No Village Required

So yesterday while I was at home trying to stay awake at least for a few hours at a time while simultaneously feeling wrung out, I decided to watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Partly this was motivated by curiosity, partly by the fact that it’s about the only thing HBO has on right now. No sooner does it end on one HBO channel, it’s starting on at least one other – and is about halfway through on yet a third or fourth. My choices were Harry Potter and Beverly Hills 90210 re-runs. Since I didn’t watch 90210 when it was actually on tv, I figured Harry might be a better bet.

I have a curious problem watching Harry Potter movies though – the first 15 or so minutes are usually so horrible, that I have to keep squelching the itch to flip through and make sure there’s nothing else on. I don’t know what it is, once Harry is back at Hogwarts and getting into mischief with his friends, I’m usually enthralled and enjoy myself. But those first minutes with his aunt and uncle and whatever little adventure there is getting to Hogwarts…well, they’re sometimes more than I can bear. Happily, I had already caught most of the beginning of this one and so when I picked up yesterday, I had only to gruel through his staying at the hotel and finding out that Sirius Black had escaped before movie enjoyment could begin.

Overall, I give this one, like the other 2, two hearty thumbs up (excepting of course the very beginning bits – so if we’re looking at stars I guess I’d go for 4 out of 5.) It’s an entertaining little story with enough “morality” in there that an involved parent can find it and point it out and help their kid see the pieces that are not necessarily the best. And for those who are worried that it’s teaching actual witchcraft – well, I don’t seriously think that’s an issue. The “charms” are all Latinized words – you know, add ‘atum’ or ‘iminous’ to the end of things. And again, it’s easy enough for an involved parent to help their child distinguish between fantasy and reality.

But I guess that’s the crux of the controversy surrounding Harry and his friends. It does need that parental involvement. Just like so much else in life. So sit down and read to your kids so you know, actively know, what they’re reading. Watch the movies with them and spend some time chatting about it after. Play video games with your kids so you can monitor the level of violence they’re exposed to and make choices for them – and then take the time to explain those choices so they understand the lessons you’re looking to instill. I get so tired of people wanting the government or schools to step up and take responsibility for parenting instead of putting that responsibility right back where it belongs – on the shoulders of the parents. It doesn’t take a village, it simply takes parents. Parents who actually parent.