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AMANTE: More like Hogwash

By Maria Amante on July 19, 2011 5:05 pm in Columns / 33 comments

 

I hate “Harry Potter.”

I’ve never read the books, certainly never seen the movies and I have zero intention of doing so. The concept does nothing for me. Magic, wizards and the like — it’s boring and I just don’t like it.

My hatred isn’t Potter-specific; I eschew and loathe the “Twilight” and “Lord of the Rings” books and movies as well.

I’ve never been a fantasy genre fan. The “Narnia” books were boring, Greek mythology was wasted on me and I was never amused by any fairy tale.

When everyone was going nuts for the “Potter” books, I was instead reading modern novels and political biographies or immersed in whatever was assigned for my English class, ever the teacher’s pet.

My best friends in high school were “Potter” fans. I was supportive when Dumbledore died — the only “Potter” plot point I know of — all the while thinking, “Who cares? Why is that name so stupid?”

It made everyone far too emotional over wizardry. I don’t care about the magic, destiny or any of that crap.

And don’t even get me started on all of the branding. They squeezed this eighth movie out of this series for no good reason at all, except to make an easy $500 million domestically from the poor people who are willing to wait in line starting at 6 a.m. the month before tickets go on sale. In costume.

When one of the books was released, I attended a party hosted by a bookstore in an effort to support old friends and exhaust my morbid curiosity.

Everyone was dressed up and looked like cattle, waiting to be herded to the feed. The sheer commercialization of it all was offensive; strictly business.

Also, the books make otherwise rational people insane.

Do you remember when they were being banned for no reason other than that they had magic in them? Ridiculous.

People on both sides of the issue became so emotional about an average-at-best series. I’m not a fan of censorship in any way, but the fact that the fans fighting the censorship got so heated is just more evidence of the evils of sci-fi and fantasy books.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic “Potter” got books into kids hands. And I’m sure many of them are now avid readers, which is nothing short of spectacular. But it’s McLiterature, it’s pedestrian and read so frequently only because it’s socially required.

How many fans think critically or objectively about those books, holding discussions about their merits and flaws? I sincerely doubt very many, because most of the fans are so rabid and clouded when it comes to “Harry Potter.”

Literature is meant to be critiqued and discussed, not just freely distributed without question. Popularity doesn’t equal quality, and that’s a major misunderstanding about these books and certainly one of my primary problems with the series.

Oh, yeah. I hate “American Idol” too. For mostly the same reasons.

 

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  • …

    I think what you’re missing is the emphatically philsophical viewpoint the books present within their texts. I think it’s arrogant to assume that many of the Potter fans neglect to think about the literature presented and what is brought forth in Rowling’s writing. Whether or not children take the time to sit back and ponder over the plethora of philosophical arguments J.K. plants inside her readers’ heads, the idea is still there. Not to mention the fact that the Potter series is granted huge historical success, philosophical success, and success in literature.

    I understand you haven’t read the books, but here is what you’re missing:
    -epistemological debates throughout the series
    -commentary on racial injustice, slavery, animal abuse, and treatment of native settlers
    -discussion on the afterlife and religion
    -discussion on the physical versus nonphysical versus nonexistence of the soul
    -great commentary on the worth of words and the strength they hold
    -questions regarding the plausibility of a good versus evil situation within the social world and within the individual
    -and so on and so forth

    I agree wholeheartedly with you on the commercialization aspect of any mainstream popular media, but that is a social aspect surrounding the books, and honestly has little to do with the texts at all. If people were not fanatic and extremely materialistic, we wouldn’t have as big of an issue, but that really shouldn’t be a reason to dismiss the series. To think of it another way, grant me the permission to speak of Christianity as a philosophy, which it is, and dismiss its classification as a religion. People from all over buy up prayer bears for their children, decorative crosses, bibles for teens, ignorant bumperstickers/t-shirts, et cetera to show off the pride or arrogance they have for some philosophy they really enjoy. The fact that these items exist or that people buy them does not mean that Christianity has no worth or relevance.

    Just something to think about.
    Also, this is coming from an atheist, as well as someone with a Harry Potter tattoo.

