[Jerry D]

Michelle, here is an interesting Harry Potter Article that reinforces your point about how Harry saw Hermione as a friend and nothing else, and how different book Hermione was from the Hermione in the movies:

https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Viktor...-the-Yule-Ball

Please look at the article on top of the linked page and click on (more).

[secretk]

Originally Posted by Jerry D (View Post) From the movies, Harry was my favorite character, and I also found Snape to be very intriguing. Ron and Hermione were basically Harry's sidekicks, and Ron seemed goofy and cowardly at times. I thought that Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson had a lot of chemistry, but Bonnie Wright/Ginny was almost a non-entity in the movies in my opinion. I've learned a lot more about the characters through my conversations with Michelle and with my wife, so I view everything in a different light now, and I'm sure I'll really view them in a different light once I read the books.

For sure your opinion will change if you read the books . I asked you for your initial thoughts/feelings because this I think proves the best the difference between the books and the movies. I get that a movie can't include everything that was written in a book, but I still believe that the essence should be kept.

It's true that Harry Potter is not a love story and the love element was not the most featured one, but still Harry is the main character and I believe that part of his journey is also his relationship with Ginny, Ron and Hermione. I find it weird that the writers decided to change this dynamic as this to me seems to be part of the essence of the books.

But yeah you practically proved that they did not capture the true meaning of the books in the movies. At least not fully.

[secretk]

Originally Posted by The Apt (View Post) Nah, to be perfectly honest, Bonnie is a way better actress than Emma. A lot of people were not happy with Emma's acting in the first two films because it was... just not great, lol. Emma got way better as the series moved along though. However, Bonnie is a much better actress overall.

I see. So why do you think Emma got so popular? Was it based on her looks?

It's because Hermione was featured since she has a huge role obviously and Emma is nice looking. It was so gross... some adult men were commenting on Emma being hot at 12. They all should be sent to prison.

That's disgusting. I just. A 12 years kid is not hot. It's sweet and innocent and good looking, but hot? I just can't comprehend how adults could view kids hot.

Bonnie did great with what she was given but unfortunately she wasn't given the proper material and the Harry/Ginny story was simply not fleshed out/told AT ALL in the films. Bonnie was barely on the screen and when she was if you blinked you could miss her. It's a shame. To a movie only fan, some might not even realize who Ginny is half the time. It was a joke.

This sucks.

Were you happy with the other aspect of the story? I mean the mythology of the books and the world that Rowling created. Do you think that it was captivating enough in the movies?

[secretk]

Michelle I will change the title, but if it sucks (from language's point of view ) feel free to edit it and make it better.

Originally Posted by Jerry D (View Post) It's funny, I'm temporarily moderating the Spoilers board, so I'm posting there because I feel like I have to post there, but I post here because I want to post here. Moderating the Spoilers board is tough for me because I don't really watch any current television shows (except Riverdale which I just started watching) so I'm clueless as far as discussing spoilers go. Still though I try to contribute as I can.

Ah Jerry sucks that you can't contribute the way you would want to. On the other hand though you will be quite objective because well you don't even know the shows so you would not care about reading spoilers about them.

Btw Jerry your link reminded me that indeed there was Bulgarian actor in Harry Potter movies. He played that one Viktor Krum though to be honest that's not normal Bulgarian name . I mean Viktor is normal Bulgarian name. Krum too. Both are first names. Krum is not typical last name in Bulgaria. It's never used as such. Krum is a name of a Bulgarian khan (ruler) from before 800 till 814 (his death). It's not known when exactly he became khan, but he was actually quite efficient khan. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper and from Odrin to the Tatra Mountains. His able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and developed the rudiments of state organization. He managed to do that just for 15/20 years. He was good.

Anyway the point is that the combination of those two names is weird . It should have been Viktor Krumov if it has to fit the Bulgarian rule for forming surnames.

[Jerry D]

Originally Posted by secretk (View Post) For sure your opinion will change if you read the books . I asked you for your initial thoughts/feelings because this I think proves the best the difference between the books and the movies. I get that a movie can't include everything that was written in a book, but I still believe that the essence should be kept. It's true that Harry Potter is not a love story and the love element was not the most featured one, but still Harry is the main character and I believe that part of his journey is also his relationship with Ginny, Ron and Hermione. I find it weird that the writers decided to change this dynamic as this to me seems to be part of the essence of the books. But yeah you practically proved that they did not capture the true meaning of the books in the movies. At least not fully.

