After reading through what I have written here, I would like to apologize to all of you sane people who have not yet read (or have no intention of reading) any or all of the Harry Potter series. I would recommend reading them, if you happen to be a fan of that type of genre, but, that being said, let us on with the show.
Hello friendly visitors. It’s a great day to be writing once again in the overly neglected Yellow Lives. My lives continue to be very yellow, and almost depressingly so, in fact. Is it possible to be yellow and depressed? From what I understand, it’s seen as an outrage if you are a happy person, and are suffering from one of those moments of sadness or serious reflection.
Serious reflection can be a good thing. After having heard the not so recent news of Dumbledore’s sexual preference, I have been seriously contemplating the subtle implications of modern media, books being the most powerful (and often the most subtle), with other showings in movies and plays. The more I analyze, the more I see that there really are many “subconscious” messages played before our eyes in a most furtive manner, and I would like to talk about what set off this particular bout of reflection.
Each of us have a type of entertainment that pleases us most. Some like books, some like movies. Yet others prefer the live entertainment of concerts, of plays, and such things. In each of these types of media, in the things that play before our eyes in a constant barrage of entertainment and enjoyment, there are subtle messages laid out before us, things that only become evident if they are studied and analyzed. Those things are not always pleasing the conscious mind, and as such must be realized if they are to be changed.
I’d like to point out one that is particularly upsetting to me. This would be that of the portrayal of the Christ figure in our entertainment. In every story of good and evil, there is a savior, someone who represents the forces of good. Some authors are very aware of this, and even go to great lengths to establish the connection, or the correlation of their character with the Christ story. This is a very powerful writing and entertaining technique. The grand majority (I believe that it was seventy or so percent at last count) of people in the world believe in a God, and believe in a Savior figure, so this type of entertainment appeals to our innards. Or are minds, if you wish to put it that way. But with the portrayal of the Christ figure, there comes a certain ability to make allegations of the Christ himself. What I mean to say is that, whether it is done consciously and purposefully or no, when you make a savior figure a certain way, and then attach certain flaws to him, then suddenly you make suggestions to the mind of all who view your creation of the character of Christ himself.
I am well aware that many people will believe this to be a rather absurd statement. I mean, who would believe that anyone would take the idea of a sexual preference of a wizard, a mythical creature, and attach it to that of Christ? I hope to show why this (and also the example of superman) is not such an absurd idea at all, but rather a carefully calculated way to insert an idea into the minds of the people.
The correlation between the depiction of the character of Albus Dumbledore and Christ is a very strong one. Take for instance Albus’ ability to do the impossible. In the last book it explains how he beat a wicked wizard who had, quite literally, an unbeatable wand. Albus’ presence is felt everywhere in the books. In the last book his eyes take on an “all seeing” role, in the first book, he claims that he had been watching Harry, and that he did not need an invisibility cloak to become invisible. Always he knew what must be done, and was carefully calculating the steps needed in every instance. He was the leader of a small resistance against evil. Perhaps the strongest evidence that the portrayal of his character is a direct correlation with that of the Savior is the moments leading up to his death in the sixth book. First off, in order to enter the place where the key to defeating evil was found, he had to shed blood. Then, after having crossed the lake he willingly drank a nasty drink, a compelling and disturbing similarity to the words found in the bible, “remove from me this bitter cup.” Add to that that at the moment of Dumbledore’s weakness, he is murdered, betrayed by one of his very own followers (which seems to be influenced by the idea of the “Gospel according to Judas” which was quite a topic of interest in Mexico for awhile, but that is a discussion for another day). All of these are compelling evidences that Dumbledore was meant to portray Christ. What bothers me is that after having made such a connection between the two figures, there is then the declaration of a homosexual preference on the part of Dumbledore. I can not help but think that the mind would make a natural if unconscious connection between the two characters, which would suggest to the mind that both are homosexual. I do not find that a very agreeable suggestion. There are some who disagree, but my beliefs are such that I reject the idea.
I do not wish to say that the savior character of every story ought to be perfect. Far from it, I say. What bothers me is when the savior figure is portrayed as something extraordinary, something inhuman, almost god-like, and then given atrocious flaws. I enjoy the depiction of savior folks as being just that: common people who are trying to help others. Take for instance Pancha from Emperor’s new grove. He’s just a good guy, but in no way is he portrayed as anything other than human, even though in the story he is in the end the savior figure. I enjoy that immensely. But, if you contrast that with the depiction of Superman, whose very name depicts godly attributes and superhuman traits, and whose origin and non-human nature naturally set him apart and put him on a higher plane, and then make that super heroic savior unchaste and, in the end not virtuous, then I have a problem. I think that in no one’s mind there would be any strong connection between the character of Pancha and that of Christ, but between Superman and Him, well, the connection is much simpler.
Recently I’ve been studying about argumentive papers in a composition class. I perhaps have not represented sufficiently the other side of the argument, and perhaps what I point out to be deliberate choices and planting of ideas on the part of the authors is really just them trying to create something interesting and palpable to the general public. Be that as it may, there must be consciousness on the part of the public (that’s us) what we accept in our entertainment. I probably will still enjoy reading Harry Potter, but I hope that Mrs. Rowling will not be offended if I choose to believe that Dumbledore is not gay.
In an effort to be politically or at least legally correct, this blog entry represents only my personal beliefs. It in no way is affiliated with blogspot or other related groups. What was written here is not necessarily what the authors of the mentioned works believe or what they were trying to do; it’s just what I see as the affect of their work.
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