  • …

    Being a Harry Potter fan, the title of this article caught my attention. However, I was anticipating and would have respected the mention of actual specific reasons of why you hate these type of series other than the fact that you generally dislike anything that has to do with wizardry and fantasy. Brash statements about how much Harry Potter fans annoy you doesn’t get your point across in the way I think you were hoping for. Don’t get me wrong, I’m aware that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but the fact that an entire article was written for the sole purpose of bashing them (without reading any of them in the first place) leads me to believe you hate them “just to hate them” because of their popularity, which I’ve noticed has become a growing trend. I agree that popularity doesn’t equal quality, but you can’t judge the quality of something you haven’t read (i.e. – “hate them just to hate them.”)

    Also, being an even bigger Lord of the Rings fan, I can’t help but point out that even though the storyline is based on fantasy like Harry Potter and Twilight, they can hardly be put in the same category of writing. The Lord of the Rings goes deeper into the imagination than Harry Potter and Twilight and is a remarkable and beautifully written piece of literature. The way the storyline is written and develops as well as the different themes and genres that are tied in is unlike any book I’ve ever read. I’m also letting you know this because you haven’t read any of these series, and I think it is unfair to dump them all in the same level of quality and intellect without having the prior knowledge to base it off of.

    I’m assuming you also have no intention of reading any of these books, so I would suggest writing about -why- you dislike fantasy in general instead. Perhaps a list of reasons solely about the books or themes, leaving out ways they affect the media or fans. For example, do you dislike them because they are unrealistic? Are they hard to relate to? In the end, the fans and media have nothing to do with the genre or writing of the books, which is what you claim to not like. I would leave out the mentioning of specific books because it’s difficult to critique books you haven’t read, and that just results in lengthy responses from avid Harry Potter fans who feel a compelling need to stick up for what they believe in.

    Just to be clear, I’m strictly talking about books here, not any of the movies. I believe the books and the movies are two entirely different topics.

  • Steph

    You obviously have done no research at all on this topic and CM-Life was desperate to fill space on the page. If the fans cared so little about the text and had no real stock in it other than purchasing items with the name slapped on it, how to you explain the Harry Potter Alliance? A non-profit organization that brings about awareness of social injustice issues, donates money and items to those in need such as a school in New York building a library or Haiti, and try to make the world a better place through the use of a powerful message from a book series ‘the weapon we have is love”?

    As a member of the CMU Chapter of the Harry Potter Alliance, I am offended by this article. Your accounts of the series being “average-at-best” has no merit since you have not read the books or seen the movies, though the books are a more important resource since it inspired everything else that came forth. Your job is obviously to get a rise out of all of the people who have had Harry Potter change their lives for the better. I spent the weekend in Florida at LeakyCon 2011 which is a Harry Potter conference and I can honestly say if I had to spend the rest of my life with those people I wouldn’t bat an eye. The Harry Potter fandom as a whole is full of respectful, caring, amazing people that all bring something different to the table when discussing the series, and yes it is discussed at length. One of the programs at the conference was a discussion on how the Sorting Hat works and which qualities were important to each house, There was a debate over the kinds of ambition needed to be sorted into Slytherin and Hufflepuff houses which was rather inspiring.

    If you are interested in actually researching this topic at all I invite you to come to one of our Harry Potter Alliance meetings this fall. Here is our wiki page and meeting times will be updated as the year gets rolling. I also invite you to stop by our booth at MainStage and pick our brains about the series, I have a feeling I speak for us all when I say we are more than happy to turn your ignorance into enlightenment.

    http://hpalliance-cmu-mi.wikispaces.com/

  • Brock

    I would like to share that there is a CMU chapter of the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA), an international non-profit set up to help fight social injustices in the world. Sure, the campaigns and initiatives are based off of happenings or themes in Harry Potter, but it’s done to show the parallels between the Harry Potter universe and our own real world. 

    The CMU HPA chapter also actively discusses what happens in the books and looks at the deeper connections and literary merit of the series. 

