[HPforGrownups] Re: JKR hints at secret

[Charlie Moody]

No: HPFGUIDX 73931

On Tuesday, July 29, 2003, at 01:35  PM, jakedjensen wrote:

> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Random <random832 at r...> wrote:
> I was led to think the group _does_ exclude all such posts, as
> there's another group for those. just like it excludes off-topic
> chatter, which this is rapidly becoming.
>
> ME: First, this discussion is about understanding the secrets in the
> books by using the movies (i.e., it is about understanding the
> books).  How is it off-topic chatter?  IMHO, the entire discussion
> has been very focused and constructive.  Indeed, the only real off-
> topic matter in the conversation is this discussion of whether or not
> the discussion should take place on this board or another?

> This seems to be a very minor issue (nay, a technicality) cramping an
> enjoyable thread.

I'm *very* new here, myself, but a third perspective might help:

In a high-traffic list like this, it's hard enough to follow the 
threads that actually conform to list guidelines;  OT contributions, if 
allowed to flower could easily take over the entire lawn - excuse me, 
could easily make the signal-to-noise ratio impossibly low thru sheer 
volume.  So it's *always appropriate* to ask, "does this belong here?"

Given the popularity of the movies - and the variations between them & 
the books - they could (and I'm sure they do, periodically) generate 
huge spikes in list traffic when a thread crosses over the line between 
the two;  that's WHY there's a separate list for the films.  Speaking 
for myself, I enjoy the movies, but find the books vastly better & more 
entertaining;  and in the general flow of things, I really have no 
interest in discussing the movies at all.

EXCEPT (there's always one o' these lurking about) ...
I see the current situation as maybe an example of a special case.

The reason we're currently flirting w/ this issue is because we know 
that JKR has 'tweaked' the films by providing guidance to the actors to 
help them nuance their performances - with the result that certain 
elements of the films clarify the text (ie, Hagrid's dissembling when 
confronted about HIS presence in Knockturn Alley comes thru much more 
clearly on the screen).   Discussion of these things is (IMHO) 
reasonable & acceptable here because it is about the books - 
specifically about how to interpret events & motives & directions 
within the canon.

So, if we can agree that in some cases subtleties from the films can 
illuminate a character's mood or feeling or response, and that it's OK 
to incorporate such observations into conversations without yanking 
those threads onto a new movie-oriented track, then I think we all win.

Permitting this kind of contribution to the discussion need not mean 
that we're throwing the rules away & opening the floodgates.
--
Charlie, whose two-cents-worth looks more like $1.75....