Harry Potter movies
I love movies, all movies. The only TV I watch is usually a movie, with the exception of The Sopranos (what about the last episode, huh?) or possibly MindFreak, with the creepy but cute Chris Angel.
I enjoy Harry Potter and I love the books. I have read all but the last one, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”. My daughter has had her head buried in it for the past two days and I’ll be the next to read it.
These books spark the imagination and paint incredible pictures in our brains, both as children and as adults.
We have seen the first Harry Potter movie, “The Sorcerer’s Stone”. It was a disappointment because it stole our imagination, and forever when we read the books, we see Harry from the movie, Snape from the movie, Hogwarts from the movie, and so on. We can’t remember the others from our imagination, before the movie!!
The original Harry Potter movie was as close to the book as possible. They did an amazing job, but still, the scene with the unicorn in the woods and Voldemort floating above with blood dripping from his mouth burned a horrifying vision in my daughter’s memory. The book never affected her in a negative way, but the visual marked a clear and lasting image. This brings me to the topic of movie ratings. Who in their right mind comes up with these G ratings? Are they crazy or just don’t have children? The only other explanation is that they are completely desensitized to visual violence and terrifying images.
Why are they so desperate for all the kids to see these movies? Couldn’t it be something younger kids look forward to when they’re older? My son is seven and recently watched the first Harry Potter movie after finishing the book. The book was an absolute prerequisite for the movie. I was prepared for most of what was to come, but even then we fast-forwarded to the scarier parts.
I know some will think I’m paranoid and overprotective, which is fine with me. I know my kids can sleep at night with the lights off and not have nightmares. I’ll reiterate what I said at the beginning, I love movies, all movies, but I think parents should be demanding, even if it’s against the norm, and stand up to pressure from adults and do what’s right for their children. .
Movie ratings are not designed with the best interest of the child in mind. The main motivation is to get as many people to see the film as quickly as possible and to put as much money as possible in the pockets of the companies involved. I have friends who don’t even let their kids read the Harry Potter series. That’s going too far for me, but the movie industry should be socially responsible for the degree of realism in the content, and it’s up to parents to demand it. We will eventually see the entire Harry Potter film series, but in our own time, and when each child is emotionally ready.
