As a kid, I read up to the fourth Harry Potter book. I recall that I enjoyed the books very much, but for some reason I did not continue. I guess that I got anxious about exams and homework and all the other allegedly important things at school, leaving no time to read. At some point, the movies came out, and I recall that some classmates watched them. But I never managed to be part of that and so I never watched the movies. And now, more than ten years later, for an unexpected reason, I watched them all in one shot. If one buys the scenario, they are fun and entertaining, offer a lot of action and adventures, and an amazing big finale. But then there is the ending after the ending. The screen turns black and shows the main characters about twenty years later. And that short final scene bugged me. It bugged me surprisingly much.
Books, movies, merchandise... and amusement parks all over the world
The films depict a coming of age story. The characters grow over time and learn from their mistakes, from the first to the last movie. Everything is new, everything is exciting. The characters admit that they do not know what they are doing, but that they are trying their best. And after seven great movies, that last scene brings across a devastating message. The characters became old and settled down. Now they know everything. Now they can teach their own children. It conveys the idea that, once one becomes an adult, everything is under control. That is a huge lie. As adults, we are nothing but teenagers who have learned to pretend that we have an answer for everything. That we are stable. That we know who we are. The scariest part of it is that it is incredibly tempting and comforting to actually believe that. Not only scary, but also sad. If one believes to know everything, one will never learn anything new.
Add new comment