Month: July 2007

Posted in Harry Potter, movies

REVIEW: HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS (SPOILERS)

Posted on by sassysheisme

I just finished my second reading of the book yesterday. I wanted to go back and reread it to be sure I caught more details, to make sure I didn’t miss anything during my marathon reading session last Saturday.

The final book in the blockbuster fantasy series, Deathly Hallows did not disappoint. The story ended much as I thought it might, and even though many beloved characters were lost along the way, the story settled into a happy ending, complete with a glimpse into Harry’s life 19 years down the road.

If you refer to my previous posts, you know that I have believed that this series of books is a classic story of good versus evil, of using the power bestowed upon you for the benefit of others, or for the benefit of oneself. I want to say first and foremost that this book had a redemptive ending, and paralleled the redemptive, sacrificial story of Christ in the Bible.

The mere mention of Harry Potter and the word, “Bible” in the same sentence usually causes quite a stir, but I won’t back away from it, because, in the same way I read The Lord of the Rings, I read it with an open mind, and I saw the salvation/sacrifice story in that book, and I know people who have read it who only managed to see it as a fantasy story, nothing more. Either you will see the Christian threads woven throughout Harry Potter, or you won’t.

A friend told me she believes that people can dismiss or embrace the magic in the stories of The Chronicles of Narnia and the The Lord of the Rings because, for the most part, the stories are set centuries ago in magical, made up lands. I think she’s right. The Harry Potter series is set in present day, and it’s harder to dismiss the magic in this wonderfully crafted fantasy story when you can actually imagine the magic happening in the world around you. I think that’s part of the mental block people have, whether they know it or not.

Hear me, please. Harry Potter is not Jesus. However, if a roaring lion in The Chronicles of Narnia can be compared to the Lion of Judah, then Harry Potter’s journey can certainly be compared to Jesus’ journey to the cross. In many ways, we all have been on that journey at one point or other in our lives. All of us have had to die to self and take up our cross on our journey of faith.

Since Harry was born, each moment of his life, each lesson he has learned, each loss he has suffered, has led him to the place where he discovers that ultimately, he must sacrifice himself… willingly… in order to rid the world of the embodiment of evil, Lord Voldemort. Their journeys are intertwined, for one cannot live if the other survives.

Harry learns, through a journey in a Pensieve of memories of his believed arch enemy, Severus Snape, that Snape has been protecting him his entire life and that the time will come where he will have to die to ensure Lord Voldemort’s defeat. He has been protected, kept alive, taught, nearly killed, he’s suffered, endured torture and pain… only to learn that he was not being prepared for victory, he was being prepared to die.

Dumbledore insists that this knowledge must be kept from Harry until the very end, otherwise, how would he find the strength to do what he must? Literally, all the weight of the world falls upon this 17 year old’s shoulders, and he rises to the challenge and walks willingly toward death.

Harry allows himself to be struck down by Voldemort with the irreversible killing curse, and he wakes up in a peaceful place and is joined by Dumbledore. There, they talk out what’s been happening, Dumbledore confesses to Harry that Harry is a better man than he, and that Harry now has a choice – he can go “on” and rest in eternity, or he can go back, because he is still alive, still tied to Voldemort until Voldemort himself is dead.

Harry decides to go back and finish the job. He knows he must go back for the greater good, a theme which was woven throughout this book. The desire to do something for the greater good can be motivated by love, or it can be motivated and twisted by selfishness. Voldemort believed he was cleansing the tainted “mudbloods” out of his world, just as Hitler believed what he was doing was for the greater good of humanity, sacrificing others to achieve this goal. Jesus, however, sacrificed himself for the greater good, and Harry lay down his life for his friends – even for people he didn’t know.

I don’t know what can be evil about a book that teaches the difference in choosing between what is right and what is easy, between good and evil, between sacrifice and selfishness. We are all human, we are all flawed, and we all face these types of choices every day. To introduce children to these concepts and be able to dialogue with them about these types of choices is the gift of well written literature. JK Rowling has managed to get millions of people to read a redemption story that is woven with Christian imagery even if people choose not to see it.

I will end with this. The story of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has many themes, good vs. evil, sacrifice and selfishness, and so much more. What the book boils down to, and I believe what ultimately makes Harry victorious, is found on page 325 in the epitaph on the grave of Dumbledore’s mother and sister.

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Posted in Harry Potter, movies

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS (maybe minor spoilers)

Posted on by sassysheisme

I just finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows about fifteen minutes ago. It was an incredibly well written and intricate story that ties up all lose ends and provides nail biting suspense along the way. And, when I get around to reviewing the book, any question about the author’s morality will be laid to rest.

