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Published: February 15th 2011
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You'd have to be deaf, dumb, and blind (a trifecta of disibility if you will) to not know who Harry Potter is. And in my opinion you'd have to be a souless, heartless, imagination lacking, cretin of a person not to understand just how engaging and fantastical his world really is. Perhaps it's the iron grip of childhood nostalgia that makes me cling to the vestiges of my formerly simple world far too adamantly, but I will defend Harry Potter until I die. I first got my hands on a Harry Potter book when I was in grade school, back when I could still be read to and not find it demeaning, and I was totally enthralled. There was also a sense of danger because of all the moms denouncing JK Rowling for her satanism. My own mother seemed wary of this book that could potentially be teaching her daughter witchcraft, but I consumed it whole. I was the kind of kid who read at the dinner table ignoring her plate and would spend time after school in a corner with a book that had nothing to do with reality. Harry Potter, with its escapism and bookish characters like Hermione, spoke
to me as it did to millions of other kids. So as the years went on and the books kept rolling out, it became a part of my life. A way to go back in time, now that I was older and spent more time on the phone with my friends than I did sitting under trees reading a book. And then the movie came out...
The year was 2001. I was a freshman in high school. All bright eyed, bushy tailed, and still very new at the whole high school thing. I had been pretty damn shy until the end of middle school and I wouldn't really hit my stride until my sophmore year. At this moment in time, I was a slightly nerdy, studded belt and tie dye shirt wearing Harry Potter lover. Lucky for me, that's the kind of people the drama room at school was full of. Not to digress, but I want to credit the drama department with saving my life. I truly believe without it I may have ended up some mousy looking creature, working at a storage unit, who only hangs out with friends in her book club. Those crazy, vivacious, somewhat debacherous people gave me confidence and an appreciation and thirst for the uniqueness in life. Who knows, I may have never ended up teaching English in Korea without my Studio 81 family. But back to 2001. So these crazy beautiful people decided to stake out the premiere showing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone with me. I was giddy to see my favorite book brought to life on the silver screen and to see that other people existed who were as obsessed as me. We got our seats and that familiar music swelled. I loved it. And I kept loving every film that came out. I even dressed up for one of them (keeping the drama geek vibe strong). But then I noticed an unhappy effect of making a book into a movie. People who had NEVER read the books were hopping on the HP train. These illiterate jerks acting like they knew so much and just looooved Harry Potter. They made me sick. And from that moment on, I made a rule with myself. I would have no respect for people who didn't read the books and only saw the movies. Don't believe me? Are you perhaps thinking "waaait, Hannah KNOWS I've never read the books and don't intend to. But...she's still my friend..she's just exaggerating." I'm not. And now you know.
The year is 2011. I am a college graduate. My fervor for Harry Potter has simmered. Gone are the days in uni when my friends and I made a Facebook group called something along the lines of wanting to do Harry Potter (I'm starting to see I may have never become truly cool). The last book came out when I lived back in the States and when I finished it, it felt like the end of an era. But I still have the movies to hold onto. I saw the first part of the last movie here in Korea and I was still shrieking and giggling over Ron (who has surpassed Harry in looks) like a middle schooler. I'm always going to be fond of this monster of a franchise, even after it ends. I'll most likely force these tales of wizards, magic, and the fight between good and evil on my children. But seeing as I have no children now, seems like my Korean students will have to do. Thus ensues my Harry Potter Winter Camp: Korean middle school edition. 8 lucky Korean girls get to share my love of wizardry! Will they hate it? Will they adore me for letting them do something other than study? Or will it all go to hell in a hand basket? Should I have just gotten out a board game...? You shall soon see.
ToBeContinued.
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