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Harry Potter

Swifty said:
[...] Then I could have been signing autographs at Comicon as 'that bloke who sold Professor *insert whimsical name* cod loin in Harry Potter except everyone would just walk past me to get an autograph from someone who was in a few episodes of Babylon 5 instead ... Abracadabra.
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Sadly, I would be that one ... I have no love of the HP franchise and a big fan of Babylon 5. But I'd buy some cod loin off you if you had any.
 
I was moaning about the Harry Potter franchise once - stupidly assuming it was all cutesy elves and so on - to a younger relative, despite my never have seen or read any of it. He, rightly, shut me up with: "It taught me about friendship."
 
It'd be right to criticise you for moaning about something you had no experience of ... but I wouldn't need a children's book franchise to teach me about friendship. I got that by ... well ... having friendships.
 
My two cents:
I agree with MM. They are great children's fantasy books and obviously captured a generation. But then to become an adult and be fixated with them, lost in a childrens world, is worrying. To have, for example a Harry Potter themed wedding, is a strange and immature thing. It's one thing to maybe have candles suspended from the ceiling, another to have everyone dressed as school children and being married by a fake Dumbledore. That is the idea of a crazy person.

I'm fine with in general with dressing up (re-enactments, medieval fairs, D&D stuff in the forest). Whilst this is also escapism and fantasy, they are at least dressing like adults. An accountant who dresses like a warrior on the weekend and runs around the forest is easier to unpack. He may have a boring life and wants some excitement. Fine. But an accountant who dresses up and pretends to be a wizard schoolchild on the weekends is obviously an adult who wants to escape their adulthoood.

I think it's a case of Emotional Arrested Development. It seems like certain adults are relating much more to being children and are reluctant to become grown ups. I think it's escapism from their responsibilities rather than the humdrum of life.

I would like to think that it's regression but I'm not sure some adults reach the maturity stage in order to regress backwards from it. I think it's a wider issue than the wizarding world of HP. There's a lot of people playing "dressy ups" on social media/Youtube. Look how popular Marvel stuff is amongst adults. Star Wars is another one.

I think maybe people grew up faster before. Now anyone under 30 is a "young adult". A childhood used to be for children. Now it's for adults who don't want to face the real world.
 
Ringo said:
My two cents:
I agree with MM. They are great children's fantasy books and obviously captured a generation. But then to become an adult and be fixated with them, lost in a childrens world, is worrying. To have, for example a Harry Potter themed wedding, is a strange and immature thing. It's one thing to maybe have candles suspended from the ceiling, another to have everyone dressed as school children and being married by a fake Dumbledore. That is the idea of a crazy person.

I'm fine with in general with dressing up (re-enactments, medieval fairs, D&D stuff in the forest). Whilst this is also escapism and fantasy, they are at least dressing like adults. An accountant who dresses like a warrior on the weekend and runs around the forest is easier to unpack. He may have a boring life and wants some excitement. Fine. But an accountant who dresses up and pretends to be a wizard schoolchild on the weekends is obviously an adult who wants to escape their adulthoood.

I think it's a case of Emotional Arrested Development. It seems like certain adults are relating much more to being children and are reluctant to become grown ups. I think it's escapism from their responsibilities rather than the humdrum of life.

I would like to think that it's regression but I'm not sure some adults reach the maturity stage in order to regress backwards from it. I think it's a wider issue than the wizarding world of HP. There's a lot of people playing "dressy ups" on social media/Youtube. Look how popular Marvel stuff is amongst adults. Star Wars is another one.

I think maybe people grew up faster before. Now anyone under 30 is a "young adult". A childhood used to be for children. Now it's for adults who don't want to face the real world.
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You could say the same thing about the past 30 years or so with people over 30-40 buying Scooters or dressing up as 69 Skins and going to watch Madness or going all Punked up for a Dammed gig yet when that music/scenes were out in the late 70's/mid 80's a lot of missed out in the first place with settling down to early and getting mortgage's.
I got a mate who has a Stone Roses tattoo yet never went to see them when they were out first time round.
 
There's nothing wrong with fantasy/science fiction/LARPing/etc. It's harmless fun for when the real world has become too tedious, and a break from reality is needed. But to be hyper focused on any subject to the detriment of everything else is unhealthy. I might binge watch Harry Potter/Transformers/He-Man/Farscape, but that's only when I've been a Responsible Adult for a long time....
 
Swifty said:
I love Miriam Margolyes more and more every time she speaks .. she's hilarious .. (and lest we forget she was also the voice of the Cadbury Caramel bunny).

' ...fans have been sent into a frenzied meltdown on social media after Miriam Margolyes, who played Professor Pomona Sprout in the film series, told adult fans to "grow up" and get "over it".'

"I do Cameos [personalised video messages] and people say they are doing a Harry Potter-themed wedding, and I think, 'Oh gosh what is their first night of fun going to be?'"
The actress, who recently posed naked behind a stack of iced buns for a Vogue photoshoot, later told ABC News Australia that once teens are through puberty, "it's time to forget about it and go on to other things". :chuckle:


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68552815
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Can anyone think of a creature more in need of attention than (a) an actress, with (b) a book to sell?

