As our discussions usually develop, we wandered through various topics in a most engaging manner. We began with witches and how society's views have changed towards these creatures that supposedly wear pointed hats and ride broom sticks. From the biblical view in which witchcraft is an abomination, we moved to the witch-hunting hysteria of times past, and finally to our postmodern view of witches typified most recently in Harry Potter. Then, of course, there are the real witches of Wicca. Another discussion.
Truth and lie are almost always mixed in the movies we see and the books we read. A common lie in the Harry Potter movie is that God is just...nowhere...absent. The witches and wizards are like people we know, not strange, really. This could be any boarding school story, minus the magic. Titillating but empty, in my view.
Magic is a well-used subject for books and movies in our culture. We seem to be attracted by power. What if we could fly? Or how would it feel to be able make something happen by the use of words/spells? This happens in video games all the time. By maneuvering buttons you can make things happen. Realistic graphics increase the feeling of real power. There are gamers that live their lives in their favorite role-playing scenario, preferring the feeling of power and adventure it gives them to connection with real people. They are living a lie. What happens when that lie collides with reality?
Rococo
1 comment:
I think that when people who are truly living a lie are violently confronted with the truth, aka reality, they often become all the more determined to escape from it. They develop a hatred for the true world as it really is, and if anything they become more wrapped up in their false, animated world of RPG and unrealistic witchcraft. So what is the safest attitude that one can have toward such material? The answer to that is when one watches or reads Harry Potter you most remain firmly rooted in the truth, knowing that the witches in Harry Potter are not at all like the actual witches of the cult, Wicca. The same principle applies if you're playing an RPG.
You must be clear-headed and certain of the truth lest you be caught in the net of false reality that is prevelant in these games. Following the same path of logic, I see now that stories such as Harry Potter are most dangerous for young children that can be easly made to think that witch craft is perfectly harmless and is perhaps even good. The danger also exists for people from broken homes and families. You maybe asking why would that be the case? Simply because if your reality is mama's dead, daddy drinks, sister is a slut, and brother is a dope addict, then things such as the attractive but misleading portrayal of witch craft found in Harry Potter, and the immersive world of RPG's can be a method of escape that can lead to the occult.
Sir Colin
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