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Read it First. No regrets.

by Jennifer Dorsey February 18, 2012 2 Comments
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Jennifer is a communications nerd with a passion for stories in every form. She spends more time with a book in hand, an iPod attached, and a pen and paper at her side than is probably healthy. She also loves a good debate. You have been warned.

Chances are you have an opinion on whether, when a book becomes a movie, you should read the book before seeing it on the silver screen.

Taekia’s blog on Wednesday gave the perspective that seeing the movie first does no harm. And I agree, books and movies shouldn’t be the same. It doesn’t work.

However, I think, when possible, the book should be read first. Hear me out.

I am an avid reader – classics, YA contemporary fiction, literary fiction, biographies, fantasy – you name it, I probably enjoy it. Yet, despite my nerdy reading habits, there have been a few instances where I saw a movie before reading the book. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Help, and Breaking Dawn, Part I are a few examples.

And guess what? I regretted it, every single time (well… maybe not so much for Breaking Dawn).

Here’s my argument. My version of a world, my imagination, is never the same as the movie. And sometimes, yes, the movie does it better (yes, I said it! Didn’t see that coming, did you?). For example, I hold the unpopular opinion that the Harry Potter movies improved my visualization of Rowling’s world. Don’t give me that look guys. It’s a valid opinion, k?
And here’s what’s important. The version I prefer is entirely my choice.
When I read a book for the first time, I want to have the opportunity to visualize that world from scratch, be surprised by the sound of the characters’ voices in my head, and go along with the plot, even if it’s a tad bumpy. I want what the author put to the page to come alive in my head. And if, when I see the movie I happen to like that rendition better, then I can allow that version to be what I visualize in my head from there on out. But if I didn’t, then I still have ownership of what it looks like in my head. But when I see the movie first, often that ownership is difficult to get back.

So, in the end, it’s a preference. How do you want the way the story lives in your head to be decided? There is no real “right” answer. The creator of the tale, whether in the form of pen and paper or scenes and special effects, leaves that decision entirely up to you. It’s your story now. Do with it what you will.

Posted in Harry Potter Alliance News, Philosophical Musings, Stories | Tagged , , ,

Watching T.V. is bad for you. It’s going to rot your brain. That said…

by Sara Danver February 16, 2012 Leave a comment
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We all heard that a lot growing up – from teachers, parents and coaches. From lots of smart people who care about us and want us to do well in life. If you watch T.V. too often, you’re going to fail.

Okay, perhaps that’s a bit extreme. But you get the idea. T.V. is not seen as a medium for story telling or an art form like novels and films. T.V. is generally viewed as a time-suck, a mindless escape from reality, a vehicle for advertisements and a hypnotic vessel used to tell us what’s cool and what isn’t. There may be brainwashing involved.

But we’re smart kids. And as much as our parents, teachers and coaches love us – sometimes that fact gets missed. I am the first person to go off on rants about how reality television is eating away at all that’s good in the world from the inside out (again – perhaps a bit extreme, but we’re all entitled to our long-winded over the top rants). But when it comes to story telling, development of characters and the investigation of the spectrum of the human experience, T.V. can be, and often is, an art form.

I just finished watching the first five seasons of Supernatural. And let me tell you, that was the most perfect multi-season story arch I have ever seen. The show examined our perceptions of destiny, peace vs. freedom, family dynamics, addiction, death, revenge and a whole host of other interesting facets of humanity. And it did it with a beautiful, unified and intricate five season story arch comprised of individual season arches that moved the story and the characters along while still playing into the culmination of the fifth season, which arguably should have and could have been the series finale.

Of course it was making money, so they kept it on the air, possibly to the detriment of the story – but we aren’t perfect. And we don’t have an American BBC equivalent. But the point is, Supernatural, a self-referential, clever, devastating procedural on a network that is devoted to teen dramas, produced a unique, beautiful and tragic story that forces you to ask questions and to examine your beliefs. Television – crime procedurals, teen dramas and sitcoms – all tell stories.

We shouldn’t be asking ourselves if we’re wasting time watching T.V. Instead, watch T.V. like you read books. Evaluate the stories, the characters and the themes. Take into account the medium. How do the writers and producers work around the constraints of advertising, 42 minute episodes and sweeps? If we allow television the same dynamic evaluation system we give to films and novels, it can be just as enriching to our perceptions of story.

