3. Actually the characters in Oz spend a lot of time making choices, struggling, fighting and overcoming inorder to discover that the things they seek: courage, intelligence and heart are already in their possession. The little girl discovers that much of what she wants is already available to her the same way, already available to her in her home. The wizard is a fake, Oz itself fearful and ready to bow to the witches. She herself saved herself with the help of her friends and her own courage and ingenuity.
4. I have a problem with the issue of wizards and culture. Perhaps if the story was set in Ravenclaw we would see more examples of lieterature, but I think it is Ironic that one of the only people we see reading for pleasure is Neville the supposed idiot who reads a herbology book to entertain himself. (Magical plants of the mediteranean.) I agree with Author by Night that Hermione reads to learn not really for pleasure, but even if you say that that is splitting hairs, Neville and Hermione are the only two who read for pleasure. The wizarding world seems to have little use for the arts even if they have a school for actors. I base that on the fact that children can get through seven years of school without having been taught anything about music literature or art. No one is required to read a single poem, novel or play or is taught how to interpret them. That says a lot about their culture. Their musice is derivitive copies of muggle music. There art is political designed to agrandize wizards and their view of themselves or portraits of the great powerful or wealthy. Yes we see some still lifes but we don't see much of a anything that is really loved for being beautiful and art.
I think their culture is artisticly impoverished. That is contraversial I know. I can't help thinking that if art was important to them they would insist on teaching all their children about it even a little bit.
So I don't think much about how wizartds quench their thirst for stories. They probably listen to radio soap operas and they appear to go to plays. We know they have comics and genre fiction. I'm glad they don't have a form of TV and that is a good thing for their culture. Having magic perhaps they don't need it. Having the ablility for instant travel maybe they entertain themselves through visiting in person since that is so easy for them?
I sounded way to extreme when I wrote about wizards and culture, my only excuse is that I've had a lot of cold medicine and it seems to have turned off my inner editor and made me rather severe in my opinions. Sorry. I obviously don't think Neville is an idiot just that he is a poor student in most classes at that stage of his life. The lack of evidence of a desire to teach children literature has always bugged me especially in a novel. I've always appreciated the way JKR made being studious and intelligent attractive and useful. I wish she had done the same for being interested in literature. I also appear to have forgotten to spell check. Sorry to one and all.
4. I have a problem with the issue of wizards and culture. Perhaps if the story was set in Ravenclaw we would see more examples of lieterature, but I think it is Ironic that one of the only people we see reading for pleasure is Neville the supposed idiot who reads a herbology book to entertain himself. (Magical plants of the mediteranean.) I agree with Author by Night that Hermione reads to learn not really for pleasure, but even if you say that that is splitting hairs, Neville and Hermione are the only two who read for pleasure. The wizarding world seems to have little use for the arts even if they have a school for actors. I base that on the fact that children can get through seven years of school without having been taught anything about music literature or art. No one is required to read a single poem, novel or play or is taught how to interpret them. That says a lot about their culture. Their musice is derivitive copies of muggle music. There art is political designed to agrandize wizards and their view of themselves or portraits of the great powerful or wealthy. Yes we see some still lifes but we don't see much of a anything that is really loved for being beautiful and art.
I think their culture is artisticly impoverished. That is contraversial I know. I can't help thinking that if art was important to them they would insist on teaching all their children about it even a little bit.
So I don't think much about how wizartds quench their thirst for stories. They probably listen to radio soap operas and they appear to go to plays. We know they have comics and genre fiction. I'm glad they don't have a form of TV and that is a good thing for their culture. Having magic perhaps they don't need it. Having the ablility for instant travel maybe they entertain themselves through visiting in person since that is so easy for them?
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