Happily there are no off-topic posts in this blog; that's because they are all off-topic, in their way.
Today's post has to do with two things I watched on tv over the couple of days, which seem to have little in common: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and the 3-way American Chopper Biker Buildoff. One is a film, based on a kids' book, and the other is a "reality" show, ostensibly about building collector motorcycles.
JK Rowlings' stuff both entertains and frustrates me. In a way reminiscent of 70's John Wayne movies, people die in the films to momentary grief, which disappears by the next scene. In Goblet of Fire, the Dark Lord's minions interrupt the Quiddich World Cup by causing a bloody riot - a shocking scene new to the series; but no reference is made to it for the rest of the film. Similarly, in HBP, we have Snape (spoiler alert for the .000001% who have neither seen the film nor read the book) declaring himself the half-blood prince, but we have no idea what, in fact, that means. And no one tells us.
I read three of the Harry Potter books while I was keeping company with an 11-year-old one wintry month of January in Minnesota, a number of years ago, and I have enjoyed the films. I enjoyed HBP, for getting slightly better the mix of violence, magic, plot holes one could drive a truck through, and teenage angst. The death of Dumbledore though, like Cedric's death in Goblet of Fire, seemed not to distract too much from the running of the plot. That was really too bad, because one of the adult lessons I have learned is that the death of someone you know should make you stop and think - not only to honor the memory of the deceased, but to consider your place in the universe and what you are doing here. Not even a shot of the funeral. Meh.
Nevertheless, the death scene itself is moving, and the film overall is complicated and requires close attention. And, outside of the relentless plot-drive, the film is about family - the meaning of it and/or lack thereof; about being a student, being a teacher, being a friend - about loyalty, love, and the amorality of skill. The books and film keep asking if skill and the power attained by it is respectable in itself, or whether the character of the skilled person is more important. It would seem, for Rowling, that power is not value-neutral, and a skilful villain is still a villain; but the number of followers of the Dark Lord suggests that a debate exists as to whether power for its own sake is worthwhile. Harry is in the middle of this debate, and his loyal friends are in there with him. If there is a deeper meaning to the series, it is that the author, while heavily stacking the deck in favor of her opinion, allows this debate to play out so her readers can assess it for themselves.
I am not a regular fan of American Chopper, but anyone with even a nodding acquaintance is well aware of the split between the Teutels - Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. Father and son were originally in business together building custom motorcycles but split over ego and differing ideas of how the business should be organized and run. The breakup was fairly violent (objects were thrown, but at least not at each other) and at loud volume. Lawsuits were launched and settled. Paul Jr. has set up his own shop and has managed to gain a reputation separate from his dad. He also wins the major sympathy vote from fans, who have expressed the opinion that it is the father who is in the wrong, and from whom a reconciliation must be initiated. The series, which started out chronicling the family business and now tracks the soap-operatic developments as the two sides learn to coexist, has become - you guessed it - about the meaning of family (or lack thereof), about loyalty, friendship, mentoring and skill.
Last night's episodes involved a three-way buildoff between father and son with badboy Jesse James. The two-hour run-up and one-hour live conclusion involved letting the audience see the development of the entries, as well as egos on display throughout the process. Jesse trash-talks everyone, Paulie chafes under what he sees as disloyal slights from his father, and his father, whilst dispensing said slights, decides to go totally out of the box in designing and building a reverse trike that shoots fire and otherwise defies description. The audience, not surprisingly, picks Paul Jr.'s entry, a cool but not particularly out-of-the-box creation. They second-placed Jesse, who has forged - forged - mind you, every piece of an awkward, old-school design. Paul Sr. is ignored almost entirely, perhaps in part because his design is not exactly a bike, and perhaps because the audience still perceives him as the real bad guy in the family drama.
The best (and most intense part) was not the all-but-foregone conclusion to the buildoff, but that Paul Jr. brought his entire crew to the final event. At the end of the broadcast, he stands surrounded by friends, co-workers and family (his brother, also estranged from their father over what has happened, stands with him). Both Paul Sr. and Jesse stand alone.
The Harry Potter parallels? Like the Dark Lord, Jesse is skilful but is trying to hurt people, rather than simply outcompeting them. His interest is in winning, in showing up the tabloids, ex-wives and ex-girlfriends that no matter what a rotten person he is, he can turn out a good product and people will love him for it anyway. Paul Jr., as Harry, has learned that the only way to achieve success, whether fighting evil or competing in a bike build-off, is to have others' love and support. Paul Sr., rather like Dumbledore, for all of his skill, ends up in defeat, having not yet learned the lesson that his son could teach.
Or is he Snape? I'm not sure, but he's in there somewhere.
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