Response to the Movie “We are Wizards”
The movie “We are Wizards” is a documentary film that portrays how the renowned Harry Potter series influenced the American youth. It shows that the franchise of J.K. Rowling’s movie has spawned movies and books, but also a lot of genres of creativity such as musical bands. The fans of the series have grown in their creative genres as Harry Potter grows up in his magical world in the movie. Young people, particularly women, were inspired to produce Harry Potter-related blogs, images, and other forms of art. Although the novel has great impact upon the American society and yields commendable results in real life, the movie documentary shows that religion is already losing relevance in society.
In a nutshell, the movie documentary has nothing to do with religion. Nevertheless, it shows that when books and movies portray a sense of morality, people’s attention is taken right away. In fact, this is also evident for the novels of J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. The Harry Potter series is a long story between good and evil. As the characters engaged in great adventures within the magical world, the audience and fans were also carried out. People were driven even by the ethics and morals of the novel. Lessons such as, “Some mistakes can never be truly rectified,” “You can’t change the past,” “Don’t let your fears consume you,” “Never give up,” “Our choices define us,” “Anything’s achievable if you believe in yourself,” (“Things Harry Potter Taught Me” Tumblr.com) and a lot more messages people can learn from makes the movie and novel worthy to watch and read. The novel’s theme of good versus evil and using inner strength to overcome even the extraordinary challenges helps many people to face their own life challenges in meaningful and successful ways. The mythical scenario of the series allowed people of diverse characters and personalities find inspiration in their own real life. The fan groups in the documentary are actually lacking in talent, yet the fan arena became foundation for honing the skills and growth of both young and old individuals – just like the wizards in the Harry Potter series.
In relation to religiosity, the novel series shows that what people look for are answers and solutions in real life. The novel clearly does not support biblical and religious practices. Witchcraft is plainly evil, and many people argue that such novel is not appropriate for children. Compared to the novels The Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia, the Harry Potter series were somehow deemed as fallen short of moral standards for novels, movies, and other forms of art. Nevertheless, it is evident that people deem it as morally acceptable and good. This indicates that people, particularly in the United States, embrace things even if there are foundationally irrelevant or wrong. As long as it influences the feelings of and is connected to the situation of the person, anything becomes significant and acceptable. Religion is already becoming irrelevant in the American society. People no longer care about true religion but simply looks for anything that has actual solutions for their lives. For instance, many blogs about relationships, work, livelihood, and other practical aspects of human life are considered as life manuals – even if its contents are not essentially religious.
Works Cited
“Things Harry Potter Taught Me.” Tumblr.com, n.d. Web. 25 April 2014. <http://thingsharrypottertaughtme.tumblr.com/>
