Identifying with Muggles in Potterverse WAS: Re: DD at th...

[ornadv]

No: HPFGUIDX 158134


>Ken:
<snip> Hogwarts has no art classes,
>no music classes, no literature classes. Hogwarts is like the 
>engineering student's dream school, no humanities, just the "good 
>stuff".

>Linda:
<snip> 
>Linda who wonders if Ron's The Adventures of Martin Miggs, The Mad 
>Muggle comics count as culture?

>Hickengruendler:
>There is also "Odo, the hero", whose adventures Slughorn and Hagrid
>sang about on Aragog's funeral. Though of course Ken's point stands,
>that this is not directly taught at Hogwarts. Though neither are
>Mathematics, Physics etc.


Orna:
They do study history of magic. Binns, I admit, but they do. I think 
the main obstacle to study art is that most imaginary creatures are 
reality (Dragons, centaurs etc.), or can turn out to be reality, or 
can be created as reality.  Paradoxically in WW fantasy is very 
difficult to imagine - -what would prevent anything from 
being "real"? It might be done, but the whole imaginary plane would 
be is nearly impossible, as I see it. You need a tension between 
reality and non-reality to create art, and that's exactly what's 
lacking in the WW, if you take it serious. The minute you feel 
creative, you go and enchant something, create a secret room, or 
just find that your creative mood has somehow brought about your 
pink hair, somebody's toenails growing, or whatever. 

So we are left with the "classics" you mentioned + Ginny's song in 
CoS, her writing a diary. We have pictures hanging everywhere – none 
of them appreciated for their beauty. (A bit difficult, while their 
tenants are moving everywhere, but still).Harry gets a flute from 
Hagrid – we don't see much music come from it. They have Pop-songs 
on the "radio", rock-bands, and ghost-music. Fred and George sing a 
funeral tune, so they seem to have learned some songs
. Biography of 
Vampire. We have the phoenix song, the mermaid farewell to DD. 
Dumbledore liked music – but the concept of singing together was – 
each to his own tune. 

It seems that every time we see some art displayed in the WW, it 
looks ridiculous, and certainly without the power associated with 
it. (Not they I don't appreciate "Odo the hero"
)

Perhaps DD did reveal something (for us), when he said music was 
supreme magic, or something like this. I mean, it would be difficult 
to imagine any wizard composing anything which would sound more 
magical than Mozart, so perhaps JKR left those magical creations as 
they are – magic which muggles and wizards can share. 

Orna