TF Archives

Fuze 10 - Harry Potter Dies - Everyone Moves On

Author: Aaron Roach
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Kids around the world are bracing themselves for the worst, as JK Rowling's new instalment of the Harry Potter series hits shelves on Friday. After the leak created media mayhem over the past couple of days, does anyone care about the Deathly Hallows-

If I had my way, I'd ensure that every page of the final novel in the series was available for all and sundry. For me, it's held in the same regard as Dan Brown's 'The Da Vinci Code'. Anyone that thinks he's one of the most amazing authors of our time probably deserves a lifetime supply of gullible pills.

Anyway, back to the original topic.

Harry Potter has, for a while now, managed to enthral and entertain the minds of both children and adults with an escapist world designed to help you forget that there's a real world out there. Not a bad thing, considering what nations in the Western world would like us to believe.

The trouble is, however, that as soon as people realise there's an ending to something, they simply switch to another escapism and remain in a world that has some sort of participatory feel...reminding them that things can't be that bad. Films have been doing this since they were introduced (hey...if you can make a musical based on world war and still make people laugh, you're doing something right).

Books may have a use-by date, but it goes without saying that people can find comfort in the knowledge that it won't be too long before it's made into a movie. I can't remember the last time I saw a poster on a wall that was neither a)a film based on a book nor b)an old film. If it's not a remake, it's a book cover.

The sooner Harry Potter can die, the faster the world can move on to a new fad. It's not a bad thing - it's just a case of having a bit of a loll period before we latch on to something else.

In some respects, it's been nice not having celebrity disasters run the headlines, which will no doubt become the trend once the book has been launched in stores. This is one thing that will truly reach capacity, unlike the drudge that was the PS3 Australia launch (I love Xbox360, BTW).

We all have our escapisms, it's just that some choose to become addicted to escapism. If it's not a book, it's a movement. If it's not a movement, it's a drug. If it's not a drug, its the internet. If you're reading this, get outside.

'Ello, (Real) World

Aaron Roach
Tags