Let me tell you something, I am grateful to J.K. Rowling for letting me and the rest of children in the world to read Harry Potter series. I’m not writing a post to talk good about the series, but to talk about some activity interesting to practice once in a while. Repeating a fiction novel or fiction movie (yet, even a nonfiction would work almost as well).
I first watched Harry Potter when I was a child; don’t remember exactly the year, but I was as old a a one digit number (get it? ^_^). Right, since then I watched all the movies as they released and read all books as well. The thing is that it has been a while since I watched any movie or read any book of the series, so I figured out I could enjoy one of the films and let time pass (that was when I was kind of blind, check the post).
I ended up watching the 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th movie and even one night I grabbed the 6th book and started whipping through the pages to relive the experience. I can say it was a great experience because I did enjoyed the films, not only because of the memory of watching something from my childhood that made me happy, but because I have grown up since then, I know have more knowledge about movies, plot holes, creating characters (just for fun…), and I could really check and rate the movies.
The sixth was the first I saw. I has a great direction for a teen film. And, guess it’s ok since J.K.R. wrote the book based on that: love, fun, friends. The only thing is that in book that starts a little later, in the movie is just starting when Harry is already kind-of in love with Ginny. Stories later. I loved the music of the 6th movie. Why? Just hear the songs, listen to them, you’ll see.
The 5th movie… I still don’t like it very much. The director (which is the same as the 6th, 7th and 8th…) is just not doing his job well. I didn’t like how sound mixed with scenes, how the scenes where put there. I definitely didn’t like the adaptation script. The book is long, I know, it’s tedious sometimes, but as everything was right, the timing too; in the movie they didn’t want to cut down the story so the just stretched it in a 138 minutes film.
So see? I know can relate to those findings and critics because I saw it again. I saw it as a 15 years old, not as a 1o year old, and believe me, it does make a difference.
In the end, I maybe wasted hours watching a movie for like, the 5th time, but what matters is that you can watch a movie again, years later, and equally enjoy it. I know, you know what’s coming next, and perhaps you remember every dialog, but yet, you’ll see things you missed before. I didn’t remember the minister of magic talking to Harry on the 3rd movie (It does on the book, but…) for example.
But books, you can re-read them too.
And not just Harry Potter books. I read a couple of days ago La mécanique du cœur (read it in spanish, didn’t like english translation of the title, put french title). It’s actually an amazing analogy of love and even friendships. The whole life of the character in a relationship and how it develops through, ’till it dies. I read it the first time… Last year? or a year before that. I enjoyed it just as well. Why? because, as I said, re-reading you look for new things. Seek and you shall find.
Months ago I finished the first book of the Lord of The Rings series (by the way, got mad at the end…). It’s a long book, sometimes you even want to drop out and stop reading. I did, actually, left the book when I got 100 pages more, and months ago I got to read it again and finished it. Did I enjoyed it? As much as I enjoyed the time (which is not much, but enough to make it worth).
You see, reading books it great, reading fiction, I mean, by the meaning on turn on your imagination and let your mind flow. Now, re-reading a fiction makes you to, in first instance, recreate the first imaginary world you first created, now fed by new memories and experiences in your live that will change the “design” a bit, plus, in second instance, a second imaginary world, fed by the new findings you make on the re-read, and the base of your previous world, added to a new character, which is your conscious, that will play Sherlock Holmes in finding new details on the story, descriptions and character personality, so you enjoy the re-reading as much as the first time.
In a few word: read, read read, and after some years, look for old books, if something got your attention, re-read it. You’ll find it somehow interesting. Same for movies. If you buy DVDs (or Blu-Ray, whatever), look for the firsts and set your memory on; if you rather watch movies online, look for old titles, 5 years ago titles, I know something will draw your attention.