    And, while I will agree that there has been an exorbitant amount of products available at absurd prices, the Harry Potter franchise cannot solely be to blame. Nearly everything that enters our culture that has basis in the fantasy or science fiction genres produces items for fans to purchase. Mostly because non-fiction genres don’t require things to be made because they are by definition already in the real world.Personally, I do not think it is fair to label something as “McLiterature” without having read the books. Having no source on which to base your dislike of anything is a dangerous place to be. Thinking objectively about the series is not just on the part of the fans. Immediately writing off fans for their passion is just as off-putting.

    To have more information on just how important this series has become for individuals, check out the book “Dear Mr. Potter” (http://www.dearmrpotter.org/). (I do not have any connection with this book other than using it as a source and general appreciation.)

    What it really comes down to is that every person has their own passions. In my book (which is Harry Potter), calling people out for their passions, when they do not harm anyone or any rights, is never appropriate.

  • HogwartsIsHome

    Literature is meant to be critiqued and discussed, not just freely distributed without question. Popularity doesn’t equal quality, and that’s a major misunderstanding about these books and certainly one of my primary problems with the series.
    I don’t think you realize that Harry Potter is more then a boy, or a book series. It’s something to be celebrated. These are books that have been poured, and poured over, discussed time and time again. Not even including that there’s a theme park built after Harry Potter, but tell me of another book series that has a non-profit organization that has raised over thousands of dollars, all given to various charities. Also, what about the many conferences inspired by these books? The fans who celebrate literature, and this series is something that hasn’t even been done before, and not for the fact that they do it to be popular. No, they do it because, from what I’ve seen in the Harry Potter world, Hogwarts is the one place they feel at home. They escape into these books and follow Harry through his adventures, and for a brief moment, they don’t have to worry about the real world. Going to a Harry Potter conference is incredible in its own way because all of these people are here not because of a sports team, music, or because of a political affiliation. They’re here because of writer who wrote a story about a boy and his adventures. 

    Until you read the books, you’ll never understand what Harry Potter is and how it has affected it’s fans. 

  • Korde1ml

    How can you critique a book series you have never read or a series of movies you have never seen? Basing your dislike on the sole fact that the series is popular is completely ludicrous and makes you seem like a pretentious, ignorant, narcissist who can’t see past their own blinding need to be contrary. Labeling something average and pedestrian without having fully experienced it is naive.
    As to your claim that fans of this series of books don’t think critically about the literary merit of the books you are just flat out wrong. Millions of fans of this series discuss not only the literary merit of his series but also the social, political, and moral implications of the ideas and ideals presented in these books. As a fan I have attended several academic conferences focused on in depth exploration of the Harry Pottr series. These conference proved several days of fan submitted programing. Here are some titles of programs from the last conference I went to:
    Casting Your Patronus: Representations of Psychological Processes in the Harry Potter Novels
    Hallows and Horcruxes: Splintering and Wholeness in the Harry Potter Series
    Harry Potter and Gender: Reflections of Cultural Ambivalence
    The Lucidity of Luna Lovegood: Courage and Compassion in the Face of Fear and Loathing
    So next time you want to write an article on a phenomenon that has touched as many people as Harry Potter has I urge you to do a little research and truly understand what you are writing about.

    If you would like to learn more about the depth of the Harry Potter phenomenon and the fans I encourage you to look into the Harry Potter Alliance and the CMU chapter in particular.

  • ash

    Wow this person’s life must be extremely boring. What is wrong with having an imagination and reading books for entertainment? Sounds like a very closed minded person to me. This article sounds like a cry for attention, the author has to know that it is going to anger many people. Just because something becomes popular does not mean that it is wrong or bad. This person is one of those that can never be happy, will always find fault with everything because they are not happy with themselves. Here’s a thought, if you dont like something dont spend your time hating it, move on and find something you enjoy. Stop trying to suck the joy out of other peoples lives.

  • Kristen

    How ignorant can you get?  How can you openly judge something and think of it so negatively that you admit to hating it without ever experiencing it?  It seems to me that you’re trying way too hard to be a non-conformist, simply hating anything that is popular.  Get over yourself.

