A little over six months ago, the legend that is the Harry Potter movie series came to a close with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Tons of fans, including myself, crowded movie theaters for the midnight showing and continued to see the film over the next several weeks.
For me, it was my first time attending a midnight release. I didn't become a big fan of the series until I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and some of the movies had already been released before I'd even read the books.
So I can only imagine how it must've felt for those dedicated fans who had grown up with Harry. Those who read the series and watched the films as they were coming out and stayed with it, from "Yer a wizard, Harry," to "All was well." It must've been so much more emotional for those people than it was for me.
And now that all the books have been published, all the movies have been released? What is a Potterhead to do?
It might be time to move on while still keeping the magic alive.
It seems that the stars of the Harry Potter films have already managed to move on. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter in the movies) has been busy between his new soon-to-be-released film The Woman in Black, performing on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and appearing on television shows such as Saturday Night Live. Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) recently acted in the movie My Week With Marilyn. Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) also has a film being released soon, Into the White.
Even though Harry Potter may have ended, though, it seems that it will never truly be over for its fans. The books will always be around to read, the movies will always be there to watch. I'm sure some people still discuss and debate the different aspects of Harry Potter. Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and websites continue to have fun with the fandom. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park is open for people to visit.
After all, as Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling once said, "Whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home."
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
A Review of Pottermore
A long time ago, I believe it was nearly six months, Potterheads around the world tried desperately to gain access to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's newest project: a website known as Pottermore. One million people would get into a beta version of the site, and it would open to the public in October.
The public release hasn't happened yet.
Thanks to a friend, I was one of those lucky million people to get an early Pottermore account. But if you're one of those who hasn't gotten in yet, you're really not missing much.
In case you don't know, Pottermore is a website in which you go through each chapter of the books (though I think only the first book has been opened so far) and see a scene from each chapter. You can read material about the characters, places, animals, etc. as well as some material J.K. Rowling wrote but didn't publish.
There are some exciting things on Pottermore, such as potion making and the recently opened wizard dueling. I haven't done much potion brewing yet, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to cast spells, but they both seem very interesting. Reading the new, more in-depth material by Ms. Rowling herself that wasn't published in the books is also pretty cool. I enjoyed choosing a wand and getting Sorted near the beginning of the Pottermore experience as well.
However, other than the activities mentioned in the previous paragraph, Pottermore doesn't seem to be as interactive as I expected it would be. There isn't much to do in the chapters other than look at the scene and pick up objects whose purpose isn't really clear.
Also, as I said earlier, Pottermore has not been released to people other than beta users, even though it was supposed to be out in October. I'm sure there is a perfectly good reason for this, such as that the glitches on the site were more numerous or more difficult to fix than expected, but it doesn't seem fair to the fans that have been waiting for months now for access.
Hopefully there is still more to come from Pottermore. It sounded like a great idea when it was first mentioned, and I'm hoping that more will be added to the site. Overall, I think Pottermore is a site worth checking out (when you are able to), but there could be more done with it to make it a more interactive and exciting experience.
What are your thoughts on Pottermore? If you're a beta user, what do you think of the site? And if you're not, does this opinion piece make you feel better about not having an account yet? Post comments and let me know!
The public release hasn't happened yet.
Thanks to a friend, I was one of those lucky million people to get an early Pottermore account. But if you're one of those who hasn't gotten in yet, you're really not missing much.
In case you don't know, Pottermore is a website in which you go through each chapter of the books (though I think only the first book has been opened so far) and see a scene from each chapter. You can read material about the characters, places, animals, etc. as well as some material J.K. Rowling wrote but didn't publish.
There are some exciting things on Pottermore, such as potion making and the recently opened wizard dueling. I haven't done much potion brewing yet, and I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to cast spells, but they both seem very interesting. Reading the new, more in-depth material by Ms. Rowling herself that wasn't published in the books is also pretty cool. I enjoyed choosing a wand and getting Sorted near the beginning of the Pottermore experience as well.
However, other than the activities mentioned in the previous paragraph, Pottermore doesn't seem to be as interactive as I expected it would be. There isn't much to do in the chapters other than look at the scene and pick up objects whose purpose isn't really clear.
Also, as I said earlier, Pottermore has not been released to people other than beta users, even though it was supposed to be out in October. I'm sure there is a perfectly good reason for this, such as that the glitches on the site were more numerous or more difficult to fix than expected, but it doesn't seem fair to the fans that have been waiting for months now for access.
Hopefully there is still more to come from Pottermore. It sounded like a great idea when it was first mentioned, and I'm hoping that more will be added to the site. Overall, I think Pottermore is a site worth checking out (when you are able to), but there could be more done with it to make it a more interactive and exciting experience.
What are your thoughts on Pottermore? If you're a beta user, what do you think of the site? And if you're not, does this opinion piece make you feel better about not having an account yet? Post comments and let me know!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Welcome to my Blog!
Hello, and welcome to "Thoughts of a High School Potterhead"! My name is Melissa, and I am currently a high school freshman. I created this Harry Potter blog for my journalism class at school. I chose to write about Harry Potter because it is a great interest of mine (I am a proud Hufflepuff!). I read the books but didn't become a big fan until I saw the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Now, I've seen all the movies in addition to reading the books, admin a Harry Potter Facebook page, have a Pottermore account, and own a wand set and a Pygmy Puff. I hope you enjoy my blog, and please remember that my own personal opinions may be expressed on this page.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)