Come and talk me through my Half-Blood Prince film canon WTF moment

[birdsofshore]

OK, this is going to take some explaining, but bear with me.

I was looking up something about the Vanishing Cabinets, and, being lazy and feckless, I looked on the Harry Potter wiki. YES I KNOW. We have had a lot of trouble with it before, I know, stating film canon as fact even when it contradicts book canon, using lego games as canon, I KNOW.

This is a bit different. It's about something that isn't mentioned in the books, but only in film canon.

When Draco is trying to fix the cabinet in the film, he tests it with various things: first an apple, which comes back with a bite out of it, and then a white bird, which comes back dead. Now, I took these as signs that the cabinet was now WORKING - that the apple and the bird had been successfully transported, and that Death Eaters had done these things to them to show that they had indeed traveled to Borgin and Burkes and back.

However, Harry Potter wiki (and on googling, loads of other sources on the internet) states that these things proved the cabinet was NOT working - that the apple came back 'missing a moderate chunk' because Draco HADN'T fixed it properly, and that the bird came back dead for the same reason. WHAT? I mean-- WHAT? REALLY?

OK, I am annoyed about this for lots of reasons. One, because it's WRONG. Two, because it's WRONG-- no, two, because there's clearly a BITE taken out of the apple. Three, because the interpretation that the Vanishing Cabinet isn't working when these things happen ruins all the implications of these scenes that I really like.

A bite from an apple has all sorts of symbolism: the poisoned apple that kills Snow White, the innocence lost in the Garden of Eden. There's chilling music when we see the bitten apple, not because "oh dear, Draco hasn't fixed it yet", but "oh shit, some Death Eater bit the lovely perfect apple with his big old teeth and ruined it", and both we and Draco know the implications for the school when Death Eaters come into Hogwarts via the cabinet.

The same with the bird. When it comes back dead, Draco looks stricken - and lots of sources are saying this is "because he knows he hasn't fixed it properly". NOOOO! It's because he knows he HAS. We have the symbolism again of the white bird (peace, love) being destroyed by the Death Eaters who are waiting at Borgin and Burkes.

This feels important to me, for the development of film!Draco's character. He isn't celebrating that he's repaired the cabinets - he's appalled, fearful, sickened and anxious at the knowledge of what it means that he has. The apple and the bird symbolise, to me, the innocence of the lives that will be lost at Hogwarts, but also Draco's lost innocence. I think Tom Felton did a bang up job of portraying this, and it makes me annoyed to read these scenes so misinterpreted.

I know it's all a bit cheesy, but I really like these scenes :( If you want to review them yourself, they are here:

Apple scene: from about 25 secs here

Bird scene: from about 3 mins 15 on the same video (which is a random collection of Draco scenes from the first 6 films).

What do you think? Am I completely wrong? Is Harry Potter wiki completely wrong? Am I mad for caring? Shall I go and do deep breathing? Will I have to sob in annoyance now every time I watch the Half-Blood Prince?

Comments

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

Personally, it was my belief that Draco was terrified he'd botch things. First trial with the apple was successful. The bird. Not so much. Too much pressure coming from both ends, and my does that sound pornographic. On the one, he's successful and Fenrir and co have a way into Hogwarts. Two, he can't perfect the spell, people die, and he really has someone to answer to.

Also, MALFLY. Just saying.

[birdsofshore]

LOL Malfly. Oh lord, I'm not going to be able to unsee that, now :DD

Your argument does work. It builds the tension if he's buggered in all directions (to continue your delightful metaphor). I still prefer him being a sensitive soul scared at the consequences of what he has done, but either explanation makes a dramatic scene and we hopefully empathise with Draco at these moments.

[who_la_hoop]

I just thought it was third time lucky - apple fails, white bird fails, but the final attempt, the black bird, is successful. He's scared because it's not working, and if he doesn't succeed then he's fucked.

[meglw0228.livejournal.com]

I'm not watching the video because I don't want to get sucked into that, but just wanted to really ask something quick...

