Monday, 13 February 2012

Harry Potter: A Modern Christ-figure


Tuesday’s lecture revolved around the topic of Jesus films and Christ figures. Of particular interest was Kozlovic’s article entitled The Structural Characteristics of the Cinematic Christ-figure, who claimed, “the Christ-figure film is a legitimate pop culture phenomenon” (2004, p.1). In addition, the distinction was made between the two modes of Christic representation: the Saviour mode and the redeemer mode. The character of Harry Potter stands out, for me, as a Christ-figure that has taken popular culture by storm. Based on the definitions of the two modes of Christic representation, it can be argued that Harry Potter both embodies the Saviour as well as the redeemer through his actions and what he represents in the story. In the novels, it is clear that Harry Potter both leads and saves ‘his people’ from destruction. Whether or not he goes about his role as Saviour through the use of violence is open to interpretation; the wizardry battle scenes prevalent throughout the series can be interpreted as being, to some degree, violent. It is also quite clear that Harry Potter functions as a redeemer through his death.

There is also an underlying tension prevalent in the novel between innocence versus maturity. Blurred and distorted at the beginning of the series, this tension between innocence and maturity is finally made clear when Harry comes to terms with the fact that he must sacrifice himself out of love. Applying the question why do we need a Christ-figure? within the context of this series, it could be said Harry Potter the Christ-figure, serves to connect the story to a greater narrative, that of the story of Christ. It also serves to add appeal as a selling point.

As the Youtube clip below argues, the Harry Potter series contain numerous Christ-elements as well as common Christian themes, such as love, sacrifice, and resurrection, that serve to connect Harry as a Christ-figure. 











No comments:

Post a Comment