(no subject)

[bitter-moss.livejournal.com]

Just wondering what all the other adult fans in here think of this? Its a piece in the UK Sunday Mail, criticising adult HP fans =( (for the record I'm 22). Short piece under the cut...


http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16364897&method=full&siteid=64736&headline=elaine-smith--grown-up-harry-fans-are-potty--name_page.html

13 November 2005
ELAINE SMITH: GROWN-UP HARRY FANS ARE POTTY
Elaine Smith

LIKE every other parent of an 11-year-old, I'll be trooping off to the cinema in the next couple of weeks to see the current Christmas smash.

This year it's Harry Potter. My daughter loves the movies and books and I have enjoyed the time we've spent reading them together.

But I have always been suspect of adults who say they read and love the books.

I find that weird. Either they haven't grown up or they don't read very much.

The sight of adults dressed up as wizards at the film openings is too much for me and I suspect their sanity.

The dementors must have got to them. Grow up, will you?

These books are great for kids but asking me to read them for my own pleasure would be like inviting me to take up majorettes.

I think JK Rowling is fantastic and her life story is an inspiration to every woman struggling as a single parent.

Her campaigning for and donations to organisations doing great work shows she has not forgotten how difficult life can be.

But her books are for children - trying to tell me they are on a par with great adult literature is just daft


Personally I think Elaine should grow up! I think Harry Potter books are ageless in the way all good stories are, and if people enjoy them why should it matter what age they are? Who is Elaine to criticise others for enjoying something that doesn't harm others? There's also the fact that the HP series contains many different layers and references to mythology and history that is cleary geared towards older fans =).And like I imagine most adult HP fans are (as I am) very well read. I read from all genres, from ancient greek tragedy to contemporary fiction =).

Comments

[flustered.livejournal.com]

The hell? I've liked Harry Potter since I was ELEVEN. I've grown up with them. It's sick that she acts like just because we're "old" that we should stop liking something that's been with us for a long time...

I'm tired. =_=

[maegwin-of-hern.livejournal.com]

Also, people who were kids when the first books came out will eventually be adults when the series is finished. PS/SS was first published in 1997, if I recall correctly. So if JKR manages to publish the last book in two years, it'll have taken full ten years to publish the whole series. So what does this Elaine woman expect? People turn 18 and suddenly dislike the books? And they suddenly stop caring about how Voldemort will be defeated?

Nicola
Hufflepuff

[forthesky.livejournal.com]

I'm not an adult myself, but my parents both read the books and loved them, and honestly, I think that's great. The books, as you say, are ageless. If something's good, then it's good.

[amazonelf78.livejournal.com]

i got into harry potter after the first movie came out. i turned 23 at the end of 2001. so i started reading the books. who cares? i also still like cartoons and sleep with stuffed animals. i know i'm immature but i'm not hurting anyone. i've read other books, too, that aren't geared towards kids. harry potter's fun.

[laynie.livejournal.com]

My 50-year-old father, who is ADD to the point of craziness and can't even read a magazine article, has read all six books. He would even carry his book with him on business trips and read it in the plane. AND, he's already re-read the fourth book in preparation for the movie. Now, I am shocked and amazed that any series has gotten my father to read for *fun*. This is a good thing.

I myself am 21 and love the books. Personally, having three younger sisters, I don't see how an 11-year-old can really understand and appreciate the most recent books. They're definitely not written on a 5th-grade level. And keep in mind that the movie is rated PG-13. I think that it's targeting an older crowd anyway.

It doesn't seem as if this woman has read all of the books, and is just speaking pretentiously. I bet she never has any fun...

[forthesky.livejournal.com]

Haha, every day I catch the train, someone's reading HP, usually an adult. And they're never embarrassed or anything.
This woman is a crazy lady.

[maegwin-of-hern.livejournal.com]

Well, of course they are children's books, which is why certain topics aren't addressed in them. However, I find it speaks in favor of Ms. Rowling that she managed to write a children's book that's appealing to adults as well. Who else can claim that?
Me, I'm 25 years old, and I was already in my 20s when I was introduced to the Potter verse. And before that, I was babysitting my cousins, and one of them had the Potter books in her shelves. When I asked her whether she was reading them, she said: "No, mom does." (Both my cousins are avid readers now, btw)

An anti-example would be fairy tales. People are now assuming they were intended for children, while they were in fact written for adults in order to make them cautious. Beware the wolf, don't let your kids run around by themselves in the dark forest,... That's also the reason why they're so cruel and dark, I suspect.

