Kids seeking alternative identity and spirituality through the lived theology glimpsed in the Harry

221 Pages·2015·6.52 MB·English

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Kids seeking alternative identity and
spirituality through the lived theology
glimpsed in the Harry Potter series

By Anastasia Apostolides

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of

Philosophiae Doctor

In Practical Theology in the Faculty of Theology

University of Pretoria

Supervisor: Professor J A Meylahn

April 2014
© University of Pretoria
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Co ntents
Page

Chapter 1: Positioning the study 7

1.1 Introduction 7

1.2 The problem field 10

1.3 The research gap 12

1.4 The research question 14

1.5 Epistemology 16

1.6 Methodology 17

1.6.1 Step 1 17

1.6.2 Step 2 18

1.6.3 Step 3 19

1.6.4 Step 4 19

1.6.5 Step 5 19

1.7 Overview of chapter 20

Chapter 2: Lived theology through The Harry Potter series 24

2.1 Introduction 24

2.2 Lived theology 24

2.2.1 The term ‘Lived Religion’ or ‘Lived Theology’ 25

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2.2.2 The characteristics’ of lived theology 28

2.2.2.1 People’s search for the ultimate questions and the living out of
religion within their socio – cultural ‘realities’ 32

2.2.2.2 Lived theology in the fantasy genre 36

2.2.2.3 Normativity 39

2.2.2.4 Transformation and transcendence 40

2.3 The lived theology of the Harry Potters Series 42

2.3.1 When and why people may have a sense of estrangement from the
Church and the Bible? 43

2.3.2 Why people may experience fascination with the Harry Potter series? 44

2.3.3 Why people may experience a free sense of belonging to the Harry Potter world? 45

2.3.4 Where and why people may feel deeply at home within the Harry Potter world? 45

2.4 An Overview 47

Chapter 3: Alternative identities through the choices created by
alternative worlds in narratives 49

3.1 Introduction 49

3.2 How human beings create their world and construct identity
through language and narrative 54

3.2.1 Heidegger’s ‘Fourfold’ 55

3.2.2 Crites: sacred and mundane stories 57

3.2.3 Berger and Luckmann: Society and identity formation 58

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3.3 H eidegger in conversation with Berger, Luckma nn and Crites 59

3.4 Understanding who we are through narrative 60

3.5 How toddlers create their social identity and then challenge this same identities
as adolescents 66

3.6 Our identity and spirituality through narrative 68

3.6.1 Paul Ricoeur and Hans-Georg Gadamer 68

3.6.1.1 The ‘ipse and idem’ that make up identity 73

3.7 How people express the “gods” element of their ‘Fourfold’ 74

3.7.1 The way kids develop religion and spirituality 78

3.8 How kids construct their identity and spirituality in a
corporate consumer western society 81

3.9 Meylahn’s discourse of Christ 90

3.10 An overview 88

Chapter 4: The Harry Potter narrative: Through the spiritual portal
of fantasy 99
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4.1 Introduction 99

4.2 Harry Potter as fantasy narrative and the ‘elvish’ craft of ‘Sub-Creation’ 104

4.2.1 The elements of fantasy 104

4.2.2 Rowling’s ‘elvish’ magical language of ‘Sub-Creation’ 110

4.2.3 Going through the portal of the Harry Potter ‘Sub-Creation’ 116

4.2.4 Challenging the readers ‘Primary World’ with an alternative ‘Secondary World’ 121
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4.3. ‘Baptism of the imagination’ and finding alterna tive identity and
spirituality through a glimpse of ‘Joy’ 125
4.3.1 Harry in the ‘Sub-Creation’: Crucifying the consumerist superhero and
glimpsing the Gospel 128

4.4 Spiritual identity through the choice of the love for the wounded Christ:
The crucifixion of consumerism and the resurrection of community 131

4.4.1 Voldemort: The perversion of consumerism 131

4.4.2 Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lily and Dobby: Resurrection of community
through love, transformation and redemption – The wounded Christ 134

4.4.2.1 Ron and Hermione 135

4.4.2.2 Harry 137

4.4.2.3 Lily 139

4.4.2.4 Dobby 141

4.5 An overview 143

Chapter 5: Kids seeking identity and spirituality through the characters of
Harry, Dumbledore and Snape 147

5.1 Introduction 147

5.2 The problem stories within the dominant discourse of consumerism:
The consumerist pre-figuration of kids and the loss of identity in western society 153

