Longevity of Harry Potter vs. Lord of the Rings

We occasionally mention other books and authors in our Middle-earth Talk Radio discussions and Hawke recently decided to put an interesting question to fans.

He is conducting a poll on the NEW Middle-earth Radio Website, asking if you think that the Harry Potter books will enjoy a longevity similar to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings books.

You can take the poll here.

BTW -- in updating the site, Hawke was unable to port over the old user accounts. If you had an account at Middle-earth Radio you'll have to create a new one. Please don't let that inconvenience hold you back from sharing your thoughts on the show. We enjoy the feedback.

As for Harry, in my opinion they should enjoy considerable longevity. I think the story is relevant to every generation. It's not really "set in its time" (that is, the time in which it was written) so much as it is set in a "Harry Potter timeframe" much like Middle-earth is set in the Third Age.

But the story follows the experiences of a unique set of young protagonists who grow up during a very dark and frightening time. Although that in some ways reflects our world today, J.K. Rowling began writing these stories before the War on Terror became a reality.

I'd like to see how people vote in the poll, so please do so and also share the URL with your friends.


____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Harry Potter spoof trailer - "Dangerous Wands"

The College Humor site posted a spoof trailer called "Dangerous Wands", which follows Hermione Granger in her adult years into London's seedier school district for witches and wizards.

I was so impressed I added a custom VB code to SF-Fandom to allow us to hotlink to the College Humor videos (they apparently allow that). You can see the embedded video in this "Dangerous Wands" trailer thread.

I recently saw an article that quoted J.K. Rowling as saying she had mapped out the lives for the kids of Harry (and Ginny), Ron, and Hermione but that she doesn't plan to write any books about them. That's a shame, as I noted.

Then again, maybe it will spark more fan film fun like the "Dangerous Wands" spoof, which I think is a pretty good film in itself. It would actually be interesting to see the story fleshed out ala "Born of Hope" and "The Hunt For Gollum".

SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Reviewers debate literary fiction vs genre fiction in Newbery context

Children's literature devotees undoubtedly know about the John Newbery Medal, which the Association for Library Service to Children awards each year to authors of children's literature. Jonathan Hunt, a Newbery judge, has found himself invested in a back-and-forth discussion with other bloggers over how children's genre books should be judged.

Hunt seems to have lit the fire of debate by revealing he had picked The Hunger Games third on his Newbery ballot last year.

He followed up with a discussion of the differences in expectations for genre vs. mainstream fiction. Some of his comments may strike people as a little incendiary, although I don't get the impression that he is looking to make a divisive statement.

Still, Hunt concludes his analysis of literary meritocratic standards by suggesting that women seem to prefer character-driven stories while men seem to prefer plot-driven stories (some exceptions allowed in both generalizations, naturally).

I mostly like spaceships, rayguns, and complex background history. I rarely have a clue about what is going in the plot of any book I'm reading until maybe the 3rd or 4th pass through a book. And if a book cannot compel me to read it a second time the best plot in the world won't help it.

But what got my attention about the debate is the fact that the writers are discussing children's literature. If science fiction and fantasy are not going to be taken seriously because they tend to be plot-driven (not something I necessarily agree with -- Andre Norton, one of my favorite characters, sometimes came close to sacrificing plot for the sake of building interesting characters -- oh, wait, she was a woman -- darn!).

Okay, let me start over. If science fiction and fantasy are not going to be taken seriously in general when compared to literary fiction (I've never understood what that is supposed to be), then imagine how much of a disadvantage children's science fiction and fantasy must struggle with to win recognition.

Frankly, many people have commented to me they were not impressed with the first Harry Potter book. I thought it had all the elements of a great children's story and many elements of a more adult story. But I also point out that J.K. Rowling's writing seems to improve with each book. Her task undoubtedly became easier because the kids in the stories were growing up. She was able to gradually introduce them to more mature themes.

Voldemort and his cronies could become more dangerous, and more people could die, because that is what happens when you grow up. The world becomes more dangerous and more people around you die. I'm not sure if the last Harry Potter book is really a children's book, but if it is then I believe Rowling has demonstrated (as have other authors of children's fiction) that children's science fiction and fantasy can be a force within literature.

And that's really all I wanted to say.

SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Support your local Tolkien theater

I have taken it upon myself to spread the word to Tolkien fans everywhere: Let's get together and support local theatrical productions of "The Hobbit".

In this weeks Hobbit News I mentioned several local theater productions for "The Hobbit" had been announced on their local news Web sites too late to really do much good. Today is the second of two days in which cast auditions for "The Hobbit" are being held in El Paso (that is a local stage production, NOT the Guillermo del Toro movies being produced in New Zealand).

Jacksonville, FL and Savannah, GA both staged performances of "The Hobbit" in their local community or children's theater this weekend. If you live in any of these areas, did you know about these opportunities in advance?

I'm calling upon fans of J.R.R. Tolkien (and C.S. Lewis and L. Frank Baum) to put their considerable resources together to help promote community theater when it stages science fiction and fantasy plays. These productions may not be as newsworthy as the world-wide release of a new fantasy movie, but there is no reason why fans cannot come together in their local communities and help celebrate Tolkien's fiction, Lewis' fiction, or Baum's fiction with local theater groups.

If you have a Web site you can use it to share information about your local theater season. In larger U.S. cities there may be several local theater groups. You can link to their Web sites, share their press releases, interview their cast and crews, and review their productions and offer pictures of the events.

Local fan groups can set up their own activities (like fan dinners, pre-show festivities such as costume contests, etc.). Local fan groups can also volunteer to help with these productions, or schedule events to complement (rather than compete with) the productions. Local fan groups can also contact their library systems and help organize children's (or adults) programming that focuses on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, L. Frank Baum, J.K. Rowling, Madeline L'Engle, et. al.

I think the online fan community has become insular. We'll pull together to support our own events (like line parties, after-awards events, etc.) but we virtually ignore mainstream community celebrations of the authors we love. Why? I think it's important that people reach out and connect with each other without drawing lines between "fans" and "mundanes".

There is growing widespread interest in fantasy authors because of the wild success of the "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter Movies", and even the Sci Fi mini-series "Tin Man" helped revive interest in "The Wizard of Oz".

The iron is hot, and now is the time to strike, before enthusiasm for the topic cools off. Give it some thought and see what you can do to help promote your favorite authors' works in your local area.

SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.