Love, Morality, and Politics
While watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this week, I couldn’t help notice that more often than not, Harry and Dumbledore’s second biggest enemy was themselves. Harry says that “working hard is important, but there’s something else that is even more important: believing in yourself.” I won’t say that that’s not true, but there comes a point when you not only have to believe in yourself, but you have to believe in others, and you have to believe in the greater good more than anything else. Harry often declined or resisted help from his friends and mentors, preferring to “go it alone”. I think that the biggest lesson Harry learns in this chapter of his saga is that he is not better off alone, and that only through working together, can Lord Voldemort be stopped.
It is not only Harry is at fault for an over-independence, if you will. Dumbledore tried to distance himself from Harry throughout the film. His intentions were honorable, he was trying to protect Harry by not tempting Voldemort, but the outcome was disastrous. One has to wonder, if Harry felt like he could have come to Dumbledore with his problems, maybe he wouldn’t have ran to the Department of Mysteries to save Sirius AKA get him killed.
This multi-generational divide, based on the best of intentions, is also present with The Order of the Phoenix. Harry and the others are constantly shut out of meetings and plans, even though Harry and the others are directly affected by the outcomes of their operations. The Order is trying to protect the young ones, but what happened at the Department of Mysteries would not have happened if all generations were in comfortable, close, communication. The greatest strength and weakness of Harry, his friends, The Order, and Dumbledore, is their love for one another. It motivates them to continue the fight, but it also encourages them to protect one another to the point of hindering the common good. Their love gets in the way of an ultimate morality. To be moral is not always to follow one’s heart, but to do what is right. What would have been right for these characters to do, would have been to combine forces and work together. The characters conflicted morality then affects the politics of The Wizarding World, because their lack of teamwork causes a showdown with Lord Voldemort, and the death of Sirius.
The Order of the Phoenix allows for viewers of all ages to relate to the frustrations of the multi-generational disconnect. It also inspires an attitude of consensus and communication. Even though the story is dark, it serves as a point of caution and inspiration. It encourages self-esteem, independence, and teamwork among the younger generation, and it encourages the younger generation to appeal more to the older generation and to take advantage of their wisdom, knowledge and experience.
Like Harry and Dumbledore say, they have one thing Lord Voldemort doesn’t: something worth fighting for.
