Harry Potter and the Cheated Readers

[Wyldfire]

Originally posted by MetalFortress
Agreed with all said by Wyld. Pook comes off in this thread as a book snob and a misogynist. Honestly, I like almost all of what else he writes, but this was just moronic.

I've noticed as of late that Pook has become too embroiled in picking apart and analyzing feminism. This often happens to men who learn about the very bad and nasty side of feminism and how it truly can affect men. The frustration and anger leads to these guys examining everything and getting into the bad habit of attributing everything they find fault in to feminism and some evil, underhanded plot. This is why even though I have a lot of disgust with where feminism has gone, I try to step in and talk sense into any guys who are going overboard and harming themselves from it all. I really think that Pook is at a point where he's looking for something...anything to blame on feminism. That's not a very healthy place for him (or anyone) to be. If you really want to blame someone or something for everything you believe is wrong in the world, you're going to be able to find some little tiny thing to hone in on and blow way out of proportion. I think Pook has crossed the line between a healthy concern and awareness to a very unhealthy and self-destructive obsession. That really makes me sad because he's a very intelligent man who, if he continues, is going to drive himself mad.

 

[JSH]

Originally posted by Coolage
how about catcher in the rye? There are so many classics that would be better to read.

I am not too impressed with today's fiction

Catcher in the RYE is interesting and quite cool, but I wouldnt class it as Great World Literature. I way prefer the Aeneid, Iliad or the Odyssey, or even the Great Gatsby.

Do you know what is really amusing. Her original books were not at all noticed. I had read and I must say, quite enjoyed her first two books, until the third was nominated for some prize. It was being on the short list (or winning) this prize that kicked off the big craze about it, as it was a simple book that people could pick up and read, yet say that they had read a . . . nominated book. From there, the writing has gone downhill.

If the books were really so amazing and so loved by children, wouldnt the first two books have become bigger hits than they originlly were.

 

[Blue Phoenix]

Originally posted by DJDamage
All that being said, you could have come up with something more cleaver to discredit someone else's work, in order to defend your beloved penkitten.

Maybe that's why InsultingCasanova is not a moderator anymore?

I have to say that this debate is useless, at least for me. It's just that, Pook Vs the others. Anyway, as Pook said I also don't watch Tv anymore. The internet has become the way I get all the info I want and I am able to choose what I WANT to see. Those programmes on tv suck!

Long live the internet. :cheer:

Btw, I wonder what happened to my "Tyler's gay line" post. It was deleted all of a sudden!

 

[Big Eee Zee]

pook, i agree. there is a problem with the world today. People figure that reading a high-school (or even middle-school) level book somehow constitutes an intellectual achievement. Harry potter is in itself not a bad book, (albiet a simple one). The problem is it is so popular people think of it as a standard for pieces of literature. This book is so far below the level of actual literature i isn't fathomable.

The intellectual level of society is dropping like a rock. Books are becoming simple and inoffensive, movies are becoming totally generic and predictable, music is becoming prepacaged and formatted etc. I actually believe that the intelligence of the average person is falling as well.

Not a good state of affairs...


edit-i disagree with what you said about the sci-fi tho. Those books you used as examples of bad literature are great! Issac assimov was an amazing writer. These books might seem cute, uninformed and cliche/stupid by todays standards, but hell they were written in the 30s! they are good literature, and if nothing else a window into another time and place in the world.


HP isn't what is ruining todays society, pop-culture is. It is a cancer of the planet, as is everything associated with it.

 

[Giovanni Casanova]

Originally posted by Blue Phoenix
Maybe that's why InsultingCasanova is not a moderator anymore?

Unless you wear a foam helmet and drool all over yourself, there's simply no reason why you can't come up with something a little more clever than "InsultingCasanova".

Oh, and to answer your question, I decided not to be a moderator anymore because I was sick of all the whiny-assed p*ssies crying all the time, but you're still at it.

 

[TheDarkSaint]

Such is the cost of a liberal arts education. The more we try to cram into
students heads and the more students we have to cram that information into,
the more generic and plain it becomes.

The average high schooler is doing easier work than the 8th grader of 100 years
ago. However, they are taking more subjects and have a much broader world view than their peers in the early 1900's.

The large classics that are bemoaned by intellectuals as forgotten by todays
youth take time, effort and training to understand. 100 years ago, the only
families that had all three of those were rich and could afford expensive
tutors.

In all honesty, a very small percentage of the educated population is considerd
well read anyway; be it today or 100 years ago. The pulp that is found today
to be so crass and banal is just as mundane as the pulp that was a best seller
100 years ago.

 

[S-lemond]

hey is there going to be a new movie?

 

[S-lemond]

i mean i dont really like harry potter, but alot of ppl i know do

 

[penkitten]

Originally posted by E_ze05
i mean i dont really like harry potter, but alot of ppl i know do

www.gobletoffire.com
i think that is the link to the 4th movie which should come out in a month.

 

[diplomatic_lies]

I don't get the appeal of Harry Potter. Its basically about a bunch of 10-year-old wizards with british accents casting spells.

 

[blackbirdbeatle]

It's not 10 yo's, they started the series in Grade 7 I think and most of the characters are adults anyway. Like it probably has been said, it is a childrens book and the fact that adults are reading it as well doesn't mean that the books have to get smarter, that would be abandoning the audience that propelled the books to thier fame, the pre teens.

I think the world she created is really great and I'm sure wizards and duels are more entertaining for children than a complex book about the human condition. The fact that kids are reading again makes me happy, hell with the crap out now on TV and all the time they can waste on video games and MSN, I'm pleasantly surprised that reading has kept up.

