It’s that time of year again – no, not the holidays, but a Harry Potter movie debut. Yes, once again millions of diehard Potter fans will rush the theaters at midnight to partake in the nearly-annual event that has been inflating Hollywood for the past 10 years.

For those of us who do consider these days to be just as important as Christmas, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2 bring a bittersweet edge with them. The films, and the books that inspired them, have been a part of our lives for over a decade. This enormous franchise has literally taken over the entire world in a frenzy no one could have predicted.

It makes one pause and consider how exactly this happened. We know the story of its famous author J.K. Rowling, and her struggles which magically turned into the biggest success story of our time. So what magical quality do Harry, Hogwarts and all the rest possess that is just so darn addictive?

Rachel Dubowe, a junior human development major, said the series’ characters and themes of magic have made the stories popular among readers.

“The theme of friendship is highly appealing as most of us love the camaraderie and excitement that is Harry, Hermione and Ron,” she said. “Also the world of magic is a giant appeal factor, as these books allow readers to really enter a new world with things and events we have never been able to experience.”

Of course, the magic is a huge appeal. Diving into that world provides a thrilling escape for its readers and viewers.

Harry Potter was the right story at the right time, said English professor Fran Dolan.

Andrew Blake, a Harry Potter lecturer at University of East London in London, England, said it has been widely acknowledged that Harry Potter inspired young students to love to read, a feat many teachers struggle with to this day.

“The fact that the books encouraged kids to read formed a massive bandwagon attracting business sponsors, governments and so on as well as readers,” Blake said in an e-mail interview. “And in all the books, the kids find out stuff by reading and researching – it really is about education, in the sense of growing up through the acquiring and deployment of knowledge.”

It’s all about location. The fact that this story revolves around the iconic Hogwarts School really promotes education, and may even make it kind of exciting.

So that’s one part of the multi-faceted mass appeal of the franchise. But how do the films factor into this extreme popularity?

“For fans, it’s just more fan service and something that they can further enjoy along with their books,” said Travis Schumer, a junior political science major. “For non-readers it’s an accessible way to access the series.”

This accessibility contributes enormously to the franchise. Despite its readership promotion, most of the kids and young adults today need the visual aid of a film to hang on to a series.

“It’s very hard to determine if there’s a link between quality and popularity,” said Eric Smoodin, American studies professor. “There’s certainly a link, though, between interest in something and popularity, and people are clearly interested – for a bunch of different reasons – in Potter.”

These themes – good versus evil, the value of friendship and the basic concept of morality – provide the backbone for the novels. The context, jokes, spells and characters all dance around a wild fantasy, but at the end of the day, there is a good guy and a bad guy.

This is what makes the books so irresistible. This basic human struggle is undeniably what makes the series so universal, and emotionally magnetic to readers, Dolan said.

“Some critics of children’s literature argue that [the series] tends to depict a polarized universe of good and evil.  I would argue that those polarities often collapse in children’s books,” Dolan said. “That’s especially true in the Harry Potter books, in which one must continually reconsider who is good and who is bad and what good and bad mean and who decides.  The moral complexity of this universe, especially as the series unfolds, is one of its pleasures.”

There are basic human elements in the story that almost anyone can relate to, and one of the most important of those elements is the main character.

Harry Potter, the man (or boy) himself, has been one of the biggest draws of the series. According to Blake, his plight, both externally and internally, propel the story and the characters surrounding him.

“The books, and to a lesser extent the films, deal with an identity in crisis, thus retelling the traditional fairy tales, present in virtually all cultures, about the orphaned or abandoned child’s struggle to find out who she or he is,” Blake said.

The struggle of self-discovery is something every teenager goes through, everywhere on the planet. And that’s another unique quality about this series: many students today were teenagers when Harry was.

“This series affects our generation because the majority of fans were Harry Potter’s age when the first one came out, so they have grown up with him,” Dubowe said.

So now, after riding along with Harry, Hermione and Ron for almost 15 years, we finally put Harry Potter onto his shelf, or under the stairs in the cupboard, but within reach, so we can grab it anytime we want.

BRITTANY PEARLMAN can be reached at arts@theaggie.org

Out of sight and out of mind? Pipelines, power lines and concrete structures that spool endless amounts of steam and pollutants into our air have become dominant factors which define our landscapes. But if these urban products of infrastructure are not in our daily sight, do we really think about them nearly enough and how they directly affect us?

