they are now releasing a new harry potter, and parents are complaining that it is a bad advisor. i see nothing wrong with it,it is not in any way based on real witchcraft, and only insults the religion(not that i care). but do you think it is a bad influence?
2006-12-14 08:31:03 · 28 answers · asked by drake b 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
The Harry Potter books are works of fiction. They are not a bad influence upon anybody (despite the ravings of a noisy little minority of religious fanatics). Anything that actually gets people reading books, fiction or otherwise, gets my vote. As for the movies, they're not a bad influence, either, except for the few nuts who think that using one's imagination is a mortal sin.
2006-12-14 08:35:11 · answer #1 · answered by thaliax 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
No way! Harry Potter books are fiction and people read them all in good innocent fun. I don't recall any child saying to their parents that they plan on being witches/wizards after they finished reading these books. People are so close-minded when it comes to religion. I mean, I would consider myself to be a religious person as well, but there is a fine line between being religious and being a fanatic. As long as your child is old enough to understand the books are just a story and in no way a guidance to life, then I see nothing wrong with it. If they have such a problem with letting their kids read Harry Potter, then I suggest they should also ban their kids from reading Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, watching Wizard of Oz and anything else that promotes "evil witchcraft." I personally wouldn't let my kids read them until they reached about 11 or 12. I loved the books, but I wouldn't want someone really young to read them. Some of the parts can be pretty scary for youngsters.
2006-12-14 09:07:18 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Harry Potter books are a brilliant work of FICTION (noun) - feigning, invention; thing feigned or imagined, invented statement or narrative; literature consisting of such narrative, esp. novels, conventionally accepted falsehood (The Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary). I have enjoyed the novels on many occasions and in NO WAY find them a bad influence, because I see them for what they are Fiction, and a good read. Harry Potter's world is a make believe world anyone can enter for the time it takes to read the books, or watch the movies. Try looking into the morals behind the words... friendship, loyalty a sense of what is right and wrong, acceptable and non acceptable with life in general. Maybe those that are complaining about 'bad influences' should look closer to home... I say "go ahead and read the books, and enjoy them for what they are - a work of fiction.
2006-12-14 11:59:39 · answer #3 · answered by Rell 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People keep comapring regular fairy tales with Harry Potter all the time, but that's not correct. They all containt witchcraft, but the witchcraft presented in fairy tales is different than the one in Harry Potter. Fairy tales present witchcraft as something evil, something frightening, therefore the kids get the message that it's wrong and that they should stay away from it. But the difference is that Harry Potter presents witchcraft as something positive. More than that, it presents it as a way of living. And in this way kids get the message that it is something fun, something they could learn more about and even try. For kids, fiction is not just fiction. For them, fiction brakes the barriers of reality.
But the way kids and people perceive the story doesn't change the message that it actually wants to spread.
Not to be rude, but you are ruled by stereotypes just like everyone who thinks Harry Potter represents witchcraft and satanism is. You need to see beyond the surface of the story. If you would truly analyze the story, the plot and the general scheme and meanings of the book, you would surely reach the conclusion that HP DOES NOt represent satanism.
As soon as you hear about wizards, spells and witches, you automatically think "Oh, that's it! This is satanism! The story supports witchcraft!" But that's wrong. If you think like that without analyzing further and examining the story, you only prove that you are shallow.
I know a lot of Christians who only use religion as a pretext to prove that HP is the devil's work. Wrong, wrong, wrong. It's wrong because Christianity shouldn't be used as an extension of one's motives. If you want to judge something, you should judge it individually.
Again, I don't mean to offend you, but I'm sure that you lack a lot of basic information if you can make such harsh affirmations. It's very easy for someone who doesn't have all the necessary knowledge regarding the subject to support an idea. You're only supporting this idea because you are motivated by the purpose of religion, but you haven't examined the subject properly. There's a book about Harry Potter written by John Granger. If you haven't read it yet, you definitely should. Believe me, that book is so great and analyzes every detail and gives you all the information you need. I'm sure it could clear all your doubts.
Before I read that book, I thought that JKR was an evil satanist who just wanted to corrupt all the kids and make them support satanism. I thought she was part of a satanist organization that had the purpose of destroying the world and representing the devil. I thought this was all part of a witty plan and that the HP phenomenon would surely lead to Apocalypse. Freaky, isn't it?
All those opinions I had back then were based on rumours I have heard from various directions. I foolishly believed in them because back then everything that implied wizards and spells meant satanism for me. For me and a lot of other people, the world was divided in black and white. Satanism and Christianity. I thought that everything that contained mentions of spells and wizards was surely devil's work and I automatically sent all those things to the black category without examining them and trying to find out if I'm right or not.
I'm sorry for ranting like this. I'm probably not making much sense to you, but what I am trying to tell you is that you can't just classify something according to its surface. Not everything that presents witchcraft is witchcraft. Read that book by John Granger and you'll understand what I mean.
2006-12-18 07:38:32 · answer #4 · answered by Cheshire Riddle 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think there is a bad influence. There're hundreds of books talking about witchcraft, why people don't seem to complain about them? The Harry Potter books promote friendship, bravery, loyalty and many other good values. It tells people that we ought to fight against evils. The protagonists in the Harry Potter books always try to protect the ones they loved, they want to stop the bad guys from taking control and torturing innocent people. You can't possibly call this 'bad influence', can you?
2006-12-16 04:26:03 · answer #5 · answered by Charlotte_T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anyone with half a brain & an education should realize that Harry Potter has no influence over children unless the parents have negleted their duties to the point where their children would look up to & believe in a FICTIONAL CHARACTER or a way of life that is portrayed in a storybook or in a film. These parents need to stop putting the blame on others & use their time to get to know their children & possibly get some therapy & go to parenting classes. Fantasy IS a part of life & as much as people would like it to be untrue...SORCERY WAS REAL & STILL IS. It is not something that you should hide from children unless you would like them to become used by the very people who still practice this "art form"!!!
2006-12-14 08:46:52 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
As a parent I absolutely do not believe it's a bad influence. I encourage my kids to read and watch Harry Potter, and now my 2 oldest sons, 13 & 14, are no longer really into it. I still am and cannot wait for the new movie and book to come out. I think if we had more movies like harry potter out and all that he embodies, maybe we wouldn't have such violent tendencies in our society. It's like that old adage, soothe the beast by playing music.
2006-12-14 11:31:44 · answer #7 · answered by Alicia L 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, but I have a fundamentalist Christian friend who believes that it is a bad influence because it assumes that witchcraft and magic is real and contradicts some established Christian mythology and beliefs, so that may be why your parents don't like it. My friend is concerned that it will lead young people away from the "true path" of what they are taught to believe within their religion. Personally, I don't see the harm in believing in a little magic. Everyone has to believe in something. Religion, magic, what's the diff?
2006-12-14 08:34:34 · answer #8 · answered by MagicalMayhem 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
*Sigh*. You need to stop listening to religious fanatics. NOTHING in those books insults ANY religion and it isnt a bad influence on ANYONE. These parents think that stories where kids can do magic are telling children to practice witchcraft. This is a fantasy book for crying out loud. People are seriously neurotic.
2006-12-14 08:55:28 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I think that people who are too stupid to realize that it's FICTION and who are too ignorant to realize that it has nothing to do with practical witchcraft (or Wicca, for that matter) are a bad influence.
If they're worried that Harry Potter will somehow "lead their kids away from God" then maybe they need to consider why their kids' faith is so shallow and easily influenced in the FIRST place...
2006-12-14 08:42:51 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