Fan or not, watching the Harry Potter films for entertainment is surely worth mentioning to others. The magic world, the mysticism as well as mixture of real and fantasy and above all growing up of a child into adulthood everything attracts a viewer irrespective of age and culture. To appreciate the original story as well as the spectacular spectacles of the films you don’t have to be English or a child.

But this article is not about the review of Harry Potter films, but about something else which brings forth a critical question. Everybody must have already heard that the first episode of the last Harry Potter film, The Deathly Hallows, is about to hit the theaters at around November 2010 and there will be one scene (in fact two (harry), taking the both episode into account) where Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe and Hermione Granger star Emma Watson will act in a nude love scene. Director David Yates confirmed about this rumor and gave an explanation of filming it for the sake of the story (effect of evil Horcrux in Ron Wesley’s dream). In his version:

“We’ll create something that feels very sexy and very intriguing to bring about a reaction in Rupert.”

“Dan has appeared nude in the past. There are a couple of scenes in the new film in which he will undress, but we’re still thinking about how we present it.”

“There is another scene in King’s Cross station, where Harry almost dies and sees Dumbledore. In that scene, he will also be naked.”

Mr. Yates also talked about another scene which is originally not in the story but he put it in the film for some storytelling reason.

“It’s where Hermione and Harry dance together and is not in the book. It’s something we create for the film and is actually very tender.” “They also reveal some secrets about each other while dancing.”

Now that’s quite a news for everyone, fan or non fan. So many perverts have been waiting to see Emma Watson in bare skin; it’s a joyride for them. But the real voice came from the fans in general. And most of them are against showing them nude. Some are even very violent saying that.

“Why the HELL is this going to be in the movie? Either this is a practical joke or the directors are retarded. There was no such scene or implication of it in the books and it does seem like they’re ruining a nice, slightly adult movie into a porno. I mean really – I can get him and Hermione sharing touching secrets, but why do they need to be naked? (If they aren’t in this scene, please tell me. If so, at least they won’t be flinging their bits around while dancing.) And really: “”‘There is another scene in King’s Cross station, where Harry almost dies and sees Dumbledore. In that scene, he will also be naked’,”" There is no need for him to be naked. (Even if he’s gay, I don’t think Dumbledore wants to see that.) It seems like you’re just trying to fit as much nudity into the movie as possible. Lastly, even if it’s a ‘magic flash’ of non-real sex stuff between the two, it doesn’t need to be in there. Ron can get angry on his own well enough or can think of what happened to Fred.” Jennifer, Franklin, 9/12/2009, fan reaction in The Guardian website.

Now let’s hear some other reactions from more respectable critics. The following quotes are taken from The Week.

“Potter is just taking cues from the competition: Next to the perpetually shirtless Twilight vampires, Harry Potter looks “a little staid,” says Stuart Heritage in Britain’s Guardian. By showing a little skin, Harry is just trying to keep up with the competition. Let’s just hope this doesn’t set a precedent for other big-screen adaptations of children’s books — nobody wants to see “the Very Hungry Caterpillar’s nipples.” (“Harry Potter enters the Twilight zone”)
Showing Harry Potter nude is just wrong: Fans may be intrigued by celebrities baring all, says Charlotte Martin in Britain’s the Sun, “but there are some stars we never want to see in that way.” Harry Potter is one of them. Just yesterday Potter was a “wee lad waving his wand to cast spells” — it’s far too soon to picture him waving his other “magic wand.” (“Nudes that make you go ewww”)

It’s an amateurish move: It’s no longer safe to assume that “just because these movies are made for children, they won’t go there,” says James Brady Ryan in Nerve.com. Director David Yates calls the Harry Potter nude scene “intriguing” and “sexual,” but in reality it just sounds like he “brought in a 15-year-old fan-fiction writer” to fiddle with the script. (“Daniel Radcliffe (And maybe Emma Watson?) will be naked in Deathly Hallows”)

Now why people are so angry about seeing Harry and Hermione nude? Why people are going far to say that it is Radcliffe or Yates’s popularity stunt? Is it that hard to take? Even bigger question is what are the children thinking for whom the stories and the movies are created?

The Harry Potter series took seven years to complete its stories, each year publishing one, showing every year of Harry’s school life. It is the same for the films, released each in every year. Both Medias took it perfectly in symphony as the life cycle of Harry dictates the growth of the story. Every year it gets tougher as new understanding of life is included. Harry grows, so does the story, and I like to mention here, so does the readers. A child reader who started reading or viewing the Philosopher’s Stone, grows along with harry and therefore perfectly understands what’s going on as the stories touch what is most common to his daily life- friends, school, rivalry, adventure, foolishness, rage, hint of love, kind of love, true love, betrayal, misunderstanding, rush of blood, and secrets. It can also be said that, “as the reader grows so does the stories” as both the writer and the directors tried to keep pace with the growing children. If a seventeen year child (who grew from eleven along with Harry) has nudity in his thinking, sex in his mind, won’t it be hypocritical that Harry’s world doesn’t have it? If people are prejudiced to accept nudity in Harry, won’t it be inability to recognize that their child has grown up? Isn’t it like the poking parents who dictates lots of do’s and don’ts and makes a child’s life hell when he or she is growing up?

I don’t know how David Yates has decided to show harry and Hermione in nude scene, surely that will be in some artistic way, and probably it will be rated PG too, but from my point of view, this is the smartest move from a director’s point of view and surely he has understood the theme of a children world. A child is not always child and that is the beauty of childhood, a dream to grow up. I am waiting eagerly for the film.