| Note: This rant was written quickly with little planning and research. I just felt like getting my thoughts about the fifth book out as quick as possible. I beg everyone to focus more on my idea than on my less than perfect writing abilities. J
While reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I noticed a lot of strange habits that Mrs. Rowling had seemed to pick up. It is my belief that these quirks can be traced back to a source, that source being the movies based on her books. As crazy as this seems, the evidence is strong, and rather discomforting to picky and analytical people like myself.
Throughout all of her books, spells and enchantments discussed by the wizarding community have been referred to with a description. Spells were called things like Disillusionment Charms, Memory Charms, and so forth. This changes in the fifth book, but only a little. While it has always been common to hear magic words shouted as spells are being cast, no one in the first four books every really called the Illumination Charm "alohamora" in casual conversation.
Why does this matter? It doesn't ruin the books!
No, it doesn't. It matters because the only spells that are referred to by their casting words are spells that were said in the movies. This could easily be a coincidence, but I find that hard to believe. Especially when other developments are taken into consideration.
In book five we meet a girl named Susan Bones who is very interested in Harry's ability to produce a patronus. This would be irrelevant if it weren't for one fact:
We have met Ms. Bones before. She is called up to the sorting hat in the movie based on the first book. After that she is seen in several scenes in the movie. The reason for this is that she was an extra who was totally unimportant, but was played by the director's daughter. Now, a few years after the only time her name was ever uttered in the magical world, she reappears.
It is becoming very apparent that J. K. Rowling is being influenced by the movies based on her books. All throughout book five references are made to scenes in the first two books/movies. While it makes sense that an author would refer to past events in their own story, Rowling seems to throw in more memories of the first two books than the third or fourth. Sirius is from the third book, and many events from the fourth are talked about, as is expected. Still, I can't help but feel that maybe favorite movie scenes from the author are getting tributes in her books.
The idea of Rowling being influenced by her books is distressing because of the potential it has. Characters from the movies are being added in just for fun, the way in which spells are talked about is changing, and popular parts of the movies are becoming more and more important in the books. What if this kind of habit continues in the last two books? The ending of the fifth book is already very different from the first four, and while I think this is more because of the tone the story is taking, it is possible that outside things are slowly changing the writings of the best selling author. By the time we are all holding book seven (or the later books that are now being discussed.) it may be that the Potter books are so vastly different from the first few that they seem to be written by someone else.
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