Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (movie): an Education Allegory
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I don’t want to spoil the new Harry Potter movie for anyone who’s not seen it, but I saw it last night and, hot on the heels of the “Convergences” post I wrote a day or two ago, saw the film mostly as a critique of schools when they’re at their irrelevant worst.
I’ll just say that this is a thought-provoking film for educators. Much more grown up, too, as Harry is in this sequel - despite the school’s best efforts to ignore that reality. That’s the conflict that interested me.
The whole thing can be viewed as an allegory about a world beyond the schoolhouse with real problems, and a schoolhouse determined to ignore that fact - at the world’s peril. Substitute “climate change” (or your own pet challenge) for “he who cannot be named” (Voldemort), and you’ll see how much this story goes beyond fantasy.
Equally important - it’s good fun.
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(But don't tag it "education." That will bury it.)
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Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our students banded together in a secret club to teach themselves essential knowledge!
When I returned from our family trip to Yankee stadium yesterday,
http://dmcordell.blogspot.com/
the newest (last) Harry Potter book was waiting on my doorstep. I’m trying not to zoom through it just to “see what happens” but to savor the plot and character development. So far, a few chapters in, Rowling does not disappoint.
[Reply]
diane
22 Jul 07 at 2:02 pm
It occurs to me that student do “band together” when they access facebook, myspace, or any of the other technologies “forbidden” at school!
[Reply]
diane
22 Jul 07 at 2:32 pm
Thought you would like this from Stephen Downes:
“I’ve seen more than a few people comment on the most recent Harry Potter movie, which is pretty clearly a (caustic) commentary on educational reform. So of course our local media depicts the film as being opposed to fascism, which is a nice way to pretend the film is not criticizing what it’s criticizing, but which is revealing in its own way.”
[Reply]
Cindy
24 Jul 07 at 7:50 pm
Thanks, Cindy - I googled Downes and Potter and found nothing. Is there enough additional commentary to make it worth linking here?
Thanks again~
[Reply]
Clay Burell
25 Jul 07 at 12:00 am