Nicola
Hufflepuff

[jedilora.livejournal.com]

Hell yeah. I did a thesis portfolio on Cinderella in high school. That's a DARK story.

[maegwin-of-hern.livejournal.com]

Or Snow White. Three attempted murders, (supposed) cannibalism, one successful murder, and then the death penalty consists in dancing with smouldering iron shoes o_O I guess the people who claim that Harry Potter is EVIL only know the Disney movie version of that fairy tale.

[nota-lone.livejournal.com]

Have you also noticed the utter lack of plot in some of the fairy tales? It never fails to amuse me. Like the one were the wicked queen cuts off her husband's head because he has no nose. And no one notices.
Wow that was off-topic. Well, I think this lady has a few issues of her own. Closemindedness should not be the trademark of adult-hood.

[maegwin-of-hern.livejournal.com]

What was the name of that fairy tale? I don't think I've ever read that one ^^
The plots are very simple and not really what I'd take as examples of good writing style. Then again, they had not been written down to entertain.

[jedilora.livejournal.com]

HEY.

I've been reading 'em since I was 12, and been costuming since I was fifteen. I do good work! Hmph.

And I read a hell of a lot. JKR is far better than a lot of the other fiction out there. I can't stand most of the best-seller stuff-Davinci Code bored me, The Devil wore Prada was just awful....Potter, now there's some good stuff.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_seraphina_/]

wtf? I'm also 22 and take offense!!! Obviously, she's as bloody shallow as she sounds and can't get past the surface story. As for not reading much, I read more than she's ever likely too and in three different languages!!! How rude!!!

[theweezerlover9.livejournal.com]

I'm only 15, but my parents are both 50, and have read and really loved the books. They don't get dressed up or anything like that, but that's beside the point really... This woman doesn't sound like a great person. Complaining about what people like to do? And making it into a news article? *shakes head*

[hidden-chamber.livejournal.com]

My Father introduced me to the "Dragon Riders of Pern" books while I was attending grade school, AND the Hobbit AND Homers Odyssey. We are talking about a country boy, yes, Daddy is a redneckerson. But he enjoyed fantasy and space operas and passed them on to me. My Mother gave me fairy tales and mythos, the Lion the witch and the wardrobe, encouraged me to explore new vistas in the written word .

Years later I am still addicted, and when I saw a talk show, I think it was on Oprah of all things, about a childrens book being banned, about kids standing up to the schools and demanding their Harry potter, well I figured I might as well check it out for myself.

Yes the books are written for kids, but at the same time, she has intigrated all the parts of the mythos, fantasy and fairy tales I loved. She keeps the darker aspects, didnt give it a Disney whitewash and wrote with energy and passion. The characters draw you in, the story holds you. It's a classic good vs evil. The Orphans tale, the adventure tale that keeps growing.

What blew me away is and was the fact that these books are HUGE!. And gradeschool kids of all types were not just reading them, but reading them over and over again.

Even if I didnt love the story or the characters, I would be a HUGE fan of hers for that reason alone. But years after my Father gave me a book called "the hobbit" I had the pleasure of handing my Dad the first book, and having him call me the next day asking if there were more.

Yes Virginia there is a Fairygod Mother...Thanks to Rowling.

[loved-gamgee.livejournal.com]

so, is she saying that J.K. Rowling needs to grow up? it takes the same kind of imagination to write the books as it does to enjoy them. would she critize adults who still read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (it was written for children) or C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia? i highly doubt it because they are two of the most praised authors in British history.

just because her imagination ceased to exisit past imagining how Fabio is going to kiss the next big busted, ditzy girl in her porn romance novel doesn't mean our's did. some could argue my age at 21 is not "adult". to heck with that! i have a wide varity of reading interests, from fiction to non-fiction, fantasy to mystery to thriller to adventure.

after having that kind of attitude, she can grow up.

[jekylls-bast.livejournal.com]

XD I was thinking the same thing actually....that she must read a lot of romance novels to concider that adults reading Harry Potter need to grow up or don't read a lot.

