The Politics of Potter
Stories like this one are, in a sense, a backhanded tribute to the genius of the Harry Potter series. In a sense, the boy wizard's fight against the evil Lord Voldemort becomes a Rorschach inkblot test, where every reader hears in Harry's fight the echoes of what he/she defines as the central struggle of our time.
Some, as in the linked piece above, relate the stories to Darfur. Some have argued (inexplicably, in my view) that the series is a parable about opposing the war on terror.
As far as I'm concerned, it's almost impossible to avoid drawing obvious parallels between the protagonists of the books -- who insist that there is a looming danger threatening their world that complacent, head-in-the-sand fellow wizards want to ignore, thereby imperiling everyone -- and the disputes between conservatives and liberals in today's war on terror.
Some, as in the linked piece above, relate the stories to Darfur. Some have argued (inexplicably, in my view) that the series is a parable about opposing the war on terror.
As far as I'm concerned, it's almost impossible to avoid drawing obvious parallels between the protagonists of the books -- who insist that there is a looming danger threatening their world that complacent, head-in-the-sand fellow wizards want to ignore, thereby imperiling everyone -- and the disputes between conservatives and liberals in today's war on terror.
posted by LadybugUSA at 8:50 AM
4 Comments:
I actually agree with you, Carol. But tell me, what part of the Potter series is analogous to our cutting and running from Tora Bora, where the metaphorical Voldemort was "emboldened" by the metaphorical Potter's "head-in-the-sand" cowardice?
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How about this description of the wizard's newspaper The Daily Prophet?
The Daily Prophet is the most widely-read newspaper in Britain's wizard community. Unfortunately, its journalistic integrity is somewhat lacking; it has been known to be more concerned about sales than about factual accuracy (the name may very well be a pun on "profit"), and is often a mouthpeice for the Ministry of Magic.
Hmmm.... lack of journalistic integrity, more concerned with money than accuracy, a mouthpiece for the government...
Which network could this be compared with?
Sure Carol, war is like a children's fiction book. As Bush told an audience last week about an Iraq war veteran amputee; "He's a good man, we're gonna get him some new legs."
Here is proof that Bush wars, with the killing, the suffering and all the heartache, is really just a form of entertainment for some of the idle rich, who would never serve.
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