I see the young muggles were queuing for hours against all of the elements in order to be among of the first to get their hands on the last Harry Potter book, and why not. A bit of hype never hurt anyone and although I've never read the books, I have always enjoyed their transformation onto film. I heartily agree with a comment I heard yesterday that if it is encouraging our youth to get their noses stuck into books again then that can only be a good thing.
Why do we always have to take things too far though? I understand Childline have been put on alert to deal with thousands of potentially grieving children should one of the primary characters meet their demise in the last book. Now I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there are plenty of children suffering genuine terror and abuse in their lives that in my opinion come a little higher up the Childline priority list than someone who's read a sad story.
I suspect there are many out there who cried when Bambi's mother died, when Dumbo was being teased, or when E.T. went home, but I equally doubt that any of us suffered any long term psychological damage over it. There was always someone not too far away to dismiss it as "just a story".
Or, of course, everyone could save themselves the potential angst by Googling for "Deathly Hallows spoiler". I deliberately haven't linked - just sowed the seeds of temptation and left it up to you...
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2 comments:
Yes, unfortunately we live in the age of emotional literacy, which is okay in moderation, but I quite agree it has its limits. No wonder children are unable to cope with the world if we are there to wipe their noses every time they sneeze.
Shall not google the spoiler. I will enjoy ignoring the family for a week while I read the book.
I read it and it's not the butler wot did it....
I must have bought a copy with the alternative ending....Harry's in Basra.
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