Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS "Dancing Scene"
Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS "Dancing Scene"
#1Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS "Dancing Scene"
Posted: 11/21/10 at 2:20pm
General *Spoilers* Warning
Perhaps I'm a little thick in the head, but would someone please explain the dancing scene between Harry and Hermione?
Are the two exploring their potential non-platonic feelings for each other? Or is this just Harry's way of trying to cheer her up? Or a little of both? Or something completely different?
#2Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS 'Dancing Scene'
Posted: 11/21/10 at 2:27pmI read it as a little of both. I don't think there was every anything romantic between them. Harry was trying to cheer her up, plain and simple. If you watch their reactions afterward, in MOST movies there would be a lean in for a kiss. They didn't at all - it was completely platonic, and if anything, you could almost see both of their thoughts returning to Ron almost immediately.
#2Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS 'Dancing Scene'
Posted: 11/21/10 at 2:42pm
True, they don't actually kiss, but the idea of a kiss was hovering around them just long enough to suggest an ambiguity of feeling.
There is a distinct hint of sensuality when Harry removes the horcrux from around Hermione's neck at the start of the sequence. So much so that I thought "Is my boy Harry making a move?"
#3Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS 'Dancing Scene'
Posted: 11/21/10 at 2:46pm
It would make sense of course:
Two hormonal, emotionally raw, stressed out teenagers alone together in the middle woods. The thought HAS to cross their minds.
I'm guessing too that from the storyteller's perspective it adds some weight to the later scene when Ron confronts his fears just before destroying the horcrux.
Okay.. thanks for letting me think out loud. I have a better grasp of the scene.
#4Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS 'Dancing Scene'
Posted: 11/21/10 at 4:31pmThis was one of my favourite scenes.
#5Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS 'Dancing Scene'
Posted: 11/21/10 at 6:05pmI think a lot of it was just to try and smile and have fun (for them and for the audience), after all the **** they had to deal with. And maybe just to see if there could be something between them, in which they both decide no.
#6Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS 'Dancing Scene'
Posted: 11/21/10 at 10:25pmI think of course that they had thought about what it would be like. But Harry knew that Hermione and Ron had feelings for each other. And him for Ginny. But they are sexually frustrated teens, so the thought was there. And Harry taking the horcrux off was because Hermione was saying things that she wouldn't have said with it off. He also just wanted to lighten up the mood.
~Dirty Rotten Scoundrels~
~Curtains~
~A Tale of Two Cities ~
#7Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS 'Dancing Scene'
Posted: 11/21/10 at 11:04pmI saw it in no way as a sexual thing. To me, it was Harry's way of reminding Hermione (and himself) that they're just kids. That they're not supposed to deal with all of these matters of high importance. They're fighting adult battles because they are the only ones able to. And, as purely a friendship, it was his romantic way to say "thank you."
--Aristotle
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#8Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS 'Dancing Scene'
Posted: 11/22/10 at 10:16pm
We've left out the most important thing: they were dancing to Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Not My Chemical Romance, not Muse, not any number of focus group worthy demographic strokers. The scene to me is the non-verbal bridge between childhood and adulthood, the bridge they know find themselves on.
And these are the lyrics:
Pass me that lovely little gun
My dear, my darting one
The cleaners are coming, one by one
You don't even want to let them start
They are knocking now upon your door
They measure the room, they know the score
They're mopping up the butcher's floor
Of your broken little hearts
O children
Forgive us now for what we've done
It started out as a bit of fun
Here, take these before we run away
The keys to the gulag
O children
Lift up your voice, lift up your voice
Children
Rejoice, rejoice
Here comes Frank and poor old Jim
They're gathering round with all my friends
We're older now, the light is dim
And you are only just beginning
O children
We have the answer to all your fears
It's short, it's simple, it's crystal dear
It's round about, it's somewhere here
Lost amongst our winnings
O children
Lift up your voice, lift up your voice
Children
Rejoice, rejoice
The cleaners have done their job on you
They're hip to it, man, they're in the groove
They've hosed you down, you're good as new
They're lining up to inspect you
O children
Poor old Jim's white as a ghost
He's found the answer that was lost
We're all weeping now, weeping because
There ain't nothing we can do to protect you
O children
Lift up your voice, lift up your voice
Children
Rejoice, rejoice
Hey little train! We are all jumping on
The train that goes to the Kingdom
We're happy, Ma, we're having fun
And the train ain't even left the station
Hey, little train! Wait for me!
I once was blind but now
I see Have you left a seat for me?
Is that such a stretch of the imagination?
Hey little train! Wait for me!
I was held in chains but now I'm free
I'm hanging in there, don't you see
In this process of elimination
Hey little train! We are all jumping on
The train that goes to the Kingdom
We're happy, Ma, we're having fun
It's beyond my wildest expectation
Hey little train! We are all jumping on
The train that goes to the Kingdom
We're happy, Ma, we're having fun
And the train ain't even left the station
AwesomeDanny
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/30/09
#9Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS 'Dancing Scene'
Posted: 11/22/10 at 10:45pm
I loved that scene, but it's not really something to be explained verbally, in my opinion. I think it's supposed to give you a feeling about what's going on in their heads. I think it was intended to be hard to explain, that's why the scene was not verbal.
i heard somewhere that the director told them to play the scene as if it were to lead to a kiss, but to never lean in toward one. I hope that helps.
*edited to fix typo. Also, it shall be noted that that I got distracted in the middle of posting for a while, and I returned after Namo had posted with the lyrics of the song. However, I still stand by most of what I said. I don't think that we were meant to listen closely to the lyrics and interpret the song. If that was meant to be the purpose of the scene, I think they would have looked for another way to include the song. Watching the scene the first time, I think many posts in this thread show that the focus seemed to be more in the Harry/Hermione dance. The song seems to serve as a backgroung. Clearly, closer examination shows its significance.
Updated On: 11/22/10 at 10:45 PM
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#10Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS 'Dancing Scene'
Posted: 11/22/10 at 10:48pmPsssst! The words in the scene (the lyrics of the song) tell you exactly the intention of the scene.
#11Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS 'Dancing Scene'
Posted: 11/22/10 at 10:52pm
"...the bridge they know find themselves on."
Ack!
"I loved that seen..."
ACK!!!
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#12Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS 'Dancing Scene'
Posted: 11/22/10 at 11:03pmHa ha, I was tired. Good thing I didn't make fun of "seen," of which I thought to doing but stopped mine self.
#13Could someone explain the DEATHLY HALLOWS 'Dancing Scene'
Posted: 11/22/10 at 11:51pm
Thank you, Namo.
Taking the song into account adds an entirely new dimension to my understanding of the scene.
The train and train station references in the lyrics are particularly fitting giving the poignant "King's Cross Station" scene that is to come.
Again, thank you.
Videos