5.2.1 The case study of the effect of consumerism on Dudley Dursley 154

5.2.2 Kids as valuable assets to the ‘Market’ 157

5.3 Re-Imagined / Re- Figurated Futures Through the Configuration of
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t he Fantasy Narrative of the Harry Potter Series with its Alternative Story 159

5.4 Re-Imagined Futures Through the Characters of Harry, Dumbledore
and Snape: Following in the Actions of the Wounded Christ 165

5.4.1 The Sometimes Undesirable Characters of Harry, Dumbledore and Snape 165

5.4.2 Harry – The Fragmented Seeker 169

5.4.3 Dumbledore – Harry’s Story ‘Space Opener’ 175

5.4.4 Snape – Harry’s Liberator to the Alternative Story 180

5.5 An Overview 183

Chapter 6: Concluding Thoughts And The Way Forward With
Harry Potter 186

6.1 Concluding Thoughts 186

6.2 The Study Question 188

6.2.2. A Summary of How the Chapters Went About Answering the
Study Question 188

6.3 The Way Forward With Harry Potter and Looking for Lived Theology in
Virtual Reality 194

Bibliography 198

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Declar ation

I, the undersigned, declare that the work contained in this dissertation is my own
original work and that it has not previously, in its entirety or part, submitted for a
degree to any other university.
All material contained in this dissertation has been duly acknowledged.
__________________
Anastasia Apostolides

© University of Pretoria
Acknowledgements

I acknowledge with sincere gratitude the following people:

Prof Johann Meylahn for his continued support, guidance and insightful ideas. It
has been a privilege to work with him.

My parents, Antonia and Dimitri Stivaktas for the countless of hours of baby-
sitting that they performed, so I could do research.

My sister Voula Stivaktas, for her continued, encouragement and support.

My friends for the countless cups of coffee that kept me going.

My husband, Zenon Apostolides, for his continued love and support through this
long journey.

Our children, Panagioti and Ioanna who make it all worthwhile.

I would also like to thank the University of Pretoria for the study grant.

© University of Pretoria
Abstract

The Harry Potter series has been part of many kids’ socio-cultural context
since 1997, and is a phenomenon that has had a huge impact on them
(many of whom are now adults). It is argued that some kids’ identities and
spiritualties may have been directly shaped, and may continue to be directly
shaped, by the alternative sacred story presented by Rowling. As this has
the Christ discourse woven into its narrative, there are kids who are using
the Gospel values on a daily basis, whether they are aware of it or not.
Rowling’s fantasy asks readers to question the impact that the dominant
discourses of their ‘realities’ may be having on their identities and
spiritualities, putting them in a position to question if that is indeed who they
want to be. This study was motivated by how kids, who live in a Western
society where one of the sacred stories is power/materialism/consumerism,
can not only appreciate, but also live out (in lived theology) values of the
Harry Potter series which are in complete opposition to the Western sacred
story of power/consumerism/materialism. Since the consumerist discourse
places a heavy burden on people to keep up with their socio-world, if they
do not live up to these demands they will simply not ‘fit in’. People,
especially kids, do not want to be perceived as outcasts. Practical theology
seeks to react to, and understand the shifts that have a direct implication on
how people’s lives are lived out and affected daily, in response to their
socio-cultural world. One such shift is how people are now seeking ultimate
answers from alternative sources such as for example literature, and
specifically in this thesis, the Harry Potter series. Therefore, when a fantasy,
such as Harry Potter, is published, it is important to question what kind of
transformational and even transcendental impact it may be having on them.
This is also an important question from a lived theology perspective as the
Harry Potter series is lived religion. Lived theology seeks to understand how
people practice and apply the sacred outside the Church and the four
Gospels, while still using the Gospel message to live out their life on some
level every day. These values include people’s practices, their actions
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towards others within their socio-cultural context and their personal sacred
experiences that may allow them to transcend the way in which materialism
affects their identity and spirituality. Lived theology seeks to understand how
these values may affect practical theology. While some people no longer
feel comfortable with/drawn to the Church, and feel alienated from the
Gospels that were written for a socio-cultural context that is very different
from Western society today, this does not mean that human beings are no
longer spiritual/religious/Christian. They continue to seek for answers to the
ultimate question at different stages of their lives.

Ten Key Terms

1. Harry Potter
2. Practical Theology
3. Lived Theology
4. Alternative identity and spirituality
5. Christ discourse
6. Consumer discourse
7. Transformation and transcendence
8. Wounded Christ
9. Sacred and mundane stories
10. Youth culture

© University of Pretoria