In the current exhibition at the C.N. Gorman Museum in Hart Hall, Larry Xhe Dhé McNeil and his nephew, Da-ka-xeen Mehner, bring the paradox of imposing man-made structures onto our natural landscapes to light.

Larry Xhe Dhé McNeil

The exhibition currently features a series of McNeil photographic works, which encompass a range of mixed media. These include his lithographic print entitled “Bonehead Humans” and a photographic and textual piece collage entitled “Journal Entry; On Creativity.” However, McNeil’s focus and major fascination lies in the Kodachrome film processes which produces extreme fine grain, high saturated and brilliant color prints. This can be seen in his piece “Boise Power Lines” where a hand is enveloped in a magnificent blue sea of vaporized clouds.

Through each of his digital prints, McNeil reveals a strong feeling of disillusionment regarding the global climate change. He questions the seemingly irrational direction in which humanity is heading in relation to how negatively we treat our built and natural environment.

“I would put forth the case that life is bewildering at best and illogically paradoxical at worst,” said McNeil. “Doesn’t it seem that some of the things that happen in the world defy logic? Commander Spock would be totally appalled and order that he beamed back forthwith. It seems that we don’t have that luxury, so we’ve just got to deal with it.”

McNeil often features an illustration of a raven, which is a significant motif of Native American history and oral tradition. In this particular series, McNeil incorporates himself in a gas mask with the symbolic raven.

“I started this work with only a broad idea of how I wanted it to look, but knew I wanted a white raven to start things off,” said McNeil. “He is a signifier for being rebellious against corrupt aristocrats. I think that in order to climb out of this global climate melt-down, we have to rebel against the status quo, especially against wealthy industrialists who pollute our Earth with impunity.”

McNeil’s piece entitled “Ax dayéen áa yax haan, Face me” represents a very direct and political form of photography. Standing directly in mid-frame of the shot, McNeil wears a gas mask in front of a steaming power plant. Below the piece, McNeil asks: “I only have one question for all you billionaire industrialists of the world who own the coal fired power plants. How are you going to enjoy your wealth when the world is too ravaged for you to spend it?”

Da-ka-xeen Mehner

Mehner uses photographic methods similar to McNeil’s Kodachrome and digital techniques. Mehner currently works and lives in Alaska. His series focuses on how the Alaskan pipeline affects the landscape.

“McNeil pieces are very direct and upfront like his piece entitled ‘Face Me,'” said Veronica Passalacqua, curator of the C.N. Gorman Museum. “McNeil looks for these pieces by traveling and shooting them specifically. But Mehner, on the other hand, is interrogating the Alaskan pipeline in a much more nuanced way that’s about a reality with living with [the pipeline] everyday. It’s very complicated.”

Both McNeil and Mehner belong to the Tlingit and Nisgaá tribe of the Pacific Northwest coast and the oldest traditional longhouses in that area called the Killerwhale Fin House. The Northwestern coast tradition is characterized by dual symmetry through art and storytelling. Mehner repeats many images in his digital photographs; like the piece entitled “My Right of Way, Summer” where two bowls of blueberries are mirrored.

For some who may cling onto the stereotype and misconception that Native American art is exclusive to traditional basket weaving, think again. Both McNeil and Mehner are examples of living Native American artists who continue to express their tradition and love for their land through relatively contemporary mediums.

“What the museum adds up to, at least for me, is the sense that indigenous peoples around the world are still here, despite everything,” said Patricia Anne Killelea, a graduate student and Native American studies instructor. “We are still here continuing, remembering and importantly, imagining our own worlds, our own communities, and beyond.”

UYEN CAO can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Gallathea, a thoroughly thought-provoking play, evokes lots of laughs, a few sighs and a couple of yawns. Although funny and unique, some scenes are dated, and the overall effect of the play is brought down by actors who are inaudible or ineffective.

John Lyly’s Elizabethan-era play has been revamped by the theater and dance department. Directed by Peter Lichtenfels, Gallathea profiles the love, the hunt and the sacrifice of an English countryside village. It opened to a largely empty auditorium last Thursday night.

In an English village, the loveliest virgin is sacrificed every five years, and Tyterus, the father of the most chaste and beautiful daughter, Gallathea, disguises her and sends her off into the forest to save her from death. From the start of the show the conflict within Gallathea is masterfully portrayed by Gia Battista, as she thinks it’s her duty to the country to be the one sacrificed. On the other side of town Melebeus (Will Klundt) hatches the same plan for his daughter Phillida (Venessa E. Archuleta), who, unlike bold and daring Gallathea, is rather mousey, and more willing to be sent away.

