Christa Scheffler This Society Might Be Too Big to Attempt to Explain, But I Will Try Harry Potter and

the Order of the Phoenix is a film based on a book of the same title by J.K. Rowling. The book, part of a seven book series, takes place in a magical world created by Rowling and is about a boy named Harry Potter who has magical abilities and an arch enemy, Lord Voldemort, who is out to kill him. But with the help of his friends, his school, Hogwarts, and his strength, he tries to defeat Voldemort. In this specific movie, the Magical World is slowly deteriorating; Lord Voldemort has risen from the dead and starts to wreak havoc again, but most people are in denial about his return, including the Ministry of Magic. The only people who advocate that Voldemorts return is real are Harry and Albus Dumbledore, so the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge tries to discredit the two of them. Fudge sends one of his representatives, Dolores Umbridge, to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in order to restore order to the school and keep an eye on Dumbledore and Harry. Meanwhile, Harry himself is dealing with adolescence, as well as his strange intimate connection with Voldemort. In The Order of the Phoenix, government is mentioned heavily and has a main role in the film. The Ministry of Magic is the governmental agency that controls the Magical World. It is made up of an elected Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, and a multitude of departments that regulate different aspects of the society, such as the Department of Mysteries and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The Daily Prophet, a newspaper that is the main source of news in the Magical World, is also controlled by the government. There are many laws set up by the Ministry of Magic to ensure the safety of witches and wizards, but also to ensure the safety of Muggles (non-magic folk) and the secrecy of the Magical World from the non-magical world. If major laws are broken, the

witch or wizard in question is sent to the prison called Azkaban; Azkaban is guarded by creatures called Dementors, who suck all the happiness from someone until they are left without a soul. Minor laws that are broken result in a warning letter not to repeat the action or otherwise the witch or wizard will be expelled from Hogwarts (if a student) or the users wand will be broken. A couple of laws that go hand in hand in this film are the Statute of Secrecy, which states that magic cannot be done in front of Muggles, and the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, which states that a witch or wizard cannot perform magic outside of school until they are above the age of seventeen. The Ministry of Magic, at the time of this movie, is corrupt. The model of government that J.K Rowling created during The Order of the Phoenix is similar to how Thrasymachus in Platos The Republic views justice. Thrasymachus states that justice is what is good for the stronger and that a system of laws is set up to divide the less powerful from the more powerful (Plato 338c). Through the Ministry of Magic, the audience can tell that Thrasymachus claim would not create justice. Harry, through circumstances out of his control, breaks the Statute of Secrecy and the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. The Ministry, being corrupt, tries expelling him from school in order to discredit him. But after some persuasion by Dumbledore, the Minister authorizes a trial against Harry. If Harry loses the trial, they would break his wand and he would have to return to the Muggle world and not return to Hogwarts. The trial involves a whole court of Wizengamot (jury) and the Minister himself. The audience learns from Albus Dumbledore that an issue of underage sorcery has never needed to be tried in front of the Wizengamot before when he acts as Harrys lawyer during the trial. Fudge ignores the comment and puts Harrys innocence up for vote by the Wizengamot, where he proceeds to be freed of all charges. Even though the trial is set up in a

democratic fashion, it still has a corrupt leader (Fudge) who proves that Thrasymachus claim isnt just. If the ability to be corrupt occurs, then justice isnt served. Another way the Ministry is shown to be corrupt in this movie is through the interference at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the books previous to this, Hogwarts and the Ministry are very much separate. The headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, has total control over the rules and regulations of Hogwarts, while the Minister has control over the Ministry. Only once did the two institutes collide before this, and it was only for the protection of the students from a criminal. But in this movie, Fudge is concerned that Dumbledore, along with Harry, are trying to overthrow his power in government by spreading the rumors about Voldemorts return. Fudge, in his fear, thinks many irrational things, like Dumbledore using the school to have students trained in combat and raising an army to overthrow him. In order to prevent this, Fudge sends Dolores Umbridge for reasons Ive stated above. While Umbridge is at Hogwarts, many new rules are enacted within the school that Umbridge creates and Fudge approves, including not using wands during Umbridges class and the ban of clubs or organizations meeting without Umbridges permission. Umbridge also surveys the teachers to see if theyre fit to work at Hogwarts, but she is very discriminative and rude to those she talks to; if unfit, Umbridge is allowed to fire them. The effect of this is that Dumbledore loses his authority at Hogwarts, an eye is kept on both Dumbledore and Harry, and Fudge is able to restrict what he and Umbridge believe to be illicit activities. Outside of government interference, Hogwarts is an interesting place. It is where young witches and wizards go to learn and refine their magical skills. Classes that are taught at Hogwarts include Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Herbology, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, Muggle Studies, Astronomy, History of Magic, Divination, Study of Ancient Runes, Flying and Arithmancy. Teachers within the school are of mixed races, gender, and ability

because Dumbledore is not discriminative. All of the students are divided into four houses, named after their founders: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. The houses compete for the House Cup, a prize of glory at the end of the semester, by doing well in classes or other activities and earning House Points. Houses also compete for the Quidditch Cup, which is won by winning the most games of Quidditch (a flying game similar to soccer) with the most points. There are House rivalries within the school, specifically between Gryffindor and Slytherin. In the students fifth year at Hogwarts, they take standardized tests called OWLS, or Ordinary Wizarding Level Examinations, in order to progress. In seventh year, students take NEWTS, or Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, which employers will use to determine whether the student has met the required standards for the specific job. These tests are similar to standardized testing; every subject has an OWL and a NEWT that students must take in order to move on. While Hogwarts does not fit the model Socrates sets up for education, it does develop the same qualities in its students that Socrates model does for the guardians. Socrates states that education should include noble stories, music that boosts courage, art that doesnt involve sex appeal, a myth that bolsters the guardians sense of patriotism, physical exercise, and a healthy diet (Plato 392d-410d. What Socrates hopes to achieve with this model is respect for authority, harmony within society, courage, resistance to grief and laughter, and self-discipline (Plato 386b-389d). Hogwarts achieves these things in different ways. Respect for authority is created by having rules that students have to follow as well as the professors having respect for the students. Harmony and courage are achieved through the sense of community within Houses, especially within Gryffindor because it is the house of courage. Self-discipline is created by having students practice magic during the school year so they feel less inclined to do magic at home; in cases where the students are more inclined, parents discipline their children and the law is there to restrain them. Students also learn the