Definitely Koni. I'm ordering the whole series on Amazon (my wife got them from the library, but she reads a lot faster than me! ) and I really want to read them.

[Jerry D]

Originally Posted by secretk (View Post) Ah Jerry sucks that you can't contribute the way you would want to. On the other hand though you will be quite objective because well you don't even know the shows so you would not care about reading spoilers about them.

I'm trying to contribute to the threads, but I don't know anything! What's important on the Spoilers board is to maintain a moderator presence and make sure that people know you're there so things don't get out of hand. There are only a few threads that are volatile though.

Originally Posted by secretk (View Post) Btw Jerry your link reminded me that indeed there was Bulgarian actor in Harry Potter movies. He played that one Viktor Krum though to be honest that's not normal Bulgarian name . I mean Viktor is normal Bulgarian name. Krum too. Both are first names. Krum is not typical last name in Bulgaria. It's never used as such. Krum is a name of a Bulgarian khan (ruler) from before 800 till 814 (his death). It's not known when exactly he became khan, but he was actually quite efficient khan. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper and from Odrin to the Tatra Mountains. His able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and developed the rudiments of state organization. He managed to do that just for 15/20 years. He was good. Anyway the point is that the combination of those two names is weird . It should have been Viktor Krumov if it has to fit the Bulgarian rule for forming surnames.

That's very interesting Koni! I love hearing about history! I was a History Major in College!

[secretk]

Originally Posted by Jerry D (View Post) Definitely Koni. I'm ordering the whole series on Amazon (my wife got them from the library, but she reads a lot faster than me! ) and I really want to read them.

Awesome! You have to post in OT2 once you started reading them!

Michelle is there different versions of the books? I am asking because last weekend I saw two Harry Potter books with the same title that looked completely different and I was kind of confused . I was not sure if it's about difference in the illustrations or something else.

[secretk]

Originally Posted by Jerry D (View Post) I'm trying to contribute to the threads, but I don't know anything! What's important on the Spoilers board is to maintain a moderator presence and make sure that people know you're there so things don't get out of hand. There are only a few threads that are volatile though.

Makes sense . I assume you, Moderator Managers, Support Managers quite often have to deal with such situations. At least this is the impression I got. Quite often I see a forum moderated by Support Manager/Moderator Manager. It's definitely different job compared to what we do with Michelle and Betty.

That's very interesting Koni! I love hearing about history! I was a History Major in College!

So cool! My father loves history. Like loves. He always reads books about history and what I know usually comes from him. He is really interested not just in the facts, but the cause of those events. He also loves to analyze different rulers and derive good/bad ones. He could tell me why someone was good or bad. He notices those small details. When I was in high school he used to ask me every morning (while I was preparing for school) what I am currently studying in history. Once I give him topic, he would give me insights on what he has read (outside of the school books) and what he thinks. It was quite useful in class .

Bulgarian history is rich enough as the country was founded in 681. Two times in our history we had spread over three different seas - Aegean, the Adriatic and the Black Sea. Bulgarian language itself went into transformation. We introduced it in 855 and it went to three phases and this is the third one. We introduced Christianity in 864 because there were different tribes that had different Gods and the ruler wanted to unite the country. So the guy introduced common language, then hired people to come up with a common language. Overall a lot of things happened quite early for us. We were under the Ottoman empire for 500 years. People still make lots of research in trying to find the consequences of being in slavery under other country that has different religion and customs.

Overall lots of stuff people to read about .

[Jerry D]

Originally Posted by secretk (View Post) Makes sense . I assume you, Moderator Managers, Support Managers quite often have to deal with such situations. At least this is the impression I got. Quite often I see a forum moderated by Support Manager/Moderator Manager. It's definitely different job compared to what we do with Michelle and Betty.

