Vault101 said:
well yeah, I guess that's part of their appeal
I think that's part of the turnoff for me. Like, magic tends to lead to socially and technologically stunted societies, and a lot of the time they can't even reliably do things we can do. There's a lot of fantasy stories, for example, where magic blows shit up but doesn't seem to fond of healing or repairing.
its just the issues with the magical world become all the more obvious when you know its happening alongside the "real" world, I mean when your a kid its super cool wish fulfilment but when you get older and actually think about it, the magic world is screwed
I don't think a lot of adults thought about it, either. Also, while not Harry Potter specific, a lot of stories have a Magocracy of some sort, and screw the plebes. I mean, I may not be one of the 1%, but I can still buy an iPhone. Not that I would, mind.
slightly on a tangent but now that I think about it how weird would it be to be a muggle-born or a squib?
I mean I know Herminoies parents are seen in the bookstore in "the chamber of secrets" so clearly they are aware/allowed to hang out in wizard society (perhaps to a limited extent) but even if their aware of it I can't help but think there would be this real disconnect between her and her parents, they don't really understand her "world" and her being a part of wizard society from such a young age (and this is Hermione she takes wizardry to 11) wouldn't she have a bit of disconnect or even disdain for the muggle world? and what would they say to friends/family about their slightly odd daughter that no one ever sees?
Obviously, she's going to a special school for gifted youth in....Canada. Yes, even the Brits use Canada for their imaginary fallbacks.
To be honest, I'm surprised more "Muggle-born" don't have serious family issues. I mean, I'd like to think I could love my child unconditionally, but if they started lighting things on fire or teleporting, it would certainly test that.
or being a squib...even if you did integrate well into muggle society (without having a bigass inferiority complex/being bitter) you'd always have this secret that you couldn't tell anyone, particularly hard if you develop muggle relationships, depending on your attitude you'd be stuck between worlds, one you might think is beneath you, one where you're never good enough
And given how poor wizards are at blending in, they would be completely ill-prepared by their society to adapt to the normal world, which is really damned-if-you-do. I mean, sure, you could probably find a place in one community that seems to utterly hate you, or another that you simply don't get.
tippy2k2 said:
Yeah, we might not look like "Back to the Future" or "Futurama"....yet. Technology is growing at an exponential rate. A lifetime ago, none of those things listed were widely available (or existed period). Just think of what it's going to look like a lifetime from now...
Not to mention, technology has evolved in ways it couldn't have been forseen. Or could have been, but wasn't. Or maybe was by some people, but not others. If you were to tell someone in the 1990s that you could have a Star Trek-like phone that allowed you not just to access communication technology, but to access information from a large database by voice command, they'd probably think you were a nerd. And maybe they'd be right. I personally have trouble not changing my Galaxy's wake-up command from "Hi Galaxy" to "Hello, Computer!"
I mean, I'm glad we don't have flying cars all over the place. Shit's dangerous enough watching for traffic on two axes. But BTF didn't predict e-readers, either. And e-ink. is. AWESOME. Maybe not as epic as a cure for cancer, but still. Even Futurama's tech is decidedly retro, based on outdated ideas we find to be silly (which, I dare say, is the point).
But yeah, even if we don't have BTTF tech, I'd be more than happy not to have medicine based on leeches and saws. A technologically stunted society sucks unless you're one of the magic users. And even then, it still sucks sometimes.