I’m conflicted. I read the first Harry Potter book and decided that while it is a good thing that many people are reading more as a result of them, I could not really recommend it highly as great work because it’s just so derivative. Having grown up reading all those boarding school books J. K. Rowling borrowed from (for example) without adding anything to them much, I was frustrated.
Well, of course, in the scheme of things, it does not matter. Not all things we like have to be Great Works. And I eventually convinced myself that there’s nothing wrong with people (who did not read those works that she’s imitating) discovering the genre for themselves in the pages of her books. Then others told me that the books got better. 
They got darker, and more grown up (do they approach the excellence and relative originality of the once largely ignored Philip Pullman books I wonder?), and better written, I’ve been told, by people whose opinion I trust. Well, good.
The films came out and they were all very ho-hum and then happily Chris Columbus stopped directing them after the first two and – Wow! They were suddenly really rather good. (The third one was by the wonderful Alfonso Cuarón, so – of course!) (Clickable above right for clarity: Extract from my own attempt to tap into the mania some years back by using characters from the books/films to illustrate the derivation of time dilation in a class on Special Relativity.)
Anyway, I saw the fifth one last night*, and I was very impressed with it as a film. Not having read the book, I find myself hoping that there was more to it than the film, since it still seems all rather derivative. There’s a bit of 1984 and a lot of Lord of the Rings mixed in with the Boarding School motif. I suspect that’s all as a result of stripping it down to look for something to hang a film on? I’m going to assume that, since there’s an awful lot of transparent (but entertaining) dark motifs about the totalitarian attitudes of the Ministry of Magic, right alongside extended conversations about how the Dark Lord is rising again and He is raising an army, and He seeks a Secret Weapon…. (Gosh, he is? How about that! Not so dissimilar from that other Dark Lord whose name we’re also supposed to whisper only in fear…. Ho hum.) But this is all done very very well in the limited scope afforded by a two hour film. It zips along, zings, entertains, and is spine-tingly dark in so many nice ways. And yes! …as in the last film, there’s proper wizard-vs-wizard fight action. What’s not to like?
So the film is excellent…. now back to the books. This morning I heard a report by Louisa Lim on NPR called “Rush on for Knockoff Harry Potter in China”. Although I disapprove of the theft that underlies all of that, I found it a bit funny too that there’s all these knock-off Harry Potter books with titles like: Harry Potter and Leopard-Walk-Up-to-Dragon, Harry Potter and the Porcelain Doll, Harry Potter and the Golden Turtle, and Harry Potter and the Crystal Vase…. (more here) In each case, they just threw together a ton of random stuff that Harry is doing (sometimes borrowing from other books) and put it out as a new Harry Potter book. The NPR story describes some of the things that Harry got up to in those alternative universes (sometimes in, er.. close association with Hermione, apparently), but then came a snip from a fan in China that they interviewed. She said disdainfully something like:
“they even transport the school from Hogwarts to a Chinese Magical school. That’s very ridicuolous…Some professors are Chinese and teach ancient Chinese magic….”
Noooo!!!! That’s good, dammit. Run with that. That would be really great! Some truly original cultural strands entering there…. That would be just great, wouldn’t it? Somebody pitch this to JK.
So the title of this post is by bid to start a little fake Harry Potter craze in the Mathematics/Physics world**. The kids will love it!
-cvj
(*at the Bridge Cinema complex – possibly the second best sound and screen behind the wonderful Arclight, which was not showing it.)
(**Commenters Elliot and Stevem, please put your excellent writing skills to work on it right away.)
Hi I agree with Metalwoman that influences from your previous literary experiences are bound to have at least some effect on your own literary treatises(15th century definition of this term). Many wizards of past works were tall with long hair and beards including my favorite, Gandalf
Has anyone read the books about the adventures of Uncle Albert by Russell Stannard? The titles sound promising – The Time and Space of Uncle Albert, Uncle Albert and the Quantum Quest, and Black Holes and Uncle Albert. I was recommended them by a friend of a friend, but haven’t got round to reading them yet.
My goodness, of course!
I agree 100%, as you can see from what I said in the body of the post.
Enjoy the new one!
-cvj
Sure she borrows, but which writer has’nt ever? You can trace influences in everybody’s work. But as long as the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts, its alright by me.
Not having grown up on British kid lit, I like her books– though they might seem jaded to a lot of people.
I too found Harry Potter rather heavy going (to the extent that I never got beyond half way through book two). As you say, JKR’s indebtedness to the canon of the Great British School Story (from Tom Brown, through Jennings and Darbyshire, to Grange Hill) is only too evident – ‘as eny fule kno’ Hogwarts itself features in Molesworth’s adventures, themselves an affectionate satire of the genre. A less widely recognised source is E.J. Holmyard’s ‘Alchemy’ published by Pelican back in 1959 and doubtless available in the then impoverished JKR’s local library. The alchemical lore in ‘The Phiilosopher’s Stone’ is cut and pasted from this source wholesale. Niholas Flamel was a real person (the only adept to comment on the change in volume accompanying transmutation – the density of gold is almost twice that of lead) while the Dumbledore’s appearence (summarised by Wikipedia as ‘tall and thin, with long silver hair that looked long enough to tuck into his belt and a long beard’) owes much to Holmyard’s description of John Dee, Elizabeth the First’s Master of Magick, – ‘tall and slender, with a very fair, clear and sanguine complexion and a long beard as white as milk. He wore a gown like an artist’s, with hanging sleeves and a slit.’ Enough of this faux scholarship and pedantry – I’ll have to check out the fith film as it seems to come fairly highly recommended, by both CVJ and the critical press in the UK
Not having read the book, I find myself hoping that there was more to it than the film, since it still seems all rather derivative.
Actually not really a lot happens in the fifth book. It’s very slow and the intent mostly seems to be to focus on Harry’s psychological state rather than on anything actually happening, an effect which is exaggerated by the fact that books four and six are much more action-packed than any of the others. Five is kind of the low point of the series.
This said I’m told by people who have seem the film that they made some unusual choices in what to leave in versus take out.
That does not really fit the title format… besides, examining your analogy a little, I don’t think that JK Rowling would do a entire book about Harry Potter and Argus Filch. That would be a bit boring.
Cheers,
-cvj
‘So the title of this post is by bid to start a little fake Harry Potter craze in the Mathematics/Physics world’
What, Harry Stringer vs Woitomort?
As a related topic to movie / art / etc., I was intrigued to see the walls of the undergound parking garage in a Tallinn, Estonia theatre complex covered with commissioned artwork about the popular films that the theatre was showing. The artwork is really good: Take a look (a small sample).
Hi Aaron (the other one)… yes, they are wonderful aren’t they? I must finish them some time too…
-cvj
For what it’s worth, I LOVE the Phillip Pullman books that I’ve read, and I keep telling myself I need to read some more! 🙂
Hi Aaron… very soon!
Elliot… keep us posted!
-cvj
Clifford,
Funny you should mention this. I am working on an idea for a spin-off of an “un-named” television show which showcases the use of mathematics in solving crimes. Oops gotta run “Numbers” starts in about 2 minutes. 😉 😉
Elliot
Speaking of Mathematics/Physics world, when are you showing up in Aspen? Your office is right across from mine.