We went to Borders in the Galleria last night to get our books. Jene’ cleverly picked up our wristbands on her lunch hour, wristbands that would put us in the first group to get the books at midnight.

I tried to take a nap before we went to Borders. I slept from 7 – 8 PM then the annoying ice cream truck blasting it’s off tone Swannee River came through the complex, followed by the neighbors coming home and their car alarm beeping every time someone walked past their car. Finally, I slept some more between 8:45 and 10 PM, when my alarm went off and I got up to get ready to go to Borders.

I was tired but excited when we got to Borders. We had picked up another friend of ours and arrived around 11 PM. Many kids had dressed up for the occasion, and my favorite was a girl who dyed her hair bright pink like the character Tonks.

At about ten till midnight, they called for all silver wristbands to line up first and we jumped in line. Before they rolled the books out on carts to take them to the cash registers, they counted down and then everyone cheered.

We were probably seventh or eighth in line, so unlike Book 6’s release, when we walked out of Borders around 12:50 AM, Jene’ and I had our orange covered books in our hot little hands by 12:05 AM and I started reading the book at 12:50 AM.

I took great measures to ensure that I would read more than I did last year before I went to sleep (last year, I got to chapter 2 and fell asleep). I drank some Vitamin Water (Revive) and ate some popcorn, cheese and fruit to stay awake. Finally, though, at about 5 AM, I was having issues with comprehension, so I decided to sleep. At this point, I was about to start chapter 19. I was nearly halfway through.

So I got up at 9:30 and ate breakfast, took a shower and started reading again around 10:20 and finished at 3:03 PM.

Good places to stop if you are reading in segments…stop before:

Chapter 8
Chapter 12
Chapter 16
Chapter 22
Chapter 26
Chapter 29

I suggest planning on reading the remaining chapters together, which would be a little over 200 pages, because things really pick up after that and I can’t imagine being able to stop after that point.

I will post a review of the book later in the week after I read it again. 🙂

Posted in friends, random

COORDINATING WARDROBE

Posted on by sassysheisme

This is what happens when Rae says, “Oh, go shop there, they have great clothes!” and you don’t call each other to discuss what you’re wearing to work. LOL.

Rae and I ran into each other before lunch and Rae screams, “this is like a high school nightmare!” Actually, we found this coincidence rather hilarious and decided to commemorate the occasion with a picture.

Even just a few years ago, however, I would have been mortified and ran home to change clothes. Now, this is just another funny moment in my crazy life.

If you can learn to laugh at yourself, even moments like this can bring much laughter.

We even sat by each other at lunch. 🙂

Posted in Harry Potter, movies

HARRY POTTER AND THE BOOKS/MOVIES THAT MUST NOT BE NAMED

Posted on by sassysheisme

My group of friends and I refer to all things Harry Potter as the books or movies that must not be named because many in the Christian community do not think the Harry Potter series is suitable for children (but Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia are?) and the phrase is a play on words… the evil character in the book is called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named …but I’m off topic already.

I have debated people who think the Harry Potter series is evil and I’m rather tired of debating the series with people who haven’t read the series or who have and refuse to see it as what it is – fiction, good fiction, and a fantasy that is beloved around the world…so I’ll direct you to John Grainger, a Christian father who has a lot to say about finding God in Harry Potter…and he says it much better than I am sometimes able to.

That said, I’ll do my movie review now. 🙂

Posted in Harry Potter, movies, pop culture

POPCORN FOR BREAKFAST & THE MOVIE THAT MUST NOT BE NAMED

Posted on by sassysheisme

I finally viewed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this morning. Before I dive into the movie, I want to comment about my movie experience.

I used to get a kick out of seeing movies on opening night with 6-10 of my friends. We’d get there early, plan out our strategy for getting the seats we wanted, then we’d stand in line an hour or two (or sit and play cards or talk). That was always fun because of the company.

I went through a period in my life when movies were seriously an extra that I didn’t have money for, and my movie buddies have moved on (and in many cases, moved out of the city). Now that I can afford to see a movie here or there, I reserve my movie money for the sci-fi flicks or special effects marvels that must be seen on the big screen. Otherwise, I just wait for the movie to come out on video and watch it in the comfort of my own home.

That said, Harry Potter movies are an in-theater must see. I don’t mind going to movies alone, so I decided I’d go to the first movie showing this morning at 9:45. I arrived at 9:20, got the fourth parking spot in, and walked into the very thinly populated theater lobby. I bought my ticket and went to the bathroom one last time (knowing I’d have to wait 2 1/2 hours to go again) then bought breakfast – a small popcorn (which costs a small fortune, but I had a movie gift card, no worries).

