Should we rewind perhaps?

[roleplayer_m_uk]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at y..., "adhara_black" <adhara_black at y...> wrote:
> I have read both sets of books, and the more I think about it, the 
> more I find it's like comparing apples with pears really. The 
Tolkien 
> books were written in an era very different from the nineties and 
> probably with a different reader in mind. Unlike HP, the story 
> doesn't keep one foot firmly in the real and present world. And 
also 
> unlike HP, LOTR takes itself very seriously IMHO. I always found 
that 
> my male friends and relatives got 'into' LOTR a lot easier than 
> girls. It is darker, and has a true cult-status (I can imagine 
> hardcore Tolkien fans being abhorred by the wider appeal the books 
> may now get through the film). HP is a mega-success story that 
> appeals to, well, everyone... 

just in case my last post came off as too dismissive, i wanted to say 
that i think that all the points above are sound. there are vast 
differences between the two works. but in my view, since they share a 
medium (and in this case a genre), a comparison is fair.

you did make me think of one interesting difference: the lotr story 
has a very clear sense of good and evil. you are either on one side 
of the other.

but in the world of hp, it is not always clear who can be trusted. 
and sometimes it's hard to say whether an action is truly good or 
truly evil.

i wonder if this difference reflects are growing awareness of the 
complexity of contemporary life as contrasted with the simpler age in 
which tolkien was writing? if so, this might explain why the hp 
stories make so many people uncomfortable - there is no aslan or 
gandalf figure whose great sacrifice will save the day.

not yet at least ;)