Harry Potter spoilers.

I saw the new Harry Potter movie last night* and I'm sad to say, yes, religious fundamentalists have a legitimate gripe on this one. The scene in which Harry and Ron kidnap newborn twin girls from Brighton, take them to Stonehenge, and sacrifice them to "the Dark Lord" went a wee bit over the top. Add to that the scene in which Professor Snape tells the Archbishop of Canterbury, "Your God is dead, you silly, silly man," and I think we're seeing some definite antireligious bias. Of course, the ire of the religious right might have more to do with the now famous date rape scene in which Harry waves his wand over Hermione, incanting the magic words, "Damnitall Rohypnol!" But I choose to interpret that scene somewhat differently than most viewers. Did you notice that Hermione winked at the camera when Harry cast his spell? In this viewer's opinion, this lent the scene a delicious ambiguity. The fact that Witchcraft played in the background also suggests Hermione's complicity -- and we all know who the most 'talented' witch at Hogwarts is, don't we? The love scene itself was the epitome of tameness, but do you expect more than tongues in a PG-13 movie? I think not. In any case, the story has been building up to this point, and I'm happy to see Harry get a little satisfaction, especially considering the fact he dies at the end of the movie. Oh -- I almost forgot: Warning! Spoilers! Technorati tag: harry potter, religious fundamentalism D. *Not strictly accurate. Actually, I saw that "Harry Potter" had top billing on the Technorati hit parade, and realized wistfully how long it had been since my last spell of Technorati whoredom.