7月16日
Potter-Ville
As most of you know, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" smashed records, taking in $140 million since Wednesday opening with a massive $77.4 million just over the weekend. People love their Harry Potter.
But over at Cinematical, Erik Davis wants to know why. Why the hell does everyone like this kid, or I guess, at this point, adult, so much?
"I have no urge to read and/or see anything that has to do with Harry Potter. I haven't picked up a book, nor have I watched any of the films. Somehow I've managed to write a number of Potter-related posts over the years, but usually I spend about a half hour on Wikipedia, while also running questions past those Potter freaks on the Cinematical staff. Like with comic-related stuff, you get one fact wrong -- one misspelled name -- and the fanatics will attack. And they will attack hard. Here's the thing though -- no one has ever convinced me to read or watch. The people that love Harry simply tell me 'I have to read!' or 'It's so awesome!' -- but that's about as far as they go. I mean, what's so great about this kid? I don't see it. When it came time to decide whether I would watch Lord of the Rings, my friend sat down and explained the world, the backstory and the characters; essentially, he sold me on the series. I subsequently watched all three films and loved them. No one has done that for me with Potter. At least, not yet.
So, I ask you: Here's a chance for you fans to sell us non-fans -- What's so great about Harry Potter?"
Go here and contribute your reasons pertaining to Potter's greatness. And be nice to Erik. He's put himself in the line of Potter-freak fire and we should admire him for that.
--posted by Kim