Technology and a song

As a graduate of a Science and Technology University, and girlfriend of a technology geek (yes, he ordered his Apple Watch the day it was released), I naturally take an interest in the Muggle technology of the HP world. I'm also a musician - these two facts have inspired this blog post. I have read up to Chapter Three now, and anticipate doing a bit more reading when I get home from where I am currently based (a car park in Kent...)

Computers and TV

There are a few things that I always find difficult to reconcile in the Harry Potter world. The first is the timeline. JKR has very explicitly discussed the dates, and we know that Book One takes place in 1991. I had only been alive for two years at this point, and a lot of the finer points of the technology of the story have always escaped me. For example, the book talks about how Dudley had "...never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer."

It took me ages to accept that yes, they did have computers by this point. In fact, personal computers were introduced in 1981, and we were already 10 years into the progression of a PC becoming a fixture in modern homes. I was interested in what aliens Dudley could possibly have been blowing up...and discovered the most popular alien game of the time was "Alien Breed", a game thought to be heavily based on the Alien series of films.

Dudley's potential computer...

This was re-released in 2012 to celebrate the games 21st birthday - and you can get it on a number of platforms if you fancy having a go! It could have been the traditional "space invaders", of course, or even from the "Predator" series. I wonder exactly how much JKR knew about alien games...but interesting all the same!

Dudley was also addicted to TV, and having looked for what shows he could possibly have watched, I realised there was never any real guidance to this. "The Great Humberto" is the only title we are given - and the nature of this show is never revealed.

Tiptoe Through The Tulips

After Harry starts receiving his letters, Uncle Vernon stays at home from work one days and boards up the letterbox and the cracks around the doors and window. He does this while humming "Tiptoe Through The Tulips". I'd never looked up this song, and boy am I glad I did!

Coupled with the below sentence, one of my favourite lines ever, we start to get a good picture of what the Dursley's are like, not necessarily as a direct description, but as a contradiction of terms.

"...trying to knock in a nail with a piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him."

Bear in mind that later on, Uncle Vernon describes Dumbledore as "...some crackpot old fool...". Who exactly is the crackpot here, Dursley!? Here are a few more select snippets from this chapter:

"...as he spread marmalade on his newspapers..."

"...pulling great tufts out of his moustache..."

"'Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?'" (Dudley)

This is important. It's the first place you see what could be considered truly irrational behaviour happening in the moment, by Uncle Vernon. For the rest of the series, he refers to wizards as mad, bad, dangerous, scary...but the scene has been set for the 'family background' that has such an important role in Harry's life.

Other Comments

This chapter, the third, has a few other things that I remember thinking were strange the first time I read the book. For one thing, they eat tinned tomatoes on toast. Cold. Gross!

For another, Uncle Vernon tries to light a fire with banana peels and a packet of crisps. Crisp packets don't burn, you fool!

The end of the chapter sees Harry counting down until his 11th Birthday, while 'imagining' sounds outside. Someone knocks at the door, and the Harry Potter world as we know it is launched into the business end of things, with wizards, Voldemort, Dumbledore, letters, pigs, owls, and ever so much more.

Copyright Warner Bros.

I can't wait!

Much love,

Corrie xx