Current Thesis to Date

    My latest working thesis is still basically the same. Harry Potter 5 is a political thriller not a fantasy because of the themes seen in the film, such as fascist leadership, propaganda, intervening government, and uprising of the people against the government. I have been doing research on all of these terms to help find/ decide what my own definition of a political thriller is. The themes I think are seen in a political thriller are the themes I listed above. These themes are also what appear in Harry Potter 5. As far as my thesis is concerned I’m sure it will continue to evolve as the research paper continues but as far as the structure of it, it has remained the same.

My Golden Source

   While continuously researching and looking for sources I found myself stumped and recruited the help of the reference desk at the school library. The woman who helped me had trouble herself and had me leave my name and email so she could do further research. She ended up finding the most perfect book ever through an inter library loan. The book is titled Political Issues in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series. This book is an anthology of articles and excerpts from scholars all around the world. This book has been a dynamite source to help back up my thesis. It is also a really interesting book separate from my research paper.

"Fellowship in a Ring"

   One of my sources I am using for my research paper, is a book on fantasy, and making fantasy groups, its called Fellowship in a Ring: A Guide for Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Groups. This source is a great counter argument source for me. There are millions of subgenres of fantasy explained in the book such as one subgenre called political fantasy. This subgenre has a lot of the same elements in Harry Potter 5. Despite having a few direct correlations I am still sticking with my thesis that Harry Potter is not a fantasy film. I am glad I found this book though because it has helped me to look harder for sources and give great examples to prove why my film is not a fantasy film.

My Working Thesis

   My current working thesis for my research paper honestly has been changing throughout the semester. Even though it has been changing the basic idea has still remained unchanged which is, Harry Potter 5 is a political thriller not a fantasy genre. As I start working on research paper my current working thesis is that propaganda, fascism, and intervening government are all things that make a political thriller. All of the ideas that I listed are all seen throughout the entire film. My thesis still needs a bit of tweaking and cleaning up but my basic idea has still remained through the entire research process.

My Research From Here On Out

    My research schedule throughout the semester is to search online databases a couple of times a week, I try different search terms and new things are always being added. I have used the school library only twice, the reference help couldn’t find much but she found this amazing book for my through a library loan. My local library has been the most useful, I have been there a couple of times already and found a couple of books. I plan on continuing my research by going to the library at least once every week till my research paper is due if not twice a week.

What's In a Scene...

I recently re-watched HP5 and have found at least two scenes to use. The first scene I have decided to use for my critical model is the scene when Professor Umbridge first introduces herself to the school. She basically tells the school that she is there as eyes for the minister of magic and making sure everything that is going on at the school is Ministry of Magic approved. I think this scene should be helpful to use for my critical approach because it is pretty straight forward about what is going to be happening for the rest of the film. The second scene I think I am going to use is Umbridge's first class. She tells the students they will not need to practice anything they learn but read the book and that will suffice. I think this scene is a great analogy for a political thriller genre.

A critical model as I may or may not understand....

My critical model I am using for my research paper is a genre critical approach. For my Harry Potter film paper I am researching if the movie is a political thriller rather than a fantasy genre. I believe it is a political thriller but I will have to do much more reading on political genre in film. I believe I have plenty of “evidence”/ examples from the movie to prove my point. Although I do understand what the overall assignment is, I can’t help but feel insecure in my writing and thoughts, I’m not sure where my lack of confidence comes from in my academics but I am always trying to learn more.