My mom is just now finishing book six (she's been really busy lately) and she's EXCITED to start reading The Chronicles of Narnia (mainly because she wants to see the movie coming out and demands to read the books first.) And this woman is very much an adult.

Our home library is filled with all kinds of books (although very little can be found in the romance department), and my family has read pretty much every book in it (I'm still working on that one.). My dad loves Harry Potter, and my Grandparents think the books are just smashing.

Where is it written that to be an adult means you have to loose your imagination and that inner child? I'm almost thirty and I love dressing up for Book Release parties and RPing in Harry Potter RPGs...there's something to be said about "adults" like her.....

Get out of the romance section and take a look at some real fiction.

The tired one has roared. :)

[loved-gamgee.livejournal.com]

you totally rock! i'm very excited about GoF and CoN coming out. i shared this article with some IRL friends who are also fans of Harry Potter and they both had fits. the woman needs to get a grip. she reminds me of a really snobby girl (who just graduated high school and had a baby) that constantly says she's "out of high school" and therefore doesn't read fantasy or have crushes on guys (no, she just sleeps with them) or has any kind of fun.

if liking Harry Potter makes me immature, then i guess i'll stay immature along with the other millions of adults who bought the books and read them over and over and Jo Rowling herself. i'll be in good company. *grin*

[musicaltwin07.livejournal.com]

I'm only 16 but my grandmother reads the H.P. series and loves them. She thinks that Rowling is an extremely talented writer and the books are entertaining and interesting. She doesn't go dress up as a wizard or anything but she loves these books. She is an extremely well read person too! Maybe Elaine is too ashamed to admit she liked them. Or maybe she just doesn't like them for some reason unknown to any of us. However, she shouldn't be telling other adults what they can and can not be reading.

[spritely-ariel.livejournal.com]

Elaine has a very snobby attitude.

It sounds as though she likes the books herself (My daughter loves the movies and books and I have enjoyed the time we've spent reading them together) but is embarrassed about that fact and is desperately trying to convince herself that she didn't enjoy them THAT MUCH because she's soooo mature and intelligent.

Even if the HP books aren't 'great adult literature' (and I've NEVER heard any adult fan claim that they are), who cares? Why should adults only read 'great adult literature'? Who gets to decide what counts as 'great adult literature' anyway? And why are Harry Potter books and 'great adult literature' mutually exclusive? Elaine may not be versatile enough to enjoy both, but there are many of us who are :).

[mhookermyers.livejournal.com]

I read all six in three months just this past year and I got to say I noticed a distict change in the books from first to sixth. There iss a growing maturity and depth to her writing that has taken her well out of "children books" and well into classics.

I think the problem this woman is twofold. First, she thinks any book that features children as the main characters is a children's book. There is probably a ton of books that we could name where children are the main characters but have crossed over to adult reading, the Wrinkle in Time is the first one that comes to my mind. Second, she has become one of the old and bitter people who have forgotten that life is for living.

FYI: I read all the HP books after I was 48 years old. I love anime. I still listen to hard rock. I occasionally dress up in Renaissance dresses. Most of all, I have fun.

[hidden-chamber.livejournal.com]

high 5's and grins

You sound like me. I didnt even know about the books till the first had been out for a year. I'm not an anime fan, but I still rock out, I was one of the original kissing wenches at the Ga Ren Faire, and I love sci fi conventions and costuming.
I like to say I have a very rich and fulfilling fantasy life.

[cherryblossomrd.livejournal.com]

I'm 24 and I absolutely love the books! Plus, I didn't start reading them until (OMG, when COS!Film come out again?) I was older. Oh, and it was on my Mother's suggestion, cuz she loves them, and she's almost 56! I think the stories are timeless, and ageless. She writes them so that people of all ages can understand them, and yet, she doesn't dumb them down to us either. They are intelligent books, with intelligent characters that are rounded and complex. I think this woman who wrote the article is just a little bored with her existence and is trying to think of something/one to complain about.

B - Hufflepuff

[cherryblossomrd.livejournal.com]

I meant to put when did COS!film come out again... Sorry, just woke up.

