Pop Culture, Harry Potter, Our Fcuked Species

[brokenandtwisted]

Warning: Full of bias/philosophical questions/me being a crazy bitch. A little spoiler toward the end about HP 7 too.

Is it possible to be a victim of pop culture, or is it all self-inflicted madness?

I recently...well, minutes ago; received my beloved and treasured Harry Potter book. I was introduced to the magical world Christmas of '98, and therefore I have read the novels since my fourteenth birthday. I must admit that at fourteen, I was ignorant to the literary world and had little knowledge of anything within it. I was the high school student who read of Romeo, To Kill a Mockingbird and A Lesson Before Dying...and hated them at first; but treasured my magnificantly magical Harry Potter novels that sat high on my first little bookshelf. And with this ignorance came a thirst for more of this magical world the ingenious Rowling wrote of...but as I read more and more, I delved into the actual literary world of promising literature, full of classics and my thirst then turned toward literature with substance, or rather value.

By the time I graduated high school (early) and headed into university, I had left that magical Harry Potter world behind, realizing it was pop culture to an extreme. It's a fucking pity that in the past two hundred years, years riddled with hundreds of amazing pieces of lit; that a mediocre novel written by a 'decent' author is the bestselling novel in history. Experts predict the author will rake in more cash than the entire world's box office total combined this weekend. And I, being a fool...went to the release and stood amongst other grown adults waiting for this novel. Amidst firefighters (fire violations apparently, too many people in the store) and police officers (settling the insanity) on a closed street and waited to be given my novel. Upon receiving it I instantly flipped to the last page, nine years of me eagerly awaiting the last sentence; a suppressed child within me rearing for the end. I came to it and cursed loudly, stating "You're fucking kidding me!", startling numerous people around me. They seemed pissed, yet the hysteria heightened. They don't know me, butgiven my morbidness, love for horror and all things evil...you can only guess the ending.

Questions I pose...

• Sure, her novels are all right, but why the hype?
• Why the mass hysteria over a mediocre novel?
• What is the machine that drives it?
• Why did I attend this midnight release?
• Was it a suppression I've had within me for the past nine years?
• Why isn't valuable literature being sold in this day in age?
• Why is the world's first (and last probably) billionaire author rich off a series with no value?
• Why do we, as humans, steep to such lows?
• Do we buy fantastical novels such as Harry Potter to escape our own realities?

Other questions I pose...

• Are we psychologically wired as human beings to be involved in such madness?
• Is insanity really just a state of mind? After all the madness over this novel, one can only assume it will pass...and we will carry on with our desolate lives veiled in 'sanity'.

Edit: I plan on posting an actual review of the novel in the reviews section after I read it.

[swivel]

Goddamn brilliant post. I had a similar awakening in highschool when I went from reading a lot of Sci-Fi to reading mostly classics and non-fiction. It mostly made me pine for the lost time.

Questions I pose...

Allright, but keep it short.

Sure, her novels are all right, but why the hype?

First juvenile author to write massive books, rather than novellas. Judy Blume was the gold standard for what kids would read, and we got used to the small paperbacks. Next thing you know, kids are walking around with Chaucer-like tomes and idiotic parents thought, "That books is BIG, it must mean that my kid is smart."

Why the mass hysteria over a mediocre novel?

Related to above. Most adults would enjoy a Judy Blume book if they read one. But they look like children's books, so we don't. You come out with a hard-core looking book that makes you think of The Hobbit more than Chocolate Wars, and now you have multiple generations reading the same shit.

What is the machine that drives it?

Tribalism. The desire to be like others.

Why did I attend this midnight release?

You don't get enough socialization from other means. It was a chance to mingle with other humans. Totally natural.

Was it a suppression I've had within me for the past nine years?

Yes.

Why isn't valuable literature being sold in this day in age?

Because it isn't valuable. Think about what that word means. If very few people value something, then its value isn't very high. It can be had cheap. My best guess is that we FORCE kids to read good literature before they are ready for it. The reason you and I (and other above-average-IQ people) enjoy the classics is because we just happened to be a tad advanced enough for them to hook us at the time we were exposed to them.

