|
|
 |
Harry Potter and the Chamber
of Secrets
Director: Chris Columbus (2002)
Distributor: Warner Bros. Certificate: PG
It is hard to believe that a year has gone by since Harry Potter made his film debut, yet here we are with The Chamber of Secrets already open. The intrepid trio of Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) are reunited at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry despite well-meaning attempts by Dobby the House Elf to prevent Harry from getting there. Dobby knows that there is something nasty in the plumbing that is bad news for Harry.
It soon becomes apparent that an evil presence is on the prowl at Hogwarts, leaving students (including Hermione) quite literally petrified. The targets of whatever is carrying out the attacks are those who are ‘mudblood’ ~ those who are part muggle (i.e. non-magical). Harry discovers that the legendary chamber of secrets has been opened, a hidden placed carved out beneath the foundations of Hogwarts by Salazar Slytherin when the school was founded. He then sets out to discover what is happening, eventually finding himself confronted by a giant snake controlled by the evil Lord Voldemort who is seeking to take on bodily form once again.
|
|
For a second time, Harry emerges victorious from a battle with Voldemort due not so much to his skill as a wizard as to his loyalty to Professor Dumbledore (Richard Harris). Only that loyalty could summon the Phoenix who both blinds the snake and brings to Harry the sword with which to kill it. |
Special effects abound in the film, including the computer-generated Dobby, a flying Ford Anglia, a ‘whomping willow’, a time-travel diary and a whole forest full of spiders. And, of course, the giant snake at the end. Some new characters are also introduced with Kenneth Branagh playing the cowardly and egocentric Gilderoy Lockhart, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts master; and Jason Isaacs is a particularly slimy Lucius Malfoy.
All in all, The Chamber of Secrets is worth a watch ~ unless you are an arachnophobe or whatever the equivalent is for snakes. It suffers a little from the sequel syndrome but there is enough going on to sustain interest.
THROUGH THE LENS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH
Some key themes: prejudice, loyalty and friendship.
The film is somewhat darker in tone than The Philosopher’s Stone, due mainly to the sickening issue of prejudice being raised, an issue that has huge significance in the contemporary world and is the one on which I will concentrate.
Lucius Malfoy in particular is an unpleasant character, not least in the way he insults Hermione over her mixed parentage, addressing her as ‘mudblood’ (i.e. half-muggle, half-wizard). His longing for Hogwarts to become a muggle-free place has disturbing echoes with numerous real-life situations where one group of people adopt a position of superiority over another. History is littered with examples of the appalling consequences of such a distorted view.
We have only to look at the examples of the Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia, and the ‘ethnic cleansing’ that has taken place in recent years in places such as Rwanda and the Balkans to appreciate something of the evil that is an inseparable part of any claim to racial superiority. Nearer to home we see the wickedness of racial prejudice in the policies of groups such as the British National Party. We also see it in the unthinking attitudes of some people towards asylum seekers. How often, I wonder, are knee-jerk reactions made towards people of nationalities different to our own simply because of that fact, instead of informed and compassionate responses to the genuine reasons of an asylum application?
Of course, prejudice does not only rear its ugly head in relation to race and ethnicity. Gender, sexuality, disability, illness, social status and religious affiliation are further instances where discrimination often rears its ugly head. Sadly, Christians are not immune from the brokenness of the human condition that can result in treating others with prejudice. The Church certainly has a chequered history in this respect and, even today there are many who feel unwelcome in the Church and alienated by the treatment they receive.
How welcome, I wonder, would gay and lesbian people feel in your local church? Or Travellers? Or single parent families? Or asylum seekers? Or _____________ (you might like to fill in the blank for any other group that you are aware of who face prejudice and discrimination).
One of the most striking messages from the life and ministry of Jesus and the good news of the kingdom of God that his life ushered in was the dignity and worth of every single human being as bearers of God’s image. In the gospel accounts we see Jesus breaking down the barriers of prejudice in his own day. He touched lepers; he spoke with and made time for women and children in public; he regarded religious enemies as neighbours; and he mixed freely with those regarded by ‘respectable’ society as the dregs of life. But don’t just take my word for it, have a flip through the Gospels and see for yourself.
In claiming to be followers of Jesus, both as individuals and as the Church, there can be no room for prejudice if we are to truly follow him. The challenge for each of us is to identify whom we regard as ‘mudbloods’ and then do everything in our power to address that prejudice. For it is harmful not only to those who are its focus; we too are diminished as human beings by the presence of prejudice in our lives.
To discuss this further why not leave a message of the discussion forum.
