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Harry Potter Film Analysis
Chamber of Secrets
Alex Merced
Ideology rears it's head in all aspects of popular culture, and harry potter by no means is a stranger to ideology. In Alterations from the book to the final scenes of the film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets express a change that makes the ideology of sacrifice reinforced in the Potterverse. By understanding the cultural significance of human sacrifice in mythology and it's influence on Popular culture. Although, since the Harry Potter themes are largely derrivative of Star Wars, Lords of the Rings, and Chronicles of Narnia (which is also a 7 book series) one must ask if this theme of sacrifice appeared cause of derivation or cause of actual ideology. In the end it's many appearance in the Harry Potter series shows why this is an important and real theme, and why would a small change in the film be made to reinforce that ideology.
In the novel of the Chamber of secrets Harry Potter destroys Tom Riddles journal after Fawkes heals him from his wound, while in the movie it's beforehand that he destroys the journal with intention of them both dying, since he still had the basilisk wound. In a world of suicide bombers and soldiers putting their life on the line it seemed like the kind of change that the mainstream crowd could get behind. Sacrifice and death are something we live with in every facet our culture to these days whether it be Director Chapelles Sacrifice in the 2nd season of 24 or the sacrifice of Aeris in Final Fantasy 7, Time and time again we see characters sacrifice themselves to do the right thing. By making Harry do the right thing before he knows he will survive put him in this touching category. Sacrifice is always painted as something noble, and in the film it's Harry's nobility that he earns the ability live when Fawkes heals him. This idea of putting yourself on the line is seen again in again in the story, with Dobby warning Harry Potter he eventually earns his freedom when Harry returns the favor and put himself on the line in front of Lucious Malfoy.
In an article by Yanet Manzano called “Death through Sacrifice”, Manzano explains the culture significance of human sacrifice in myths and in ancient civilization.(Manzano) These themes would revolve around the idea of sacrifice as a method of presenting deities with gifts so that blessings may be bestowed. These mythological themes are still quite prevalent in todays society, with characters like Han Solo, Boromir, Aslan, all who in their respective trilogies had to sacrifice themselves. Those trilogies all have obvious influence over the Potterverse when we can see parallels between Voldemort and Darth Vader or Dumbledore and Gandalf, these books are conglomerated in the potterverse, so it's fair to see some of the similar themes reappear such as sacrifice.
While with the mono theological culture gaining ground, many beliefs in human sacrifices seemed to become unethical and again the law, yet in popular culture we usally see a sort “Blessing Effect” for characters willing to sacrifice themselves. Sometimes this blessing manifests itself as good fortune for the allies of sacrificer, for example the white materia in Final Fantasy 7 which cleanses evil thanks to the sacrifice of Aeris. In other manifestations the sacrificer is blessed by being revived, such as Harry potter being blessed by Fawkes for destroying Tom Riddles diary, the change from film to book with which I concern myself with. This theme of reviving the sacrificer is repeated in many of the forerunning trilogies, we see the sacrifice and return of Gandalf, Han Solo, Aslan. The idea of sacrifices provoking blessings while taboo is still present in todays culture.
Many themes are lifted very closely from Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, and even more so the Chronicles of Narnia with it's 7 book length and it's largely Christian overtones. This raises the counter argument, could the theme of sacrifice be included out of by product of derivation from previous works, or is this the ideology of J.K. Rowling which is reinforced by production decisions in the film. While this a fair counter argument, I believe Rowling is ideologically very similar C.S. Lewis and includes these themes derivations out of shared ideology not out of any forged creativity. Harry Potter would not has struck a chord with the mainstream if it's ideology was forged, so this is a shared ideology, a shared Christian ideology. I allude Christianity cause of the tale of Jesus which plays a major theme in both series of books and is the primay ideology of the typical Harry Potter consumer.So suffice to say it's not hard to believe this ideology of sacrifice is real and that any reinforcing changes in the film where probably done in the same vein.
Harry Potter is a very ideological text and when semiotically placed next to the Chronicles of Narnia, many of it's facets of Christian ideology rise to the surface. The theme of sacrifice is a theme in the Harry Potter books that is a byproduct of this ideology which is reinforced in the changing of destruction of Tom's Riddles diary in the film adaptation of the Chamber of Secrets. Mythology and ancient civilization first introduced the idea of human sacrifice which was soon suppressed by mono theology, yet still in some manner manifests itself in culture today as I've demonstrated in Harry Potter, reinforcing the idea of blessing to those who are willing to pay tribute in the form of life, yet this theme is reinforced again in film and as we see this cause/effect relationship play out in the film.
WORKS CITED
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Arthur A. Levine Books , June 2, 1999.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Dir. Chris Columbus. Perf.
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, . April 11, 2003.
DVD. Warner Home Video, 2004.
Manzano, Yanet. Death through Sacrifice. 1997.
http://ww2.cs.fsu.edu/~manzano/Writing/papers/mythology/sacrifice.html
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