  • Guest

    Honestly, I am not a massive fan of the Harry Potter series, or any fantasy series in general, however I realise that opinion is not the same as argument. I don’t really understand what the point in this article is. You don’t like Harry Potter yet have failed to give constructive criticism. The only reasoning you have to not like the series is because it is popular. If you haven’t at least attempted to read one of the books, the popularity really is all you can base your hatred on. That, and the genre.

    I can appreciate why people enjoy the Harry Potter series. Yes, maybe some are a little over dramatic about their ‘end of an era’ but I am glad literature has caused people to feel this way. No matter what people are reading, if they are engrossed in literature, it can only be a good sign. Literature is meant to provoke emotions and, although the novels are not to my taste, you cannot disagree that Harry Potter has done just this.

    I find your writing style to be slightly superior and, although I agree with your overall opinions, I am failing to see an actual focus. I would be interested to hear your viewpoint if you actually had read the books or done some more research on the subject, rather than listening to fans that so clearly annoy you.

  • Jlit007

    Trollololololol

  • Me

    I hate wine even though I’ve never tasted a drop of it, smelled it, or even eaten any grapes. I’ve seen it in shops and restaurants and that’s enough for me to write an intelligent critique on it. Oh wait.

  • Guest

    This is Pulitzer Prize winning stuff! Not only do you completely generalize about an entire genre of which you know absolutely nothing about, you make claims that popularity doesn’t equal quality when you have nothing to qualify that statement.  You have the causality flipped.  It isn’t good because it’s popular, it’s popular because it’s good.  And just because some people think cucumbers taste better pickled is no reason to belittle others they have different tastes than you.  That is called being a bigot, which is the only thing your column strongly evidences.  This is mechanically separated, processed McJournalism.  But then again, if you really wanted to be a writer, you would have gone into language and literature and not glorified blogging. You deserve pity, not anger.

  • Shaking head.

    I wrote my comment and then deleted it. I’ll start over.

    You read those biographies, but you didn’t READ them. If you had, you’d realize how to look at this from a positive view. It’s not like the billion people who worship music about rape and drugs.

    All the kids I’ve seen who enjoy simple things like Harry Potter and look forward to those books being released are extremely happy, sure of themselves, and have a great circle of friends.  You can’t sit around all day with your nose in the air, reading biographies of world leaders and think all day. You have to enjoy something. Much better to enjoy a simple Harry Potter book with a close circle of friends than be out drinking, partying, and having sex with random party people.

    You are a killer of imagination, my friend. I didn’t even finish reading this to see if you have kids, but I hope very much so that you have no kids, and never do. Nor do I hope for you to ever be a teacher.

  • Wow.

    Get a life.

  • Matt E.

    I’ve never read Moby Dick, but those literary scholars who say it’s the greatest novel ever written are clearly delusional if they think any story about a whale is interesting. 

    The thing is, a story about a big whale doesn’t interest many people when you say it’s just a story about a whale.  The key to good writing is its ability to engage you in topics you may not be interested in.  When you say Harry Potter is just about wizards and magic, you’re completely ignoring the fact that the one of the most important parts of a story is how it’s told.  If you have not read that story, you have no basis on which to criticize any of its literary merit.  It’s like writing a film review after watching the trailer. 

  • Fourkelleys

    Wow! Sucks to be you.I am so sorry!

  • Guest1234

    Yet you are openly judging her based on just your impression of her after reading one article she wrote. Is this not ignorance?

  • Martha Jones

    Sad… this is why college papers shouldn’t have an opinion section. The students mistake it as an excuse to stop thinking.

  • Srsly

    You say that “Literature is meant to be critiqued and discussed” which I can agree with. However, I think it customary to read the work before you battle for or against its merits, which it appears to me you have failed to do.

  • guest

    How did you ever get a job working for a paper?  You cannot just openly bash something which you clearly have no idea what it’s about.  Get over yourself and I hope you get reprimanded for this article. 