In a theater made for at least 300 people, this first showing of the day already had at least 20 people scattered throughout and by the time the movie started the theater was at least 1/3 full. I had the seat I wanted, there were no noisy people around me and everyone turned their cell phones off when Forrest Whitaker and AT&T told them to.

The only thing that made my experience any less than wonderful was wondering why anyone would bring a small child to a PG-13 movie that promised violence and death. There were many small children there (age 10 or less), and while I know people who take their kids to these movies (but I’m not talking 5 year olds), I also know they’ve read the books (the kids and parents), they’ve talked about the movies and know what to expect. It will never cease to amaze me to be in a theater full of kids, when the even the previews for other movies for this PG-13 movie scream that this experience is not for small children. I’ll get off my soapbox now.

I don’t envy the screenwriter who has to take a 870 page novel and squeeze a 2:15 minute movie out of it, but this adaptation of the doorstop-sized book rises to the challenge. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie from beginning to end, and though the movie takes liberties with events (out of sequence, squeezed together) and some important actions are attributed to other characters (the betrayal of the D. A.), – which keeps the number of peripheral characters down – the movie stays true to the spirit of the book and would not have the stamp of approval from the novel’s author JK Rowling if it didn’t.

I won’t spoil the movie for those who don’t read the books but see the movies. I encourage anyone to read the books to get a fuller picture of Harry Potter’s world, because, as all movie adaptations go, they have a limited amount of time to work with, and details sometimes get left out in the movies that makes the whole experience richer. Reading the books in this series and then seeing the movies will take the experience from fuzzy rabbit-ear antenna to high definition.

By the end of the movie, I was satisfied with the storytelling and can now visualize the books even more fully. So many times I wanted to slap Dumbledore (that’s another blog entry) for ignoring Harry, and I often wanted to hug Harry and tell him that he’s not alone. I was impressed by the Ministry of Magic and the Department of Mysteries, and the Wand Duelling near the end gave me a whole new understanding of the nuances of the wand and how it really is an extension of the arm. It’s more than just swish and flick.

One scene in the movie was deeply poignant between Harry and his godfather, Sirius Black. Sirius says to him (and I’m paraphrasing because I don’t have the screenplay in front of me) that it’s not DeathEater versus good or light versus dark, because “we all have good and evil within us, it’s which part we choose to act on that matters.”

That phrase is central to the Harry Potter world. Just as in the last movie when Dumbledore (who is still in line for slapping) tells Harry that the time has come when he will have to choose between “what is right, and what is easy,” Harry learns that the difference between him and Lord Voldemort (aka He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named) is that he knows love and friendship, and Voldemort hasn’t and won’t. Harry has something worth fighting for, and Voldemort doesn’t. Harry chooses to act on the side of the good. The movie ends with Harry knowing that Voldemort’s defeat rests largely on his angsty teenage shoulders, but he’s not alone in the fight.

Another part of the movie that really drew a spiritual parallel for me were the scenes of the students learning Defense Against the Dark Arts. Dolores Umbridge (who was played to pink, sadistic, control freak perfection by Imelda Staunton) has decided that the students need to learn about Defense Against the Dark Arts so they can pass their tests, but the students do not need to learn how to use the spells to defend themselves.

How many people can quote Scripture but don’t know how to use it when they are under attack? It’s important to know the Word, but it’s equally, if not more important to know what to do with it and how to bring to life what it tells a person to do. Of course, if someone is raised in an environment where evil is ignored, why should they know about the armor of God, or how to protect themselves with God’s word?

Umbridge is merciless in her pursuit of keeping the kids in a safe, sterile environment where the mention of the reason actual application of the spells needed to protect themselves is cause for punishment. When Harry suggests that the evil they all fear not only exists, it’s back in the form of Voldemort, Umbridge makes Harry endure a painful detention where he writes “I must not tell lies,” on a piece of parchment and it’s etched, painfully, into his skin, and she makes him continue until it “sinks in.”

Hermione decides that they need to know how to protect themselves, and if Umbridge and the Ministry of Magic won’t show them how, they need to learn it themselves.

I don’t see this as the big teenage rebellion over authority that many reviewers have. I don’t necessarily see this as a bad example for kids. If you are a child and you know you are in danger, and the adults in your life won’t protect you, you must learn how to do it yourself. I know this firsthand.

In the Room of Requirement, Harry finally finds a purpose. All of his pain, all he has been through, all he has learned from facing evil, he can pass on to others. He can help his friends learn to defend themselves from the danger he has experienced personally. Even Neville Longbottom, the clumsy, accident prone teenage wizard learns to believe he can defend himself. Armed with these tools, these kids can now face evil with the belief that they can defeat it.

