Violence and rebellion
Standing up for yourself.
Questioning authority.
Daydreaming.
When did these become had habits?
Rebekah Richert, an assistant professor of psychology at UC Riverside, apparently believes these themes present concern for parents who have children fans of the Harry Potter books and movies.
“This is particularly problematic when discussing ‘realistic fantasy,’ as in the case of Harry Potter, whose ‘fantastical’ world involves a number of realistic elements," such as the presence of the Muggle world, which gives the stories a realistic feel and the very real existence of paganism outside of the Harry Potter series, Richert said on the UC Riverside web site.
Growing up, I was a big fan of "The Lord of the Rings" books, "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy," "Star Wars" and Indiana Jones. Fighting back against oppression, evil, the ridiculous and the righteous were central themes in all those stories. Questioning the will and desire of leaders was also a key ingredient. Twenty years ago, those were valuable lessons. But now, it seems fighting for what you believe in is no longer a worthwhile venture. That's sad.
And all those stories, all those fights, took place in fantasty worlds that were not unlike our own.
It wasn't hard to separate the fantasy worlds in Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings with the real worlds in the fifth grade.
To think that children cannot differentiate between the two is a little silly.
But Richert suggests otherwise.
Research suggests that children often enjoy and persist in entertaining fantastical possibilities -- which has also been connected to factors like increased creativity -- but they are also fully able to reason rationally about those fantastical possibilities when a situation demands such reasoning, she says.
“If parents are concerned about their children’s exposure to fantasy worlds like Harry Potter's, they should take whatever action they feel is appropriate, whether it’s reducing their children’s exposure to the fantasy altogether or engaging their children in conversation about it,” she says.
I agree with the engaging children in conversation. Talk about why Hermione punches Draco in the face. Talk about why Ron and Harry repeatedly disobey the rules at Hogwarts. Talk about why, at the time, those decisions weren't necessarily bad ones.
But don't reduce the exposure. By all means, let children read the books and watch the movies. Give them a chance to explore their own fantasy worlds and the guidance to navigate them.
To read more of Richert's comments go to http://www.newsroom.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=1623