The dark and failure

Darkness, kids, books - hot topics recently. I just read an article about how the latest Harry Potter movie got the darkness "right." The article stated the filmmakers were not afraid to delve into the creepy side of the books, and claimed Rowling never achieved that level of darkness herself. It says her strength was as a world builder, and not a plot builder. Hmm - something to think about.

I have not seen many of the movies, but have read all the books. I loved them (and am not alone), and did find the last book the darkest, most difficult to read on an emotional level. It was compelling for an adult and enough to make me pause about whether my ten year old should read it (he did, pulled out the spells he wanted and didn't register the dark). So personally I say she did achieve it, but was not in competition with Hollywood and visual effects, and was WRITING FOR CHILDREN. For a ten year old, the book is dark enough.

Recently YA books have come under fire for their stark portrayal of life. But have the movies that YA audiences see? I'm not a fan of dark lit, but come on, if the movies these children are shown are over the top in violence, evil and pain why should their books be held to a different standard? Are we kidding ourselves about what is OK to put in our children's heads?

My point is that there is a weird situation now where movies can push whatever envelope they would like (and lots of tickets are sold, and the images long lasting), while books are chastised for doing so. In my ideal world, it would all be reined in and children's literature and films could stay children's (not cross market for adults); but I advocate more strongly a fairness to writers about what is acceptable and what is not. Rowling did not "fail" because she didn't do a full on Hollywood book.

If movies can push the limit, so can books. If books are not doing that in a gargantuan way, perhaps we need to understand it is because they are working for their audience (CHILDREN) and not adults.