Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
May 18, 2016 10:46:18 GMT -5
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Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on May 18, 2016 10:46:18 GMT -5
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Dir. David Yates
Premiered July 11, 2016
There are a lot of ways to go about this.
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books changed everything. In terms of its influence on commercial literature, it’s Star Wars; not only was it the first literary blockbuster, it created the very idea of literary blockbusters, and did so at the apex of broadcast television, in an era when people decried the downfall of child literacy. I’m just old enough to remember the kid-lit landscape before Harry Potter, and I actually got a copy of the first book in 1997, right before it took off. The success of the series blew me away back then and it blows me away now.
Of course, nothing that successful can ever be fully divorced from the environment that allowed it to thrive. The Harry Potter books are very much of their time, and became moreso as the series quickly ran out of world to build and settled into a conventional fantasy story. As a result, the later books are heavy with subtext inspired by Rowling’s then-rising star in the background of British politics. Nowhere is this more apparent than the fifth installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
In the previous film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the dark wizard Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) regained his corporeal form and began to kill again, but only Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) has seen him return and lived to tell the tale. Consequently, the bulk of the wizard political establishment refuses to believe that Voldemort has returned, instead foisting the blame on Potter, his mentor Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), and his godfather Sirius Black (Gary Oldman). To make sure that Hogwarts School falls in line, the Ministry of Magic appoints the prissy Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton; see, I told you) to enforce the party line through dozens of draconian restrictions and legally questionable torments. Potter, unable to rely on his usual adult supporters, finds he must lead his classmates if they are to defend themselves in the coming war.
Many Americans, including myself at the time, drew parallels between Umbridge’s reign of terror and the USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001. In retrospect, as well as with further research, it is more of a criticism of the top-down approach to western education of late that has focused on standardized testing, rote theory, and faux-utilitarian disregard for education itself that claims to address the real world but smacks of a caste system; as well as the British tradition of academic corporal punishment. Frankly, this was not the place for it.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has a lot going on, some of it good, but for the most part it doesn’t seem that concerned with the overall conflict– or indeed with magic itself. By the film’s climax, characters don’t even have to speak to produce most spells, which henceforth fulfill the role of conventional weapons. The titular Order of the Phoenix mostly comprises established characters and only appears at the beginning and end; to what purpose were they introduced?
Although my issues with the movie mostly originate with the book, I can’t shake my distaste for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The Harry Potter series always had an amount of politics in it, taking place in a real-world context, but here it’s placed front and center, at the expense of a pivotal character arc that redeems the character of Harry himself.
Sign this was made in 2007
Dudley Dursley is a chav at peak-ringtone. The Ministry of Magic is decorated entirely in black tile.
Additional Notes
One thing that struck me upon rewatching is that Snape’s “good guy” credentials are never an issue, as they had been in the previous books/films. Though he (and the other professors) barely get enough screentime, Snape’s attempts to train Potter to resist Voldemort’s telepathy may be Alan Rickman’s best work in the series.
Also in Theaters
Harry Potter was released on a Wednesday. The following Friday saw the release of critically loathed horror flick Captivity, in which Elisha Cuthbert is kidnapped and apparently puts ‘em on the glass; and the controversial Petey Greene biopic Talk to Me.
Next Time: Hairspray
Dir. David Yates
Premiered July 11, 2016
There are a lot of ways to go about this.
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books changed everything. In terms of its influence on commercial literature, it’s Star Wars; not only was it the first literary blockbuster, it created the very idea of literary blockbusters, and did so at the apex of broadcast television, in an era when people decried the downfall of child literacy. I’m just old enough to remember the kid-lit landscape before Harry Potter, and I actually got a copy of the first book in 1997, right before it took off. The success of the series blew me away back then and it blows me away now.
Of course, nothing that successful can ever be fully divorced from the environment that allowed it to thrive. The Harry Potter books are very much of their time, and became moreso as the series quickly ran out of world to build and settled into a conventional fantasy story. As a result, the later books are heavy with subtext inspired by Rowling’s then-rising star in the background of British politics. Nowhere is this more apparent than the fifth installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
In the previous film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the dark wizard Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) regained his corporeal form and began to kill again, but only Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) has seen him return and lived to tell the tale. Consequently, the bulk of the wizard political establishment refuses to believe that Voldemort has returned, instead foisting the blame on Potter, his mentor Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), and his godfather Sirius Black (Gary Oldman). To make sure that Hogwarts School falls in line, the Ministry of Magic appoints the prissy Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton; see, I told you) to enforce the party line through dozens of draconian restrictions and legally questionable torments. Potter, unable to rely on his usual adult supporters, finds he must lead his classmates if they are to defend themselves in the coming war.
Many Americans, including myself at the time, drew parallels between Umbridge’s reign of terror and the USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001. In retrospect, as well as with further research, it is more of a criticism of the top-down approach to western education of late that has focused on standardized testing, rote theory, and faux-utilitarian disregard for education itself that claims to address the real world but smacks of a caste system; as well as the British tradition of academic corporal punishment. Frankly, this was not the place for it.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has a lot going on, some of it good, but for the most part it doesn’t seem that concerned with the overall conflict– or indeed with magic itself. By the film’s climax, characters don’t even have to speak to produce most spells, which henceforth fulfill the role of conventional weapons. The titular Order of the Phoenix mostly comprises established characters and only appears at the beginning and end; to what purpose were they introduced?
Although my issues with the movie mostly originate with the book, I can’t shake my distaste for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The Harry Potter series always had an amount of politics in it, taking place in a real-world context, but here it’s placed front and center, at the expense of a pivotal character arc that redeems the character of Harry himself.
Sign this was made in 2007
Dudley Dursley is a chav at peak-ringtone. The Ministry of Magic is decorated entirely in black tile.
Additional Notes
One thing that struck me upon rewatching is that Snape’s “good guy” credentials are never an issue, as they had been in the previous books/films. Though he (and the other professors) barely get enough screentime, Snape’s attempts to train Potter to resist Voldemort’s telepathy may be Alan Rickman’s best work in the series.
Also in Theaters
Harry Potter was released on a Wednesday. The following Friday saw the release of critically loathed horror flick Captivity, in which Elisha Cuthbert is kidnapped and apparently puts ‘em on the glass; and the controversial Petey Greene biopic Talk to Me.
Next Time: Hairspray