[bel-mulderleia.livejournal.com]

I'm 24, and I've been a Potter fan since I was 19 and my friend gave me the first book. Like other classics that some would try to tell you are children's books (Hello, The Lord of the Rings?? I think not!), the level of intellect and depth in the Potter books transcends the boundaries of the 'This book is for grades X-Y' mentality that some cling to, especially as the newer ones are released. The tales are high caliber, and their readers have always ranged from children to older folks... and to college professors! When I was at Boston University there were lectures and seminars on various themes in Harry Potter by professors (for example, philosophy, religion, right and wrong), and I had film professors in their 50s or 60s who are enormous Potter fans! When I worked at a rectory, I lent my Harry Potter to two of the priests - at ripe old ages of 70-something and 90-something. Well educated men who wanted to know what the fuss was about. It was a little weird for one of them, but the other found it to be quite fascinating.

I think probably what it comes down to on some levels is a closed-mindedness that you find with some people, the people who at 11 said to themselves 'I'm grown up now, I have to throw away my Barbies/G. I. Joes and buy a poster of a hot star so that everyone knows I'm grown up.' The type of people who would be mortified to find their spouses desired something along the lines of, say, a Master Replicas light saber, or Aragorn's sword. It's an image thing, and strange that someone would try to kill the joy within them so much, but it certainly happens. I have to wonder if she saw the movies first or read the books first, because the first movie does come off as 'This is for children!!' but by the basilisk scene in the second it is clear that it isn't all kids' stuff. The books never come off as just kids' stuff, but who am I, beyond an adult Potter fan along with many of my friends from 21 - 63! You can be certain THIS lady wouldn't be caught dead dressing up for Halloween!!

I was traveling in Chicago when HBP came out, and everywhere my ex-boyfriend and I went from Saturday on, there were people clinging the book to their chests or reading it, and 99.9% of them were adults. When I finally had a chance to read mine the day of my flight home, I was hardly the only person in the airport reading Potter - far from it! I almost never see a child reading Harry - they are books for an audience that includes adults, whether this woman wants to acknowledge it or not. Get over it, lady, Potter is here to stay. :-P

[lariren-shadow.livejournal.com]

Ok, I might now be falling into the catagory of "adult" Harry Potter fans since I turn 19 in a month and two days. I have read them since I turned 13. I wrote my college essay on Harry Potter for crying out loud! And an essay for my SAT2 writing. It was about choices and I memorized my favorite quote about choices from the second book. But yeah.

They do have things for adults. I mean, adults still read other stories. I know people in my dorm with me who still read those silly teen romance books like The Princess Diares. Sometimes not "growing up" is better. I mean, is it so wrong to believe in magic at an older age? Why can't we? There is nothing telling us not too.

The books are also well written. So why can't we like them? Should we not read LOTR as your people since it is more for adults? Come on. I would dress up for the premier too. Sadly, my scarf that I am making will not be done.

Is is so wrong to believe in magic?

[jane85.livejournal.com]

This woman is an idiot. I'm 20, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the books. For Christ sakes, my grandmother has even been borrowing my copies to read. There's something wrong with her because she's "too old"?

I think there's something wrong with this woman. Yes, let's just make it so that everyone has to read books only related to their age level.

Except not really.

[nota-lone.livejournal.com]

I am by no means an adult, but I still find her additude rather silly. Even is Harry Potter was a 'kiddie thing', isn't connecting with your inner child good. She does sound a little like Mr. Darling from Peter Pan. Children must learn and age, but we're all allowed our own private Neverland.

Ergo, I find her wrong overall.

Tex/Hufflepuff

[crafty-muse.livejournal.com]

I started reading the books right before OotP came out. I swore to myself that I wasn't going to be sucked in the what I know as the fandom of Harry Potter. After all, they were about witches, wizards, and other magical things and I was 27 at the time. What 27 year old gets wrapped up in stuff like that? But I did, I caved and read the first book and became hooked! I now feel that I breathe Harry Potter!

It's a great series of books that touch us because we've been through a lot of the stuff that those characters are going through. (Not the magic stuff mind you, but relationships/friendships and what not) I love this series and am not afraid to admit it!

And kudos to JKR for getting all those children reading when they probably wouldn't have been!

