NPCing the Breach (npcthebreach) wrote in thebreach, @ 2010-08-29 02:58:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! media, ! media: warlock at war, [1980-08] august, edward avery |
Warlock at War; September 1980 Issue
It is with confusion that I write this letter today. I have seen the recent talk in both the news media and in the journals lately about the director of the Warbeck Community Theater's latest production The Importance of Being Merlin. The play, which admittedly I have not seen nor read, is going to be quite interesting, I am sure, and I wish the actors and theater crew all the best as I am certain they are working quite hard to put on the best play that they can. However, while I am confident that Mr. Rupert Robinson is a talented director, I find the fact that he has no personal wizarding history to call upon worrisome. His skills may be quite good in regard to other productions, but The Importance of Being Merlin is about one of our greatest ancestors - an ancestor that he does not share. How then can he feel that he truly comprehends the character? I'm given to understand that Muggles have a figure they call Merlin as well, but with the Statue of secrecy, it is certain that they have many of the details wrong and I would not be surprised if the Muggles' Merlin is an entirely different person merely impersonating a wizard to pull one over on the Muggles of his time (if, indeed, he existed at all). While I'm aware that the play itself is a comedy of some sort, I cannot help but think that knowing the importance of Merlin to wizarding culture should have been a prerequisite to gaining this assignment, though obviously it was not. Mr. Robinson has stated in an article in The Daily Prophet that he had no plans or any inclination to stay within the wizarding world after Hogwarts due to our perceived lack of interest and support for the arts (and clearly he did not do his research on that score). If he did not know this, of what else does he remain unaware even today? I saw no mention of any reading on the history of Merlin or special interest in wizarding history that makes him an appropriate choice for the position of director in such a fantastic organization. It is clear that he does not consider the vast traditions and culture of the wizarding world important enough a reason to have caused him to remain prior to his discovery of the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts. If that is so, then how can we trust him with this production? Obviously, my confusion and disappointment in the Warbeck Community Theater will not change the fact that Mr. Robinson is currently the director of the play. However, I implore the Theater to reflect on our history and our culture before making such a decision in the future. Regards, Mr. Edward Avery |
Muggle Music: Harmless or Harmful?
Byron Longstaff There have many essays and discussions in this journal and many others regarding the positive and negative influences that are brought into our society by Muggleborns. It is not the purpose of this article to discuss those but instead to examine a part of Muggle culture that is generally neglected – an examination of the music that Muggleborns bring with them.
Now we are all familiar with the music of Muggles. From Brahms to Beethoven, Chopin to Mozart, we have all embraced the elegant and complex music that they have produced. There is, of course, some argument regarding the propriety of this but when one examines the standard of this music, it stands up extraordinarily well when compared to the likes of the wizarding world’s own Melsbach, Von Wegberg, Maksimov and Milani. After all, there is no one in the wizarding world who denies that the Muggle world produces many things that are found in our houses. Why should we waste our time reproducing their efforts when ours can be put to far better use? But an examination of recent advances in Muggle music raises doubts about whether such things should be permitted into the wizarding world unchecked and unremarked upon. Forms of music such as jazz, swing and the blues are occasionally disturbing but on the whole not overly offensive. Certain songs are of a dubious nature but the genres as a whole are lively, complex and diverse. They are certain welcome in the author’s world barring those objectionable songs. But in recent years we have seen the true and alarming rise in the Muggle world of a brand of music called ‘rock and roll’ along with equally disturbing genres such as ‘punk’ and ‘disco’. While these new genres of music do contain some delightful tunes, by and large they contain songs which are subversive, offensive and truly shocking. Songs that speak of sex and violence abound and indeed often seem to be most popular among the young Muggles. Perhaps the most alarming of these new musical groups is one that calls themselves ‘The Sex Pistols’. The name alone gives some indication as to the depravity of their music. One of their more popular songs is titled ‘Anarchy in the UK’ and features lyrics such as ‘I wanna destroy the passer by’. Is it songs such as this that have been fuelling the recent violence perpetrated by the Muggleborns? I do believe that it is not such a long bow to draw. We all know how youth like to mimic those they admire whether those people are worthy of such admiration or not. With this musical group not only advocating but actually encouraging violence, questions must be asked. Are we right to permit the free movement of Muggle music into our world via the offices of the Muggleborn? It seems that the days of dignified and elegant music being produced in their world is long over and that their music may even be one of the root causes of the violence we see in our own world. An outright ban seems over officious and even an overreaction but perhaps it would only be the best for the Muggleborn to be wrenched away from these terrible influences on their behaviour and introduced to a more decorous mode of musical appreciation. |