Denise Roper on SHP
In episode 63 of the ‘Secrets of Harry Potter’ podcast, a show about the religious, moral, literary and mythical layers of the best-selling series by JK Rowling, we welcome special guest Denise Roper.
Denise is the author of The Lord of the Hallows: Christian Symbolism and Themes in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and has a blog of the same title over at http://phoenixweasley.wordpress.com/
According to her publisher’s website, “THE LORD OF THE HALLOWS examines the Christian themes present in J. K. Rowling’s HARRY POTTER, and compares Rowling’s series with THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J. R. R. Tolkien and THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA by C. S. Lewis.
This book also gives a fascinating explanation of the sources of Harry Potter’s subtle religious symbolism, which includes a study of iconography derived from the Bible, the writings of the Early Church Fathers, Ancient and Medieval bestiaries, Christian artwork, and the Arthurian quest for the Hallows of the Holy Grail.”
Denise graciously accepted our offer to be a guest panelist to talk specifically about Christmas in the Wizarding World.
As part of our discussion, we review some of the first Christmases at Hogwarts from Harry’s first year through his sixth. The bulk of our conversation focuses on the Christmas scene in Deathly Hallows.
Harry and Hermione, dressed as old Muggles, are in Godric’s Hollow looking for answers in their quest for Horcruxes. As they are walking down the snow covered streets, they hear singing coming from a nearby church and they realize that it is Christmas Eve.
In our discussion with Denise, she talks about some of the symbolism in the stained glass windows that were designed for the movie. We also talk about the symbolism of the graveyard, the engravings on the tombs of the Potters and Dumbledores, and the the Christmas wreath that Hermione conjured. From there we also talk about the symbolism of the “Devil’s Knell” and the statue of the Potters.
The Secrets of Harry Potter has spent the past several years exploring the deeper meanings and hidden symbolism within the Harry Potter series. Be sure to check out our previous episodes that are available via iTunes.
From all of us at the Secrets of Harry Potter and SQPN,
Merry Christmas!
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Fatherroderick, 
Scott 2:58 pm on May 17, 2011 Permalink |
u00a0Can you post a link in the show notes to the “geek” podcast you mentioned in this episode??
Capt Jeff 2:37 am on May 18, 2011 Permalink |
u00a0Are you talking about Cliff Ravenscraft’s podcasts? The two Father mentioned are PodcastAnswerman (http://gspn.tv/category/all-shows/technology/pam/) and Social Media Serenity (http://gspn.tv/category/all-shows/technology/sms/).
Fatherroderick 7:54 am on May 18, 2011 Permalink |
It’s The Geek Podcast:u00a0http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-geek-podcast/id411778876
Scott 2:21 pm on May 18, 2011 Permalink |
Thanks Fr. Roderick! That’s the one I meant. For those who might need the direct RSS link, it’su00a0http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheGeekPodcastnI’ve added it to my podcatcher and will give it a try.
andy ( as posted) 8:50 pm on May 15, 2011 Permalink |
u00a0hello father Rodrick iu00a0 recently heard the 2nd star warsu00a0 program and i heard something which i kind ofu00a0 disagree with i am not criticizing you i just want to help you correct this you said that that obi wan kenobi was a bit rebellious when he was actually very dependant of the jedi codenu00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0 please reply so i can understand your point of viewu00a0u00a0 sincerly andy ps 11 year oldnn
andy ( as posted) 8:50 pm on May 15, 2011 Permalink |
u00a0hello father Rodrick iu00a0 recently heard the 2nd star warsu00a0 program and i heard something which i kind ofu00a0 disagree with i am not criticizing you i just want to help you correct this you said that that obi wan kenobi was a bit rebellious when he was actually very dependant of the jedi codenu00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0 please reply so i can understand your point of viewu00a0u00a0 sincerly andy ps 11 year oldnn
scott 9:58 pm on May 12, 2011 Permalink |
Good Show n
curtjester 5:05 pm on May 12, 2011 Permalink |
Pocketcasts is nice, but I prefer iCatcher. For one iCatcher is a universal app and the iPad version is great. It has a lot of very good options and since I bought Pocketcasts and iCatcher on the same day I noticed iCatcher came out with several updates and Pocketcasts only one. iCatcher is very feature rich with lots of customization and nicely done custom playlists. It has really transformed the way I listen to podcasts since I don’t have to sync up to my Mac anymore. I also like that I can play video podcasts at X2 speed. Another cool feature is that Next track over bluetooth is tied to advancing a podcast by 30 seconds – this is great for podcasts with commercials I have heard a thousand times.nnWhen I first bought iCatcher I had a question for the developer. He responded to me within and hour and since then let me be a beta tester for all his new updates and he is very open for requests.
curtjester 9:37 pm on May 9, 2011 Permalink |
If you don’t know, RiffTrax was started by the Mike Nelson who wrote and starred in Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K). Rifftrax was a way to continue that show without large license fees for films.nnIf you are not familiar with MST3K it was one of the funniest shows of all times. Mike Nelson along with some puppets would do skits and then watch some B-Movie and comment on the file throughout. So if you can get ahold of any of the DVD’s of the show, they are worth your time. Mike Nelson is also a conservative Protestant.