What parallels can you find between A Wizard of Earthsea and the Harry Potter franchise? What other influences does Burn (2005) suggest for Harry Potter?
There are many parallels between Earthsea and Harry Potter. Just to get the obvious out of the way, there's the magic. More specifically though, is the fact that people are born in to it - you are either born with magic in you, or you are not, and the both of them seem to have some form of genetic connection, as Ged's aunt was a witch, so it may possibly run in the family.
There is also the fact that Ged and Harry didn't have a pleasant childhood; while Ged did have a father, he received none of the warm fuzziness that comes with having a parent....and Harry lived in a cupboard under the stairs for 11 years, so I don't need to say anything else there.
It's also worth noting that both boys had their abilities discovered at around the same age. Granted, Ged was a few years younger, but he didn't go off with Origon until he was 12. I see Dumbledore being very similar to Origon, in the way that he took Harry under his wing, so to speak.
I could go on and on here, as there are so many aspects of both universes that are the same, but two huge ones stood out for me - the fact that there is a special school for magically inclined youths to go to and to learn, and the fact that the 'hero' character is plagued by one specific evil that he and only he can defeat. I actually think that the Shadow and Voldemort are very much the same; the Shadow is part of Ged in the more literal sense, but Voldemort is also part of Harry and this can especially be seen in book 5 where Harry is angsting away about how he and Voldemort are the same, and also there's the fact that Voldemort could so easily get in to his head. The Shadow didn't really need to employ any sort of tact in that area as it was already in Ged's head, because it was Ged.
As for the influences that Burn (2005) discusses, I think it's all pretty spot-on. Folktales, Fairytales, Mythology and other stories have all been used in the creating of Harry Potter. A lot of the characters have their names based in something 'mystical'. Rowling has taken her inspiration from many different sources (some from personal experience, even) and rolled it all together very nicely. Though in saying that, it is painfully obvious that a lot of the Universe isn't exactly entirely original.
How does the fantasy genre relate to modern media such as video games?
Without the fantasy genre I don't believe there would be a single decent video game out on the market today. One can only play so much Doom before one wants to shoot ones self. Fantasy opens up the gates of the imagination and gives way to classics like Sonic (because without the fantasy mentality I don't think anybody would buy in to a little blue rodent, unless they were on drugs), the Legacy of Kain series, or God of War.
I also believe that the mediums do influence each other greatly - I'll take God of War as an example (not out of bias or anything...no, not at all...). The three game series is based on Greek Mythology, but the story behind it is very fantasy strong and follows the archetype to a T; big, hulking hero needs to go on quest but doesn't want to - he goes - he fights (a LOT) - he comes out the better for it in the end. Now, I know this wasn't an original idea, the actual plot of the game is very 'vanilla', however I found out only recently that a lot of it came from the first Clash of the Titans movie that came out in the 80s. That film inspired a lot of the goings on in the game, and in turn practically ALL of the awesome graphics (and some of the one liners, actually) were ripped from the game and used in the new movie that came out this year. It's a constant circle of influence. I've found this to be especially true when Hollywood is running dry on ideas for films, they tend to reach out to the literary community or the gaming community to see what can be adapted to a film. More often than not, it's something fantasy based (if not with the blatant magical element, at least with something that cannot possibly happen in our reality).
Hi Sarah, you definitely seem like you know what you are talking about here, which really gives some insight in to these mediums. I have also heard that a lot of Harry Potter came from a very personal place for J.K. Rowling. I suppose that when people write a fictional piece, it could easily end up being an allegory. We put ourselves and our experiences into everything we do, I guess we can't help it.
ReplyDeletehey sarah, great post! you found waaaay more parallels than i did, but then i again i didnt find much appeal for Earthsea or the Harry Potter books. I think your comparison between Harry and Ged is really good & it also shows how people appeal to reading about misfortuned characters.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your hollywood comment, there are so many comic books and novels being churned into film nowadays, i guess its the cross media craze that attracts them ? what do you think ?
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post - well done. Thanks also to Stacey and Courtenay for the comments - very good to see you reading the posts of others and responding to their ideas.
My main point for future posts is to see where you might be able to include more references to the critical readings, but I think you've done a good job referring to the primary texts in your first answer.
Do you think it is a challenge for writers to come up with original ideas in their fantasy writing - especially with so many character archetypes and ideas coming up again and again? What is original in EarthSea or Harry Potter?
Interesting about God Of War and Greek Mythology - do you see many references to ancient mythologies in fantasy you have read?
Esther :)
Hola all!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that people are actually reading my stuff. ^^
I do think that writers have great issues coming up with something origional these days. It's hard! Most of anything that they can think of has already been done before, you know? We are influenced by pop culture and other mediums so much that we probably don't even realise it anymore. Not saying that this is a bad thing, of course.
As for the different mythologies, I am really only versed in Greek and Roman, but I have seen a lot of it around. It's a gold mine of stuff that people can use if they run short on inspiration. :)
Nice post:)
ReplyDeleteEspecially I am impressed about the hollywood comment! I didn’t consider with the happening about comic books are becoming into film. Really goooood point I think.
Humm…as Courtenay said before, I believe the cross media makes more attract people who love comic books or fantasy as well. If people enjoy the books through their imagination, the film could make more lively and actively approach to them.