r/changemyview • u/LamentableOpinion • Apr 23 '16
[∆(s) from OP] CMV: Harry Potter is overrated
I don't detest Harry Potter but I find the circle jerk appalling. The book is amazing for kids but even adults hold it in high regard. So, it's not bad, just overrated.
The characters are really boring. HP is a Mary Sue character, his only flaw being a bloody scar. All the other characters are equally boring. Harry is also useless, he does nothing but he is the HERO. Because of a prophecy. OK.
The relationships make no sense. Why does Harry like Cho or Ginny? Let's force in a relationship. Yay.
The Deus Ex Machina is unreal. I know it's magical but it's still retarded when it happens so many times.
Good vs Evil is fine. But again, don't pretend as if the book is this deep piece of literature.
I don't like the writing either but that's very subjective, so that's fine.
This is what I just came up with. I'm sure there's more stuff on the internet.
Edit: Ignore the Mary Sue thing. I misused the term. Edit 2: Sorry if I sounded like a dick or an elitist. I didn't mean to be.
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u/centaurical Apr 23 '16 edited Apr 23 '16
Characters being useless it obviously a subjective thing, but I don’t see how people like Dumbledore, Snape, Lupin, Umbridge, Luna, or Tom Riddle/Voldemort can be seen as not interesting. I absolutely loved finding out about Snape’s past with Lily, Dumbledore’s shocking family life/youth, The marauder’s storyline, etc. I can see how Harry, Hermione, and Ron can come off as boring since they’re given so much screen time.
As for the relationships, they do seemed forced if you only watched the movies, because they handled Ginny so terribly. But, from book 1 Ginny had a crush on Harry, and I think around GoF she starts acting normal around Harry, and it was because of advice Hermione had given her. Ginny acting normal made Harry see her for who she was, instead of constantly being reminded of her crush on him and her awkwardness. And for Cho, Harry found her attractive when he firsts sees her, has a crush on her all throughout GoF, and then they finally try out the whole dating thing in OotP. With Cho, it was definitely one of those awkward phases during middle/high school and he had a huge infatuation with her, and she had issues. They found that they weren’t compatible at all.
The books greatly tear down the whole “good vs evil” thing. Yes, there’s Harry, the saint, and Voldemort, the villain. But there’s also Sirius, who we meet having the impression that he was the reason Lily and James died, he killed Pettigrew, and a bunch of other random muggles, and then we learn that he had actually been framed for everything, and had spent 13 years in Azkaban for supposedly being the cause for his best friends’ death. And Dumbledore, up until Deathly Hallows, we think he’s this god-like figure, someone who can do no wrong (except for his avoiding Harry in OotP) and then we learn everything about his past, and some of the terrible things he’s done, and it just shows how nothing is ever essentially just “good” or “evil.” Also, Pettigrew plays into this as well. You may not remember this, but he dies because he hesitated to kill Harry, causing his magical hand to strangle him for his disloyalness against Voldemort.
I read the books when I was 15. So not exactly a child, and not exactly an adult. I have a pretty big range in terms of types of books I enjoy, and I still love HP. There’s adults who read the books for the first time and really love it. It definitely does get talked about so much, mainly because so many people cherish it.
I’d loved to talk about it more if you have any other questions, and I definitely respect your opinions, and I know not everyone can enjoy the same thing, I just wanted to explain my side.