My Science School

Move over, Metallica and Coldplay, it's time for The Mudbloods and The Parselmouths!

A new genre of music with its roots in the "Harry Potter' series is gaining popularity across the world.

Wizard rock, also known as Wrock, is devoted to the magical universe of Harry Potter. What's more, the band members even dress up (Cosplay) as their favourite characters from the series. Just like fan fiction, wizard rock provides an outlet for fans to express their love for the books.

How it began

Nearly 20 years ago, author J.K. Rowling introduced young readers around the world to the bespectacled boy with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. And in the years that followed, the "Harry Potter series met with resounding success, spawning multiple films, video games, and even a theme park. But it also conjured up a new form of music - wizard rock!

It began in 2000 in the U.S. with just a handful of bands expressing their love for the boy wizard through their original musical compositions. Soon, Harry and the Potters, the first band in the wizard rock genre, was joined by the likes of The Whomping Willow, Draco and the Malfoys. The Mudbloods and The Parselmouths. Some of the bands even started dressing up like the characters from the franchise, as they belted out number such as "Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock", "Saving Ginny", and "Dumbledore's Army".

By 2006, there were over 30 wizard rock bands, with some of them even going on tours. In 2008, the BBC did a documentary "We Are Wizards" exploring the realm of wizard rock, bringing international recognition to the genre. Today, there are wizard rock bands in different parts of the world.

You can listen to bands like Moaning Myrtles, Gryffindor Common Room Rejects Squared, The Owl Post, Mostly Muggles and We-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on YouTube or music streaming apps.

Fandom

The appeal of the songs of wizard rock lies in their creativity and ability to connect with the readers, capturing the emotions of its characters. For instance, Draco and the Malfoys and The Parselmouths explore the nastiness of the Slytherins through punk and indie rock. Some songs even take the story forward by imagining alternate endings and futures for their characters.

Tune in to Tolkien

"Harry Potter' is not the only series to serenade its fans. J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" series, which was later adapted to the silver screen by Peter Jackson, was perhaps one of the earliest to catch the imagination of the music world. Bands have been writing songs drawing upon Tolkien's books since the 1970s. One of the most famous among them was Led Zeppelin ("Stairway to Heaven"). Even today Tolkien's works continue to inspire many heavy metal bands. Blind Guardian and Summoning have written songs about hobbits and dwarves.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Do you love stories of talking animals, singing portraits and chatty kettles? If yes, then you are a fan of anthropomorphism.

A literary device, anthropomorphism (pronounced anthro-polt-more-fizz um) is used by authors to attribute human traits to animals or inanimate objects. This is done to make non-human characters more relatable and entertaining to readers and viewers. You may have seen this in stories and films that depict animals who can talk behave and feel emotions just like us. Children's classics such as "Dr. Dolittle", "Charlotte's Web", "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", and "Chronicles of Namia: The Lion. The Witch, and the Wardrobe all feature anthropomorphic characters.

While animals are commonly shown as anthropomorphised creatures, this technique is also used to bring inanimate objects to life by assigning them human-like qualities. Disney-Pixar films often use anthropomorphism - bringing clownfish and toy space-rangers to life as the beloved Nemo in Finding Nemo" and Buzz Lightyear in "Toy Story".

The term ‘anthropomorphism’ was coined by the Greek Philosopher Xenophanes after observing the physical similarities between people and their Gods.

Anthropomorphism vs. Personification

It is easy to confuse anthropomorphism with another similar literary device called personification. But the two are starkly different. Personification is a figure of speech in which a thing, an animal or an abstract notion is ascribed human qualities. For instance, the sentence, "Nature unleashed its fury through thunderstorms," is an example of personification, because nature can't be "furious" as it cannot feel human emotions. However, saying that nature can feel anger and fury emphasises the harshness of the storm. On the other hand in anthropomorphism, the non-human objects literally behave like human beings.

POPULAR EXAMPLES

• "The Beauty and the Beast": The fairytale as well as its Disney adaptation is packed with anthropomorphic furniture such as clocks and wardrobes that sing, dance and talk.


• Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland": Humans and anthropomorphic characters such as walking rabbits, smiling cats and even talking playing cards exist together in this fantastical story.


• J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter series: The magical world of Harry Potter is full of anthropomorphic characters. For instance, the talking and sometimes singing portraits hung inside the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The centaurs of the Forbidden Forest, who are half human, half-horse and skilled at Divination, are other examples of anthropomorphism.


•  "The Secret Life of Pets" film franchise: Wonder what your pets – cats, dogs, or even rabbits - are up to when you leave the house? 'The Secret Life of Pets" films show pets as socialising, watching telenovelas, raiding the fridge and even rocking out to heavy metal music when humans are not around.


• Richard Adams' Watership Down: In his debut novel. "Watership Down" (1972), Adams featured rabbits that could talk in their own distinctive language (Lapine).


• "Doctor Dolittle": Hugh Lofting's series of children's books portray a doctor who can talk to animals in their own languages. The books were adapted into highly successful films, starring Eddie Murphy as the main character.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Giving hurricanes human names is also a form of anthropomorphism. It is done because a human name is simpler and easier to comprehend than a scientific name, and makes us more receptive to information.


• In religion and mythology, anthropomorphism is the perception of a divine being in human form, or the recognition of human qualities in these beings. Greek deities such as Zeus and Apollo are often depicted in human form exhibiting human qualities such as beauty, greed, hatred, jealousy, and uncontrollable anger.


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Picture Credit : Google