[ONLINE] Harry Potter Discussion: Guy Fawkes Day & Revolution
Details
Remember remember, the 5th of November... (...on the 9th of November!)
Join us at a Harry Potter Discussion Night! We'll be chatting all about revolution in 'celebration' of Guy Fawkes Day. Bonfire Night (or Guy Fawkes Day) is in remembrance of when Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up British Parliament (he thankfully didn't succeed). The UK celebrates this holiday with bonfires, effigies of Fawkes, and fireworks each year. It's nearly like the flip side of July 4th. The film 'V For Vendetta' was heavily based off of this, if you're familiar with it.
In my everlasting love of the UK and of obscure holidays, I thought it'd be a fun theme to examine the "Harry Potter" series with.
As regulars will know, we use the theme simply as a starting point. We'll go off on any number of tangents (Potter-related or no), so it's a pretty informal discussion/chat. The times are also approximate: if you get here late, leave early, or want to stay for longer, it's all absolutely fine.
IMPORTANT: We're on Google Meet this week! The direct link to the Meet page is visible to RSVPs.
Some of the questions we might touch on:
- What makes someone a revolutionary hero vs. a villain?
- Do you think 'Fawkes' (the phoenix's name) was more of a joke from Rowling or symbolism?
- The DA was a study group that turned into a revolution; how did they change over time?
- There's constant struggles against authority in this book series. Why were authority figures so distrusted?
- Why was Voldemort able to relatively easily commit a coup d'etat against the British Ministry in the 7th book?
- What message does the Ministry's and the Daily Prophet's propaganda send? Why did the public so readily believe them?
- Gellert Grindelwald was a dark lord who was after social change through warfare (and might have believed himself to be a hero). Do you prefer reading about villains like this, or more straight-forward bad guys like Voldemort?
- [SPOILERS] In "Cursed Child", some main characters arguably became more like terrorists than revolutionaries. Why was this line crossed? Should it have been?
I hope to see you there!