well, by now we've all had the chance to see that the last Harry Potter movie is out.
i don't know about you, but i cried through almost the whole thing. it was absolutely astounding.
bear in mind that i'm not a movie crier. it takes a certain savoir faire to make me shed tears over a movie. Harry did it, though. mayyyybe it was the fact that i was pms'ing like no one's business, but i really found the whole movie to be deeply moving and emotional.
firstly, i didn't go to see it opening night. i wasn't brave enough to wait 3 hours in a line with fanatics who might attempt a spell or throw their Bott's beans at me. i also found it slightly ridiculous, the things people said about it. let me share some of my favorites:
there were also a surmountable amount of spoilers posted. anyway, point is that i blew all of them off as rubbish. nonsense. all in all, i didn't think i would come close to the experience that everyone else had. boy, was i wrong.
from the opening scene i felt like i was going to cry. i finally gave in three quarters of the way.
really, it's not because the movie was sad. don't think that. the reason i cried was because i felt like a piece of my generation, a part which helped define so many people, ended right before my eyes. there's not going to be a "next movie." it's quite possibly one of the strangest feelings i've ever gotten, but it was overwhelming.
i remember when the first book came out. i was in the second grade. my mom forbade me to read them, which made me so curious i couldn't stand it. my best friend at the time had a copy, and she lent it to me during the school day so i could keep it a secret from my mom. we acted like it was the most confidential piece of government documents, only passing it from one person to another when we were sure no one could see us. in my second grade mind, my mother was magical and possessed the ability to peer into my life at any moment and know when i did something bad. (usually she just found out because i'm a terrible liar, but still.)
there was something about Harry that i instinctively liked. i'm pretty sure it was because he was always headed into some new adventure, with friends that would never leave his side. i was the introverted, bookish type who didn't have a ton of friends, and in the second grade, i definitely didn't have many adventures outside of the ones i made up. Hogwarts became, for me, something i could latch my imagination onto and live vicariously through Harry for a bit. i didn't get to read any more of the series for several years, and even then i couldn't read past book five. (that's another story altogether.) but the point is that i, like so many people, remember Harry Potter as a distinctively vivid bright spot in their childhood. my generation grew up with this kid. we laughed when he laughed, cried when he cried, and felt every victory or defeat he ever had. even if you didn't follow him avidly, you couldn't help but hear about him.
i remember when i was eleven i waited for my owl with an acceptance letter to come. i was really, truly shocked when it didn't.
when i watched that last movie, i felt like i was watching a piece of my childhood fall away into the past somewhere. in that moment, being "grown up" sucked. big time. for the first time, i was acutely aware of the past versus the present, and now i understand where all those statuses came from.
except maybe the one about the butterbeer and pancakes.
for what it's worth, i salute you, Potter. this fist pump is for you.
i don't know about you, but i cried through almost the whole thing. it was absolutely astounding.
bear in mind that i'm not a movie crier. it takes a certain savoir faire to make me shed tears over a movie. Harry did it, though. mayyyybe it was the fact that i was pms'ing like no one's business, but i really found the whole movie to be deeply moving and emotional.
firstly, i didn't go to see it opening night. i wasn't brave enough to wait 3 hours in a line with fanatics who might attempt a spell or throw their Bott's beans at me. i also found it slightly ridiculous, the things people said about it. let me share some of my favorites:
"Comparing Twilight to Harry Potter is like comparing Rebecca Black to the Beatles."
"Butterbeer and a big pancake breakfast doesn't mix lol "
"My childhood ends in a few hours. Just leave my body in the theaters please."
"Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend."
"So just got back from Deathly Hallows Part 2 and it was epic they changed sooooo much stuff but still good and nothing was really left out so all good :) (like Ron and Hermione's kiss better in the book though it was good in the movie I'm just sayin lol"breathe.
there were also a surmountable amount of spoilers posted. anyway, point is that i blew all of them off as rubbish. nonsense. all in all, i didn't think i would come close to the experience that everyone else had. boy, was i wrong.
from the opening scene i felt like i was going to cry. i finally gave in three quarters of the way.
really, it's not because the movie was sad. don't think that. the reason i cried was because i felt like a piece of my generation, a part which helped define so many people, ended right before my eyes. there's not going to be a "next movie." it's quite possibly one of the strangest feelings i've ever gotten, but it was overwhelming.
i remember when the first book came out. i was in the second grade. my mom forbade me to read them, which made me so curious i couldn't stand it. my best friend at the time had a copy, and she lent it to me during the school day so i could keep it a secret from my mom. we acted like it was the most confidential piece of government documents, only passing it from one person to another when we were sure no one could see us. in my second grade mind, my mother was magical and possessed the ability to peer into my life at any moment and know when i did something bad. (usually she just found out because i'm a terrible liar, but still.)
there was something about Harry that i instinctively liked. i'm pretty sure it was because he was always headed into some new adventure, with friends that would never leave his side. i was the introverted, bookish type who didn't have a ton of friends, and in the second grade, i definitely didn't have many adventures outside of the ones i made up. Hogwarts became, for me, something i could latch my imagination onto and live vicariously through Harry for a bit. i didn't get to read any more of the series for several years, and even then i couldn't read past book five. (that's another story altogether.) but the point is that i, like so many people, remember Harry Potter as a distinctively vivid bright spot in their childhood. my generation grew up with this kid. we laughed when he laughed, cried when he cried, and felt every victory or defeat he ever had. even if you didn't follow him avidly, you couldn't help but hear about him.
i remember when i was eleven i waited for my owl with an acceptance letter to come. i was really, truly shocked when it didn't.
when i watched that last movie, i felt like i was watching a piece of my childhood fall away into the past somewhere. in that moment, being "grown up" sucked. big time. for the first time, i was acutely aware of the past versus the present, and now i understand where all those statuses came from.
except maybe the one about the butterbeer and pancakes.
for what it's worth, i salute you, Potter. this fist pump is for you.
Song of the Day: "Magic (University A Cappella Version)" by Ben Folds
P.S. i didn't like the fact that they showed Harry's kids after Harry was all grown up. BOO.
P.P.S my mom just re-reminded me that when i wasn't allowed to read Harry Potter, my grandmother had gotten me a first-edition copy of the whole series. yeah, go ahead and cry with me.
P.P.P.S. i still don't own any of the books. that's almost as sad. if you want to donate a book or two, i won't object. :)
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