Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets opened in US theatres on Nov. 15. I was there. I was not one of the overexcited in line at midnight. However, I did buy my tickets 4 days in advance. Stadium seating. Digital sound. Bertie Botts jelly beans with life-like flavors such as dirt, vomit, and earwax. Ok, perhaps I was overexcited.
I used to scorn Harry Potter. Not in the way or extent the bible-thumping, book-burning Lewistonians seem to, however I scoffed at the greatness of this prepubescent wizard and the books in which he lived. Harry Potter was no better or even equal to the Encyclopedia Brown or Ramona Quimby of my youth.
While babysitting a seven-year-old, and we watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone DVD. It was amazing. It was a visually stimulating fairy tale with adventure, magic, great acting and spectacular sets and special effects. The ending was so scary that I was not an acceptable protector of the child I was babysitting because, as he said, “you don’t count! You’re scared, too!”
That weekend I went to the bookstore and got a paperback copy of the first Harry Potter book. I read it in an evening. It was even better than the movie. I was dumbfounded. How could I have been so blind? J. K. Rowling is a genius!
I purchased the second and third books while I was travelling, and read them in between Philadelphia and Maine. To my delight, each book was longer and more intricate than the last.
There was a long painful week in between book three and book four. The fourth book was not yet released in paperback. I had to wait until Tuesday. A friend of mine works for a distribution company and she disclosed to me that Borders had copies. For a fact. Definitely. I went to Borders.
I told them that I knew they had the books. They were just sitting in the back room waiting for me. They said that I could not have the book until it was released on Tuesday. I suggested they release it to me now and I would promise not to tell anyone. They did not agree. I considered buying the hardcover, but those are not as portable, and in two days I would have access to the paperback, which I would assuredly not purchase at Borders because they were harboring the paperbacks against their will in the back room. I would not be party to such injustice.
After consulting with other Harry Potter fans I found that I was not alone in many of my Harry Potter quirks. I read the books and became so enveloped in this Harry Potter world that I just thought about it constantly. I would see a girl with fluffy hair and she would remind me of Hermione. When I saw owls I thought of Hedwig. Every little boy with messy hair and glasses looked like Harry Potter, and in tough situations I would wonder what Dumbledore would do. It became sort of problematic when I came in contact with Harry Potter scoffers, as I was not long before. I quietly continued with the countdown to the new movie and tried to read other books.
Originally it was going to be six of us going to the movie. Two people bailed. I tried to scalp these extras, but people needed more than two. Outside of the theater was a boy and his dad.
“Are you going to see Harry Potter?” I said. He said yes. I told him about my jelly beans that taste like boogers. He was amazed He looked at his father in hopes that they would be purchasing some on the way home from the theater. I asked the dad if they needed tickets. He said they had just bought them for the nine o’clock show. They would have to wait an hour.
My sister ran outside and exclaimed it was time to go into the theater. I gave the tickets to the dad for the show starting now. I couldn’t use them, I explained, and sprinted into the line filing in. I was sort of bummed later that I didn’t give the kid my unopened box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. Oh well. I would just have to eat them myself.
We sat in the very front row. There were no other options. Fortunately, it ended up being a very exciting experience: limitless legroom and nearly 3D picture.
The movie itself was spectacular – better than the first. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets may actually be the weakest of the four books, but the movie was much better than the first.
The Harry Potter books teach many important lessons to children, young and old alike. They stress loyalty, tolerance, and importance of family. However, a group in Lewiston known as the Jesus Party disagrees, saying the books have parallels with true witchcraft as it is practiced today. Led by Reverend Doug Taylor, the group chopped up copies of the book to shreds Thursday. They had been denied permits by the fire department in the past, thus no burning.
I wonder if members of this group have ever actually read Rowling’s books. I mean, not everyone is necessarily going to like them, but they do teach some pretty wholesome lessons. It is pretty hard to justify the denouncement of a book one has not read.
This group has called the Harry Potter books “dangerous.” What could be dangerous about a little boy who is just trying to fit in at school, join a sports team, and get his homework done on time?
At the heart of the film is Harry and his friends. Harry, Ron, and Hermione overcome very trying adventures in the name of their friendship, and the loyalty they have to each other, their professors, and school. They endure vomiting slugs, public humiliation, gigantic spiders, vengeful enchanted cars, broken bones, and very scary near-death experiences. Together.