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Harry Potter

Started by Nadir, November 29, 2009, 05:40:28 AM

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Nadir

Mmmmnf. I realised this morning that I hate the Harry Potter series more than I could ever hate Twilight.

Oh, it's a marvellous series. I still love it, but that only makes me more annoyed.

Why? Because all the heroes (but one two, mustn't forget R.A.B after all) are Grifindor, and all the baddies are Slitherin. I hate it because of that. It is so contrived and so shallow, it disgusts me. It shouldn't be that way. There should be more good souls in Slitherin, and more conniving ones in Grifindor. And wtf is the deal with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw getting ignored for the majority of the series? All the houses are awesome.

The books would be so effing awesome if Harry had been sorted into Slitherin. Made friends in that house. Had to be held accountable for his fuck-ups by Snape.

UGH.

Back in the Marauder's day, that was more like it. With the baddest bullies in the more noble of the houses, and the biggest hero in Slitherin. Damnit, JK, you wrote about the wrong era.





So, anyone else have rage for HP? Even if you love it, there has to be something that niggles at you. Oh, and the best parts, I want to know those, too.

Serephino

I guess you have a point about the whole Houses thing.  But one House has to be the evil one right?  Though, yes, the other Houses were ignored.  Why bother having them at all?

Me, I hate the way the whole thing was written starting at the end of book 5.  Book 7 made me want to shoot her!  All the killing off people and the plot holes you could drive a train through....  *grumbles*  I still don't get the Elder wand thing.  It made absolutely no fricken sense. 

The series was good until Sirius died.  Why?  WHY???  This is why I write fan fiction.  I fix what she screwed up.  I know you can't please everybody, but the majority weren't happy with book 7.   


GothicFires

Rowlings is a mediocre writer with a really good idea. She could have done so much better. Many people here could do alot better with the same idea. I was fine reading the first 3 books but after that i had to force myself to finish the series.  I even got rid of my books after acquiring a digital copy because they take up space and I can't ever see myself reading them again.
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Brandon

I too have a seething hatred for Harry Potter (if you are a HP fanboy I suggest you stop reading here). Not because of the writing or story, though I could easily rip on that, but because there isnt anything new or original outside of Quittage (I think thats the name of the game). I can draw a huge number of camparisons to Mage: the awakening and most of them are poorly done at that.

Harry Potter is more or less Awakening with Atlantian orders turned into Houses, and wizards being born into power rather then going through a metaphysical experience that exposes them to the darkest reaches of their soul as well as a nightmarish world outside of human understanding. Hogwarts is just a Mysterium academy established for new mages of all orders. It still has the idea of Power corrupts, and of a secret society hidden away from the eyes of mortals, but the most laughable part to me is its become X-men with magicians replacing mutants. Compare Philosophys of the last movies and Voldimort is magneto and Harry is Xavier fighting over whos going to control the normal humans/muggle.

Dont get me wrong now, X-men has a great premise of story, philosophy and what I really means to be human without being fully human but did we really need that copy and pasted over to a bland series with mediocre writing and poorly thought out story?
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Risa

Whatever other people might say, I think JK Rowling is a wonderful writer, much better than Stephanie Meyer, and I'm not going to go into rants about comparing the two, because I could go on for ages.

Now, yes, there are those few things that irk me about Harry Potter. But not *all* the bad guys are in Slytherin, and all the good guys are in Gryffindor. Look at Severus Snape. Look at Peter Pettigrew. These are the obvious exceptions in the rule. And there are tons of people in each house, surely you can't expect every single Slytherin to be "evil", although that's how it looks because a lot of them stand out to be such.

I agree, I wish there was more balance between the houses, but when it comes right down to it, that's kind of the whole point of Harry Potter, isn't it? The unbalance between the houses, and trying to get them together by creating unity. I think the books are fine as they are.

Nadir

Both Snape and Wormtail were students during the Marauder's era, and I do say that that is the era that shows the most promise as a readable series.

As for the books being about creating unity, let me insert my derisive laugh here - the last book ends with Harry saying something like his kid had better not be a Slitherin. They haven't come far in the way of unity.  I am saying, the series would have had a lot of more dynamic, a lot more realistic and a lot more entertaining had Harry been sorted into Slitherin. He has just as many Slitherin traits as Griffindor. 

MasterMischief

I have enjoyed the movies.  I tried to read the first book and after 50 pages of Rowling telling me how awful the Dursleys were, I gave up.

Seriously.  I get it.  They are mean.  Can we move the plot along now?

Serephino

That's another thing that annoyed me.  She had a way of going on and on....  I've been re reading the books for my fan fiction to keep everything straight, and I swear some chapters are like 27 pages long and hardly anything happens.  Right now I'm toward the end of book 6, and I swear Slughorn's Christmas party took up 2 chapters and nearly 20 pages....  But now that I'm toward the end where all the real action is happening the chapters are short, though Harry talking with Professor Trewlaney took up 3 or 4 pages. 

Book 7 was worse with the never ending camping trip.  I appreciate character development, but sheesh...

Nadir

I can't remember much of book 7...

