Deathly Hallows

Just saw HP7. The short version:

• Still annoyed by depictions of magic/flying.
• Much more satisfied by acting job of the trio.
• Still hating the writing. 
• In love with the music, especially the credits song (what is it?)

But the movie's tone got to me. I remember, sharply, a moment when I was 17 and realized that I was the same age as Harry during the last days of Book 7 (which hadn't come out yet). I realized I was the same age as the protagonist, and sharply didn't feel ready to confront the ultimate force of evil in the world. At the same time, I wish there was some ultimate evil, because that would allow me a clear enemy to pursue and defeat. I remember agonizing during Order of the Phoenix, as I knew exactly how I would have fooled Dolores Umbridge, and I'd like to think I'd have been a decent anti-Voldemort strategist.

But I could have been no Snape, and ultimately, Snape was the hero of this story: Harry's path was clear and shining; he ultimately realized he had no choice but to die and chose it; Snape had every choice but near certain death and yet stayed the course. That makes him the true hero of the series, and I will never be Snape, or LBJ, who came out of the South to pursue Civil Rights, or FDR, who manipulated unemployment to bottom out right before his inauguration.

At this point I'm rambling, something frequent on this blog, but my ultimate point is that Harry is a reminder of a simpler world: one where enemies are clear. Our world is less so: if our goal is happiness, the methods of achieving it are vague. We can only hope to follow the ideas that we set in our souls, and trust in providence for the rest.