[lumy12.livejournal.com]

That chick needs to listen to that song about being "young at heart." I thought I was too old for Harry Potter until someone OLDER than me told me I'd enjoy it... and here I am several years later, still enjoying my ass off! (huh?)

Shall we all go perform some nasty spells on her? That'll teach her to be so judgmental!

Wendy ~ Gryff

[orpheous87.livejournal.com]

I'm 23 and I picked up the first book literally a month ago. Since then I've read the other five and borrowed the first three movies (from someone older than me) in preparation for the fourth one coming out, which I'll be seeing on Thursday. Like owensboro_hope said, I'd sworn I would never get sucked into the world of Harry Potter. Needless to say I'm now eating my words. I think the books are fantastic, and I don't think they're just for kids. Yeah they're not aimed at adults and nor are they meant to be, but they can definitley be enjoyed by adults. Like others have said, there's a lot of stuff in them that's aimed at older readers.

I think this Elaine woman needs to get a reality check. There wouldn't be so many people reading the series if they weren't good books.

Emma//Gryffindor

[jryc174.livejournal.com]

This woman hasn't been opened up to the idea that the Harry Potter books aren't kids books- they're GOOD books.

And anyway, who says a grownup can't enjoy a kiddie book even if that is what hp is?

[sandigirl1103.livejournal.com]

So I'm 21 and refuse to grow up. Big deal.
My mom is 50 and wants to dress up on opening night :)
Grr. some people need to get a life.

[sofiaagapao.livejournal.com]

People seem to be defending them selves, which I think is silly. We enjoy Harry Potter, and she thinks it's silly. So f-ing what? I like lots of things that others think are silly, and others like things that I find silly. But if people can find some kind of enjoyment in this world, then all the better for them, as long as they are not intentionally and maliciously harming another.

Stop defending yourselves, because there's nothing to defend. ;D

[arrivee.livejournal.com]

So she should be stabbing the thousands of people who enjoy watching Star Wars and dress up as Storm Troopers right?

I'm 15, still young enough I guess, but my mother is obviously an adult, by far grown up, and reads far too much.

So that's just bullshit.

[eternalslacker.livejournal.com]

Ick. Everyone has different tastes. I respect that she wouldn't want to do what some of us do, but this is more than just Harry Potter. Lots of adults like children's fandoms, some for nostalgia, some for fun. I personally still like Pokemon,Digimon,the Muppets,and of course Harry Potter. ^_^

[arrivee.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I still enjoy Sailor Moon for nostalgia. I grew up with it when I was six. It was the awful dubbed version, but now I do just enjoy watching the originals.

Sometimes people need to just need to have... fun.

[ryttu3k.livejournal.com]

I'm part of the HP generation - literally. I was ten when the first book came out - exactly the target age for it. (Granted, I didn't read it until the year later when CoS came out - I was eleven.) Now I'm nearly nineteen. ...And?

I'm not sure if this woman's read the latest book, but as a reminder, it involves many murders, violence, blood, sadism, a character being referred to as a 'slut', and a murderous werewolf chewing someone's face off - while in human form. Yeah, cannibalism is SO aimed at kids...

The first book? Aimed at kids. The second one? Aimed at kids. That's okay - I was a kid when I read them! The third one? Getting a bit more adult... personally, I think I'm the perfect age for this. I spent my entire double-digit/teenage years reading these books!

[ryttu3k.livejournal.com]

And as an adamendment, my nearly-eighty-year-old grandmother reads these books. She has her own LIBRARY, so it's not a matter of literacy! Also, something I remember clearly from when I was twelve or thirteen - sitting on the train going to school, me reading Chamber Of Secrets (again), looking across the carriage, seeing a five-year-old reading the first book... and, two seats behind her, a business man (suit, briefcase, laptop bag and all!) reading the same.

[crimsonnicole.livejournal.com]

I'm 27 and this woman is a lunatic. That's really all that I have to say.

[moonysgirl.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I love that she says, "I suspect their sanity." So... we're sane, then? Good to know we're not crazy...

0.0;

[moonysgirl.livejournal.com]

Well, at least by two definitions... oops.

[haleyxcore.livejournal.com]

Wtf. My grandma reads Harry Potter AND IDENTIFIES WITH IT.

Sometimes.