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Is There Too Much Alcohol In The Harry Potter Movie?
This story from the New York Times caught my eye. In her “Well” column, Tara Parker-Pope asks the immortal question: “Does Hogwarts have a drinking problem?”
In the words of the immortal Homer Simpson: the who is on the what now?
Apparently there are a number of scenes in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” that show characters young and old indulging in a bit of Butterbeer. (I haven’t seen the movie, if you have, please feel free to correct me if any of this is incorrect.) “In scene after scene,” she writes, “the young wizards and their adult professors are seen sipping, gulping and pouring various forms of alcohol to calm their nerves, fortify their courage or comfort their sorrows.”
All of this is true to J.K. Rowling’s original novel. But Parker-Pope says that “recreated on the big screen, the images of teenage drinking are jarring.” Among those images are Hermione getting loosened up by liquor, at least according to Liz Perle of Common Sense Media.
Rowling declined to comment for the Times article, but Warner Brothers told Parker-Pope that “the drinking scenes were ‘open to different interpretations…One of our main objectives in bringing the Harry Potter films to the screen has been to remain as faithful to their original source material as created by J. K Rowling,’” and “that the wizarding world ‘should not be held to the same standards as the real world.’” That’s priceless. Sometimes it’s better to say nothing.
Not all parents are bothered by the drinky drinky. There’s some debate of just how much alcohol is in Butterbeer; a Wikipedia entry says that “it has not been stated that there is any alcohol in the drink.” This site offers a recipe that does not include alcohol; it sounds disgusting but definitely not alcoholic. (Actually, the recipe reminds me of “Laverne & Shirley” — remember milk and pepsi?) So maybe Hermione just THOUGHT she was drunk.
Or maybe it’s just a movie.
What do you think? Does the idea that Harry Potter and his pals are indulging in Wizardly Fire Water bother you? Or is this just a bunch of Muggle nonsense?
Source: New York Times
Image: Wizard Store
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8 Comments
e commented on Jul 30 09 at 11:39 amI don’t know why I thought this, but in reading the books I always thought Butter Beer was like Root Beer.
Regardless, I think this is a little silly. Just goes to show how hung up Americans are around alcohol.
PlumbLucky commented on Jul 30 09 at 11:47 amIts a movie based on a book created by a British author. Therefore, it likely isn’t going to be up to the prudish “moral” standards of an American columnist. Sheesh.
Zanne commented on Jul 30 09 at 11:53 amI assumed that butter beer was a type of small beer–a low-alcohol beverage that people used to drink pretty constantly in Europe and early America. It was normal to give it to children, historically. I just figured this was another instance of Rowling’s wizarding world maintaining some archaic customs.
But even if that’s what she had in mind, I can see where it would look like serious boozing to many viewers.
puasamanda commented on Jul 30 09 at 12:52 pmKeep in mind that legal drinking age in England (last time I checked) is 16 years old – and in the latest installment of the HP movies, that is the age of the Hogwart’s class featured.
Hamilton Doula commented on Jul 30 09 at 3:39 pmJust agreeing with puasamanda: The drinking age and attitudes towards drinking are totally different in Scotland, where this takes place. Plus, even as a Canadian, drink was ubiquitous in highschool. Some teachers even socialized at wet parties in highschool in the 80s. Americans are such prudes about alcohol!
Laure68 commented on Jul 30 09 at 3:51 pmAs someone who worked in the medical industry for many years, I always found Tara Parker-Pope’s column to be silly and unscientific. It amazes me that she can be the health blogger for the NYT. Anything she says, I would probably do or believe the opposite.
Ri-chan commented on Sep 14 09 at 9:04 pmmuggle nonsense
Lucky commented on Sep 16 09 at 2:32 pmEngland. NOT Scotland. And yes I always thought of it as rootbeer. And I’m a huge fan and never noticed anyone getting drunk or even dizzy off the stuff. Harry does drink firewiskey in book 6 but not an excessive amount.
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