It's Finally the Beginning of the End for Harry Potter
by Linda Moore
On November 19, 2010 the end will begin. Theaters all over North America will be alive with the buzz that can only come from thousands upon thousands of fanatical movie-goers preparing to indulge themselves in two-plus hours of wizards, witches, spells, charms, curses and of course, Quidditch.
The first instalment of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” is arriving in North American theatres. (The second half of the book-turned-movie will come to theatres July 15, 2011.) When the doors open to the screaming multitudes it’s quite likely that a majority of the patrons will have spent an entire decade of their life following the adventures of the boy wizard. For those who’ve read the books, the journey has been even longer.
As the lights go down there will be cries of delight and excitement. There will be an electric feeling of anticipation from the crowd – a sense of longing that the images and visual story-telling will live up to their expectations. After the whoops of joy, a chorus of shushing will commence only to be replaced by a quiet hush that will still pulse with exhilaration.
For most fans of the series, whether they’ve memorized every book and watched each movie a dozen times; or, they came into the film series some place in the middle, this ending is bittersweet. Everyone is anxious to know the finale; or, if they’ve read the books, to see how it translates onto film. However, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 signals the end of a very profound movie-going experience. It is a rare and wonderful event when such a massive group of people share in a collective cultural experience. For this reason and many, many more, Harry will be missed.
In other words, it would be wise to get in line and buy your tickets early!
Photo Credit: Flickr