The Moderator Support Team temporarily moderates new boards or boards where the regular moderator is away. We have a list on the Moderator Support Team board where we ask the Moderator Support Team Members to list boards that they're familiar with so we can try to have people temporarily moderating boards where they know something about the show or celebrity that the board is for. When new boards are added, we ask the Moderator Support Team Members who might be interested in moderating one of those boards. Moderator Managers (and in this case I) sometimes also temporarily moderate boards, but usually members of the Moderator Support Team do it. The reason that I'm temporarily moderating the Spoilers board is because NikNak, the regular moderator of the board is away and she asked me to help out there, and we've been friends here at Fan Forum for many years so I always help out whenever she's away. Right now, we're looking for a third moderator for the Spoilers board and we're going to post another Moderator Opening Announcement when NikNak gets back in December.

Originally Posted by secretk (View Post) So cool! My father loves history. Like loves. He always reads books about history and what I know usually comes from him. He is really interested not just in the facts, but the cause of those events. He also loves to analyze different rulers and derive good/bad ones. He could tell me why someone was good or bad. He notices those small details. When I was in high school he used to ask me every morning (while I was preparing for school) what I am currently studying in history. Once I give him topic, he would give me insights on what he has read (outside of the school books) and what he thinks. It was quite useful in class .

That's so awesome, and it's also so awesome that your father would give you insights on the topic you were studying when you were in High School.

Originally Posted by secretk (View Post) Bulgarian history is rich enough as the country was founded in 681. Two times in our history we had spread over three different seas - Aegean, the Adriatic and the Black Sea. Bulgarian language itself went into transformation. We introduced it in 855 and it went to three phases and this is the third one. We introduced Christianity in 864 because there were different tribes that had different Gods and the ruler wanted to unite the country. So the guy introduced common language, then hired people to come up with a common language. Overall a lot of things happened quite early for us. We were under the Ottoman empire for 500 years. People still make lots of research in trying to find the consequences of being in slavery under other country that has different religion and customs. Overall lots of stuff people to read about .

It's so fascinating to read all this! I know that the majority religion in Bulgaria is Bulgarian Orthodox, so it seems like the Ottomans weren't able to suppress Christianity there.

[secretk]

Originally Posted by Jerry D (View Post) The Moderator Support Team temporarily moderates new boards or boards where the regular moderator is away. We have a list on the Moderator Support Team board where we ask the Moderator Support Team Members to list boards that they're familiar with so we can try to have people temporarily moderating boards where they know something about the show or celebrity that the board is for. When new boards are added, we ask the Moderator Support Team Members who might be interested in moderating one of those boards. Moderator Managers (and in this case I) sometimes also temporarily moderate boards, but usually members of the Moderator Support Team do it. The reason that I'm temporarily moderating the Spoilers board is because NikNak, the regular moderator of the board is away and she asked me to help out there, and we've been friends here at Fan Forum for many years so I always help out whenever she's away. Right now, we're looking for a third moderator for the Spoilers board and we're going to post another Moderator Opening Announcement when NikNak gets back in December.

Ah I see. Makes total sense! Thanks for explaining in so much details the organization in fanforum and the roles and responsibilities of the different groups!

That's so awesome, and it's also so awesome that your father would give you insights on the topic you were studying when you were in High School.

My father loves to talk about history. I just benefited it from it .

It's so fascinating to read all this! I know that the majority religion in Bulgaria is Bulgarian Orthodox, so it seems like the Ottomans weren't able to suppress Christianity there.

Yes, the majority religion is Orthodox. There is a reason for that. There was basically enslavement. In the Ottoman empire Islam were considered above other religions. In general they did not want most people to convert to Islam because they wouldn't be able to use them as slaves. So technically they never tried to suppress fully the Christianity as it was not in their favor.