Doesn't he first say the spell once... and nothing at all happens, or the apple is gone, but hasn't come back? That's when I knew the spell failed(if I'm right) and the vanishing cabinet still didn't work. Then he says the spell again and the apple appears to have a bite(there are teeth marks! clearly a bite!) so we know it's working... and then of course the dead bird. But am I wrong about seeing the spell performed once before hand or something? Or did the people who posted that stuff in your post not see the spell failing the first time? That was an obvious fail/vanishing cabinet not being mended and the apple and bird were as you say!

Sorry for the over-rambling question! That sorta inaccurate information pisses me off a bit! And then I get confused!

[birdsofshore]

I don't think you got it wrong, capitu, there seems to be 3 schools of thought and they all have some persuasive arguments. I love discussing this kind of thing and hearing everyone's views.

I even asked Mr Birds, but he very wisely agreed with me :DD

[birdsofshore]

Yes... could be... but why choose an apple and a white bird, if not to show what the nasty Death Eaters could do?

[birdsofshore]

I didn't think the spell failed... I think the first incantation takes it to Borgin and Burkes... he opens the cabinet to check, and the apple has gone... then the second repetition brings it back to Hogwarts.

I thought there were teethmarks too, but others are not seeing them. Maybe the power of our imaginations because we want to believe someone bit it, LOL!

[who_la_hoop]

Isn't it just symbolism of loss of innocence and how being involved with the death eaters taints things? I don't think it needs to literally be the death eaters doing nasty things at the other end of the vanishing cabinets.

And if the apple and first bird show the cabinet working, why does the third bird have to be sent through? I just presumed the third bird was meant to indicate to the audience in a subtle way that the cabinet was now fixed, so doom.

[josephinestone.livejournal.com]

That is how I always saw it. Someone broke the neck of the bird...but during the kiss scene (that is just movie not book as well) there is a live bird in the cabinet. I thought why'd they kill the first bird, but not the second. So though I can't see the apple as anything but some guy took a bite out of it, I can see how the first bird was it not working and the second bird was it working. OR that second bird was sent from the shop, a new bird that Draco never put in their but the guy from the shop did. And Draco never got to release that bird, since Harry did. Does that mean that Draco wasn't even sure if the cabinet worked when he let the DE in? I don't know.

But I saw it the same way you saw when I watched it. It never occurred to me that anyone would see that in a different way. I thought it was obvious.

[birdsofshore]

Yes, the third bird does muddle it all up, I agree with you there. I wondered if there was maybe a scene that was cut? Because 'subtle' isn't really a distinguishing feature of the HP films, is it? :D

[who_la_hoop]

Hah, I know. I can't help but feel that if there's some deep, meaningful symbolism anywhere in the films, it got in there by mistake :DDD

So if you have a pet way of interpreting it, I see no reason why you can't continue thinking that way - your way of looking at it is just as plausible as mine, tbh.

[birdsofshore]

oh YES YES that's right, the second bird puzzled me too but I remember now I had decided it must be a bird sent from the shop, that Draco had not yet found. The fact of the bird being black backs that up.

You put it all very clearly considering it's such a muddly thing C:

[birdsofshore]

stephaniejo84 reminded me upthread of what I decided about the second bird while I was watching the film, because it was a bit of a muddly moment to me as well:

"that second bird was sent from the shop, a new bird that Draco never put in their but the guy from the shop did. And Draco never got to release that bird, since Harry did."

YES. THIS. Because black bird = Death Eater bird from Borgin and Burkes, OBVIOUSLY :DD

[birdsofshore]

and your way of looking at it is just as plausible as mine, tbh.

Ah, but you don't like the films much, whereas I mostly adore them, so my way of looking at it is MORE plausible than yours. You'd enjoy them ever so much more if you just agreed with me about everything ;-)

[who_la_hoop]

DEATH EATER BIRD.

*eyes your icon*

*cowers*

[who_la_hoop]

OK!