But you should probably still do your homework first…

Posted in Harry Potter Alliance News, Philosophical Musings, Stories | Tagged ,

Read It First…or Not

by Taekia Blackwell February 15, 2012 Leave a comment
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Taekia considers herself to be sassy in all the right ways; she is the take-no-prisoners Managing Director of the Harry Potter Alliance and an avid television and movie watcher (movies, not films…).

So, I don’t really think you need to read a book before seeing the movie, and sometimes I prefer to see the movie first. WHAT?! I know, I know. To explain why, I need to back up to explain where I am right now.

The HPA is gearing up to launch it’s first HUGE specifically non-Harry Potter campaign as pat of the Imagine Better project. Now, a lot of people will probably ask how this is in any way different from things we’ve already done like Helping Haiti Heal or P4A 2010.

Well, we’re only focusing on one other text. We’re building a comprehensive and robust campaign, which works on an issue directly related to The Hunger Games, and uses clear parallels from the cannon.

Now back to why movies are better than books and no one should read…(no, no, that’s clearly crap – I’m joking – put DOWN the stones, guys). Talking about the Hunger Games so much currently has started to get me really excited for the movie this March. REALLY EXCITED.

But it also makes me think of all of the people who will be seeing the movies without having ever read the books. Books and movies each have strengths as a medium that the other doesn’t. I think problems arise when movies try to cover everything and be everything that books are; and likewise books suck when they don’t play to their point (ahem I Am Number Four ahem) as a medium.

But a strong adaptation shouldn’t pin book against movie, the strengths of film as a medium should shine through, and I know they get it wrong a lot of the time. I want to cry over most of the HP movies because they’re bad movies. But sometimes they get it oh-so-right. And I think we can help them get it right by shifting our perception of what we’re about to see. Sometimes the message truly is the medium.

We as readers, as viewers have the power to appreciate what we’re seeing and to acknowledge that books and movies are meant to tell different types of stories all held within the same text and that perhaps the film will not be as rich and detailed as the book… because it’s not meant to be. However, even the concept of “Read it First” creates an inherent link between the two simply because they’re based on the same text. Don’t read it first… or do… who cares? Just because something is first doesn’t mean it’s right or better. Just enjoy the medium, whichever you prefer.

I’m excited to see The Hunger Games, not because I think it will be a perfect cinematic actualization of the book, but because I think it’s going to be a good movie.

What do you think? Are books clearly the superior medium? Do movies get a bad rap? Do you want to hear more about our next campaign? Leave a comment!

Posted in Harry Potter Alliance News, Philosophical Musings, Stories | Tagged , , , ,

You Could Win a MyHogwarts Beta Account!

by Kara O'Brien February 9, 2012 Leave a comment

You’ve heard of MyHogwarts…right?! It’s an amazing new social network for Harry Potter fans, that will opening to the public in June 2012. A few lucky witches and wizards will have access to the site starting in March, and now’s your chance to win one of five beta accounts we’ll be giving away. One of those chances can be found right here, and others can be discovered by keeping an eye on our social media platforms over the next few days.

So, now for the challenge: Several actors and actresses in the Harry Potter film series signed the Not In Harry’s Name petition. Can you name three of them, and the characters they played?

Email your answers to kara@thehpalliance.org for a chance to win beta access to MyHogwarts! Best of luck to you all.

Amendment: We have a winner! Congratulations to Helen Spencer, a true-hearted Ravenclaw.

Posted in Harry Potter Alliance News |

Where’s the proof that child slavery is not being used in Harry Potter’s name?

by Andrew Slack January 1, 2012 11 Comments

As we enter the new year of 2012, we in the Harry Potter Alliance have a big vision of expanding our work with people from all over to translate the message of Harry Potter into our world: that love has a power beyond the reach of any magic. A crucial step in our world embodying the power of love is to honoring our children.

The cocoa industry is unfortunately plagued by the exploitation of cocoa farmers whose children continue to go hungry. In extreme circumstances, children are kidnapped from their families and trafficked as slaves on cocoa plantations in the Ivory Coast. The entire cocoa industry is so corrupt that unless there is a transparent way (such as the process required by the Fair Trade label) to prove that chocolate comes from ethically grown cocoa, there is a chance that it funded the market for the trafficking of children and an almost definite chance that it funded the perpetuation of global hunger amongst children.
Read more…

Posted in Harry Potter Alliance News |

Thank you Kate Looby

by Andrew Slack December 30, 2011 4 Comments
Nearly four years ago, I got an email from a random person named “Kate Looby” inquiring about how she could volunteer for the Harry Potter Alliance. The HPA was building fast but we had no staff in place. When I talked with Kate over the phone, she let me know point blank that she had no experience in activism.I asked, “Okay. But tell me, what skills do you have? I mean, what do you like doing?”She replied almost sheepishly as if this was an embarrassing thing to say, “Well, I really like administrative skills. I don’t know. I like organizing things.”