What they did is that they abducted young boys from Bulgarian families (and well other countries that were part of the empire at that time), converted them to Islam and used them as special part of their military. The people serving in this military division are called Janissaries.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devshirme, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janissaries

Some quotes:

Devshirme[a] (Ottoman Turkish: دوشيرمه‎, devşirme, literally "lifting" or "collecting"), also known as the blood tax or tribute in blood,[2] was chiefly the practice whereby the Ottoman Empire sent military officers to take boys, ages 8 to 18, from their families in Eastern and Southeastern Europe in order that they be raised to serve the state. This tax of sons was imposed only on the Christian subjects of the empire, in the villages of the Balkans and Anatolia. The boys were then forcibly converted to Islam with the primary objective of selecting and training the ablest children and teenagers for the military or civil service of the empire, notably into the Janissaries.[6]

The Janissaries (Ottoman Turkish: يڭيچرى‎ yeñiçeri [jeniˈt͡ʃeɾi], meaning "new soldier") were elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops, bodyguards and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established during the reign of Murad I (1362–89). They began as an elite corps of slaves made up of kidnapped young Christian boys who were forced to convert to Islam, and became famed for internal cohesion cemented by strict discipline and order. Unlike typical slaves, they were paid regular salaries. Forbidden to marry or engage in trade, their complete loyalty to the Sultan was expected.[6] By the seventeenth century, due to a dramatic increase in the size of the Ottoman standing army, the corps' initially strict recruitment policy was relaxed. Civilians bought their way into it in order to benefit from the improved socioeconomic status it conferred upon them. Consequently, the corps gradually lost its military character, undergoing a process that has been described as 'civilianization'.[7] The corps was abolished by Sultan Mahmud II in 1826 in the Auspicious Incident in which 6,000 or more were executed.

Because of this there are still unresolved issues between Bulgarians and Turks that is sometimes carried to Islam in general. Some people here are really sensitive to this. It's really sensitive topic here as people know that such young boys were forcibly removed from their families and sometimes even forced to kill their own families.

The rationally thinking people do understand that this is in the past and that current Turks are not responsible for those acts, but there are a lot of emotions involved when it comes that part of our history and sometimes there is some bad blood for it. Especially in families that carry on the repercussions of those acts.

[Jerry D]

Originally Posted by secretk (View Post) Ah I see. Makes total sense! Thanks for explaining in so much details the organization in fanforum and the roles and responsibilities of the different groups!

You're welcome! Everything evolved over the years. Originally the Moderator Managers would temporarily moderate boards but it got to be too difficult to do that because there were only four Moderator Managers at the time, so one of them came up with the suggestion for a Moderator Support Team where existing moderators could join the team and help temporarily moderate boards, which freed up the Moderator Managers to perform their other responsibilities here like selecting new moderators, writing up evaluations for people that apply to moderate boards here and stepping in to help when posters cause trouble. They also ban spammers (people who join just to post spam) when one of the moderators reports them on the Ban and Warning thread on the Moderators board. They also check the activity of all the moderators here periodically to make sure that they're active on the boards that they moderate. It's become increasingly difficult to find and keep moderators here, so the job of the Moderator Managers and the Moderator Support Team is very important and very valued.

Originally Posted by secretk (View Post) My father loves to talk about history. I just benefited it from it .

That's awesome!

Originally Posted by secretk (View Post) Yes, the majority religion is Orthodox. There is a reason for that. There was basically enslavement. In the Ottoman empire Islam were considered above other religions. In general they did not want most people to convert to Islam because they wouldn't be able to use them as slaves. So technically they never tried to suppress fully the Christianity as it was not in their favor. What they did is that they abducted young boys from Bulgarian families (and well other countries that were part of the empire at that time), converted them to Islam and used them as special part of their military. The people serving in this military division are called Janissaries. Because of this there are still unresolved issues between Bulgarians and Turks that is sometimes carried to Islam in general. Some people here are really sensitive to this. It's really sensitive topic here as people know that such young boys were forcibly removed from their families and sometimes even forced to kill their own families. The rationally thinking people do understand that this is in the past and that current Turks are not responsible for those acts, but there are a lot of emotions involved when it comes that part of our history and sometimes there is some bad blood for it. Especially in families that carry on the repercussions of those acts.

Wow, I didn't know that. I always thought that Islam largely converted by the sword, but the Ottoman Turks enslaving the people they conquered was just so savage and cruel. So much savagery has been perpetrated on mankind in the name of religion. Christianity was just as bad as Islam, as was seen in the Spanish Inquisition, and the English Reformation, where so many innocent people died horrible deaths at the hands of misguided religious zealots.

I completely understand that emotions can still run high as the Ottoman Empire only broke up after World War 1, which was only 100 years ago.

