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[cblj_backup]

Coworker: I saw the new Harry Potter movie last night.
Sam: Oh! How was it?
Coworker: It made me want to buy a lot of cable-knit sweaters.

This is kind of how I feel about Harry Potter. I really want to be enthusiastic, but I'm mostly thinking about sweaters.

Today the first part of Deathly Hallows opens in cinemas in the US. I'm sad that I'm so indifferent to it, because Harry Potter was a big fandom for me, and now it's not. I still haven't seen Order Of The Phoenix; I missed out completely on when it opened, and then later on when I tried to watch it on DVD I got bored.

Don't get me wrong, it's not really that my opinions (many and varied) have changed; it's just, my interest has waned. I came to the realisation a while ago that I hadn't really enjoyed the books after book three; they got thick and kind of unwieldy and they played to tropes that, while perfectly legitimate on their own, didn't interest me. I kept reading because there were characters I liked and I wanted to see what JK Rowling did with them, but essentially what she did was first ignore and then kill them. Which is her right, as the author, but as a reader it failed to satisfy me.

I do like seeing fans enjoying the movies and books, and I'm glad that they satisfy for some. I don't mean to harsh anyone's squee. I'm just...thinking about what I've left behind, I guess.

Comments

[kallaneboi.livejournal.com]

I saw it last night at a midnight premiere Harry was wearing this particularly hideous gray sweater, and all I could think about was the comment you made in that beta quotes where you said something about it looks like it's eating his neck.

I think you'd enjoy the way the told the story of the three brothers, though.

(I am refraining from squeeing right now.)

[daizy2k2.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed the story of the three brothers. I think it may be one of my favorite depictions of death.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I have heard the Three Brothers sequence is awesome, and I admit I would kind of like to see that. I care less than naught about the actual Deathly Hallows, but I'm always up for good art.

[kallaneboi.livejournal.com]

It was gorgeous. If I can find a video of it, or at least some stills, I'll email it to you.

[daizy2k2.livejournal.com]

After OotP, I think I read mostly to see what happened. It was mostly a feeling of well, I've made it this far, may as well finish. But I went to the midnight showing last night, and I'm glad I did. I find that the less I liked the book, the more I liked the movie. Maybe because I didn't mind as much when things were left out or changed.

But I will always be a huge fan, even if I am mostly removed from the fandom at this point.

[aunty_marion]

I saw it this morning (first showing at the local Odeon, 9.45am), and really liked it. They've missed out a lot (obviously, for time/space reasons), but on the whole it was just possibly better than the book, for that reason!

I am still of the opinion that DH needs a DRASTIC cut (and I will be doing it Really Honestly Sometime Soon™) - the trouble is that the whole SERIES needs to be re-edited from at least Book 4 onwards to make it more coherent. (And less bloated...)

[behindblue-eyes.livejournal.com]

YES! Yes to all of this. That's exactly how I feel about it, too.

[albichorizon.livejournal.com]

Word. By the time the last book came out JKR had one shot to turn it around for me and she didn't satisfy. I haven't watched any of the movies past the fourth one.

[mint-green.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, I am re-reading Cartographer's Craft and having a ball.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I am still so fond of that story. One of my better pieces, I think.

[littlered2.livejournal.com]

I just got back from seeing it, and hated it, sadly - I've only seen the first film before (my parents took my siblings and I to see it for our twelfth birthday, and we all despised it), but wanted to see this because it's almost the last, and I hoped my feelings had changed. But I adored, and still adore, the books - feeling that way, the films could never be good enough.

[indyanne.livejournal.com]

We saw it at a midnight show - the theater was full of high school age kids in costume. They were acting out Potter Pals "A Mysterious Ticking Noise" and riding brooms, and it was great!

I really enjoyed the movie, too. The movie actually made the camping (and camping and camping) better by showing interesting places and cutting a lot of it out. (Deathly Hallows definitely needed some severe editing.) I can't wait for July!

[blue_ant]

I absolutely LOVED the Tale of the Three Brothers. I think it's because it reminded me of the Jónsi concert I just saw and they have these absolute stunning animation sequences that movie the concert along (you can see time lapse video here: http://jonsi.com/home).

I quite enjoyed the midnight showing, aside from the fact that my theater was SO HOT I wanted to strip. Over all, the movie was about 100x better than I expected and I found myself particularly enjoying the "camping" sequences, as it were (which seem to be what most critics dislike).

But, really. The takeaway was Rupert Grin's exceptional acting (in my opinion, the best in the film) and the Tale of the Three Brothers animation.

[luxanebulis.livejournal.com]

During the movie, I realized I remember Cartographer's Craft way better than Deathly Hollows. I like CC enough to reread it; I can't say the same about DH.

[londonbard.livejournal.com]

link pretty please?

[sadams119.livejournal.com]

Cartographer's Craft is Sam's. It's here: http://sam-storyteller.dreamwidth.org/31527.html

[doomandnachos.livejournal.com]

Man, thank you, for somehow taking the tangle of thoughts about HP out of my head and setting them down coherently.

I still haven't seen HPB, and probably won't see DH anytime in the near future (though, in all fairness, that's mostly because we have a toddler and no convenient babysitting options).

I think my turning point was when Sirius died; I kept reading the series 'cause I wanted to see how it would turn out (and I loved being part of fandom), but a significant chunk of my emotional investment was gone.

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

Personally, I plan on writing my own version of Book 7- in which Remus, after an accident with a Bludger, wakes up to realize that he and Tonks are owners of an inn in Vermont (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newhart#.22The_Last_Newhart.22) :D

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Reading that while having no familiarity with the show is downright bizarre.

[calliope-jones.livejournal.com]

I sort of feel the same. She really shanked us with that last book, and I still haven't been able to get over the feeling that it was a massive cop-out. It has colored my opinion of the whole series and left me preferring fanfic.
Though I did go to the theme park this summer and squee'd a lot.
I didn't even realize the movie was opening and my desire to go see it was firmly beaten down by the necessity of a babysitter to do so.

[(Anonymous)]

I went to Deathly Hallows the night it came out, and my strongest impression leaving the theater was..."Man, I wish Sam was still writing Stealing Harry universe...I want to read some new Sirius and Remus, and Hufflepuff!Draco." Thanks, Sam, for keeping my connection to the characters alive by reinventing them in a more interesting light...if you ever rediscover Stealing Harry fandom (versus Harry Potter(tm)) I'll be ecstatic. ;)