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Harry Potter
Jun. 16th, 2011 10:55 amOne of the things that most impacted my life in my 20s was Harry Potter. Initially I resisted reading the books because I was in college and depressed and fucked up in all sorts of boring ways that left me entirely too cynical to approach what I thought was just a children's fairy tale. My college roommate dragged me to the movie on the premise that Alan Rickman was in it and I have to admit that's what got me in the door. Being the sort of person who often longed for some secret exit from the ordinary terrors of the world, I fell hard for the premise and started reading the books immediately. I went to buy the new books at midnight, to a convention in New Orleans, played in that RPG That Should Not Be Named at the behest of a good friend, got involved in fandom, made friends and cultivated the voices of wizards. I stayed up all night reading more than once, where I cried and laughed and shouted at the book in my hands as if I could reach right through it to the other side.
Once upon a time I had a beautiful wizard's wand, but it disappeared. It was a gift from my ex-husband and was symbolic of a lot of things so that was probably for the best. But I still miss it sometimes. It had sharp points and felt like a blade in my hand.
Following the lives of these wizards was something special for me. I may not have always liked the way Rowling did things with her characters and stories, but they gave me many gifts. When the final book came out, it was bittersweet. I found myself missing those long years between books that we filled with endless speculation and fanfiction. Now there's a theme park and the final movie is coming out in a month and I have that same bittersweet feeling. I've never been nostalgic for my teen years or high school, but I am for those years when it was still in the middle and we didn't know how it would all play out. I miss that boundless sense of energy and possibility, before we knew what happened.
All this rambling is to say that I caved and bought a ticket to the Alamo's Harry Potter-a-thon for next month. I'm going to the theater at 4am, where I'm going to watch every movie in order up to the midnight premiere of the final one. Every. One. It's crazy. But it also seems wonderful, and a once in a lifetime sort of thing. I wish I could pack that theater with all my fandom friends. I'll drink serious quantities of butterbeer for you.
Once upon a time I had a beautiful wizard's wand, but it disappeared. It was a gift from my ex-husband and was symbolic of a lot of things so that was probably for the best. But I still miss it sometimes. It had sharp points and felt like a blade in my hand.
Following the lives of these wizards was something special for me. I may not have always liked the way Rowling did things with her characters and stories, but they gave me many gifts. When the final book came out, it was bittersweet. I found myself missing those long years between books that we filled with endless speculation and fanfiction. Now there's a theme park and the final movie is coming out in a month and I have that same bittersweet feeling. I've never been nostalgic for my teen years or high school, but I am for those years when it was still in the middle and we didn't know how it would all play out. I miss that boundless sense of energy and possibility, before we knew what happened.
All this rambling is to say that I caved and bought a ticket to the Alamo's Harry Potter-a-thon for next month. I'm going to the theater at 4am, where I'm going to watch every movie in order up to the midnight premiere of the final one. Every. One. It's crazy. But it also seems wonderful, and a once in a lifetime sort of thing. I wish I could pack that theater with all my fandom friends. I'll drink serious quantities of butterbeer for you.
