Episode 4 – H to the P
Welcome to Episode 4 of Dining with Druids! We’re your hosts, Ali and Jeff Lilly.
In tonight’s episode, “H to the P“, Ali and Jeff geek out over the latest and last Harry Potter film, and spoiler alerts abound. Is Harry Potter a Christ figure? Who’s the most compelling character of the series? How is Voldemort like Loki? Is Dumbledore a magical version of George Washington? What can J.K. Rowling’s stories tell us about adolescence, torture, bureaucracy, mainstream media and socialized medicine? Wait — did Jeff just win an argument? You’ll have to listen to find out!
Mentioned in tonight’s episode:
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, duh!
- “The Political Lessons of Harry Potter,” by Alyssa Rosenberg, ThinkProgress.org
- Christology
- Feudalism
- Norse mythology
- Movie magic and the wonders of CGI
- Ali’s goth side
- Harry Potter
- Seriously, though, mostly Harry Potter
And some exciting news! Dining with Druids is now available in the iTunes store! So, you know, that’s cool. Check it out, subscribe, and show us some love if you like.
Also, stay tuned for some Harry Potter-related specials coming up later this week! Surprises are in store.
Until next time, thanks for listening!
Dining with Druids 
I love listening to y’all in general–I feel like I’m hanging out in your living room. But I really love when you talk Potter. Especially when you put everyone in Ragnarok. Hah!
Oh but I wanted to mention: Dumbledore’s Army was in the fifth book. As was all the crazy political stuff.
*puts on geek glasses*
Oh no! There goes all my Harry Potter street cred! 😉
if Harry Potter is Jesus, i think the part of Voldemort that dies with him is sin.
i don’t see Harry Potter as a straight-up Christian allegory, myself. but of course there are the sacrificial parallels…let’s not forget of course, Lily’s sacrifice. Speaking of Lily…she was of course the inspiration for Snape being on the good side, and i suspect she was also the inspiration for James Potter’s good side overcoming his not-so-great side…
I thought the scene at the top of the astronomy tower, where Dumbledore was killed, was very Gethsemane-like.
I also noticed the goblin/dwarf parallel.
I like how you pointed out the elemental thing…i noticed it a little myself, but initially not to the extent you pointed out. awesome!
Fenrir Greyback is the werewolf Death Eater that especially targets children…i think you can see the name parallel with Norse mythology there.
Speaking of parallels between Harry Potter and Norse mythology…some refer to the last book as Potterdammerung. lol
I didn’t think Molly Weasley (Ron’s mom) actually used the Unforgiveable Killing Curse, but i guess i don’t know for sure. I think in nature there are plenty of animal mothers (think bears) that would kill for their young. And not unknown in humanity.