I was overjoyed. “Kate Looby,” I said, “ you just became the most important activist in my life.” And she did.

From that point forward Kate built our volunteer staff from the ground up to a point where now it has eight teams, each with it’s own manager, and over 70 volunteers in total.

Kate helped lead this staff in sending five cargo planes to Haiti, donating about 90,000 books across our world,  in winning the Chase Bank Community Giving Challenge that awarded the HPA $250,000, pulled off our five year anniversary, our presence at conferences, breaking records in phone banking for LGBTQ equality, staffing Project for Awesome 2010, and more.

Kate reminded me once that the real leader of the Harry Potter Alliance was its staff. And she is right: our staff make up the heart and soul of our organization,  accomplishments, and vision for the future. And they would not be here were it not for the work and ingenuity of Kate Looby.

So it with a mixture of sadness and gratitude  that I inform our community that Kate Looby will be leaving the HPA as Director of Operations. We wish her well in all of her exciting future endeavors knowing she will make a truly positive difference in all of the lives she touches.

I feel incredibly confident in the infrastructure that Kate has helped build. There is no way to do any justice to describing what she has given this community in a simple blog entry so I will simply close this as I opened:

Nearly four years ago, I got an email from a random person named “Kate Looby” inquiring about how she could volunteer for the Harry Potter Alliance.

But Kate is no longer in any way “random.” She is a crucial part of this organization’s history and foundation. A part of this movement’s history. And she will remain in our hearts as we continue to change the story of our world  with the magic of story.

Thank you Kate Looby.

Posted in Harry Potter Alliance News |

The Warner Brother Who Stole Christmas

by Andrew Slack December 24, 2011 3 Comments

At the Harry Potter Alliance, we are inspired by stories, not empty words. Words are just words while stories require action.

And so I look to great storytellers like Dickens and Seuss with the hope that maybe this Christmas whatever mysterious force opened the heart of Ebenezer Scrooge and the Grinch will open the heart of those at the top of Warner Bros.: CEO Barry Meyer and Senior Vice Presidents Barry Ziehl and Ana de Castro. Not simply for the sake of one underprivileged child like Tiny Tim who at least had the support of his family and the children of Whoville who always had each other, but for scores of kids who have experienced something far more brutal: being kidnapped from their families and forced to work as slaves on cocoa plantations.

On behalf of the Harry Potter Alliance, I have informed Mr. Meyer that given that our partners at Free2Work gave the chocolate company that WB uses an “F” in human rights, there is a reasonable chance that Harry Potter chocolate is being made by child slaves. If we could, we would phone the police about this situation and have them bring these children back to their parents and their perpetrators to justice. But apparently Mr. Meyer and the others at Warner Bros. would do no such thing even if there were a police to call. Because this Christmas they aren’t lifting a finger to aid these children.

When presented with the facts – and there are lots of them – Warner Bros. has simply ignored us. Not at first. No. At first Barry Meyer praised us for the way we’ve protected so many children in the past. He told us that their ethical sourcing guidelines are a “contractual component of every product licensing agreement” and any violation of that licensing agreement would result in Warner Bros. taking “corrective action immediately.”

So when I showed Mr. Meyer, Mr. Ziehl, and Ms. de Castro the “F” report card and explained what it meant regarding child slavery, I thought they were going to take “corrective action immediately.” They did not. Instead they acted like the Grinch who had “a heart two sizes too small” and ignored us. After months of this, I finally told them that I would have to report their uncooperative behavior to JK Rowling. They replied immediately, saying they did an investigation and everything with Harry Potter chocolate is consistent with their ethical sourcing guidelines. Great! Almost. I asked them for evidence. They refused to give me any. I said, “come on, you do realize this is for children right?” Their stony silence was as bad as a “bah humbug!” in the face of Bob Cratchit advocating for Tiny Tim.

