"Weasley is Our King"
Ignore what this entry was previously about. I'm rather discombobulated with papers and stuff and how did it get so dark so fast?
In thinking about Harry Potter, and Order of the Phoenix etc., it's odd, but my suspension of disbelief has been challenged (in retrospect) by that song, "Weasley is Our King."
As much as Ferretbrain curdles my soul, they make a great point when they say that in the movies, with the simplified chanting "Lo-ser! Lo-ser!" versus "Wea-sley! Wea-sley!" sounds like something that people would actually say.
I mean, let's analyze it. It's described as if all of Slytherin House is singing this song, with Pansy Parkinson conducting. So is the entire school just that into Quidditch? Because at my high schools and colleges, you'd have a really hard time finding enough people who care that much about sports to do that kind of chanting. Heck, we had a tough time being united on our class cheers, let alone our class songs, let alone cheers invented to torment one particular member of an opposing team -- someone whose brothers have already been on the team for years. What kind of coercion did this take?
"Hey, Draco Malfoy hates this random Gryffindor. He's passing out pamphlets of a song that everyone should sing together at the Quidditch match."
"Draco Malfoy hates everyone on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Why is this so different?"
"Uh... uh... because he's the new Keeper... and if we tease him, Gryffindor will lose!"
"When I go to a Quidditch Game it's because I'm desperate for a distraction from homework. Speaking of which, I have 40 distinct varieties of mandrake to memorize by tomorrow afternoon, so buzz off."
The only thing that I can come up with to justify it is that JKR's editors fell silent around the time of OotP. The book became so long in part because it had to continously amplify everything that had come before it. Three books of derisive cheering by the Slytherins has made derision an expected thing. But derision in poetic form? That's new! That's thrilling! Right? Right?
What I'm saying is, sometimes the books seem to be trying to hard, to keep it together, to remain "light" and "kid's literature" while being "dark" and "serious." Sometimes they fall apart. I think "Weasley is Our King" is one place where it does, and there, at least, the movies improved by slimming it down.
In thinking about Harry Potter, and Order of the Phoenix etc., it's odd, but my suspension of disbelief has been challenged (in retrospect) by that song, "Weasley is Our King."
As much as Ferretbrain curdles my soul, they make a great point when they say that in the movies, with the simplified chanting "Lo-ser! Lo-ser!" versus "Wea-sley! Wea-sley!" sounds like something that people would actually say.
I mean, let's analyze it. It's described as if all of Slytherin House is singing this song, with Pansy Parkinson conducting. So is the entire school just that into Quidditch? Because at my high schools and colleges, you'd have a really hard time finding enough people who care that much about sports to do that kind of chanting. Heck, we had a tough time being united on our class cheers, let alone our class songs, let alone cheers invented to torment one particular member of an opposing team -- someone whose brothers have already been on the team for years. What kind of coercion did this take?
"Hey, Draco Malfoy hates this random Gryffindor. He's passing out pamphlets of a song that everyone should sing together at the Quidditch match."
"Draco Malfoy hates everyone on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Why is this so different?"
"Uh... uh... because he's the new Keeper... and if we tease him, Gryffindor will lose!"
"When I go to a Quidditch Game it's because I'm desperate for a distraction from homework. Speaking of which, I have 40 distinct varieties of mandrake to memorize by tomorrow afternoon, so buzz off."
The only thing that I can come up with to justify it is that JKR's editors fell silent around the time of OotP. The book became so long in part because it had to continously amplify everything that had come before it. Three books of derisive cheering by the Slytherins has made derision an expected thing. But derision in poetic form? That's new! That's thrilling! Right? Right?
What I'm saying is, sometimes the books seem to be trying to hard, to keep it together, to remain "light" and "kid's literature" while being "dark" and "serious." Sometimes they fall apart. I think "Weasley is Our King" is one place where it does, and there, at least, the movies improved by slimming it down.