responsibility that comes with being a witch or wizard through their classes, and what can happen if things go wrong. The only ideals not represented in Hogwarts are resistance to grief and laughter. Both grief and laughter are expressed at Hogwarts, specifically when Dumbledore has conversations with Harry about his past and his friends, but without excess. Laughter and grief are traits that Harry feels in relation to his friends and family. When Harry was little, his parents were killed by Lord Voldemort. His aunt and uncle raise him after that, but they are oppressive. They, along with their son Dudley, emotionally abuse Harry in the hopes that it will prevent his magic from becoming developed. The only other family Harry has is his godfather, Sirius Black, who dies in the movie trying to protect Harry and his friends. Many different types of families are represented within the film. In contrast to Harrys family, Rons family is very large and boisterous with seven children and the two parents. Hermiones is small and quiet, consisting of two Muggle parents and her. Contrasting Hermiones family is the Malfoy family, which consists of the same basic family units, but the Malfoys are purebloods, whereas Hermione is considered a Mudblood, or Muggle-born. Socially, Pure Bloods are considered to be better than Muggle-borns. There isnt a definite reasoning behind this, but Pure Bloods believe they are more magical and better than Muggle-borns. Its basically a type of discrimination, because there is no clear way of telling a Muggle-born from a pureblood other than looking at his or her family tree. Another social aspect presented during this movie is the separation of the Wizarding World and the Muggle world. During the trial, Harry tells Fudge that the reason he did magic outside of school was because there were Dementors near his home. Fudge replies that it is a convenient lie because Muggles cant see Dementors. During the film, and all the other books, Muggles are not only oblivious of the magic happening around them, but also of the danger that threatens them because of magic. But what threatens both the magical and Muggle

world the most is Lord Voldemort. Throughout the magical society, it is known that Voldemort is the most evil Dark wizard of all time. Everyone, save a select few, fears him and his return. Protecting the public from Voldemort and Death Eaters are Aurors, or highly trained wizards and witches whose sole purpose is to investigate and capture Dark wizards. Aurors are part of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement within the Ministry of Magic. While Socrates would not agree with the way Aurors are trained, he would agree that Aurors are very effective and dedicated soldiers because of their intense training. Some of the requirements to become an Auror include having a minimum of five out of six NEWTS and a clean criminal record. Then the Auror-in-training has to train for years to perfect his or her dueling, defense, and various other skills. While Aurors are terribly good at their jobs, the Ministry is corrupt (as stated above) so the Aurors are less effective as a whole. Many Aurors had joined the Order prior to the film, including Nymphadora Tonks, Alastor Mad-Eye Moody, and Kingsley Shacklebolt. In this film, the Order of the Phoenix is the militia that tries to stop Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The Order is an underground militia of sorts that works separately from the Ministry of Magic to help protect the general public by trying to thwart Voldemorts plans. Their most important mission is to protect Harry from being captured or killed. To be enlisted in the Order, you have to be a graduate of Hogwarts. While there are many things people value within this film including family, friendship, and safety, what I believe is valued most throughout the movie is secrecy. I say this because secrecy comes up many times throughout the movie by many people at many points of the film. In the beginning, secrecy is mentioned about the Magical World; it is imperative that the Magical World stay secret from the Muggle world. Next, magic itself is meant to be kept secret from Muggles. Thirdly, news is kept secret from Harry the whole summer because Dumbledore doesnt want him to put himself in danger by running away from the Dursleys. Fourthly, the Order of the Phoenix has to

be kept a secret from both Lord Voldemort and the Ministry of Magic, for the fear that such a small group can be taken over by either side. Fifthly, Hagrids, the gamekeeper, mission is kept secret from everyone but those in the Order because they dont want his mission to be compromised. Next, Dumbledores Army must be kept secret from Umbridge, because the students will be punished and Dumbledore will be sent to Azkaban. After that, Professor Snape tells Harry that thoughts and dreams must be kept secret from others because Voldemort has used thoughts and dreams to torture in the past. Next, Dumbledore keeps the secret of Harrys prophecy because he doesnt want to see Harry hurt more. Parallel to this, the Department of Mysteries is kept secret for a reason that is not explained. There are more secrets than this within the film, but why is secrecy so valued in this world? I think, for this kind of society to function properly, secrecy is necessary. In the past, wizards and humans had lived together in harmony, but witch hunts caused that to cease. After that, the Statute of Secrecy was put into practice along with all the other laws that keep the Muggle world and Magical World separate. So in this case, secrecy is needed for safety. Similarly, all the secrets involving specific individuals were also meant for that individuals safety. In Hagrids case, revealing his mission could have gotten him and some giants killed. In Dumbledores, he was just trying to protect Harrys emotional safety. Secrecy and safety seem to go hand-in-hand in this film, which lends to the overall feasibility of the society. Without secrecy, witches and wizards all over the world would have been killed due to fear and superstition. In addition, the secrecy of this world as a whole makes it seem more desirable because it makes the world seem exclusive and inviting, like a club. Personally, I would love to live in the Magical World, regardless of the danger. The dangers are more than made up for by the perks of magic, knowledge, and adventure.