Last night, Mr. and Mrs. OS stumbled upon the Biography Channel's airing of two one-hour profiles of the people who make the Harry Potter movies the wonderful things they are. They show again Sunday afternoon in the US, a far better investment of time than any of the NFL offerings routinely dished up this time of year.
Another Potter installment opens this weekend, and OS suspects it will do hugely well. We are being treated to a complex morality play on a grand scale. Rowling's genius is her understanding of evil: It so often walks into the room disguised as virtue, or necessity, or 'the greater good', or 'order', like the anal headmistress in Order of the Phoenix. More brazenly, it shows up to suck the very joy of life from anyone within range, like the Dementors. (OS used to be married to one of those, but that's another story...) She also reminds us that what we can see, touch, hear, feel, produce and consume is not all there is, that we live in a moral universe, even if it is hidden from the Muggles.
But, back to the profiles seen last night. What a great film, or any other enduring piece of art, reminds us of is this: It poses the question of 'What's Possible?'. All these uniquely gifted individuals, from the tuba player in the orchestra to the actors to the designers of the puppets and sets, to the editor, to the producers--all pulled in one direction to tell these wonderful tales for all time, and to reap the rewards for doing so. What they created seems impossible, and yet, here it is, undeniably here. It can be derided, or even dismissed, but its existence can't be denied. The profiles also document the people who devoted their energies to the creation--their existence and contribution can't be stuffed down the Memory Hole, either.
The nihilists, like the YewNorkTimes reviewer types who think that a crucifix suspended upside-down in urine is 'art', sneer at this sort of thing, especially the morality tale aspect of it. The materialists only see the dollar signs, and wonder why anyone would bother doing art. Let's see some more football, and let's jest order up another round of wings at Hooters! The intellectuals want to analyze it to death, in order to avoid feeling anything or grappling with the ethics. The fundamentalists condemn it because it challenges them to think.
Still, here it is, and it won't go away. What's Possible? How hard are we willing to work, how big are we willing to dream?
The fair city of Louisville is deciding whether it will have an orchestra, and what shape it will take. OS thinks they need to think of a good reason to have one, and build from there. The example of 80-100 people each doing something completely different from one another, live in front of an audience, and creating something utterly transcendent in the process, like performing the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra, is a powerful example of What's Possible. If the transcendent is removed from the occasion, it's just another bit of amusement for the audience, just another 'gig' for the musicians. It's not worth saving.
The final scene from Order of the Phoenix, as the students leave school, is tremendously moving. Young Harry knows he cannot avoid a direct showdown with evil, and that it will come down to kill-or-be-killed, and that he cannot shield his friends from the dangers, as much as he has tried. His final line goes something like this: We have the advantage. We have something to fight for. That's something he'll never have.
We have the advantage, if we're willing to work for What's Possible.
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