Why is the world's first (and last probably) billionaire author rich off a series with no value?

All of the above. (and the size of the books means she can charge quite a bit more, plus the age of movies and merchandising).

Why do we, as humans, steep to such lows?

To not do so would be in-human. What are you a Rousseau dolt? I find that hard to believe. We are not noble savages, we are just savages.

Do we buy fantastical novels such as Harry Potter to escape our own realities?

And get on internet forums, and play video games, and watch movies, and listen to music, and daydream, and take drugs, and drink alcohol...

Other questions I pose...

Goddamnit

Are we psychologically wired as human beings to be involved in such madness?

Yes. We also can enjoy torturing one another physically, beheading each other, burning each other, eating each other, and far worse things. Search "Salem", "Donner Party", "Aztec", "Spanish Inquisition"

Is insanity really just a state of mind? After all the madness over this novel, one can only assume it will pass...and we will carry on with our desolate lives veiled in 'sanity'

Yes. A state of the BRAIN to be more exact. And no, we will not return to 'sanity', we do not know where that is, we will just move on to more craziness.


That was exhausting. A post of Potter-esque proportions.

[brokenandtwisted]

You don't get enough socialization from other means. It was a chance to mingle with other humans. Totally natural.

I object! It's been many years, that's all...I think I had an awakening.

Because it isn't valuable. Think about what that word means. If very few people value something, then its value isn't very high. It can be had cheap. My best guess is that we FORCE kids to read good literature before they are ready for it. The reason you and I (and other above-average-IQ people) enjoy the classics is because we just happened to be a tad advanced enough for them to hook us at the time we were exposed to them.

I meant 'valuable' in the sense of importance or merit...

And you love Harry Potter. :)

Anyone want to make bets on how shitty Rowling's books will be, after Harry Potter? A bet on, "Yes, she'll have to return to Harry Potter because she'll never live up to the fame?"

[swivel]

And you love Harry Potter. :)

I haven't read a single page, nor have I seen a movie.

I barely read fiction anymore. The book club is my only recent exception.

Oh, and religious books.

[gprime]

I haven't read a single page, nor have I seen a movie.

I barely read fiction anymore. The book club is my only recent exception.

Oh, and religious books.

Agreed. When I was younger, I was a voracious reader, and read a ton of the classics, including the vast majority of the fiction I care to take in. Granted, at various junctures I'll sometimes pick up a work of fiction and read it if nothing else is available. But at this point, I'm more concerned with books of a non-fiction nature, ranging from the satire of O'rourke, to the biting cynicism of Mencken, to the economic and political genius of Williams, Sowell, Forbes, and others.

As for Harry Potter, I'll read this book, but begrudgingly. I'll do so only as it signals the end of an era. I first moved to New England in 4th grade. And as a way to help develop our interest in literature, the teacher set aside some time at the end of the day once or twice a week to read to us from a book she thought we'd enjoy. The first such book read was the original Harry Potter book. Now, as I head off to college and leave that chapter of my life behind, the last book is coming out. Seems to be a fitting end.

I will say however that my enjoyment of it has declined progressively. The first few were fine, because I was younger, and therefore less knowledgeable. As I've gotten older, my regard for the series has decreased in a major way. This is because, in spite of my lack of willingness to expend the requisite time to demonstrate it here, I've learned how to write. When I apply myself, consider my audience, and sit down to write, I can produce a fairly good end product. Part of being able to write means recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of the works of others. So in my mind, whenever I read the books, the main thing that stands out is the poor quality of the writing. I appreciate that her audience is a fairly young one, but that doesn't make me like it any more. Authors ought not write down to children, as it lowers the bar rather than raising it. I'd hate to think where I would be intellectually if I stuck to traditional children's authors past the first grade, rather than seeking out worthwhile material.

[CPL CHUD]

I read one chapter and decided it wasn't for me.

[swivel]

I read one chapter and decided it wasn't for me.

I could judge them by the cover.

[CPL CHUD]

I could judge them by the cover.

I was dating this chick who was really into them and despite my initial reaction, that they were kiddy books, I decided to give it a try.....and guess what....they're kiddy books....