Inkidu

The house thing was established way back in book one. However, not all of the bad house are bad guys. Snape wasn't. (As much as I hate to admit it.) The thing you have to realize is there's so much about the Harry Potter universe you're never going to see. It's focused on the life and actions of one boy.

Plus though the series moved on, it was set up as young-reader fiction, and the simple plots were nice. Having grown up on them. I mean look at Beowulf. It's just an epic. It's very straightforward. Honestly I find a lot of young reader fiction is pretty damn good. Most adult writers are too busy wrapped up in trying to be adult.

Rowling gets her praise from me for being competent. So many people have plot holes you could fly a 747 through. Myself included. (More like a singularity smashing black freaking hole.) Rowling has none. I saw the volumes of her notes. They're eclectic to say the least. Much like Dickens she wraps things up. It might not be the way readers like it but its done.

As for originality. Gee, I thought a wizard prep-school was original, however, I'm a firm believer in the fact that once a person admits that they will never write anything original. Only then, can they even fathom writing a book.

"Books serve the purpose of showing us how unoriginal our original ideas truly are." Abraham Lincoln.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Sabby

#10
I'm interested in hearing these plot holes... my only complaint was parts of 7 seemed rushed as hell ("Hey! We got the Horcrux!" "THENX!") and Voldemort was an absolute pussy...

seriously, making Neville stay still and lighting his hair on fire? I thought he was the Wizarding worlds Hitler o.o he's not guna control his mind to make him dance while shooting off his toes one by one? Hell, he's a mudblood, isn't he? He should have had a thousand tiny snake eggs magicked under his skin to hatch and grow into adult vipers, ripping him to pieces from the inside.

But no, lets just light his hair on fire...

Nadir

I can think of one massive plot hole from the top of my head - the Chamber of secrets was built 1000 years ago. Indoor plumbing? Not in England until the Victorian (or Georgian) times.

Oniya

Maybe the girls' bathroom was installed well after the chamber was built?
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Nadir

Then who set the magic to open by parseltongue command? And what reason would the plumbers have to lay pipes large enough to allow a basilisk free movement?

TheWriter

#14
Quote from: Sabby the lil Xmas Leopard on December 13, 2009, 10:07:15 PM
seriously, making Neville stay still and lighting his hair on fire? I thought he was the Wizarding worlds Hitler o.o he's not guna control his mind to make him dance while shooting off his toes one by one? Hell, he's a mudblood, isn't he? He should have had a thousand tiny snake eggs magicked under his skin to hatch and grow into adult vipers, ripping him to pieces from the inside.  But no, lets just light his hair on fire...
He pulled the Sorting Hat down over his head, and lit it on fire.  It's a small wonder Neville still has a face; if you ask me, that's pretty vicious.  And Neville's a pureblood.

Quote from: Eden on November 29, 2009, 05:40:28 AM
Why? Because all the heroes (but one two, mustn't forget R.A.B after all) are Grifindor, and all the baddies are Slitherin. I hate it because of that. It is so contrived and so shallow, it disgusts me. It shouldn't be that way. There should be more good souls in Slitherin, and more conniving ones in Grifindor. And wtf is the deal with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw getting ignored for the majority of the series? All the houses are awesome.
It's something I never noticed.  That said, Luna Lovegood wasn't Gryffindor, albeit a minor hero. 

It would've been better for all three mains to be in different houses, I agree.  But still be friends; their friendship started before they all got dumped into Gryffindor after all.  It'd also make for a lot of interesting social problems amongst the heroes, the Weasleys coming to terms with Ron/Ginny befriending a heathen Slytherin for instance.

Inkidu

Quote from: Eden on December 13, 2009, 11:21:10 PM
Then who set the magic to open by parseltongue command? And what reason would the plumbers have to lay pipes large enough to allow a basilisk free movement?
The Castles often have ancient sewage systems of sorts. It could have easily been remodeled later. There are quite a few obvious answers for it. It's not so much a plot hole as one never gets to see her notes.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

dorthyinwonder

To me, part of what makes the reader able to relate to the story is the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin plot. It also gives the lesson to not judge people based on their associations and your prejudices. Its a lesson that transcends time, if you think about it. And honestly, Harry's comment to his son about being sorted into Slytherin was obviously a joke. If I'm not mistaken, he actually explains that one of his son's namesake was in Slytherin, so that the fact that he were sorted into Slytherin wouldn't be any true indication as to what type of person his son is. I'd have to re-read that (and that was actually one of my least favorite parts of the book).

Furthermore, in the Order of the Phoenix book, a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff betray Dumbledore's Army, if I'm not mistaken. Dumbledore's Army is an illustration of the unity that occurred in Hogwarts - the unity was done by choice and the Slytherins chose not to associate themselves with the other houses.

The series also shows why some of these people and families chose the paths they did. The Malfoy's were scared to go against Voldormort while Bellatrix actually worshiped him. Fenir Greyback saw him as a means to gain rank and, possibly, use the fear of Fenir and the werewolves to spur a social reform regarding the werewolves (i.e. using their intimidation to Voldormort's benefit which, in turn, allow the werewolves to use their status with Voldormort to gain acceptance - at least that's why I felt he worked with voldormort).