Inside the forest, the nymphs of Diana and Venus’s puckish son Cupid have their own chase and conflict as the chaste nymphs try to deflect Cupid’s devilish advances in vain.

Ting Jung Lee as Cupid is truly the breakout star. She plays the male Cupid with artistic bravado that is oddly reminiscent of most Ken Jeong characters. Lee’s performance as the secondary character Haebe, the not so beautiful virgin pawned off in the sacrifice to Neptune, had the auditorium roaring with laughter.

As those scenes unfold, the completely unrelated side story of the adventurous trio of brothers opens up; sadly only Matthew Canty’s Raffe gets stage time. At the end of the play when the three brothers reunite, it is almost confusing as to who the other two are.

When Gallathea and Phillida meet, brought together by Diana (Alison Sundstrom) they fall in love in exactly three scenes. In so little time the actresses bring enough emotional power to the characters that the audience starts to sympathize with the awestruck lovers even if they are both girls pretending to be boys.

The final scene of the show, where the big reveal is imminent, is the best part of the show. The gods bicker like children, the townspeople are dismayed, and the lovers are exposed. The cast plays it up with the outmost of energy and it seems like a fitting conclusion to a play that sheds light on many modern problems in society.

The town, the forest, and all other scenes are all played on the same set, which in the simplest terms is a giant jungle gym with a floating set of stairs put off to the side and some bushes meant to be the forest. The stage has no curtains or side stages, actors have full reign of the stage and sometimes they even climb into the audience. The choreography is done in such a way that at most times it seems oddly appropriate for the characters, who unabashedly act like children, to be happily hanging and sliding down the set.

There is no soundtrack. The set and the actors clomping around on stage provide all background noise. Video projections both frame and shed light onto the play, which is meant to be raw and not hide anything.

Walking into the theater and seeing the stage crew cleaning up the set and actors milling about getting ready for the performance took some mysticism out of watching the play. It felt more like being at the dress rehearsal rather than opening night, even though this was part of the play.

The audience is asked to leave their cell phones on and text and capture the play in any way that they wish, but it didn’t seem like much of the audience understood or made use of the concept.

Overall the play provides a nice way to spend a weekend night, even if at times there are lulls on stage and actors are hard to understand.

The cast of Gallathea will give its final performances tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Wright Hall’s Main Theater. Tickets are $12 to 14 for students.

ANASTASIA ZHURAVLEVA can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

At the height of their fame, Jon and Kate Gosselin and their eight kids were one of America’s favorite families. But celebrity came at a price.

Their TLC reality show, “Jon and Kate Plus 8,” documented the everyday struggles and triumphs of raising six-year-old twins and two-year-old sextuplets. Episodes gave an up close-and-personal peek at their lives in suburban Pennsylvania – including theme park outings, bedtime routines, temper tantrums and everything in between.

Now, thanks to Jon and Kate’s ugly divorce in 2009 and recent reports that two of the sextuplets have been expelled from school, audiences and child psychology experts have once again fired up one of the most heated debates of the last decade: Should kids be filmed for reality TV programs?

Jon and Kate are hardly the only parents to allow cameras to capture their kids’ every move. The Duggar family of Arkansas has been the subject of countless specials and series, most recently “19 Kids and Counting” (guess why they got their own show), and kids are featured in popular shows from “Run’s House” to “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” Americans are simply fascinated by famous families and their children.

Still, the legality of such programs is questionable. Children who appear on reality TV shows aren’t subject to the same child labor regulations as child actors or performers because they are “participants,” not “employees.” This means that children on reality shows, like the Gosselin and Duggar kids, could be filmed for long hours or for days on end. The studio is under no legal obligation to adhere to commonly accepted child labor practices and limitations.

An investigation by the Los Angeles Times in June found that 11 shows currently filming, including “19 Kids and Counting,” the “Real Housewives” franchise and “Raising Sextuplets,” had not filed paperwork to hire minors.

The psychological impact of a life led in front of TV cameras is also cause for concern. The Gosselin kids’ recent expulsion from school certainly raises doubts about the quality of life a child can have when his or her existence is broadcast on TV for the world to see.

Hilary Levey, sociologist and post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University, said in an op-ed for USA Today that the cameras force kids to perform constantly, even as they are supposedly “being themselves.”

