Abanes, Richard. Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace Behind the Magick. Camp Hill, PA: Horizon – Christian Publications, 2001. Print.
This book argues that the Harry Potter series contains “spiritually dangerous material that could ultimately lead youth down the road to occultism” and promotes “unbiblical values and unethical behavior (6).” The major focus of this book (Part 2) is proving the Harry Potter series’ connection to the occult, which isn’t overtly relevant to my discussion of apocalyptic dualism Harry Potter. In Part 1, however, the odd-numbered chapters provide plot summaries of each of the four books, while the subsequent even chapters discuss occultism, ethics, and age-appropriateness of each book. “Potterethics” is the author’s term for the “morally confusing messages” of the books (7). These sections will be particularly helpful for their analysis of the ways in which the books undermine and defy Christian moral extremes (i.e. good and evil), although I will have to show why this is a good thing, as opposed to Abanes, who is clearly opposed.
Bauckham, Richard. The Theology of the Book of Revelation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 1993. Print.
As someone without an extensive theological background, I will use this book to aid my understanding of the Book of Revelation as one of my primary sources. This book explains both the traditional meanings of the imagery used in Revelation, and the theological importance of the prophesy as a whole. A better grasp of the Book of Revelation as understood by Christian belivers will in turn help me get more out of my secondary sources written from both theological perspectives and historical/social perspectives.
Dellamora, Richard, ed. Postmodern Apocalypse: Theory and Cultural Practice at the End. Philadelphia, PA: U of Pennsylvania P, 1995. Print.
This book examines the theoretical foundation of the “postmodern apocalypse” theory in thirteen different essays. By providing different points of view and broader context for the application of the theory, the essays will be helpful to my understanding of Rosen’s particular definition of postmodern apocalyptic literature. In addition, several of the essays highlight the divisive nature of the apocalyptic myth and discuss the ways in which it has shaped identification within minority groups – specifically, its effect on women and the queer community. (“Representing Apocalypse: Sexual Politics and the Violence of Revelation,” by Mary Wilson Carpenter, “Queer Apocalypse: Framing William Burroughs,” by Richard Dellamora, and “Go-go Dancing on the Brink of the Apocalypse: Representing AIDS,” by Peter Dickinson.) These examples will be useful in my discussion of the harmful effects of apocalyptic dualism on society, and will contribute to the argument that the postmodern apocalypse works to undermine that dualism.
Granger, John. Harry Potter’s Bookshelf: The Great Books Behind the Hogwarts Adventures. New York, NY: Berkley – Penguin, 2009. Print.
Each section of this book analyzes the Harry Potter books through the lens of a different genre – the one that will provide the most material for my discussion is Chapter Five, Harry Potter as a Postmodern Epic. This chapter is about the characteristics of postmodern thinking in general, and moral lessons taught in Harry Potter in particular. I will integrate these examples with a discussion of Rowling’s use of the apocalyptic myth to illustrate how the Harry Potter books fit Rosen’s definition of postmodern apocalyptic literature.
Lev Grossman. “J.K. Rowling Hogwarts And All.” Time Magazine 17 July 2005. Web. 13 Oct. 2010.
This article, based on an interview with J.K. Rowling, provides valuable insight into her motives for inserting her version of morality into the Harry Potter series. On the surface, it seems as though she falls into the postmodern “trap” of being tolerant of everything – except intolerance. I will argue that she avoids this trap by establishing a continuum of good and evil, and supports a morality which accepts everyone, even intolerant, dualistic fundamentalists, by allowing these types of people into her vision of New Jerusalem at the end of the seventh book.
Hunter, Nicole. “The last Harry Potter book has biblical overtones – Birmingham Christian Perspectives | Examiner.com.” Web. 20 Oct. 2010.
This source, contrary to the vague title, directly links the last book of the Harry Potter series with the Book of Revelation. It also argues that this connection cements the relationship between Harry Potter and Christianity, and therefore anyone who believed the books were working against Christian morals is proved wrong, once and for all. Obviously, as discussed above, the fact that Harry Potter uses Christian symbols and has parallels with the New Testament does not mean the series isn’t working to subvert one of the basic tenets of the religion.
Killinger, John. God, the Devil, and Harry Potter: A Christian Minister’s Defense of the Beloved Novels. New York, NY: Thomas Dunne – St. Martin’s Press, 2002. Print.
This book is more or less a rebuttal of Richard Abanes’ book, discussed above. Written by a minister who sees the books as “narratives of robust faith and morality,” God, the Devil, and Harry Potter attempts to prove the Harry Potter series “is not only dependent on the Christian understanding of life and the universe, but actually grows out of that understanding and would have been unthinkable without it (11).” The second point supports my argument, which I will show by discussing the way J.K. Rowling meticulously appropriates the apocalyptic myth of the Book of Revelation. The first point, however, needs to be exposed as simplistic – yes, there is faith, but there is also doubt, and there is morality, but good people do very bad things. Killinger’s attempt to prove that “the master plot, the one underlying the entire novel, is the critical struggle between good and evil” with Harry as Christ and Voldemort as Satan, fails because the master plot is not the struggle between good and evil, it is the struggle to transcend black-and-white absolutes like “good” and “evil.”
Kirsch, Jonathan. A History of the End of the World: How the Most Controversial Book in the Bible Changed the Course of Western Civilization. New York, NY: HarperOne – Harper, 2006. Print.
This book demonstrates the ways in which Revelation is present in every aspect of Western societies. It supports Quinby’s argument for the pervasive nature of apocalyptic dualism in our society, but goes further back in history to chart the course of apocalypticism from its creation two thousand years ago to America’s present-day, more secular culture. Seeing how the myth has been used over the past two millennia to further different agendas will give an invaluable historical background to my arguments about current postmodern apocalyptic stories in general, and the specific case of Harry Potter.
Quinby, Lee. Millennial Seduction: A Skeptic Confronts Apocalyptic Culture. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1999. Print.
In this book Lee Quinby describes the damage apocalyptic dualism does to democratic societies, and challenges the idea of a “dictated and timeless Truth” (28). Skepticism, the alternative she proposes, is the idea that there can be many different truths, which can be discovered through dialogue and questioning. By always questioning, and accepting the uncertainty that we may never know the Truth, we can break free of the dualistic restraints of the apocalyptic paradigm. I will compare this approach with the postmodern apocalyptic one, which attempts to critique the paradigm from within, instead of abandoning it altogether.
Rosen, Elizabeth. Apocalyptic Transformation: Apocalypse and the Postmodern Imagination. Lanham, MD: Lexington – Rowman & Littlefield, 2008. Print.
Rosen argues apocalyptic literature has been used a social critique since time immemorial. What she believes is new, however, is stories that use the traditional apocalyptic narrative to critique the apocalyptic myth itself, specifically, its moral absolutism. She calls this sub-genre “postmodern apocalyptic literature.” She discusses several characteristics of the genre, including humanization of the traditional deity, a cyclical (rather than linear) view of time, and questioning the existence of objective judgement. By comparing the Harry Potter series to the books and films Rosen examines, I will show that Harry Potter has all the elements of a postmodern apocalyptic story, and the value of reading it as such.
Additional sources to be explored:
Wallis, John and Lee Quinby, eds. Reel Revelations: Apocalypse and Film
Keller, Catherine. Apocalypse Now and Then
Strozier, Charles B, David M. Terman, and James William Jones, eds. The Fundamentalist Mindset
Granger, John. Looking for God in Harry Potter
Reddish, Mitchell G., ed. Apocalyptic Literature: A Reader
Quinby, Lee. Anti-Apocalypse: Exercises in Genealogical Criticism.
