and the new world technology that is used. Throughout the Harry Potter series, old-fashioned values are explored and cherished. The story line revolves around good versus evil and good conquering all. Hard work and friendship is also emphasized throughout the films. The newness of the technology contrasts with these old fashioned values. The magic and the technology present in the film itself speak to the millennial generation. Technology and magic are not the only tools that can be used to fight evil though. When Harry and his friends organize themselves there is also a message that our mind and knowledge is a form of technology that can be used to protect yourself. When Harry and his friends are practicing their wizardry he says, “Working hard is important, but the most important thing is believing in yourself.” This scene emphasizes the connection perfectly because as the youths are learning magic there is still a reference back to their important values.
Another interesting contrast between technology and the old fashioned is how Rowling “reduced the transparency of technology by creating a wizarding world that lacks many of the common technologies of our world” (57). I think Rowling chooses to do this to emphasize the old fashioned values that are upheld in the Harry Potter series. Although technology is a major part of the story line and the production of the film itself, I think the most important thing that Rowling wants people to take away from the books and the movies is that the ideals of friendship, hard work, love, and knowledge are far more important than technology. I think this is emphasized at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Harry says to Voldemort, “you’re the weak one. You’ll never know love or friendship.” So despite the magic and technological power Voldemort possesses, he will never be as powerful as Harry because he does not have core values and love in his life.
I think this is such an interesting idea! I love the point you made that Rowling wants people to hold core human values over the superficial excitement of magic and technology. I also think that Rowling uses these values to connect with us, the reader. In a lot of ways, Rowling has created a world so vastly different than ours, which is why we love Harry Potter so much. I think we crave Harry Potter because it is a fantasy. I'm not sure if I would exactly term these values "old-fashioned," as you say, because I think that these values are sort of enduring even today. But yeah, I think she uses core values to make Harry's world accessible to us on a more human level.
ReplyDelete