  • guest

    J.K. Rowling is an amazing author. And clearly people around the world love her stuff since she has more net worth than the Queen. Also Harry Potter cannot be too bad since it broke THREE box office records last weekend and raked in over 165 million.  Before you go and bash something next time please take the time to learn the entire story.  This opinion means nothing because you do not know any facts. And you call yourself a journalist.

  • Wow

    Oh hi, Bigot McIgnorant. If you see Maria Amante tell her to stick to her mediocre reporting and leave pseudo-intellectual rantings to someone who actually has even a glimmer of worthwhile thought. 

  • WhatisthisIdon’teven

    “How did you ever get a job working for a paper?” [2] 
    I haven’t read your other articles, and I don’t plan to (sound familiar?), but this particular one has me flabbergasted at how closed minded of a person you are. Not only do you find your opinion as fact but I’m glad you aren’t writing about anything more serious, lest you stupidly assault a matter of actual importance. I hope you find a different calling because this one doesn’t seem to be working out.

  • Anna

    Huh.

    Well I can most certainly tell you that Harry Potter was discussed at great length in both my Senior Literature and AP Literature classes in high school. We put it to the Characteristics of Christ test, among various other things.

    I vastly dislike Heart of Darkness and Lord of the Flies(both of which I have read, disected, critiqued and discussed, in depth) but that doesn’t make them any less of a book or a literary classic.

    I’m quite taken aback that you hate Lord of the Rings and believe it has zero literary merit. Evidence of the evils of Sci-Fi and Fantasty? I know plenty of English teachers that would consider statements like those fighting words. The childhood one would lead without finding joy in fairytales? I am very sorry for your loss.

    “But it’s McLiterature, it’s pedestrian and read so frequently only because it’s socially required”. The same could be said about your Modern Novels, no?

    Attacking an entire genre of literature that you state to never have read is extremely ignorant. I would liken it to voting for a Presidential candidate without doing any research. I HOPE CM Life reprimands such behavior.

  • Catiere

    Regardless of whether or not Harry Potter legitimately is well-written, has a good story-line, etc, a person cannot make that judgment without having read it or seen a movie.

    Also, the HP books being banned is a terrible argument for how they make “otherwise rational people insane.” The banning was obviously being done by people who were not fans of HP and were just as ignorant as to what HP was truly about as you are.

    Literature is meant to entertain and be enjoyed. Harry Potter has done this. Just because you don’t like HP, that doesn’t mean they’re not quality books, nor does it mean that you’re any better than other people because you don’t like it and most other people do. It just makes you ignorant and pretentious. Do some research before you bash on things, please. I’d respect you a lot more.

  • sadtobeachippewa

    Ah CMLife, making alumni ashamed to be Chippewas at least three times a week. Dont worry Maria, places like Taco Bell will always need people like you. Mindless bigots have the best job security.

  • Luft Jason

    I find it odd that someone can comment on the quality of literature in a book, that has not read the book. Also, if literature is meant to be discussed and critiqued… Your article was nothing but hate mongering and kind of boring. Blah blah blah, people are happy, and i’m not…

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=510476079 Richard Dayman Goss

    cant tell if she is trolling or just stupid….

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=510476079 Richard Dayman Goss

    cant tell if she is trolling or just stupid….

  • Manthor

    Is this a joke?  She cannot be serious!  Perform a critique and analysis of a series of popular books and movies that she admittedly has not read or watched.  Don’t they teach this in Journalism 055 or something: read a book before you critique it?  Who is more foolish, her for actually submitting this for publication or CM Life for publishing it? 

  • wow

    this is the stupidest, most baseless thing i’ve ever read. add this to the list of things making cm life reporters a joke

  • wow

    she’s not trolling, but she’s a troll

  • AConcernedReader

    Maria, you say that literature is meant to be critiqued and discussed, yet managed to say so in the same breath directly AFTER you have just stated how much you even unwilling to address the entire fantasy genre! How is it that you are a college student, much less a newspaper columnist with attitudes like this? To sum up your “voice” in this article, I could only picture you saying all this while chewing gum and twirling your hair, saying how much smarter you are than everyone else, but like this article, not offering any substantial reasons WHY. Read the books, and if you still feel the same way, write the flipping article again.