I still don’t see why people think lessons like that are evil, but I may never understand that mindset…another soapbox for another day.

All in all, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was an enjoyable experience. I watched all the way through to the end of the credits. Two other people were left in the theater and we spoke briefly about how well this movie was adapted from the book and then we talked about Book 7 and my plans to try and read it within 24 hours of it’s release (because I don’t want the ending spoiled!).

I can’t wait until Friday night so I can get book 7 and find out how the series ends!

Posted in random

A NON-BLONDE MOMENT

Posted on by sassysheisme

I’m telling you this is momentous.

Today, when the paper shredder jammed and I took the top off to investigate, I remembered to… (drumroll please)… UNPLUG the paper shredder! So, not only do I know why the paper shredder was jammed… I still have all my fingers.

Small miracles happen every day!

Posted in random

SEVEN, SEVEN, OH SEVEN… (07-07-07)

Posted on by sassysheisme

I have always loved the calendar and how a series of numbers lining up seems to make that day stand out more than others. When I was a kid, we got a kick out of our math teacher reminding us that 9/9/81, was special because 9×9=81.

Today is 07/07/07 and for some, seven is a lucky or perfect number. In Texas, 07/07/07 has been a great day whether or not luck or perfection is involved. Water stands all over the city and many other places throughout the region and the sun is straining to poke through the cloud cover. Mercifully, so far today, no rain has fallen. That makes 07/07/07 a good, “dry” day. It’s rained every day but 7 since June 1st and though June is Houston’s “wettest” month, it was much, much wetter than usual.

Also today the Live Earth concert is going on all over the world, calling attention to the plight of the Earth’s resources, and how to go “green,” and be good conservationists. Not only have I heard some incredible music, I have been encouraged at how they’ve simplified the Go Green message to make it accessible and “do-able” for everyone.

I’ve had some history with recycling and “green” thinking. When I was a kid, we recycled pop cans (excuse me, Easterners, “pop” is soda, and for your Texans, “pop” is coke). We would walk up and down country roads and collect a few garbage bags full and then take them to the can recycling collection center and get a few cents a can.

One winter, around the time of the coal strike in Indiana when electricity was scarce and we had to sit by the windows to have enough light to read at school, we had a solar heating panel made from a kit attached to the house (I don’t remember if we had it that winter or that winter of low energy inspired the solar heater, but we had one around that time). Unfortunately, this “kit” had no way to store any energy and Indiana winter days are too short to make a difference. Though the solar energy couldn’t combat the below zero winters, if you sat right next to the vent you could feel the warmth it generated for a little while, so it proved to me it could work. Though the solar heating panel disappeared after one winter, I had more experience with non-traditional energy sources and recycling than most kids I knew.

After college, when I worked for a rather sizeable newspaper, I learned a great deal more about recycling. The newspaper was very “green” and recycled nearly EVERYTHING. There was one large garbage can in our department for non-recyclables… like fountain pens, highlighters, or things your weren’t sure fit anywhere else. Otherwise, there was a bin for whatever you had to throw away. Even the waste basket under your desk was for paper items or wrappers that had touched food. It got recycled.

A huge bin in the middle of all our cublicles collected discarded newspapers. Another bin next to it was for typing/copy paper and the bin next to that was for all other paper (magazine type paper, color ad inserts, etc). Then there was the bottled water bin, the aluminum can bin, and all other colors of bottles bin.

In some communities, recycling is accessible and easy to participate in, and in others, recycling takes a real commitment. Yet, every little effort adds up to a significant amount when everybody starts taking those baby steps.

In my apartment we have energy-saving lightbulbs. It’s not much, but it’s a start. Instead of drinking so much bottled water (and discarding the bottles) I drink filtered tap water. Therefore I use less plastic (a petroleum based product).

While I was in San Francisco, they announced a plan to cut out bottled water in the city. It would cut down on the wasted bottles, the gas to bring the bottled water into the city, the emissions of the truck bringing the bottles into the city, etc. One idea snowballs into something big. A little inconvenient, maybe, but not really that big of an effort, right?

Yes, I still drink things out of plastic bottles, but not enough, at least at home, for a significant collection to recycle them. As I’ve watched some of the Live Earth concert, I realized that there are more small things I could do to save on resources, and that will give me something to ponder for a while.

The sun just poked through the clouds and is streaming across my living room floor. In fact, I peeked through the blinds and I see BLUE sky! Of course, rain is forecast for later, but I’ll enjoy this bit of sunshine while it lasts.

Enjoy your 07/07/07… There won’t be another in your lifetime, but we have other types of number assortments to look forward to like 3/03/09 because 3×3=9.