“Unlike, say, Miley Cyrus, who played the role of Hannah Montana, reality TV parents essentially consent for their children to “play” themselves,” Levey said. “Children’s personalities are dissected by viewers, and any embarrassing activities, like potty training, are preserved on the Internet – or in syndication.”

While participating in a reality show could have its benefits, the cons far outweigh the pros. Kate Gosselin often defends her decision to continue her show by citing all the opportunities her children have been given, such as going on fancy trips and getting free stuff like custom-built playhouses. But at what point does the money cease to pay kids back for their lack of privacy or quiet family time that most children take for granted?

Would the Gosselin kids, if given the chance, trade their action-packed Hawaiian birthday vacation (filmed for the show, of course) for the normal life they had before “Jon and Kate?”

Unfortunately, the kids are never able to speak out until they’re adults and by then it’s too late. I have a sneaking suspicion that in 20 years the Gosselin kids will publish a tell-all book, and we’ll all be ashamed that we simply sat and watched as their young lives fell apart before our eyes.

“Jon and Kate Plus 8” used to be one of ROBIN MIGDOL’s favorite shows. Now it just makes her sad. Tell her what you think at arts@theaggie.org.

Artist: RJD2

Album: The Colossus

Label: RJ’s Electrical Connections

Rating: 4

Scheduled to set the Freeborn stage on fire (literally, maybe?) on January 27th of this upcoming year, RJD2 gives Davis audiences something exciting to look forward to with his fourth solo album.

RJD2 retains some of the classic techniques that made his sounds so mesmerizing. Guitar solos, piano and synthesizers mixed with smooth beats used in previous tracks such as “Ghostwriter” and “Here and Now” make their usual appearances in The Colossus.

Of course, great vocal collaborations are expected. Phonte Coleman offers a smooth, soulful voice embraced in fluttering piano.

Although some might not like it, RJD2 captures a very raw sound as heard in “A Spaceship for Now” where the drum sounds very un-produced and digitally un-altered. It’s a rare find these days.

Give these tracks a listen: “Tin Flower,” “The Shining Path (featuring Phonte Coleman)”

For fans of: Ratatat, Blockhead, Soul Position

– Uyen Cao

Artist: Rihanna

Album: Loud

Label: The Island Def Jam Music Group

Rating: 4

Rihanna is back and she’s louder than ever.

Following the release of the dark and tough Hard last summer, full of Rihanna’s pain from her very public fallout with Chris Brown, the pop princess has released an album full of fun club jams without a trace of sadness left.

Rihanna’s lyrics this time around are strong and playful, with kinky songs such as “S&M.” Her second single with Drake, “What’s My Name?” is sure to be a radio hit.

Although this is mainly a fun album, Rihanna has never been one to shy away from ballads and Loud is no exception. She is stronger on songs that still have an up-tempo beat, such as the reggae-infused “Man Down,” but there is a beautiful piano version of her hit with Eminem, “Love the Way You Lie.” It proves that Rihanna can do more than club tracks, and will give you chills.

Loud is exactly what the title promises. It’s fun, fresh and sure to put the Barbados siren back on top.

Give these tracks a listen: “S&M,” “Man Down,” “Love the Way You Lie (Piano Version)”

For Fans of: Beyonce, Katy Perry, Keri Hilson

– Anneta Konstantinides

Artist: Kid Cudi

Album: Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager

Label: Universal Motown

Rating: 3

Kid Cudi produces a dark sophomoric album that not only doesn’t satisfy fans, but also deeply confuses them. Man on the Moon II not only has very little to do with Man on the Moon I, but it also shows a whole different side of the emo rapper.

There is no doubt that Cudi is a groundbreaker in his genre, and everything from his style to his tone is solid, or at least it was on his first album. It’s a hit-and-miss album. The opening track “Scott Mescudi Vs. The World” in which Cudi sticks to rapping and Cee Lo sings the chorus, has a nice traditional flow yet sounds fresh and innovative. “Mojo So Dope” drips darkness as pop culture’s loneliest stoner reflects on reality and fantasy. “REVOFEV” and “We Aite” start out great but seem to go nowhere and never pick up.

In Man on the Moon II, Mr. Rager, Cudi’s self-destructive and unstoppable alter ego, aims to sound soulful and insightful. Instead, he falls flat as he tries to create meaning.

Give these tracks a listen: “MANIAC,” “Mr. Rager”

For fans of: Kanye West, The Roots

– Anastasia Zhuravleva