Growing up in a house with five younger siblings, four of which are boys, means that my taste in films was never really my taste in films. I grew up on a diet of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean and more Star Wars. It was only in my early teens that I learnt about the internet, and discovered a plethora of illegal streams which I took full advantage of in order to broaden my cinematic horizons. Sure, I love a good brat-pack movie (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, St Elmo’s Fire), and I’m a sucker for indie rom coms (The Art of Getting By, Stuck In Love). I adore Richard Ayoade’s Submarine, but equally I enjoy a good cult film too (Fight Club, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs). However, the films I’ve chosen for this list are films that I probably wouldn’t reel off as my favourites. A lot of them aren’t ‘cool’ per se, I’ve just chosen them because I associate them with a particularly moment in my childhood, or I think they’ve particularly shaped my personal values. So, here you have it… My life in films.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
As a toddler and only child (for the time being at least), I may have been able to indulge myself, watching nothing but Barney on repeat. However, my peace was shortly interrupted and along came five siblings who all wanted to hog the TV remote. From then on, my taste in films was influenced by whatever everyone else was watching. One series which was always my choice to watch, though, was my beloved Harry Potter films. I love them all for different reasons, but for this feature I’m selecting Philosopher’s Stone because it was the start of the journey. The Harry Potter series was what got me into reading, and my love of it led to a fancy dress party when I was eight – my Mum dressed up as Professor Trelawney, my Dad as Hagrid (I, of course, was Hermione) and all my friends came to my house bedecked in Hogwarts robes to celebrate in what has come to become one of my fondest childhood memories. I will always hold Harry, Ron and Hermione in my heart, and I will always thank JK Rowling for her world which had such a huge role on the person I am today. Whilst I’m still waiting for my Hogwarts letter, I suppose in the mean time I’ll settle for a place at the university where Harry Potter was filmed.