Yes, I’m reading Deathly Hallows. It’s goofy but there’s something to be said for reading a book and knowing that ten million other people are reading the same thing. It’s the closest my generation will get to a shared cultural experience this side of Janet Jackson’s nipple.
One of themes in the last couple of books which continues in Hallows is the ruthless and often illegal methods being used by the Ministry of Magic to battle Voldy. Secrecy, kangaroo courts, secret witness, alliance with bad people, etc. And I feel that there’s more to come.
How long will it be before some Right Wing reactionary decides she’s criticizing George W. Bush? I mean, these guys lost it because they thought Revenge of the Sith had an anti-Bush message.
I predict that by Wednesday, J. K. Rowling is denounced as a left-wing lunatic who wants the terrorists to win.
People twist and bend ideas presented in fiction to fit their views. What else is new?
For what it’s worth, Rowling has indictated that the story is more related to Nazi Germany, and I feel like she beat that fact into my head while reading this book. What’s really interesting, though, is the parallels with the LEFT in this country, and with Order of the Phoenix recently released, I think it’s comical to compare Umbridge to anyone on the right.
It’s the left that deny that terrorism is a problem.
It’s the left that want to dumb down education and remove anything where someone might be hurt mentally or physically.
It’s the left that, while screaming for forced “diversity” continues to pigeonhole people into categories, and it’s the left that makes a big deal about our differences instead of our similarities.
I think Rowling is actually much more of a libertarian than a leftist. She’s showing how important individuals are, how one person can make a difference, how some people simply have more potential than others and that’s just the way it is. She’s beaten us over the head with how important PRACTICAL instruction in school is.
Oh, I agree. Especially with talk of pure-blood. The parallels to the Nazis are clear.
It just boggles certain minds that a Briton might have a different perspective than an American.