Harry Potter reaction thread

[GePap]

Well, the question of national borders is not very well establised. Does each state have it's own ministry? besides, if Voldemorts previous reign had had international consequences, keeping it from the Muggles would have been a real nightmare.

Fame travels easily. Voldemort did not have to be an international threat for people to get to know the sotry of someone like Harry.

[Drake Tungsten]

Everyone from Beaubaxtons and the other one knew of him. They do seem to have an international community, a European one (and hence Viktors "global popularity"). I think one can assume that they wizard communities of Europe know well of each other (like Charlie studying dragons in transylvania).

It's a weird set-up Rowling has going. As you said, the wizarding community seems almost solely European, yet Rowling draws from cultures and mythology all over the globe for other aspects of the series. In HP 3, Prof. Lupin uses a kappa as one of the creatures in his defense against the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The kappa is a distinctly Japanese mythological creature. In HP 4, one of the dragons in the Triwizard Tournament is a Chinese Fireball. The creatures in HP are clearly international, so why not the wizards themselves?

[GePap]

Originally posted by monolith94


I'm more interested in T&A, and from what I know of the area, they only got a bunch of bird-watchers and ingrateful John-dumpers.

then come to NYC..we have a higher than usual percentage of the "beautiful people", and the women all decide to wear very skimpy, tight outfights when its hot... man, it can be frustratating even.

Do wizards wear skimpy clothes normally, when not in school? Robes are just so, so, loose and baggy.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
It's a weird set-up Rowling has going. As you said, the wizarding community seems almost solely European, yet Rowling draws from cultures and mythology all over the globe for other aspects of the series. In HP 3, Prof. Lupin uses a kappa as one of the creatures in his defense against the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The kappa is a distinctly Japanese mythological creature. In HP 4, one of the dragons in the Triwizard Tournament is a Chinese Fireball. The creatures in HP are clearly international, so why not the wizards themselves?

Maybe Rowling pines for the Empire days...

probably a reaosn of scope. The story is more about a certain set of characters set withint a very well defined world, than say LoTR, which is about the world as much as the characters. You can't throw everythng in, or you get overload.

[Drake Tungsten]

Well, the question of national borders is not very well establised. Does each state have it's own ministry?

I believe so. It's clear that Muggle national boundaries are known and used by the magic community, as the Quidditch World Cup shows. There also seems to be a Ministry of Magic for each country, as Minister of Magic Fudge is accompanied by his Bulgarian counterpart to the World Cup.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Drake, it would probably make the story very, very convoluted if other countries were thrown in .

[GePap]

Seems highly inefficient, given the relative ease of travel (how do you run wizards immigration?), but I guess it is easier to make it so that try to set up some sort of Wizard political boundaries.

Hmm, wizard politics? The whole thing is run by technocrats and beaurocrats. I mean, who selects the high commisioners. An election seems unlikely, and given the relavite separation of wizards from Muggles, could a single ministry handle all thier issues?

It also brings up the question of how Muggle hisotry affects Wizards. we know Dumbbledorf defeated a "German" wizard in 1945, but I doiubt that will ever be more than just a passing reference for establish the character.

[Drake Tungsten]

probably a reaosn of scope. The story is more about a certain set of characters set withint a very well defined world, than say LoTR, which is about the world as much as the characters. You can't throw everythng in, or you get overload.

This is the most likely reason and I can't detract from Rowling's work because of it. I can certainly see how restricting the characters to a region and dialect that she knows well would make her task easier.

It's still a bit disappointing, however. Susan Cooper had a similar problem in her excellent "Dark Is Rising" series and managed to deal with it quite well. Every book in the series took place in Great Britain and all of the characters were British as well. Even so, Cooper managed to provide hints and glimpses of a wider international community that was aiding the heroes and focusing intently on the outcome of their struggle. It might not seem like a big addition, but it made the magical community in the "Dark Is Rising" seem that much more impressive. A global community of magic users combining their forces to fight evil makes for a great story.

[Imran Siddiqui]

It also brings up the question of how Muggle hisotry affects Wizards. we know Dumbbledorf defeated a "German" wizard in 1945, but I doiubt that will ever be more than just a passing reference for establish the character.

Yeah, I thought it wierd that Dumbledore beat Grindelwald (German sounding name) in 1945, but I don't think he brought the Nazis or anything . I wonder how that played into the events of the time though.

[Hot Mustard]

I imagined that the other schools involved in the Triwizard Cup were in France and Germany.

While there have been brief references to other locales (China, Bulgaria), I suspect Rowlings simply keeps herself confined to Britian because it is familiar and comfortable.

There's no need to start inventing an international scene, as it would undoubtably draw criticism for one reason or another.

[Jaguar]

I got the sense that Durmstrang is in Russia, dejon.

[Zkribbler]

It's now Thursday. My copy of Harry Potter finally arrived from Amazon.com today.

My reaction: It's about flippin' time!!!

[GePap]

Originally posted by Jaguar Warrior
I got the sense that Durmstrang is in Russia, dejon.

Sounds more like the Nordic north than Russia.

[SpencerH]

Obviously, Durmstrang is in Prussia

Funniest bits

Spoiler:

luna's hats for the quidditch matchs

Most serious bit

Spoiler:

The conflict between totalitarianism and freedom is OK but I liked the simplicity of the earlier books better. Umbridge is the quintessential Eichmannesc-Nazi-bureaucrat-nerd making sure that the trains to the death camps run on-time. She'll turn up again later

[monolith94]

I always thought that Durmstrang was in Scotland.