A Magical Circus

Well, today in Leicester Square (a really neat little square in London) I had the opportunity to join literally thousands of screaming fans in celebrating the glory of the pretty people who have given us the Harry Potter films. Yes, it was the red carpet (the carpet was green) celebrity London premiere of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Knowing that people had begun camping out the night before, I left immediately after my afternoon class in hopes of being able to see at least something. I found myself a nice spot directly beneath the screen where they would show the interviews and within a decent distance outside where the celebrities would pass the fortunate fans who were on the inside of the fence that separated the rest of the world. I sat and watched as people filed into Leicester Square and the Euphoria began to grow.

It was truly exciting to see J.K Rowling and the slew of actors and actresses who play the characters from the world of Hogwarts with my own eyes. You can see more pictures on my facebook. However excited this nerdy Potter fan may have gotten, my perspective did allow one interesting bit of incite. You see, Leicester Square is literally a square with a little park in the middle. At the center of the park is a statue. The organizers of this event had created a ring of fans around the little park with a tunnel on one side leading to the theatre (British spelling... Ha!). From standing both right outside the ring and under the screen, I got two very distinct perspectives. From the screen, I saw the glamorous camera angles that make these things look so amazing. But peering in I saw what was really happening. These actors would get out of a car, and then start their way around the ring. They would walk slowly around with people screaming loudly as they came near. On the screen they looked larger than life; from my spot they looked very small. As they trudged around the circle signing autographs, the image became comical. The only thing I could relate the image to was that of elephants circling an arena. It looked like such a joke. These normal human beings, so real. For the first time flesh and blood to me. The glamor seemed to fade away. They were just people, being screamed at and bustled around a circle under flashing lights.

Now I'm not condemning this event or the people involved. I was there and enjoyed the poop out of it. It was really cool, and I would have jumped on Rupert Grint (Ron Weasely) if given the chance. I was merely observing the absurdity of what we do.