h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

With just over a day to go before I take my place in the midnight queue for a copy of 'Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince', I've been intrigued by a discussion in the BBC's 'Talking Point' section. Columnist Robert Winder has argued that Potter is a conservative character harking back to 1950s values, and compares him to ex-Prime Minister John Major. (Winder's column is here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4679657.stm )

I disagree strongly, and have written in to claim Harry as a liberal hero. It is the Malfoy family and Draco's friends from Slytherin who seem to me to represent the worst of right-wing attitudes: they're racist, with their disdain for 'mudbloods' (those not of pure wizarding stock) and Draco is openly contemptuous of Ron Weasley because Ron's family have little money.

Harry rejects these elitist attitudes and chooses as his best friends Ron Weasley and a tough, resourceful female 'mudblood', Hermione Granger - who is herself a good progressive, with her campaigning for the rights of oppressed house-elves. Harry's relationship of mutual respect with Hermione shows that his gender politics are progressive. What's more, he is involved in a cross-racial romance with his beloved Cho Chang - which seems another indicator of likely liberal leanings.

Harry is prepared to fight the powers that be when they abuse their power, which brings him into conflict with a corrupt conservative politician - Draco's dad, the sinister Lucius Malfoy of the Ministry of Magic, who wants to keep Hogwarts exclusively for a 'pure-bred' elite.

All in all, far from being conservative, it seems to me that Harry Potter is pretty radical. Right on, Harry!

Good points all, I believe you are correct.

SPOILERS AHOY

I think Winder has a very superficial view of what the books are about. He sees a boarding school in a castle in the country reached by steam train, all old-fashioned things. What he misses is the actual politics. He claims that Potter lacks "the many grey areas and dangers familiar to children and young adults today," but he's wrong.

Although You Know Who is definitely evil, there are many shades of grey. Just off the top of my head, there is the suggestion that Barty Crouch and Mad-Eye Moody (among others) go too far in their fight against the Death Eaters, there are the Centaurs, Goblins, Giants and others who are reluctant to join with the Wizards because of how the wizards have treated them in the past, there is Sirius' brother who joined up as a Death Eater, but found he'd got in too deep and there is Hermione's slightly scary use of jinxes and curses to get her own way.

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For a good HP thread in ask

But good points all the same!

"Author AS Byatt said that adult Potter fans are actually "reverting to their inner child" when they read Potter, and that they were "for people whose interests are confined to the worlds of soaps, reality TV and celebrity gossip". "

I haven't heard of AS Byatt either, but this couldn't be further from the truth.

I've always had a sneaking suspicion that a lot of Potter's critics are just jealous because they don't get it.

I won't be at a midnight release (although if they'd done the simultaneous world-wide release I'd have had it this evening). The store I've already purchased it from isn't having a midnight opening. But after a week of 13+ hour days and 4 hour nights I wouldn't stay up to read it anyway. I can wait until tomorrow.

AS Byatt is a female novelist known by two initials and a surname, so she probably thinks that JK Rowling stole her act. What's wrong with being in touch with your inner child, anyway?

I persoanlly think one of the great things about HP is that it works on multiple different levels. There is clearly lots for adults there.

Also the "tone" of the books has grown up pretty much in pace with HP. Now that he is virtually an adult expect a more adult book still than the last one I reckon.

I agree with all of that, Ferrett.

Ah well, only 10 hours to go now before we find out...

Well despite working for Royal Mail Customer Service I have put my faith in the post and ordered my copy from Amazon.

Hopefully it will arrive tomorrow as it is supposed to!

Personally I don't think that article could be more wrong if it tried with both hands for an hour! And why does the BBC allow people to review books that they've never read? It'd be like me saying "War of the Worlds is a rubbish film, I've not seen it but it stars Tom Cruise so it's bound to be worthless" - no one would listen to me, and quite rightly, because I'd be talking cr*p.

Actually what its more like is those reviews you see on Amazon of computer games which haven't come out yet by people who say "OMG this game is gunna be so so gud i cant wait its by square so its going to be brilliant!!!111ONE", except I'm surprised a columnist worth their salt would stoop so low...

If he'd read the books, even one of them, then fair do's, I don't expect everyone to like what I like, but...



Wow. I don't know quite where all *that* came from. Ignore me, I've spent the day entering stuff into databases and my brain's fried...

I rather think though (IMO) that PS is by a ocuntry mile the worst of the HP books. I know loads of people who read it and it put them off, no amount of me telling them that once you get to POA they are amazing will change their minds.

You do *need* to read PS/COS but it is only really with POA that the series got going I think.

The Prime Minister is mentioned in the opening sentence of the new ! Is Harry a Blairite? Or is Blair a Death Eater?

I guess most people pictured Blair, but in my mind the PM was played by Anthony Stewart Head.

Have you seen a pic of the lovely Cho Chang from the upcoming film, Ormy?

http://www.chochang.20m.com/images/cho_chang_9%5B1%5D.jpg



smiley campaign A4521214

No wonder Harry's wand was twitching!

"Remote linking not allowed. Please upgrade your accout"

It's working ok for me, Gosho. Which browser are you using?

Mozilla, latest build.

Ah, I can get to the parent directory if I juggle the url but that doesn't tell me which picture everyone is mooning over.