Ron's odd violence

[Wanda Sherratt]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at y..., "frantyck" <frantyck at y...> wrote:
> Harry killing Quirrell in the first film, and Harry stabbing the 
> diary in this film are jarring acts of deliberate violence, as 
> various people pointed out. How about the bit in the CoS film, in 
> the tunnel just after the roof caves in, when Ron knocks Lockhart 
> unconscious with a blow to the back of the head with a chunk of 
> rock? This wasn't even necessary! What's doubly disturbing is that 
> Grint does it with such matter-of-fact dispatch. Yes, Ron's going 
to 
> be unable to get to his dead or dying sister because of Lockhart's 
> idiocy, but to bring oneself to pick up a rock and hit someone on 
> the head with it suggests more ill-suppressed anger and violence 
> than even a redhaired Ron is likely to have.

I don't see Ron's hitting of Lockhart as at all out of character, or 
extreme for the situation.  Regardless of his personal dislike of 
Lockhart, the man had, only moments before, faked a faint in order 
to throw Ron offguard and grab his wand.  There was no reason in the 
world why Ron should take another chance with Lockhart, and every 
reason to put him out of commission before he could pull another 
similar stunt.  It probably makes MORE sense than Ron just kicking 
Lockhart in the book, though it's possible he was just getting 
Lockhart to move out of the way of the rock fall.
> 
> In small ways, Columbus and the actors are making the main 
> characters less comprehensible. They are deforming the link 
between 
> what we know of the characters, and the actions they take 
> (motivation vs. action). Or perhaps all of this is meant as early 
> intimation of the characters' "dark side." Either way, it's 
> significant.
> 
I don't think Columbus is at all off-message when he creates these 
scenes of violence.  The violence is all in JKR's books, and more 
than can be shown onscreen.  She's not a Quaker - she doesn't shrink 
from violence, or disapprove of it when it's necessary.  I think a 
big theme throughout her books is that it's not enough just to be 
right, or good, or even innocent (like Colin Diggory).  You have to 
fight against evil, and she shows her heroes literally "fighting", 
not simply arguing or demonstrating that their enemies are wrong.  
There is lots of blood and guts in the Harry Potter books, and I 
suspect there's going to be more and more before the series reaches 
its end.

Wanda