week four [rhian]

Why does the religious right in the US condemn fantasy, according to Cockrell (2004)? 


Cockrell (2004) doesn't say that it condemns all fantasy, he claims that it's primarily Harry Potter and that is what he is trying to discern. He aims to answer the question "what makes a fundamentalist American reading public, who never got upset over the magic godmother in Cinderella... or Gandalf the Grey, complete with magic staff and wizard's hat, in the Lord of the Rings, book and films, draw the line at Harry Potter?" Some of his answers include:


- Popularity. "Harry is everywhere". It's easier to find a problem with something when it is everywhere, and people are more likely to listen to you if they've heard about the problem a lot. Also, because of its originally children readership, the popularity grew with the generation, spreading far and wide.


- Focus. "A recent shift in the focus of censorship efforts from sex to the occult." However there's a problem with this because the definition of fantasy differs from person to person, religion to religion, culture to culture.


- Easy to relate to. "Harry lives in our world, making him more of a threat." Because Harry Potter is low fantasy, it has it's scenes where it's set in everyday London, with normal "muggles" walking around, being subjected to witchcraft and wizardry.


All of these add up to making them scared and frightened. Harry Potter frightens the religious extremists and causes them to lash out and stop something that challenges their beliefs and ways of life.


On what grounds does Cockrell defend fantasy literature, using Harry Potter as an example? 


"Harry frightens only those who want the answers to be the same every time the question is asked," Cockrell (2004). Cockrell says that Harry Potter isn't demonic as the American religious extremists suggest, but more like a science, which I suppose is something that some religious people are afraid of.  At the center of it all is a mystery, which frightens people. But Cockrell also says that Rowling points out at the beginning "this may look like your world, but do not count on it being what you thought it was." Fantasy is meant to make you think of a completely new world and if it contains scenes that seem familiar, you need to remember that it is made up and meant to be unrealistic so if it doesn't seem that way - just wait, it's coming.