Do you think that Harry Potter portrays what really is good and what really is evil?

In the film Chocolat Juliette Binoche's character does not attend church and opens her chocolate shop just before Lent. Is she right, wrong or neither?

Canon Andrew Todd

Canon Andrew Todd recently held two seminars based around pop culture and Christianity. Here, he writes about the issues that were raised during these talks.

Recent discussions of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' and the film 'Chocolat' at Bury St. Edmunds Cathedral followed interesting pathways.

Harry Potter led people into talking about the experience of being a teenager - relations with parent figures and exploring the expanding limits of their abilities.

A key issue raised by this particular Harry Potter book for members of the group was the question of life after death, clearly of interest to Christian and non-Christian alike.

The group of mostly adults enjoyed the book, finding the world it creates to be surprisingly close to their own. But to make the most of the book they needed the one young person present to guide them through who was who and what was what in the world of Harry Potter.

Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche in Chocolat

Chocolat drew people into thinking about a range of contemporary questions. The characters Serge and Josephine pointed to questions about how men and women relate (or don't).

While the behaviour of the Count, stuffing himself on chocolate, led to talk of eating disorders.

Popular culture raised questions for church members that they wouldn't necessarily tackle together in other church events.

Members of the group tackled religious issues too. For example, does leading character Vianne provide an alternative to traditional religion, or a way into a world without religion? Is she a priestly figure, or someone who is just trying to sort out her own problems?

The group felt that the film has its dark side, asking - do we have any straightforward hero figures anymore?

Discussions were both serious and fun. Popular culture raised questions for church members that they wouldn't necessarily tackle together in other church events. Some issues were directly religious. Others were questions we all grapple with, which grow out of the complicated lives we lead today.