With her first volume of autobiography currently gracing the shelves of remaindered book shops nationwide (RRP £20, but £6 at The Works), what better way to get free publicity for the second than by having a go at the work of a wildly successful author?

maximus otter
 
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Ah, but MM has jobs as an actress, with her book sales being a sideline. JKR is an author that still relies on the income from her popular franchise.
Make of that what you will.
 
Stormkhan said:
It'd be right to criticise you for moaning about something you had no experience of ... but I wouldn't need a children's book franchise to teach me about friendship. I got that by ... well ... having friendships.
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People learn vicariously from literature and drama. That's what art is for.
 
The woman I feel the most sorry for is Emma Watson. There was an actual countdown on the internet for when she became the legal age of 16 to consent to sex :puke2: .. that's seriously creepy, I'm not surprised she's a feminist these days.
 
Dinobot said:
There's nothing wrong with fantasy/science fiction/LARPing/etc. It's harmless fun for when the real world has become too tedious, and a break from reality is needed. But to be hyper focused on any subject to the detriment of everything else is unhealthy. I might binge watch Harry Potter/Transformers/He-Man/Farscape, but that's only when I've been a Responsible Adult for a long time....
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That's my take on it, too. Have some fun but do not lose yourself to a childish fantasy.

There are real children needing adult guidance, role models and mentors in a world filled with dangers, wars and real worries. They need adults to be adults. What does it say about the world when they look to Mum and Dad, who are dressed up as 11 year old wizards?
 
Ringo said:
That's my take on it, too. Have some fun but do not lose yourself to a childish fantasy.

There are real children needing adult guidance, role models and mentors in a world filled with dangers, wars and real worries. They need adults to be adults. What does it say about the world when they look to Mum and Dad, who are dressed up as 11 year old wizards?
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Ha, you've never been to Totnes then! :evillaugh:
 
maximus otter said:
Can anyone think of a creature more in need of attention than (a) an actress, with (b) a book to sell?

With her first volume of autobiography currently gracing the shelves of remaindered book shops nationwide (RRP £20, but £6 at The Works), what better way to get free publicity for the second than by having a go at the work of a wildly successful author?

maximus otter
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I'd love to read her autobiography. She's a character and a half is Margoyles .. one anecdote the Mrs told me about her was ..

.. she was driving somewhere one day when she spotted a "dashing young gentleman" so she pulled up and bluntly asked him "Would you like a blow job?". He said yes so he jumped in, they went somewhere and she sucked him off as Margs told it. She identifies as a lesbian these days. Her autobiography doesn't sound like it's going to be boring.
 
Hmmm.. just my thoughts...

I see a lot of judgemental attitudes here. It's not our place to gatekeep people's hobbies and interests. Who can say which ones are 'better' or more 'worthy' than any others?

You can't, and shouldn't, judge people's competence as adults, or parents, by what they choose to dress up as in their spare time.
 
Swifty said:
I'd love to read her autobiography. She's a character and a half is Margoyles .. one anecdote the Mrs told me about her was ..

.. she was driving somewhere one day when she spotted a "dashing young gentleman" so she pulled up and bluntly asked him "Would you like a blow job?". He said yes so he jumped in, they went somewhere and she sucked him off as Margs told it. She identifies as a lesbian these days. Her autobiography doesn't sound like it's going to be boring.
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d1844d1719a3-miriam-margolyes-t.jpg


l think that l’d have been more likely to have offered her 50p for a cup of tea, and been glad to have made a quick escape.

maximus otter
 
Fluttermoth said:
Hmmm.. just my thoughts...

I see a lot of judgemental attitudes here. It's not our place to gatekeep people's hobbies and interests. Who can say which ones are 'better' or more 'worthy' than any others?

You can't, and shouldn't, judge people's competence as adults, or parents, by what they choose to dress up as in their spare time.
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Yes, I suppose I am being judgemental but maybe not as harsh as you might believe. I don't see anything wrong with LARPing or dressing up.

You are right in that I can't judge people's competence as parents by what they chose to dress up as but I would definitely argue that their behaviour could have a negative developmental effect on their children depending upon how long they are in "character".

Play pretend should stop around 12 years old as a part of natural developement. It allows children to explore their imagination and understand the world. If a person (let's say 40 years old) is dressing up at home and "playing the same game" as their own 10 yeard old, then that is a going to affect the child's development.

I wouldn't say though that one hobby is better or more worthy than another, I have some pretty boring and niche ones which are of no help to anybody. My point is that escaping to a fantasy world is fine as long as it isn't to the detriment of those who may need you to be present in this one.
 
One factor is that when you are (what is generally assumed to be) an adult, you can make your own choices, you can decide what your hobbies or interests are.
Being involved with steampunk, I've noticed that the dressing-up is indulged in by the middle aged and later. Me included. However, from the people I've talked about it to, this is because you get to an age when "you don't care about what people think of the way you dress". I appreciate this too. I'm happy to cosplay because ... I don't give a damn about what people think of me.
However, there's a big difference between dressing up, and being absolutely 'shameless' in your 'outrageous display', and dressing up believing in the world in which you are being involved with. Escapism is great, as long as you're aware of what you are escaping from ... and you understand that at some stage, you are forced to return to reality, as shite as it is.
 
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