So the Harry Potter Alliance has given them until New Year’s to show us their findings. With the clock winding down, however, things are looking grim. If they can’t prove that their cocoa sourcing is indeed above board, if they continue to ignore us without word or explanation, then they are in for a rude awakening. They will soon understand how the Harry Potter Alliance went from nothing but the hope and inspiration of the Harry Potter series to winning first place in the Chase Bank Community Challenge out of over 10,000 organizations, sending five cargo planes of supplies to Haiti, donating about 90,000 books across the world, building a library for an elementary school in Brooklyn, funding the protection of thousands of civilians in Darfur and Burma, and breaking records in advocacy efforts for LGBTQ equality.

I haven’t given up hope just yet. I believe in Christmas miracles. Perhaps Warner Bros. will be visited by the ghosts of Public Relations Errors past, present, and future and realize that being pro-apathy in the face of child slavery is bad PR. Or perhaps like the Grinch, their hearts will simply grow three sizes larger.

At this point, with the attitude they have shown us thus far, it may really take a Christmas miracle. But I’m a story lover and I think miracles are possible, so here’s hoping that Warner Bros. comes round to caring about children. It would be quite a Christmas present for humanity.

Posted in Harry Potter Alliance News |

Breaking the Curse

by Erin Millar December 8, 2011 Leave a comment
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Just in time for Thanksgiving, we re-launched our “Not in Harry’s Name” campaign. We sent Warner Bros. another letter, this time with an ultimatum. They have until 11:59 p.m. on December 31st to prove to us that they are taking steps toward either making sure all Harry Potter chocolate is Fair Trade, or that the chocolate they use for the candy is not touched by child slaves. Child slavery is a curse that so many companies, including WB, seem not to recognize. They would prefer to live in their own deluded realities than face the truth.

Perhaps you’ve heard of Once Upon a Time, a new fairy tale drama on ABC (by the same people who brought us Lost, which makes the fangirl in me irrationally happy). The story itself is complex, but the concept is not. The short version of it is that fairy tale characters are real. They truly do (or did) exist in a separate reality. They lived their lives, had their own issues, fell in and out of love. But the Evil Queen from Snow White’s story put a curse on this land of fairy tale characters and all of them were sucked into our world. They’re stuck. Time is frozen. And what’s more, they don’t even know who they really are, nor that there’s any curse at all.

But there’s one woman, Emma, who is manipulated in entering Storybrooke (the town where the fairy tale characters are stuck in our world) by the son she gave up for adoption. Except that Emma is one of these fairy tales too. She was born in the fairy tale land and was sent to safety mere minutes before the curse took hold. She’s the one person who can save the fairy tale characters from the curse, and her son, Henry, is the only one who realizes what’s going on anyway.

There’s a curse in this world, and one of the ones unable to recognize it is Warner Bros. But we recognize it. We know it’s there. We know it’s possible to break the curse and save these children from a life of slavery. The only problem is that Warner Bros. doesn’t seem to believe us when we say this curse exists and that they are in its hold. We are the Emmas and Henrys of this situation. We are the ones who see the curse for what it is, who have the power to save people from this curse.

Use this power of yours. Write a letter to Warner Bros. Buy a Fair Trade Chocolate Frog. Sign a petition. Create a Muggle Howler. Tell your family, friends, random passers-by in the mall as you’re doing your holiday shopping. Tell everyone! Everyone needs to know about this curse, and everyone needs to know that they have the power to do something to stop it. As Henry says, we “can bring back the happy endings.”

These children in the Ivory Coast, the ones forced into a life of slavery, they deserve happy endings too.

Posted in Action, Human Rights | Tagged , , , ,

Russia puts a Taboo on LGBTQ

by Kara O'Brien November 27, 2011 3 Comments
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This week, Russian leaders will vote on a bill that would make it a crime to speak about LGBTQ issues. Russians could not openly acknowledge that they or someone they know is an LGBTQ person. No one would be allowed to write about the existence of LGBTQ people. Instead, this information would be silenced, as if the LGBTQ community never even existed.

Supposedly, the law is designed to outlaw the ‘propaganda of homosexuality’ to minors, but they aren’t defining ‘propaganda’ at all. “It theoretically allows the ban of anything anywhere where kids could be present,” said a prominent Russian activist.

