ADMIN: Posting Rule Change - No Movie Discussion on Main List

[Dicentra spectabilis]

--- In HPFGU-Feedback at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister"
<gbannister10 at a...> wrote:

> What I feel is ridiculous is to impose a complete dichotomy between 
> film and book. 

It's ridiculous only if you don't want to follow the rules.  Such as
posting list policy discussions on the wrong list when you've been
around long enough to know better ::glares pointedly::

This is an acceptable way to reference the movie on main:

MOVIE AS CATALYST

"While watching the PoA movie, I was struck by all the visual
references to time, so I dug into the book and noticed that the text
makes temporal references, too."

Then you list the examples from the *book* and offer analysis or
whatever.  You don't observe that the movie shows a giant pendulum in
the entrance but the book never mentions it.


These are unacceptable ways to reference the movie on main:

MOVIE AS CANON

"Did you guys notice all that wandless magic that Lupin and Dumbledore
performed?  I guess if you're good enough, you can do Alohomora on a
locked trunk without the wand or the incantation."

MOVIE DIFFERING FROM BOOK

"That lake they showed was *way* too big.  No way would Harry have
been able to get to the other side of it to cast the Patronus.  He
wouldn't even have been able to see the dementors, let alone himself."

MOVIE CONTAMINATION

"Ron is such a freaking coward when they follow the spiders into the
Forbidden Forest.  He whines and complains the whole time.  Harry
should have just decked him with the lantern and been done with it."

MOVIE VS. TEXT

"They had to cut out the subplot about becoming animagi to accompany
Lupin during the full moon.  It's interesting, but it isn't essential."

or 

"When you're making a movie, you have to concentrate on those things
that best lend themselves to visual narrative.  A picture might speak
a thousand words, but you have to be selective about which 1000 words
they are."


Look.  The movies are, at best, fanfic.  They're an *interpretation*
of the books, not a representation thereof (Columbus's best efforts
notwithstanding).  JKR doesn't control every element that we see on
screen.  She allows changes to be made to accommodate the limits of
the medium.  She told Cuarón to not be too literal.  She only
intervenes if they're about to include something that is totally wrong
(such as little people dancing on a keyboard) or to make sure they
include something absolutely essential.  They consulted with her on
certain points (such as what the Quidditch robes look like), but the
final decisions get made by the director.  That's how it is in the
movie business.


As for what constitutes canon: The novels themselves, the schoolbooks,
and statements made by JKR (on her site and in interviews) that we can
reasonably assume to be true, such as Hermione's birthdate (Sept 19)
and "Harry isn't the HPB."

--Dicentra