ASSIST News Service (ANS) -- PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA
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November 21, 2001

"ENTERTAINED AND DISTURBED" BY HARRY POTTER MOVIE

By Martin Saunders
Special correspondent for ASSIST News Service

LONDON, ENGLAND (ANS) -- The Harry Potter phenomenon is of some concern to Christian parents everywhere. Accusations have been leveled at both the book series, and the new motion picture, that the central story - of a schoolboy wizard who fights evil magic with good magic - will lead children towards the occult. As the editor of the UK's most popular Christian website, I thought it might be a good idea that instead of ignoring Harry and hoping that he'd disappear in a puff of smoke, I engaged him directly on our users' behalf.

So, out of duty rather than choice, I headed off to watch the movie on its opening weekend. As you may know from my review on www.premier.org.uk and for ASSIST News Service, I was both entertained and disturbed. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was undeniably a master class in big-budget filmmaking, but it also presented three concerns to me.

Firstly, it contained bad language - some of which may have meant more to British audiences than to those in other countries - which was rather gratuitous. Secondly, there were some fairly terrifying moments in it, which were arguably unsuitable for young children. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, I found that whilst Harry's adventures do take place in a fictional part of England, and see him fighting imaginary monsters, the film still presents the idea of being a witch or wizard as a real option for children.

Therefore, I could see a genuine reason why parents might not want their offspring to view the film. In the end though, I was left unsure as to whether I could legitimately brand it "harmful," and therefore called on parents to check it out themselves before deciding whether to allow children in.

I could not possibly have arrived at this set of conclusions without first viewing the film. The books contain no swearing, so I did not expect to hear any from the screen; the terrifying moments in the book might well have been toned down in Chris Columbus's movie. And how are those who have never looked at the books to be certain that they do not end up - Narnia-style - with a Christian message? Unless a Christian, reviewing from that particular perspective, can feed back on these things, then we are blind to the true contents of the film, and entirely unable to pass comment on the biggest children's craze of the new millennium.

The reasons behind my protestations lie in the barrage of critical responses which I received after my review was published. "I suggest the reviewer pick up his Bible and start living by it, not by the world's standards," wrote one of the offended. "I am sorrowful that the Christian media watchdogs think they have to participate in ungodly things in order to warn their readers," said another.

As a journalist, I guess I should be pleased that people are being moved to respond to my words (and, it should be added, there were also several positive responses.) Yet as a Christian, I feel differently. It seems to me that this debate perfectly illustrates the central struggle in evangelical Christianity today, certainly here in the UK. As followers of Jesus, we are called to go out into the world, making disciples of all nations. And since the world holds the media most dear, we have to include an understanding of what the media produces, and the messages that people are receiving through it, in our understanding of the world. How can we tell people that we are right and that they are wrong, if we don't even know anything about their world?

On the other hand, whilst we are called to live in the world, we are not to be of the world. Thus we have to stick close to God, praying and reading our Bibles continuously, not sitting there like the rest of the world absorbing constant messages from TV, radio and cinema. However, it is my belief that we can strike a balance, and therefore this review was attempting to do just that. I fervently believe that God wants us to analyze the world, not simply to dismiss it, so that we can respond to it authoritatively.

I've been surprised by some of the comments made to me by my brothers and sisters, and not wholly encouraged. But if that mean that as a result of my review people are actually wrestling with these issues, instead of hiding them under the carpets far below their ivory towers, then long may the hate mail continue to flow.

Martin Saunders can be contacted by e-mail at martin.saunders@premier.org.uk. 

Martin Saunders is Website Editor for Premier Christian Radio in London. To read both his review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and to view some of the responses to it - or even to add your own - visit www.premier.org.uk.
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