That’s right, they could literally make it illegal to say ‘gay’ in the street. Ridiculous and impossible to enforce as this may seem, the message that it would send out to the LGBTQ community at large is truly frightful. And for those of us in the Harry Potter fandom, with the words of Albus Dumbledore engraved in our hearts, this bill’s true purpose is loud and clear.

“Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”
~Albus Dumbledore

This bill promotes unwarranted fear of the LGBTQ community. Of course Dumbledore would have his own special reasons for being infuriated and disgusted by such a law, and we in the Harry Potter Alliance are proud to stand by his side. But all fandoms aside, imagine living in a country that considered you so abnormal that you couldn’t even be mentioned publicly. That is literally what this law is trying to do: make being LGBTQ a crime so heinous that it can’t even be talked about. As if to make this purpose loud and clear, the Russian bill actually lumps homosexuality and trans-sexuality together with paedophilia. It’s unthinkable, and deadly, and would effectively crush all Russian LGBTQ people and their supporters into a life of silence.

This law is a lot like the Taboo that the Death-Eaters put on Voldemort’s name. By making the words themselves into crimes, they can punish both the ‘perpetrators’ and their supporters, just for speaking out. In fact, this law has already been in place in the city of Ryazan, and was used arrest, fine, and detain activists who tried to educate minors about homosexuality. With it’s current wording, however, there’s no limit to what they could consider ‘propaganda.’ It would be up to a court to decide the difference between promoting a homosexual lifestyle, and saying ‘I love you’ in a public place. With it’s current wording, All Out.org warns that such a bill could effectively “make millions of people invisible with the stroke of a pen.”

So, what can you do? As members of Dumbledore’s Army, we know that words are the greatest magic of all, and no one has the right to restrict them. Once again, the awesome people at All Out are leading the world’s protest of this tyrannical bill. Sign the petition here, share it, and let the world know that The Harry Potter Generation won’t stand idle while people are suppressed.

Posted in Action, Harry Potter Alliance News, Human Rights, LGBTQ |

Wrock for the Environment

by Monica Watson November 19, 2011 Leave a comment

View of Lake Cayuga from Ithaca College

In August, my university’s HPA chapter won the Imagine Better Splashlife contest to put on our very own Yule Ball. The contest was an amazing opportunity to raise awareness for our cause while also getting to see other amazing ideas and art.

The event is scheduled for February 11th at Ithaca College, and is open to the public. Winning the $1000 grant has meant the world to us. First, it made it possible for us to even put on the event in the first place. Second, it helped us pick the nonprofit organization we want to donate the proceeds of the event to: the Finger Lakes Land Trust.

Why the Finger Lakes Land Trust? My college and the students who go here are highly aware of environmental issues, and it’s extremely important to us to keep the environment healthy. Surrounding the area are numerous gorges, which has lead to the proliferation of an “Ithaca is Gorges” t-shirt that every resident, tourist, and student seems to own. The Finger Lakes Land Trust works to keep Ithaca “gorges,” which is why we chose them as our organization. Not only are the gorges beautiful, but they are also vital in maintaining the health of the environmental ecosystems in Ithaca.

As students at this school living in this amazing area, we want to contribute back by preserving it. Already, the Finger Lakes Land Trust has worked to protect more than 13,000 acres of the region’s wetlands, forests, farmland, grassland, and gorges, and we as an organization want to contribute to their future works.

The event itself is going to be both a concert and dance featuring wizard rock bands The Whomping Willows and Lauren Fairweather. We’re really getting underway now to make this a big event. We have a marketing team filled with some of the most creative people at our school. Volunteers from our HPA chapter have signed up to help with various committees from ticket sales to décor. Recently, we’ve been making all sorts of crafts to sell at the event – snitch necklaces, radish earrings, house earmuffs, hollow books, and more! We’ve even come up with a Butterbeer float recipe that we hope to make available for attendees.

I never realized how insane planning a wizard rock concert would be. I cannot lie and say that I’m not scared out of my mind for the Yule Ball. There has already been a lot of talk about it around campus, and I fear letting anyone down. However, I know that with the amazing Ithaca College Harry Potter Alliance chapter behind us, we cannot fail.

We will soon be announcing how to purchase tickets online for people not in the Ithaca, NY area. Until then, you can follow us on Twitter and Tumblr. To contact the Ithaca College Harry Potter Alliance email us at HPAIthacaCollege@gmail.com.

Posted in Harry Potter Alliance News |