Day 107

[HERE BE SPOILERS]

Today was a sad day. I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. While I was satisfied with the film overall, I have now sunk into the post-series depression that happens when something is over. While here at BLONDE HEADQUARTERS, we think that it’s not quite right that the only blonde kid in the whole series is that Draco Malfoy brat, it is a great story. [UPDATE: I somehow forgot about Luna Lovegood, one of my favorite characters. I also forgot to mention the rest of the Malfoy family. My friend P reminded me of this. Can you tell I was crazy tired when I wrote this?] When I finished reading all the books I was a bit sad, but I had the movies to look forward to, but now there is nothing. This feeling is an odd conundrum.

I really enjoy stories. Whether they’re a book, a movie, a song, or coming out of a friend’s mouth over a drink, stories are essentially what we are all about. I make a lot of comments about blonde hair on this blog, but my life is not merely superficial. I like to have experiences and I like to have and hear and read stories. There is this sentiment that happens when you finish a good movie or book or series of books. It’s a strange melting pot of emotions; you’re enthralled throughout, satisfied with the ending, but sad that it’s over. You want more, but there is no more. You know in your heart of hearts that if there were more, it would ruin it. Just like how that say a painter knows when one more brushstroke can ruin a painting. Many Harry Potter fans want another book. While the Hogwarts addict in me would love to have another euphoric swig of butterbeer, I know that one more journey into Harry’s world could sully the whole experience. Perhaps J.K. Rowling could expand her universe and tell other tales, perhaps like J.R.R. Tolkien did with his Silmarillion.

It's kind of like how you never want your favorite song to end, but you know that if it didn't end, you'd end up hating it and being very annoyed.

You don’t want to say goodbye to Harry, but it’s time he lives a life that is less exciting. Sometimes I like to believe in the “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” (a play by Tom Stoppard) philosophy of fictional characters. I guess it’s a type of “metatheater” or something, but I like to believe that characters live on beyond their roles. Scout grew up to be a wonderful, smart young lady. Pony Boy and Soda Pop work at the DX station, but maybe Pony went to college on a scholarship. Ferris Bueller went to college and cut class, managed to graduate cum laude, but still remains friends with Cameron and Sloane. He became a program director at a retirement home. Clarence and Alabama went to Cancun and had children and watched Kung Fu movies and own a drive-in theater and diner. Sometimes I wonder if these characters only exist because I’m reading them. I breathe life into them and they don’t exist until I read them. I don’t really like this idea, but it has crossed my mind.

I think it’s time for Harry to marry Ginny, have some kids, and maybe he became an auror. Neville Longbottom became a Professor of Herbology at Hogwarts, which pleases me greatly. It’s time for these characters to have their own lives. Does this make me crazy? I have enjoyed my time with them, but now it’s time for them to lead quiet lives. I had the same problem with Lord of the Rings. Frodo went on such an arduous journey, it pained me to see him struggle to return to his life “How does one pick up the threads of an old life?” It made sense for him to go to the Grey Havens so he could be at peace. However, I wish he could have stayed in the Shire and lived a full and happy life, but I suppose there are things you just can’t recover from. As much as it pains me to not have any more adventures with Harry, I am happy to know that his life is full.

Part of me is selfish and wants more. Part of me is rational and understands that all good things must come to an end. Yet another part of me is highly illogical and believes that fictional characters lead lives beyond the pages of their own works. Harry and Frodo could probably have some very interesting conversations. Are these characters types of actors who have to put on the same show every time you read their book or watch their movie? Is there some kind of Sardi’s where they all hang out after hours? I would like to go there. I kind of imagine it’s like a bar in Toon Town in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

So, I’m trying to deal with the onslaught of post-Potter depression, and in doing so I’m getting into George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice series (on which the HBO series Game of Thrones is based). I do feel a bit like I’m trying to recover from being a heroin addict by becoming a methadone addict. It’s really just a bandaid for a bullet wound. I can’t really help my affliction; I can’t stop voraciously consuming books and movies and music. Stories are entertainment, sure, but they are vital to our existence. I’m not sure I’d want to live in a world with out stories. I also am beginning to believe that if you want to become a successful author these days, you might need to have a few initials in your name.

Stephen King felt the same way I do and he wrote about it in his now-defunct EW column. You can read it here.(more so about the last book than the last movie since this column is 4 years old, but I remember reading it and crying and I tore it out and saved it because it so perfectly described these emotions)

Today gets 5 Barbie Warhols and 1 Barbie Warhol because I don’t know what to feel:

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