I had a few foreboding chills about Deathly Hallows yesterday as I walked through the mall with my little girl. We usually do not go to the mall on Sunday (ever, if we can help it) but her Daddy was desperate for a new pair of shoes (his every-day work pair having worn out seemingly overnight) before Monday. While he was shoe shopping, I decided to take S. with me and head to my favorite department store to see if I could find some dishtowels which we also needed.
So there I was, strolling through the mall with my skipping five year old, my mind on mundane, every-day matters like shoes and dishtowels, when I was suddenly stopped in my tracks. We were passing one of those trendy teenage stores filled with black t-shirts and other odd kinds of merchandise, and my eye was caught by a black t-shirt bearing spidery blood-red letters. This is what they read: "7/21/07 -- Who Will Die?"
That's all it said. Beyond the interesting observation one can make about the pervasiveness of HP as a cultural phenomenon, I guess I bring it up here because I got sort of shivery when I saw it. My husband, astute observer of adolescent culture (he has to be, with his job) mentioned that the makers of the t-shirt might possibly be relishing the thought of character deaths. I certainly hope not, but it did seem a bit strange to me that they'd want to "cash in" that way.
I take heart knowing that JKR is a responsible storyteller. What deaths take place in these stories are there to serve real purposes within the stories, and to help children (and grown-ups) think thoughtfully about loss and grief. I wonder how she would feel about those t-shirts.
3 comments:
That's rather unsettling... Though not surprising. I can definitely picture that shirt fitting right in at Hot Topic. It's sort of sad that people get so excited when character deaths are announced; it definitely generates buzz. And while I know that's not why Rowling has written major deaths into the last four books in the series, her publishers have definitely latched onto it, along with merchandisers and the press.
I remember reading something in 2005 about the massive number of bets placed on who would die in the fifth book, though I wonder if anybody really profited much since it seems the vast majority had money on Dumbledore...
Erm... That's the sixth book. Oh, for an edit key... ;)
Actually, I think the store *was* Hot Topic. But I can picture it fitting in a few other odd places too, like Spencer's.
I find the whole notion of people betting on who will die within a book very odd. Of course, we live in an odd world!
Yes, I'd love an edit key in these comment boxes too! :-)
Post a Comment