Recently saw the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary movie and it got me thinking. The story of Harry Potter is a good one, but it occurred to me that it isn't just because of good storytelling or cinematography; it is because it is chock-ful of good values and truths. Remember the big condemnation that these books received at the time of their publishing from many churches? Had they actually read the series -which was far from complete at the time- I think we might have come to the same conclusion: Harry Potter is the most popular franchise of my generation to portray (mostly)conservative values in a good light. I think that the success of the franchise is because of these values, not in spite of them. Check out these stills that I made to illustrate my point. SPOILERS!

Having the false idea that life owe's you something can really set a person up for a big let down.

Helicopter parenting probably inhibits individual growth and maturity in a serious way, but were the adults even paying attention at all in HP?

You know what's sad? When an individual's first and last experience with authority is the police.

"Smart" hard work. This is more of a general observation that is true most of the time.

In a world with finite resources, good discernment is critical if you're going to help others.

Don't just accept this truth and walk away. Comfort others when they are going through hard times.

In the midst of constant change, tradition can be a very good thing. If your children's lives are completely different than yours, how do you expect to find common ground?

Humility is a good thing, but if you don't value yourself at all is it really worth anything?

Ok, this one is just more for humor.

Lessons from Harry Potter

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