Crossposted from The Leaky Cauldron (but with more links)

[heidi]

The New York Times has an article today about childhood toys, playtime and imagination..

As toys change, has play itself fundamentally changed? For that matter, does the early attachment to grown-up toys in some way shorten in the imaginative world of childhood, with its pretend tea parties and make-believe cops and robbers?
[T]he protected space of childhood slowly eroded, as children were increasingly exposed to the consumer market - through comic books, then radio, then television. In the accelerating rush toward more wired play, it is not so much childhood that is under threat, some say, as society's idealized and perhaps sentimentalized view of it.

In fact, the move away from reading "The Secret Garden" in a quiet corner, and toward the public extravaganza of Harry Potter - the books, the movies, the action figures and video game - has been going on for a long time.

I feel compelled to make a comment about this article:
"Public extravaganza"? Oh, New York Times, you have no idea. But the public extravaganza of Harry Potter isn't bereft of interaction, creativity or imagination. Just look at our Comments features on TLC, the thousands of fansites - many of which were creatively generated by kids and teens - all the fanfiction and fanart and creative theorizing and conferences attended by teens and adults from around the world. Enjoy the public extravaganza of Harry Potter, because it's a creative, imaginative, interactive and dynamic place. I enjoyed reading The Secret Garden on my own when I was younger - and now, I enjoy reading Harry Potter in the company of other fans of all ages.

Don't you?

Comments

[longtimegone]

You have a messed up tag in the "art" of "fanart"

And shouldn't the last link in "conferences" be www.hp2006.org rather than 2003 again?

Otherwise, very interesting article and I completely agree. There is nothing wrong with reading a book by yourself and letting your imagination soar with ideas and possibilities, but there is also much to be said for sharing those imaginings and getting validation for your theories and ideas.

I heart my Harry Potter friends. <3

[cleverthylacine]

Well, I actually do my reading in private--hard to read in a crowd and all :P but I love participating in the community.

[no-remorse.livejournal.com]

I think that this article isn't so much about the HP books as about "No matter how brilliant children] are, they're not going to learn to walk, to move, to interact with others unless their hands or feet have a direct role in such activity. Plopping kids in front of a TV or computer cuts away a whole aspect of that development.", which seems to be directed at fairly young children, certainly not at thirteen-year-olds. As you have to be officially thirteen to participate in all the fanfiction and fanart and creative theorizing and conferences, children (not adolescents) - the age group, this article is about, cannot take part in that.

I don't even disagree with the notion that Potter is a public extravaganza that offline is very much merchandise-oriented. I have seen 500 times as many advertisements for the PoA movie than I have seen for OotP. I have seen more advertisement for the HP games than I have seen for OotP, actually. I am kind of happy that I can consume HP as a grown-up and not as a kid.