Blog 4

“TOO SCARY FOR TWEENS! Unclear if you haven’t read the book!”, “It was so dark, and frightening!”, “Someone loses an ear, masked figures flying through the sky and killing people, non-magical people harassed and tortured, SOMEONE LOSES A LITERAL PART OF THEIR STOMACH!”. These were all kid and parent reviews from the famous (and infamous) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows both referring to the books and the film (Part 1) themselves. Undoubtedly, Rowling’s final Harry Potter book was the most disturbing and gruesome. Many critics accuse it of being too grotesque as the series is a kid-friendly series…or is it?

These books took years to publish and the movies took even more years therefore, by the time Deathly Hallows approached, these kid-readers would no longer be kids. We follow and admire Harry as children but we also grew up with him as we read along the books. Therefore, I argue that although Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was very gruesome, it still provides a learning experience for the children that have grown up a bit with the books and should not be shielded nor censored for the public eye.

It is no secret that everybody was disturbed by Hermione’s blood curdling screams, horrified by Bathilda Bagshot’s grotesque snake transformation, and nauseous from Professor “could-be-a-Death-Eater” Umbridge’s corporal punishment of forcing student to write with their own blood. However, as disgusting as they appear to be, it would be a crude mistake to dismiss them as shock factors for plot. These inhumane events are depicted to emphasize the evil nature of Death Eaters and villains of the story that not only establish “these are our antagonists” but also vilify what they represent in our society, depicting them as the worst society can do.

There are common parallels stated by writers of comparing Voldemort to Hitler however, not many elaborate on comparing the Death Eaters and Snatchers to Axis/tyrannical supporters. Hermione with the word “mudblood” carved into her arm is absolutely nauseating and it also depicts the worst of humanity’s treatments towards those some deem “inferior” whether it be in race, ethnicity, or gender. Throughout out history, Black, indigenous, and folks part of the LGBTQIA+ community have faced nightmares such as these and some incidents are far worse than we could ever imagine.

To have such gruesome scenes in both the film and book with meaning behind them such as who/what the perpetrators represent, is vital to remind ourselves that awful history in order to make ourselves more aware. Additionally, it brings light to these events as these torturous circumstances are still prevalent today especially in developing countries that are being exploited by developed ones. Yes, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is deemed “Not Safe for Work” but with the meaning behind vilifying Death Eaters and Snatchers, it is to be deemed “Not Safe for Work but for Commentary”.