You can almost feel the excitement building across the English speaking world. The last instalment of J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter series of books is due in the bookshops on the 12th July, and I'm just as excited as anyone else. I can't wait to read the last exploits of the young wizard, although I do feel some concern about his formal education. It's all very well being a master of the dark arts, but these days you need to be able to put a sentence together and have a working knowledge of the basics of good nutrition, something that Hogwarts seems to have placed very little importance on.
Why is it that we all love to read or watch magical exploits? Why are we so ready to escape into another world of fantasy exploits, dragon slaying and creating a world where it is safe to live? What's so wrong with this one?
The world is a beautiful place, look around, take stock. Even challenging landscapes such as the Gobi Desert, and arid stretches of Africa have some natural beauty, and frozen mountains tower over the lowlands with magisterial grandeur, tempting those with climbing skills to conquer them and see the world from another perspective. We know that many have lost their lives whilst trying to achieve this feat, but I doubt if they would regret their chosen deaths They died looking for another perspective. And this is what the world of magic gives us, another perspective on life.
Harry Potter takes us away from all the man made squalor that many have to endure, where heavy industry blights the land with chemicals and pollution, into a green and beautiful landscape where your only foe is supernatural. You might encounter a troll or a gigantic spider, a troublesome but loveable gnome, or a giant snake who all require special skills to rid your beautiful country from their unwanted presence. Yes, Harry Potter comes from the same mould as King Arthur, St. George, Superman, Captain Picard and Philip Pullman's Lyra, they are archetypal heroes and we love them. Their prowess is etched into the collective psyche. They give us all hope that one day, because of these wonderful characters, we will wake up in Utopia or Nirvana or wherever you believe that a peaceful beautiful world exists. They do not teach us how to create this world for ourselves, a task that the human race is more than capable of completing, in fact they teach us that they can only achieve their goals because they are special, unlike their ordinary companions who need to rely on them to 'bring them through'.
This is where their message is challenging. We all have their innate powers, we are all magicians and we can all create the world in which we live. It isn't what we've been taught, and it certainly doesn't give us the wild adrenaline rushes that we've become addicted to; it does make for a healthier life.
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