[jediwands]

Originally Posted by Jerry D (View Post) That's too bad, but in some ways I don't blame her, and she still made her millions from all the films I'm sure! That's cool! I think people are smart to stay away from the trappings of Hollywood.

I remember Rowling talking in between the first and second films... you could tell it bothered her tremendously in SS/PS that some things weren't added/changed AND that film was totally the most accurate by far. She mentioned her "issues" with the films in general. Initially she was hoping her entire world could enter the large screen. She was on set for the first two films. Then she decided she would no longer be involved like that. I think it was obvious why too... PoA had most of the Time Turner stuff down nicely but that film was SO different from the book. The new director that came in certainly made it his own and he left out a TON of the material... so much precious material was left out! Could give a traditional Harry Potter fan nightmares and I have to say, I received those nightmares! PoA, enjoying it for entertainment purposes only was fantastic. However, calling it faithfully a Harry Potter book is impossible. Way too much wasn't included. I am sure if Rowling would have been involved she would have pulled her hair out given the director's vision and how different it was from the source material.

Definitely people are smart staying away from Hollywood. Not only does Bonnie Wright know this but Rupert Grint does too.

[jediwands]

Originally Posted by Jerry D (View Post) Michelle, here is an interesting Harry Potter Article that reinforces your point about how Harry saw Hermione as a friend and nothing else, and how different book Hermione was from the Hermione in the movies: https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Viktor...-the-Yule-Ball Please look at the article on top of the linked page and click on (more).

Yes, honestly, the differences between film Hermione (fake) and book Hermione (real) is by far the most annoying, disappointing part for so many diehard Harry Potter Traditionalists. It is just vastly different. Hermione is adored in the book series. Why she had to go all "Hollywood" in the films is quite disappointing.

As for Krum... yes, he liked Hermione some but they ended up just being friends. I do think the main reason why is because she didn't care that he was a famous professional Quidditch player and she was nice and intelligent, the real Hermione! Nothing ever developed romantically between them. Ron is a number one reason... Hermione had romantic feelings for Ron strongly at that point but Krum never pushed it either. They were friends.

Notice the quote I included on the last thread in book 7 when Krum is highly romantically attracted to Ginny when he sees her at the wedding and he wants to date her. Harry got all jealous and had to lie that she was family and dating a guy that was jealous and protective just so Krum would back off, lol.

The difference between Krum's feelings for Hermione versus Ginny are noted. Of course all we see in the films is Krum liking Hermione without the scene in book 7 between Krum and Harry when Krum wants to date Ginny and is highly attracted to her.

[jediwands]

Originally Posted by secretk (View Post) I see. So why do you think Emma got so popular? Was it based on her looks?

Looks, female lead, charm.

That's disgusting. I just. A 12 years kid is not hot. It's sweet and innocent and good looking, but hot? I just can't comprehend how adults could view kids hot.

I remember back in the day talking about it on the Harry Potter board. We were all so mad and disgusted.

This sucks. Were you happy with the other aspect of the story? I mean the mythology of the books and the world that Rowling created. Do you think that it was captivating enough in the movies?

No, lol. Not enough. But like I said, I stopped getting upset about it when Rowling told us she was going to stop as well, lol. That was before PoA (book 3) hit the large screen.

[jediwands]

Originally Posted by secretk (View Post) Michelle is there different versions of the books? I am asking because last weekend I saw two Harry Potter books with the same title that looked completely different and I was kind of confused . I was not sure if it's about difference in the illustrations or something else.

There are not different versions as far as the material isn't different, it is all the same...

However, there are different covers... the American version has a few different covers that have developed over the years.

Think about all the different countries in the world AND how many people love Harry Potter... so there are different covers for every country and then the English language is changed to their primary language too.

I laugh at some of the illustrations... the French version cracks me up. LOL

I know the American version/covers/art inside the books is the most accurate because the artist Rowling hired for the American books is the one that worked with her very closely as Rowling described her world and then the artist created it with pencil and paper. It is THAT accurate and the amazing thing is if I didn't even look at the American illustrations and just read and entered the World via Rowling's words, the appearance is the exact same as what the author created too... which makes sense since Rowling described the world and together, they worked on the looks of the characters and the description/appearance of the World as well.