fantasy – R&D Gothic Discoveries

I was talking with a friend of mine not long ago, and the subject went through fantastic movies and books; no need to say that I immediately mentioned how amazing Harry Potter was. And, disappointment, I learned he never watched nor read this series. I mean, he obviously knew what it was, but he never actually watched or read it. From this discussion, I felt the duty to give people who never watched or read the series reasons to take the time to do so. If you don’t like to read, you may like to watch movies sometimes right?

It made us all think we could be wizards

If you were young enough when you discovered Harry Potter, you must have thought at some point that you could be a wizard too. It sure develops the imagination of the youth.

2. Hogwarts

How incredible is it? I mean, we all dreamed about visiting this place. First, the architecture is awesome and second, the vibe of this place is comforting.

3. The creatures

Goblins (Gringotts Wizarding Bank), elves (Dobby), ghosts (Nearly Headless Nick), three-headed dog (Fluffy + reference to Greek mythology: Cerberus, the three-headed dog which guards the entrance to Hades, the underworld where spirits of the dead were the only ones allowed), trolls, dragons, unicorns, centaurs, phoenix, dementors… There are so many, if we were to write a list, we would probably forget half of them. However, the variety of fantastic creatures is quite impressive, and the use of those creatures is never pointless.

4. The values transmitted

Indeed, values of friendship, family, courage, loyalty, altruism and more are all part of this series. Of course, it is a story, and in each good story, there are the villains which are in complete contradiction with all good values shared in the story, but the principal characters, Harry, Hermione and Ron, all promote the values that encourage emotional growth.

5. Settings, special effects and costumes

Well, it’s quite simple, the settings, special effects and costumes are all incredible.

6. Books vs. movie

One of the rare book series that was adapted to cinema which actually resulted to be a real success. Of course, some details are missing; a movie is obviously very different from a book, mostly in terms of length; you cannot produce a 10h movie for each book. Nonetheless, when I compare with other book series and films produced from those books, Harry Potter is most probably the only one with which I was not disappointed.

7. Just a good amount of cheesiness

Am I the only one who finds it boring when I want to watch a fantastic movie and it actually results in a love story? Well, Harry Potter does contain some love stories, but honestly, I would say that we hear about it like 4 times in all 8 movies.

8. Movies marathons or study background

Harry Potter is the perfect choice for a gloomy day movie marathon. I swear, every time I don’t know what to do during a holiday when it’s raining, I never go wrong with Harry Potter. Plus, once you know them by heart, it’s a perfect background for study or homework times (yep, I love it that much).

Ok, there are more reasons to watch or read Harry Potter, and if those ones are not enough for you, I’m sure you’ll be able to find others on other websites. But I mean, do you really need more?

*In case you would not know any of them, the titles of the films from the first to the last one are: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011).

DelphineC

Fun fact, I’m all about classics. And I figured why not talk about another one: The Lord of the Rings. I know many people who read the books and then saw the movies and were disappointed, but I mean, obviously there are more details in a book. We cannot ask for a copy-paste of a book into a film; it’s impossible, even more impossible considering how humongous a novel it is. So, despite the lack of some details in the movies compared to the novel, we must admit that The Lord of the Rings is a classic, and everyone definitely watched it at some point or another. But what makes fantasy so attractive to people? What made it a success? I mean, the trilogy earned a total of 17 Academy Awards… who else could say the same?

Obviously, fantasy is one of the most appreciated genres even though it cannot be considered as a “serious” literature genre. However, that’s the good thing about it: it is NOT serious. Everyday life sometimes gets a little bit overwhelming, and we need to find some ways to escape for a certain time. Unlike documentaries or movies/books inspired from actual events that happened in the past, fantasy allows us to enjoy some free time without being reminded of the stress of the exterior world. Even though those movies or books are not all about joy, we still enjoy them.

If we take The Lord of the Rings, just think about Frodo’s companion, Samwise Gamgee; a light-hearted, generous, courageous and so valiant Hobbit. If you know who Sam is, just by being reminded of him kind of made you nostalgic right? And now you want to watch the movies just for him, yep.

Now think about Gimli, the dwarf: he is a strong and loyal warrior who would certainly fight for Frodo to succeed in his quest until he dies.

No need to talk about Aragorn, but still I will do it: not only is he a good looking man, but he is also the rightful heir to the kingdom of Gondor, a man of honor and worthy of your trust (just for the sake of telling it, Arwen, an elf, and not just some kind of elf, but Elrond’s daughter – Elrond is a king elf – is in love with Aragorn, and that my friend, is something to be proud of).

The last I will mention, but not the least is Gollum. This little creature that was once a Hobbit and that the Ring transformed into a kind of monster. He is a creature which we first hate, but then feel so much compassion for him and we finally love him for he is not fundamentally bad, but actually, fundamentally good.

Let’s only think about the fellowship of the ring, which includes nine people: four Hobbits (Frodo Baggings, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took), two men (Aragorn and Boromir), a Dwarf (Gimli), an Elf (Legolas) and a Magician (Gandalf). The Dwarves and the Elves are not in good terms due to some old conflicts, and the men race is not really respected anymore since their “weakness” is what caused the loss of many (the man king did not destroy the Ring when he had the occasion). But still, they work together, they help each other and learn to respect and even appreciate one another. Important values such as mutual aid, courage, honesty, friendship and many more are put forward in this trilogy. If this is not a life lesson, I don’t know what it is.

We love fantasy, because it is a loophole and it stimulates our imagination and our feelings.

I leave you on a fun meme I found on the Internet. If you understand it, you are part of the real ones!😉

DelphineC

Tag: fantasy

Reasons to Love Harry Potter

Classic: The Lord of the Rings