August 9, 2011
Harry Potter and the Museum Exhibit with Harry Potter Things In It
Times Square. So many muggles. Oy.
WiCM provided discount tickets to Times Square’s Harry Potter: The Exhibition, a collection of props, costumes, and sets from the movie franchise. For those of you who attended and didn’t remember seeing me, I was the guy disguised as Professor Flitwick (…or I was out of town and had to attend later).
I assume that most WiCM blog readers are well versed in J.K. Rowling’s celebrated book series and associated movie run. Surprisingly, I happen to be a newcomer to Hogwarts. I just started reading the books a couple of months ago, and I had to hustle to finish before I lost the chance to see the last movie in theaters.
Right. So I realize that reading the Harry Potter books and seeing all of the movies shouldn’t be considered an accomplishment for a grownup. But there are SEVEN books, many of which are approximately 3,000 pages. And there are EIGHT movies. The physical consequences of ingesting this much media are alarming. But it’s done, and the exhibit was a great coda to the quest.
It’s so difficult to create a textured fictional world, and even more difficult to lace it with magic and still make it make sense. Rowling did it. She created an entire reality that’s striking in its richness. And in the process she was able to weave such an intricate story that details planted in the first books play integral roles in the last.
That’s planning. That’s imagination. And that’s what got me so excited to see this exhibit. I’ve really enjoyed the thoughtfulness that went into Rowling’s massive story. This was my chance to see her comprehensive vision manifested in actual, tangible objects.
There isn’t much to report for this week’s event. There wasn’t a curriculum. There weren’t any formal lessons or teaching points. But the wonderful gallery of props and costumes made me truly appreciate the attention and care put into Rowling’s work. From individual characters’ wand replicas to the neckties featuring Hogwarts house emblems (all available at the gift shop!), the exhibit showed us what we’ve been imagining for years.
I think that’s what to take away from this event. When aiming to take a reader, a viewer, or an audience member on a journey, it’s important to sweat the small stuff. Rowling’s attention to detail made it easy for her readers to inhabit her magical world. Her focus on minutia took a story and elevated it to an experience. Not bad for a muggle…
-Lucias Millfoy
Children's Media Association 