Its quite literally a magical World War 2 - Voldormort being Hilter and the Slytherin house being the Germans which are taught by not only their families (if they consider, like the Blacks or Malfoys, being in Slytherin a badge of Honor) but their schoolmates (the natural fear and hate of Slytherins feeding the Slytherins' dislike and hate of the other houses and natural rivalry of Gryffindor vs. Slytherin). This leads the Slytherins to turn toward Voldormort as soon as they are capable of working in his regime.

I find the lack of true unity between the houses, specifically Slytherin and Gryffindor, necessary.

I'd probably have a lot more to say, but I can't think of it right now and will just end it here. :)

Serephino

What gets me is Harry only ever casting the disarming spell at Voldemort.  What did he planned to do once the evil wizard was disarmed, tickle him to death?  All those deaths, Harry using the other two unforgivables, him knowing he has to kill Voldemort, Voldemort trying to kill him, and Harry only ever tried to disarm him?  WTF???

And Dobby's death....  House elves are supposed to be very powerful creatures that just happen to be enslaved.  Hermione went on and on about it in the 4th book, but he gets killed by a kitchen knife thrown at Harry that should've gone over his head.

When talking about James Potter, in the first book the plaque Hermione shows Harry has his dad as a Seeker.  When he sees the memory in book 5 his dad is playing with a Snitch.  But in other places it mentions him as a Chaser.  That is written right in the Lexicon. 

There was also a site that pointed out a ton of plot holes and contradictions.  Maybe I'll have to go see if I can find it again. 

dorthyinwonder

Quote from: Sparkling Angel on December 14, 2009, 09:08:21 PM
What gets me is Harry only ever casting the disarming spell at Voldemort.  What did he planned to do once the evil wizard was disarmed, tickle him to death?  All those deaths, Harry using the other two unforgivables, him knowing he has to kill Voldemort, Voldemort trying to kill him, and Harry only ever tried to disarm him?  WTF???

And Dobby's death....  House elves are supposed to be very powerful creatures that just happen to be enslaved.  Hermione went on and on about it in the 4th book, but he gets killed by a kitchen knife thrown at Harry that should've gone over his head.

When talking about James Potter, in the first book the plaque Hermione shows Harry has his dad as a Seeker.  When he sees the memory in book 5 his dad is playing with a Snitch.  But in other places it mentions him as a Chaser.  That is written right in the Lexicon. 

There was also a site that pointed out a ton of plot holes and contradictions.  Maybe I'll have to go see if I can find it again. 


Please do! :) I love learning plot holes. You do have to consider this series spans 5 large books and many years of writing and planning. There are bound to be inconsistencies and plot holes somewhere along the way, but for a series of this magnitude, I think she's done a wonderful job. Do I think she's perfect? Not by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think she's done a wonderful job.

Furthermore; I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why people would care to waste their time nitpicking and griping about the Harry Potter series (and even the Twilight series) when the Eragon series is much more painful to read. Seriously?! I had to dumb myself down to read that book! How it received a Nobel Prize (or Pulitzer or whatever it received) and Bestseller, I'll NEVER know!

Oniya

Quote from: DorthyInAWinterWonderland on December 14, 2009, 09:35:52 PM
Furthermore; I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why people would care to waste their time nitpicking and griping about the Harry Potter series (and even the Twilight series) when the Eragon series is much more painful to read. Seriously?! I had to dumb myself down to read that book! How it received a Nobel Prize (or Pulitzer or whatever it received) and Bestseller, I'll NEVER know!

My personal opinion?  Eragon won the awards it got for the fact that it was written by a 16-year-old.  Everyone got all 'ooh' and 'aah' over the fact that a 16-year-old would have enough of an attention span to write something that long, they were able to overlook the fact that it's essentially Star Wars with swords and dragons.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
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Serephino

Never read Eragon so I can't comment on that.  But people always gripe about what they're unhappy about.  I liked the series, and I know no author is perfect, not even myself, but there were times in book 7 I wanted to smack her upside the head with the book.  A lot of people were unhappy with book 7.

Oniya

One thing positive that I have to say about Ms. Rowling is that she got kids excited about reading again.   I swear, it's making me a little misty right now thinking about all those kids lining up at midnight to get into a bookstore.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
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Serephino

Yeah, that was one good thing that came out of it.  That, and she gave me characters and a universe to play with.  I found the website with the mistakes and plot holes.

http://mugglenet.com/books/mistakes/index.shtml

Sabby

Quote from: Oniya on December 14, 2009, 09:51:53 PM
One thing positive that I have to say about Ms. Rowling is that she got kids excited about anarchy and satanism.   I swear, it's making me a little misty right now thinking about all those kids lining up at midnight to sacrifice virgins..[/i]

Corrected for you xD heeheehee


In all seriousness, I liked Eragon :P and Eldest. Not to repeat everyone, but... the kid deserves some credit. He was 16. I'm sure that counts for something. I couldn't write like that at his age. Hell, I can't now.

Oniya

"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17