Harry Potter -- good or bad?

I used to hate "Harry Potter". I thought the book series was garbage (though I hadn't read it), and the films were far too long and drawn-out (especially the third one, which I saw in the theater with my uncle.) I had always heard that the books were much better than the movies, so when I saw some books at a yard sale, I decided to buy them just to see if they were any good. Well, when I read the first one, I was amazed at the quality of writing. The story just hooks you in and keeps you until the last page. While the movies aren't exactly stellar (though they're all right for one viewing, at least in my opinion) the books are great.

However, any popular thing, whether it be a video game, book series, TV show or movie, is going to attract controversy. I think that a lot of the criticism is unfounded, though. For one, the whole issue of "magic" is not really anything new. Many movies in the sci-fi/fantasy realm deal with "magic," including "Star Wars," which is loved and cherished by people of all faiths, including Christians, who have been the main ones criticizing "Harry Potter". There is nothing demonic about the magic used in the "Harry Potter" series; the characters are never seen praying to Satan or interacting with any kind of evil force. In fact, the line, "Only a Sith deals in absolutes" (from "Revenge of the Sith") is far more insulting towards Christians than anything in "Harry Potter". There is also the claim that kids will get obsessed with fads, which has been said since the days of Pokémon. It's a fact that kids (or people in general) can get obsessed with anything, no matter how popular it is. It's not just a thing for people with syndromes or OCD; people who I know for a fact don't have anything of the sort have been obsessed with all sorts of things, from Tae Kwon Do to Natalie Portman. (No, I never really cared about Natalie Portman; Hilary Duff and Anne Hathaway were always more my type.)

One of the good things about "Harry Potter" is that it was originally a book series. While many popular things have books written about them, usually the books are based on the movies. However, that is not the case with Harry. I remember that kids were actually bringing the books to school and reading them, and most kids that age don't like reading. Even if you don't like the book series, think about this: Maybe, if they enjoyed reading "Harry Potter", they may check out another book series since they enjoyed reading that one so much. I know that most parents would rather their kid read a book than sit around and play video games all day, and I can't say I blame them.

-- Rebel