HP Mania
In the midst of the Harry Potter hype, Hugo Rifkind made some interesting comments in the Times (15.7.05):
"Why did we treat Revenge of the Sith as the Second Coming and why do we now await Harry Potter and the Oxblood Doc Marten (or whatever) as though we were waiting for a puff of white smoke from the Vatican? We’re being used, commercially, and we love it. Might it be that, in a world devoid of God or culture, we try to make Him and it out of the trash and fluff that our lives are full of instead?"
Indeed.
Mind you I’ve got a hold of my HP copy and am hooked already!