death to capslock

Harry Potter vs. Iron Maiden

Mon, 22 Dec 2014 17:44:00 GMT

Posted by: sweettalkeress.livejournal.com

So since I've been traveling in England I've taken a liking to the English heavy-metal band Iron Maiden. Actually it's probably more accurate to say I've fallen head-over-heels in love with Iron Maiden and everything they stand for. If you've been paying attention, this is why I've begun to stick references to Iron Maiden in some of my Abridged entries. But the thing is, Iron Maiden's music, if you look closely, actually covers much of the same subject matter as the later Harry Potter books do. I think the difference is that Iron Maiden have always promoted themselves as a dark, dismal band, whereas Harry Potter started out as a fairly light-hearted children's series that could get dark and scary when it needed to, so while it makes sense for Iron Maiden to write a depressing song about life and death and choices, when Harry Potter brings up death it just feels...wrong.

( This got long. And a bit disjointed. )
So yeah. But above all I think it's interesting that so many artistic similarities between these two seemingly unrelated artists exist (even if they're not always used for the same purposes). I wonder if it's a cultural thing? I don't know how old JKR is but I do know that the band members of Iron Maiden were born in the mid-late 1950's, shortly after World War II. So...is it a British thing? Or a Brits-born-in-the-wake-of-world-wars thing? Or is it just coincidence?

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Deathly Hallows, Chapter 13: The Muggle-Born Registration Commission

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 17:54:00 GMT

Posted by: oneandthetruth.livejournal.com

Author’s note: The phrase “the twinkling twit” comes from the story Lily Fixes a Mistake, by severusphoenix on FFN.

To drag out this already overlong book create dramatic tension, JKR separates Harry and Hermione. Hermione has to go with Umbridge; Harry quickly lies about needing to see Arthur.

I liked the description of Thicknesse. He sounds much more imposing than I’d imagined. The merciful amnesia that took over my mind after reading DH caused me to imagine he was a short, skinny, wimpy-looking guy, but it says he’s tall, with long black hair, a beard streaked with silver, and a large, overhanging forehead. I’m now visualizing a cross between Snape and Frankenstein’s monster as played by Boris Karloff (but without the green skin, of course).

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Deathly Hallows, Chapter 11: The Bribe

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 19:43:00 GMT

Posted by: oneandthetruth.livejournal.com

Oh, crap.

This may be my most hated chapter in this book. Given the stiff competition, that’s saying something. Let me check my supplies.

Silver bullets? Check.

Semi-automatic rifle? Check.

Telescopic laser sight? Check.

OK. Cover me, people. I’m goin’ in.

This is another chapter with a strange picture at the beginning. Mary GrandPrè’s drawing of Remus makes him look older and more worn than my 88-year-old mother. She’s never had plastic surgery, so that’s ridiculous. I know the guy’s had a hard life, but come on!

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