Essay 1:

In the article Harry Potter and the Pint of Liquid Courage, although there is debatable effect of
drinking scenes in the Harry Potter movies on child development, Parker-Pope disapproves of
scenes of underage drinking. In this essay, I will dissect why Parker-Pope believes this through
her tone, rhetoric devices and studies used to support her argument.
First, Parker-Pope sets a disapproving tone of the drinking scenes in Harry Potter through her
use of negative connotations in her word choice. In the article, Parker-Pope uses the word
jarring to describe the image of teenage drinking in the movie. The word jarring not only
suggests a state of extreme shock, but also negatively connotes the outlandishness of the
scene in the movie--signalling to the readers of the newspaper her disapproval of the situation.
Additionally, Parker-Pope uses the word new level to show the extent of drinking scenes in
Harry Potter movies. New-level on one hand insinuates that the drinking scenes in Harry
Potter movies are frequent and prevalent, on the other it again offers a negative connotation
which implies that the drinking scene in the movie Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is one
of the most serious. Furthermore, taken aback is used to depict the authors reaction to the
young peoples reaction to drinking scenes. This idiomatic phrase shows the authors violent
reaction to the young people in the cinema and contributes to her disapproving tone towards
drinking scenes in the movie. These words show that the author is perhaps shocked that the
movie shows underaged drinking, and express an overall disapproving attitude towards
depicting teenage drinking in such light.
Second, Parker-Pope employs the use of rhetoric devices to support her disapproval of drinking
scenes in the Harry Potter movie. In the beginning of the article, Parker-Pope describes
Hermione is tipsy, Neville is serving drinks. Ron is sipping mead and immediate follows that
with the rhetorical question Does Hogwarts have a drinking problem? The fact that the author
puts the description of underage drinking directly before the rhetorical question implicitly
suggests that Hogwarts in fact does have a drinking problem. This arrangement at the
beginning of the article asserts her opposition towards the depiction of underage drinking in the
movie, which is then fortified in the essay using studies and examples.
Third, the use of statistics and studies helps to illustrate the debatability of the issue at hand.
The author includes contrasting views of the issue. For example, Liz Perle, a mother who
opposes the drinking scene who thinks that the alcohol acts as a coping mechanism,and
Daniel Isaacs who thinks the issue seems kind of silly. Additionally, the author cites the opinion
of a committee from the Institute of Medicine who believes that under-age drinking positively
correlates with movie and studies in 2007 of teenage exposure to alcohol and its correlation with
drinking habits. The use of contrasting examples serves to elucidate how debatable and
ambiguous such drinking scenes have on child development.
Essay 2:
Dear Mrs. Pope,

I read your article Harry Potter and the Pint of Liquid Courage and Id like to say I agree that the
effect of drinking scenes on child development is still debatable, but I dont disapprove of Harry
Potter movies showing scenes of underage drinking. Let me explain why.
First, though drinking scenes are jarring, I feel that if the drinking scenes are part of the book,
there is no reason why it should not be in the film. Ultimately, what a film is doing is to be as
faithful to their original source material as created by J.K.Rowling according to Warner
Brothers. If J.K. Rowling intended Harry Potter and his friends to drink at a bar under the
consent age, then so be it. If drinking scenes bother parents and disturb children, and censoring
it is the only option, I feel we should also censor those parts in the book--this idea would be
impractical.
Second, the authors purpose should be taken into account first before making assumptions. If
J.K. Rowling deliberately put in the plot points into the childrens novel, they must serve a
greater purpose than to inflict negative influences on child development. My way of interpreting
the plot point is to think of it as a rite of passage of an expression of childhood curiosity or the
by-product of coming of age. Isnt the Harry Potter series about growth and change anyways?
These plot points serve the purpose to illustrate the key themes and ideas in the book and they
should also do the same in the movie.
Third, I think that the alcohol aspect of the Harry Potter movies are overplayed by the public.
According to the Warner Brothers, the wizarding world should not be held to the same
standards as the real world and I guess the concerned parents should take that into account.
Undoubtedly, there are psychological claims that prolonged exposure of drinking in movies to
children will increase their chances of irresponsible drinking, but I believe that theres enough
risk of that in the real world. For example, if a child is walking with his or her mother on the
street and they see a gang of young boys drinking and smoking, would it be the gang of young
boys responsibility to teach the child not to smoke or drink or would it be the mothers
responsibility. This illustrates the same situation as the movies do: it is ultimately up to the
parents to educate the child not to emulate what the characters are doing in the movies, not the
movies themselves. This is why I feel the alcohol aspect is too hyped up by the parents.
However, I do agree that the effect of underage drinking in Harry Potter movies do have a
debatable effect on children. Different children respond to movies differently. Some strive to
imitate the characters in the movies, others simply skim through the trivial parts and focus on
the main plotline of the movie. Therefore, we cant put a finger on the problem and press until it
hurts; there is no way of isolating the problem and proving that the problem affects how children
view drinking and smoking. Therefore, it is possible that the same movie scene has different
effects on children.
Thank you for your time.

Yours Sincerely,

Andrew Liu