*dazzles you with Nic*

[unbroken-halo.livejournal.com]

The wiki, like Pottermore, rather pisses me off but for now, since it's the only one of the few sources we have, we have to make do. But I can also say this; as fabu as JKR's world is, she ain't exactly on the ball either. When the damned creator can't even keep shit straight in their own world, then it isn't going to be easy for anyone else either. We're all human, you know?

So, yeah, moving on.

I can honestly say I took the moments to mean Draco's failure. Here's why. In the book, we are shown everything through Harry's eyes. He wants Draco to fail. Doesn't matter what it is. Books don't translate easy, to movies and there's an wider, easy method of getting everyone;s POV across without confusion. So I figured this was Hollywood translation of Draco's talking with Moaning Myrtle. If I recall correctly, he's talking about his failures and he's crying is how it happened in book canon.

Movie translation canon: The missing chunk of the apple to me reminded me of the kid Fred and George shoved in the cabinet: don't remember his name but he was a Slytherin. Anyway, he was lost for some time before he reappeared later in the year. His memory had been altered, if I remember correctly.

The dead bird, honestly no clue cause it creeped me out, but again, I thought, shit failed again because of the look on his face. It never occurred to think about his transitioning character, just his desperation that he wasn't doing any better than his father and that he'd alienated Snape.

Me canon: Draco's distress was extreme and with each failure, those of trying to kill Dumbledore included, were just compounding his issues.

It wasn't until I rewatched the clips you posted and my daughter says, 'who bit the apple?' and 'how did the bird die?' that I had to consider it as you had laid it out.

Maybe it is just a personal interpretation of the scenes, characters and not so much about who is wrong or right, because either way they are taken, they both get the point across that this child is in trouble.

[birdsofshore]

Your comment fic kept me snickering ALL DAY. ALL RUDDY DAY. You're incorrigible.

[birdsofshore]

My bird is brown. I'm poised between good and evil.

The second bird, though (I want to bicker gently about this all night) - if Draco put it in there, why did he walk off before it came back? He wasn't very likely to just forget or not be fussed about seeing whether it worked or not, was he?

I think someone from Borgin and Burkes put it in, and Draco hadn't yet had a chance to sneak up and check the cabinet that day.

[birdsofshore]

god, I came back to my own thread there and thought 'oh, cheryl's posted'

HEAD DESK.

[josephinestone.livejournal.com]

This always irritated me. I was not a fan of the series when it first came out. My two best friends were, but I put it down right after Draco was introduced. He was the first character I liked right at his introduction. I felt bad for him immanently as he tried to become friends with Harry despite Harry's horrible appearance—when NO ONE had ever been interested in Harry, not even Hagird who was sent to get him and was nice because he knew his parents—and Harry just kept annoying me.

There were a lot of things I did love about it from the start, but I knew that my favorite character would be bashed through the whole book and that a character I did't like would be rewarded. :/ So I didn't continue it.

I gave it another chance later on and loved book three. It is still one of my favourites. But her saying I had some weird sexual attraction to an 11 year old (pre the movies ever even coming out) character at sixteen just annoys me. Even when the movies did come out—sorry I was not attracted to him as a child. It had nothing to do with how I saw the story.

[who_la_hoop]

Well, as I said, I think it was meant to be a subtle 'look! it's working!' to the viewer. But on the other hand, I haven't seen this film for, what, four years? :D

I think Draco put it in, but no one sent it back for some time so he had to leave it and go back to class. He couldn't spend his whole time checking the cabinet, could he?

[who_la_hoop]

I do feel a bit like I've reached a pinnacle of fic-writing glory, and now everything else I write will be a disappointment, arf.

[0idontknow0]

I didn't see teeth marks on the apple, it looks more like someone carved it out so I took it as an equivalent of splinching.

And then the bird, I interpret it as having died and Draco despairing because if he doesn't get that ish fixed he and his family will die. If someone sends the bird back dead then they're assuming that Draco will interpret it as them doing it and not as the bird dying on it's own. It's a very convoluted way to say "Yes, this cabinet works."

[who_la_hoop]

*sniggers*

Oh look! Omi's posted!