[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Urgent email opinions request from journalist in Chile (about Potter adult fans)

[marcelo cordoba]

Many thanks for your help!

--- sophierom <sophierom at yahoo.com> wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com,
> "marcelocordova2004" 
> <marcelocordova2004 at y...> wrote:
> > Hi:
> > 
> > My name is Marcelo Cordova and Im a journalist
> from La Tercera
> > newspaper in Chile, South America
> (www.tercera.cl). I work in the
> > Trends section and I send this message because Im
> writing an 
> article
> > for this friday (march 5th) about the phenomenon
> of adult fans of
> > the Harry Potter saga. This because the last book
> was just released
> > here and is already sold out!. Many people who
> bought it were 
> grownups
> > and we would like to get some comments about this
> trend around the
> > globe.
> > 
> > If any of you have some time could answer these
> questions? You can
> > post your opinions directly here or send them to
> > marcelocordova2004 at y... Please put your name (or a
> nick if you
> > want), age, occupation and country. Many thanks in
> advance:
> 
> Hi, I'm Sophie, a 26 year old Ph.D. candidate from
> the U.S.  
> 
> > 1. In an article published by The Orlando Sentinel
> about Nimbus
> > 2003, it says that individuals on that event were
> "college 
> professors
> > and college students, advertising copywriters and
> unemployed 
> computer
> > consultants, substitute teachers and wanna-be
> teachers. They've 
> come
> > from California and New York, Australia and
> England. Above all 
> else,
> > they are Harry Potter fans. And they are adults".
> First of all:
> > Could you tell me how did you get fascinated by
> the saga of this 
> small
> > kid? And how could you explain that many adults
> feel fascinated by 
> a
> > book with a kid as a protagonist? From that point
> of view: Do you
> > agree with miss Rowling when she says that "it is
> my sense of 
> humour
> > in the books, not what I think children will find
> funny, and I 
> suppose
> > that would explain some of the appeal to adults"?
> 
> While I certainly think Rowling's sense of humor
> helps connect 
> adults to these stories, I think it has more to do
> with the fact 
> that this is a story about growing up, and that's
> something we can 
> all relate to, no matter how old we are.  So, I see
> this series less 
> as a series for children as a series about growing
> up, and I think 
> that can appeal to just about anyone.  If Harry
> stayed 11 throughout 
> all the books, I would doubtless be less attracted
> to the series.   
> 
> 
> > 2. From that point of view: Which are the elements
> of the books 
> that
> > you feel as most appealing to you? Stories,
> characters? Do you 
> think
> > that this is a good read for any adult? You think
> no one should 
> feel
> > ashamed of reading these "child" books?
> 
> I addressed most of this question above. And no, I
> don't feel anyone 
> should be ashamed of reading these books.  Although
> not the greatest 
> literature out there, these books do make me think:
> about moral 
> choices, as well as about the relationship between
> adults and 
> children.  And they're simply fun.  Why it's okay
> for adults to go 
> watch what i would consider "childish movies" (crude
> comedies, for 
> example) but not read books with children as the
> main characters 
> I'll never figure out.  It's thought-provoking
> entertainment. 
> 
> 
> 
> > 3. Bloomsbury spokeswoman Lucy Chapman said in an
> article from BBC
> > that she "thinks that adults can find another
> level in the Potter
> > books". She said that people can read "into the
> mythology that runs
> > through the novels, they pick up on more, such as
> the Latin school
> > mottos." Do you think that is a key for success
> between adults? 
> From
> > that same point of view: It is possible to think,
> like mister Joel
> > Rickett - news editor of the Bookseller website-
> says, that 
> the "Harry
> > Potter phenomenon also coincided with a time when
> it became
> > fashionable for adults to indulge in children's
> activities, such as
> > computer games"?.
> 
> I think both Rickett and Chapman have valid points.
> I think in 
> general that my friends and I (people in our 20s)
> have fewer hang 
> ups about experiencing things outside the categories
> in which we're 
> supposed to fit.  As a young female adult, marketing
> people think 
> I'm supposed to be doing certain things: in my early
> 20s, I 
> was "supposed to be" drinking and partying, buying
> lots of cute 
> clothing; now that I'm in my late 20s, I'm supposed
> to be settling 
> down soon and starting a family.  But I don't fit
> into those 
> marketing categories.  I don't think I like the idea
> of marketing 
> people telling me what I should do and what I should
> like.  
> 
> 
> > 4. Mister Rickett also says that the aura
> surrounding the author as
> > a factor in Harry Potter's appeal to an adult
> audience. "The books 
> are
> > the product of one person which gives them an air
> of authenticity.
> > The romantic image of a single mother writing
> stories in a caf is
> > appealing.", he says. What do you think about
> that?
> 
> I didn't even know this when I started reading the
> books.  I don't 
> think this had much of an impact on me.
> 
> > 5. "Families were going into bookshops and buying
> up multiple 
> copies
> > on the first day of sale. Adults could not wait
> for the paperback
> > grown-up version to come out," said a Bloomsbury
> spokesperson. Have
> > you gone to midnight sales and waited for the
> books like hundreds 
> of
> > kids? Do you remember any story or anecdote about
> those events or
> > about being an adult fan of Potter? Have you gone
> with your family
> > to buy the books?
> 
> My husband was actually the first person I knew who
> started reading 
> the books, and initially, I did poke fun at him for
> reading kids' 
> books.  But he convinced me to read the first book,
> and I was 
> enchanted.  There was something quite appealing
> about the idea of 
> discovering a new world; it reminded me of reading
> C.S. Lewis's 
> Narnia series as a child.  I think that's another
> appeal of the 
> Harry Potter series: it coincides with a growing
> appreciation 
=== message truncated ===


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