New York Times Article on Amount of Alcohol Use in Half-Blood Prince
HBP Film
Posted by: sue
July 29, 2009, 11:38 AM
A columnist for the New York Times has written a piece that asks "Does Hogwarts have a drinking problem?" in relation to what they seem to feel is rampant drinking that takes place in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The article starts out by claiming "parents may be surprised by the starring role given to alcohol. In
scene after scene, 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."
The author of the piece continues: "Previous Harry Potter movies have shown drinking, but this one takes it to a new level. In one scene, Harry, Ron and Hermione order butterbeers at the pub, and Hermione ends up with a frothy mustache. While it’s never been entirely clear whether butterbeer is alcoholic, it seems to have an effect on the normally uptight Hermione, who acts tipsy walking home as she throws her arms around the boys.As
the mother of a 10-year-old Harry Potter fan, I was taken aback by the
reaction of the young people in the theater. They snickered at
Hermione’s goofy grin and, later, guffawed when an inebriated Hagrid
passed out. While I don’t think my daughter fully understood what was
going on, I wondered how other parents, educators and addiction experts
would react.
Liz Perle, a mother of two teenage boys and the
editor in chief of Common Sense Media, which reviews books, movies and
Web content aimed at children, said she was bothered by so many scenes
showing alcohol as a coping mechanism. “Hermione is such a
tightly wound young lady, but she’s liberated by some butterbeer,” she
said. “The message is that it gives you liquid courage to put your arms
around the guy you really like but are afraid to.”
..."Overseas audiences may respond differently to the drinking scenes. In
England, the legal drinking age is 18, but 16-year-olds can order
alcohol if they’re eating a meal. (Even by those standards, the
teenagers in the movie were flouting the law: during the pub scene, no
food was served.)
A response from Warner Bros "said 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,” the company wrote in an e-mail message,
adding that the wizarding world “should not be held to the same
standards as the real world.' "
282 Comments
and theres me worring about the death and torture. Get a sense of humour!!!!!
2200 Points
I really don’t think it’s a big deal. It seemed natural, I didn’t really notice it until everybody has been pointing it out!
243 Points
Yes there was some alcohol in the film, but it’s not like they were stumbling around and falling over getting sick in an alley by the Hog’s Head…then there might have been a problem :P As I see it, they were just drinking socially as most people do when they’re of age of with friends or out enjoying themselves. I think the columnist is taking this a bit out of context. Now if they were driving a broom, they might be cited for a FWI (flying while intoxicated) and that definitely would not be sending a good message.
667 Points
If it’s that big a deal for them, they should practice “parental guidance” instead of just being “shocked” about it. What about all the overtly sexual and violent behavior in most teen flicks nowadays?
110 Points
ugh, really… some people just aren’t happy unless they are complaining about these wonderful books and movies. :p people if you don’t like aspects of what these books/movies contain, don’t read/watch them and keep your opinions to yourself
2200 Points
Also it was so funny, Hagrid and Slughorn got drunk in the book so whats the big deal! People just like to overreact to everything, and act like the world’s a perfect place.
1218 Points
Erm, I’m pretty sure children shouldn’t be going anyway. The inferi scheme made many many kids cry and scream during the showing I went to, some even had to be taken out of the cinema! Also I’m pretty sure killing someone is a touch worse than a glass of butterbeer :S
Some people are right idiots aren’t they?
218 Points
Yeah, come on, it’s the wizarding world, they’re allowed different laws…so no one cared about sectumsempra or Dumbledore’s death, just the consumption of alcohol?
106 Points
I always thought of Butterbeer and something akin to Rootbeer, which is completely non-alcoholic. I would be more alarmed if they were drinking fire whiskey, which is clearly an adult beverage. But, I suppose people could find objectionable material in anything, if they’re looking for it.
1293 Points
Oh, come on, where is the problem? They wanted to show Hermione in a funny way, so they did this scene where she is like “drunken”.So? That doesn’t men every girl who saw the movie and is in love, will go into a pub and drunk herself. I mean, we don’t even know is she really drunken or she did just this funny walk with goofy grin. I think real problem is in opinion of this mother who said that Hermione is a wound, young lady and it’s not appropriate for her to have a drink. What is this? Just a guy can order something in a pub? Come on!!!
179 Points
I don’t understand how people can be so uptight about a couple of butterbeers and various “tonics” to calm the nerves… I’m a mother myself and I would trust that I could explain to my children the difference between liquid courage/ alcoholism and having a drink with friends without worrying that a couple innocent scenes would wipe all reason from their minds. After all, it’s not as if Hermione was at a table surrounded by flagons upon flagons of butterbeer.
The scene’s were true to the canon, which I find easily mirrored in real life. The movie doesn’t show alcohol in a “solve all your problems” light, neither does it glorify “tonics” as proven when Ron thinks he’s been given felix felicis (he had it in him to do well all along). If anything, the movie/book give the impression that love potions are better off left alone, felix is better used sparingly and that drinking too much of Madame Rosmerta’s mead is likely to get you poisoned (especially if within reach of Draco Malfoy).
I’m sorry, but I have a real problem with these type of mom’s that rely on the media to teach their children life lessons instead of taking charge of that themselves. If you don’t approve of the type of content your children are exposed to, then don’t expose them. But please don’t act as if the world needs to only portray what you deem as good and just.
1623 Points
I guess it’s a good thing they didn’t keep Winky in GoF! ;)
2333 Points
okay the drinking rules for england confuse me….so not fair!!! hahah kidding…..but yeah hogwarts students do seem to drink a lot……hmmmm
730 Points
Just more people trying to give Harry Potter a bad name. Read the books, folks, that’s what counts, and there’s nothing in there condoning underage drinking. I’ve always thought butterbeer was akin to root beer anyway, with maybe just the tiniest bit of alcohol since it affects house-elves. The tipsy Hermione scene was funny, yes, but it doesn’t count as canon.
174 Points
oh god… ‘starring role’? If kids see people in movies drinking, it does not make them want to drink. The thing that influences children to drink alcohol is if their parents do! Besides, if you are so concerned about your child being influenced by the media, Harry Potter is the least thing you should worry about. By the time these kids are old enough to be offered a drink, they will have long forgotten this specific scene in this specific movie! Find something else to worry about, parents.
and theres me worring about the death and torture. Get a sense of humour!!!!!