 

[I_Only_Live_Once]

I agree with Pook, this Harry Potter nonsense is idioitic. The only people who like Harry Potter books are people who are not well read. Not including children, the vast majority of people who like Harry Potter are females. This has to do with the fact that they have no lives and need something easily consumable. Harry Potter to books & movies, is like McDonalds is to food, Britney Spears is to music, or The Apprentice is to TV. It's an easily digestible facade. Ask yourself this question: why is the vast majority of harry potter fans (not including little kids) women? Here's a hint, it's the same reason that women find it exciting to go shoe shopping or read magazines on teen idols and celebrity gossip.

 

[Wyldfire]

Originally posted by I_Only_Live_Once
The only people who like Harry Potter books are people who are not well read. Not including children, the vast majority of people who like Harry Potter are females.

That's simply not true. My son is a bit of a book snob. He's been an avid reader as long as he has been reading. He's also most likely a genius. He went to a private elementary school and had completed their curriculum all through the 8th grade by the time he finished the 6th grade. If he had of stayed in that school they would have had to develop new curriculum just for him. He loves Harry Potter books and movies. My other son hates to read but has read most of the Harry Potter Books. Our whole family likes the books and movies very much.

This has to do with the fact that they have no lives and need something easily consumable. Harry Potter to books & movies, is like McDonalds is to food, Britney Spears is to music, or The Apprentice is to TV. It's an easily digestible facade. Ask yourself this question: why is the vast majority of harry potter fans (not including little kids) women? Here's a hint, it's the same reason that women find it exciting to go shoe shopping or read magazines on teen idols and celebrity gossip.

Just as many men like Harry Potter as women do. JK Rowlings isn't a particularly great writer...but she is about the best story teller the modern world has ever seen. It's not her writing that has made Harry Potter so successful...it's her storytelling that has.

Some books were meant to make you think and analyze what was wriiten, looking for hidden and subtle clues and connecting them together to find the deeper meaning and message. And some books simply tell a story to be enjoyed. Both types of books have their own place. If you don't like one type...then don't read it. But you don't have to piss all over something you don't like and try to discourage others from enjoying it.

 

[Alicorn]

Why was this sticked?

Necro-surf's up!

 

[I_Only_Live_Once]

Originally posted by Wyldfire
Our whole family likes the books and movies very much.

Yes you like them, your kids like them, but I'm willing to bet that their father doesn't.

Just as many men like Harry Potter as women do. JK Rowlings isn't a particularly great writer...but she is about the best story teller the modern world has ever seen. It's not her writing that has made Harry Potter so successful...it's her storytelling that has.

No, women like it a lot more. Just look at any book signing that JK Rowlings does, and not including kids, it's almost all women. Go to online websites like myspace or friendster, and you'll notice a lot of girls like HP but rarely any guys do. I'm not saying that no guys read it, I'm just saying on average. I'm sure there are guys who watch Oprah and the Tyra Banks show and Ellen Degeneres show, but it's mostly women.

 

[Wyldfire]

Originally posted by I_Only_Live_Once
Yes you like them, your kids like them, but I'm willing to bet that their father doesn't.

My ex husband doesn't read any books, so he doesn't count. He likes the movies, though.

My 5 year old's father likes Harry Potter movies. He isn't much of a reader, either.

The genre is fantasy/sci fi...which is predominantly a male genre. The Harry Potter series just has a crossover appeal and is liked by women and girls as well as men and boys.

And women stand in line at malls and stores for signings because women shop more. It doesn't matter what author is signing...more women than men will be there because women shop more and spend more time in stores than men do.

I remember going to Borders to buy the last Harry Potter book. There were just as many men as there were women there buying it...which is actually kind of unusual.

Ironically, I find more often than not that the people who are anti-Harry Potter usually haven't even read any of the books.

As I mentioned before...JK Rowlings isn't that great of a writer...but she's a great story teller. She does a great job with imagery and holding the reader's attention. Men enjoy those things in a book just as much as women do.

 

[thederekeffect1]

Originally posted by Wyldfire
My ex husband doesn't read any books, so he doesn't count. He likes the movies, though.

My 5 year old's father likes Harry Potter movies. He isn't much of a reader, either.

The genre is fantasy/sci fi...which is predominantly a male genre. The Harry Potter series just has a crossover appeal and is liked by women and girls as well as men and boys.

And women stand in line at malls and stores for signings because women shop more. It doesn't matter what author is signing...more women than men will be there because women shop more and spend more time in stores than men do.

I remember going to Borders to buy the last Harry Potter book. There were just as many men as there were women there buying it...which is actually kind of unusual.

Ironically, I find more often than not that the people who are anti-Harry Potter usually haven't even read any of the books.

As I mentioned before...JK Rowlings isn't that great of a writer...but she's a great story teller. She does a great job with imagery and holding the reader's attention. Men enjoy those things in a book just as much as women do.

*Sits cross-legged in the middle of the floor* Please start another post off with your ex-husband or your current husband. I know more about your personal life than I know about my own.

 

[Page]

I've read the books up to the fourth one, I think. Not bad, but not exceptional, either.

 

[Crowes]

Originally posted by Alicorn
Why was this sticked?

Because Pook is Allen Thompson, that is why. I just broke one of those dreaded 'nevers' didn't I Allen. Sorry. I took my shot too. On the chin.

 

[wootapotky]

Who's Allen Thompson?