Osama bin Laden and Harry Potter

Reuters examines the "eerie links" between Harry Potter, boy wizard, and Osama bin Laden, dead international terrorist.

The first movie, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," was released in November 2001, just months after 9/11.

Yeah, it's like that all the way through. Eerie links between Harry Potter, bin [Reuters]

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Anonymous

Holy shit… I can’t believe I never noticed it before…

Some other eerie connections:

Voldemoort had people who looked like good guys but secretly helped him on the side. So did bin Laden.

The Ministry of Magic reacted ineffectively to the threat of Voldemort just as the US reacted ineffectively to bin Laden.

Hagrid called Voldemort evil, much like our own loveable dim-witted giant, George Bush called bin Laden.

The Harry Potter books were turned into movies. Bin Laden made movies of himself.
Mitchmaster

Well, it was going to be a race to see who would have the most useless response to OBL’s death. Reuters wins!
insert

Coincidence? I think so!
Antinous / Moderator

How could they not have mentioned that Voldemort, as a growth on the back of Quirinius Quirrell’s head, also wore a turban? And always wore robes, eschewing Western garb. And had parents that split up around the time of his birth. It’s one thing to write a rubbishy article, but quite another to actually miss most of the available rubbishy points.

On the plus side, you’ve reminded me of my Weasley Twins three-way fantasy.
Lobster

Reuters ought to know it takes longer than “a few months” to make a movie.
phisrow

Y’know what is really eerie? If you read this article you can hear Reuters’ ~150 year reputation for news gathering dying a slow, painful death. You don’t even have to read it backward…
- Felton / Moderator
  
  Reuters dies on page 596.
jessemoya

I think the problem is that the author of the piece doesn’t know the definition of the word “archetype.” Otherwise the whole article could have been shortened to:

“Inasmuch as Rowling wrote Voldemort as the archetypical evil villian, and to the extent that bin Laden fits that same archetype, the two characters are similar. Also the first movie came out 10 years ago, so we’re all remembering 2001 these days.”
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  For one thing, with a handful of exceptions, most archetypal villains have noses.
  - Donald Petersen
    
    For one thing, with a handful of exceptions, most archetypal villains have noses.
    
    Funny you should mention that.
Steven Townsend

Wait a minute … You’re serious. I thought this was an Onion article.
Anonymous

Yes, but what about the connections between Osama and Derek Zoolander?
RadioSilence

“And just as Harry is known in the books as ‘the anointed one’”

Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t remember him being called that at all.
Donald Petersen

And here I’ve been blaming Slayer for the last decade. They put out God Hates Us All on 9/11/01.

But come to think of it, I’ve never seen Ralph Fiennes and Tom Araya in the same place at the same time…!
Anonymous

as it clearly states in the text, this article originates from the The Hollywood Reporter. here’s the original link: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/eerie-links-between-harry-potter-184113
guillaume_remy

Comparing Ben Laden With FantÃ´mas would have been less silly.
Rebi

Now let me add a reference: 1. Peter 2

The command killed Bin Laden the first sunday after Eastern, also known as Quasimodogeniti, named after 1. Peter 2.2

“Quasi modo geniti infantes, rationabile, sine dolo lac concupiscite: like children just born into the world, cry out for the clean and pure milk of the spirit.”
http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/friends_of_god-point-142.htm

Read the rest of 1st Epistle of Peter 2:

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:

â€œBehold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.â€

7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

â€œThe stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,â€ [1]

8 and

â€œA stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense.â€

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Deidzoeb

Could all the critics of Reuters from this comment thread move over to the “School principal bans homemade lunches” article and straighten that out?
http://www.boingboing.net/2011/05/02/school-principal-ban.html

Was the Chicago Tribune or Reason tv wrong to report it that way, or is the principal lying and backpedaling about her policy?
Will_Tingle

Also, most of the characters in the Harry Potter films have 2 eyes and a mouth – just like Both Obama AND Osama… spooky!
PTBartman

Bin Laden had secretary named Potter while Harry Potter had a secretary named Ben Laden.
Jake0748

Wow, for a second I was seriously considering registering, so I could write “whata load o crap”, in the comments. But I came to my senses and am gratified to see several others did the work for me.
Anonymous

This is totally wrong, we already knew he is the Kwisatz Haderach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW7OPByRGDY#t=10m37s
Anonymous

I’m wearing the exact-not one that looks like it-but the exact same shirt I was wearing yesterday. Alert Gregg Kilday!
Anonymous

the coincidence is in the dates…the movie serie was released in the same year as the attack, and will end in the year of osama’s death

when potter fans were actually commenting the anniversary of the end of the battle of hogwarts in the books (may 2), the notice about osama’s death popped up

voldemort died at the morning of may 2, UK time, same time that osama’s death was announced
jacob_ewing

Maybe it was “bring your kid to work” day?
Hools Verne

This is clearly proof that the Illuminati are running things from the dark side of the moon.
gwailo_joe

So: The killing of Bin Laden=”Emotional Resonance” for the last H.P. flick.

Riiight. Not for me! Baloney clap-trap comes to mind, but hey, as a writer: you gotta come up with SOME-thin’ I guess. . .

Even if a little lame and somewhat of a stretch.

Oh well: If Osama bin Laden’s death creates jobs: I’m all for it! Ha!
Anonymous

Pretty sure Nostradamus spoke of this.
Anonymous

Wow. I feel bad now, that when I scan news articles on Google News, I pick Reuters sometimes to give me information. Well, that’s over.
Anonymous

you know what also happened just months after 9-11? a ton of OTHER irrelvant stuff. are we supposed to mandate a sabbath like period for several months after a tragic event just so there’s no “eerie connections”?