Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Harry Is My Homeboy.

I remember when my elementary school librarian told me about Harry Potter. I thought she was telling me this huge secret, about this secretly awesome book, and I was one of the few cool people who was going to read it and enjoy the fantasy world which is Hogwarts.

Not so.

Obviously Harry Potter became extremely popular extremely fast. I feel like I grew up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. In fact, and by fact I mean fiction, Harry was born in 1980, making him actually seven years older than I am. That doesn't change the fact that when these books came out, I was about the same age as he was, and I identified profoundly with-- well, Hermione.

What can I say? I had no way to avoid connecting myself with her. I felt different from my peers as every adolescent inevitably does, I had extremely frizzy, ugly hair that I was sure even magic couldn't make normal, I liked to read in extreme excess (and not just fiction, but frankly, please don't laugh, but there was a time when I couldn't fall asleep without reading a couple pages from the dictionary), and back in the day, I was, unfortunately, a know-it-all. I guess I still am, but I really try not to be. Honest. Can I help it if I know things? And, knowing the answer, don't I have an obligation to raise my hand?

The Harry Potter Era is coming to an important, final milestone. The last movie. Of course, there is talk about how Harry will be perpetuated beyond the "original" bounds of the series, but honestly? This is it. Even if Harry Potter goes on, I've outgrown the limits of his reach. I don't read fantasy anymore. It bores me. I've discovered a wider world of reading, and hobbies that actually include other parts of my brain and (gasp!) even other people.

It's important to do things right. So, Harry's going out with proper ceremony. That's right, a Harry Potter marathon extravaganza!

So far, we've watched the first three movies, and our plan is to finish watching the other four movies that have come out on DVD watching part one of the seventh movie the night before we go to watch the last one. We contemplated going to the midnight showing, even, but decided against it in light of our collective experiences with crowds, tiredness, and equal amounts of enjoyment, and even increased amounts, in delaying a few hours and watching the movie a little later.

I'm pretty excited, but I'm also a little sad. I'm saying goodbye to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Perhaps it's time to find a new series with endearing characters, good writing, plenty of adventure, and the hero cycle on a continuous loop?

Or Virginia Woolf.

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