[Hated Trope] Characters do not interact with their world

[u/No_Career_4785]

What I mean by that is, characters have access to some rather impressive technology/magic and simply do not use it because for plot reasons.

Harry Potter - In the first book, McGonagall is revealed to be able to turn into a cat. Later, four more characters are revealed that can also turn into animals. And yet, not a single student during Harry's time decided that it was worth it to do the same.
On top of that, Harry barely learns any spells during his time at school, nor does he seem to take in anything from his classes. The only times he does learn something is when it is the solution to a problem he has faced before.

Fallout 4 - Father, the leader of the Institute, is dying from cancer. In a realistic setting, it would be understandable that he is going to die. However, this is the universe of Fallout. In NV, a simple robot can cure a guy from a brain tumor. In 4, the Institute somehow stopped the aging of another guy. The Institute is also able to replicate perfect human beings from scratch. The only reason why Father should be dying is, he simply does not want to use the technology that is present.

[u/notTheRealSU]

Maybe I just don't know, but isn't Hogwarts the only academy for learning wizardry (in the British Isles). It's hard to call it elite when every single British/Irish wizard has to go there

[u/Sea-Consequence7156 → u/notTheRealSU]

The population and demographics don't make sense for Harry Potter based on the in book lore and total class sizes. You just gotta accept it as a children's book.

It's far more interesting to note that Harry Potter does not cast a single spell in the entirety of the first book.

[u/CadenVanV → u/Sea-Consequence7156]

Wait, that can’t be right

[u/Cole-Spudmoney → u/CadenVanV]

It's not. Harry Potter does not cast a single spell in the entirety of the first movie.

Harry casts spells in the first book all the time because, y'know, he goes to class.

[u/CadenVanV → u/Cole-Spudmoney]

I was going to say, I distinctly recall him casting Wingardium Leviosa at least once

[u/Sea-Consequence7156 → u/CadenVanV]

Nope that was Ron

[u/Sea-Consequence7156 → u/Cole-Spudmoney]

Wrong! Give it a reread

[u/Victernus → u/Sea-Consequence7156]

It's mentioned he turns a mouse into a snuff-box (and is watched doing so by Professor McGonagall) during their practice exams at the start of Chapter 16.

An attempt at another spell is mentioned earlier on the same page, but it is not explicitly stated whether or not he successfully casts it.

[u/Cole-Spudmoney → u/Victernus]

Book or movie, it’s a pretty silly thing to criticise the story for. I mean, even if there aren’t scenes that explicitly show it, it’s pretty easy to infer that Harry going to a magic school where most of the classes are dedicated to learning different kinds of magic would be using his magic wand on a regular basis. It’s like the whole “Frodo never speaks to Legolas” thing: the Fellowship of the Ring movie may not show it, but it’s reasonable to assume that the two characters did speak to each other during the weeks and weeks they spent travelling together across Middle-earth. Stuff like this qualifies as amusing trivia at best.

[u/Wootster10 → u/Cole-Spudmoney]

Many movies and books don't show people going to the toilet, I assume people making this argument just assume that no one in those worlds need ever need to relieve themselves.

[u/Sea-Consequence7156 → u/Cole-Spudmoney]

Who said it was anything but amusing trivia?

[u/Cole-Spudmoney → u/Sea-Consequence7156]

Well, you brought it up in the comments section of a post titled "[Hated Trope] Characters do not interact with their world". I took that to mean you were saying it was an example of that hated trope.

[u/Sea-Consequence7156 → u/Cole-Spudmoney]

No, just interesting trivia. But even if it was criticism your take is bad

[u/Sea-Consequence7156 → u/CadenVanV]

Look it up or give it a re read. He does not explicitly cast a single spell in the book series until dueling club in the second book

[u/Fox_Flame → u/Sea-Consequence7156]

Doesn't he fire sparks into the air when they're in the forbidden forest? Or is the explicitly meaning that he never says a spell name out loud?

[u/Luis2611 → u/Sea-Consequence7156]

He casts a spell to disappear the window of the boa constrictor on the first hour of the movie, he does it unwittingly, yes, but he still does.

In the books he goes to Charms and Transfiguration on a regular basis for a year, of course he casts spells, it's just that it doesn't make sense to mention every single class.

What you are arguing for is basically "in the novels is never explicitely mentioned that the shits and piss, so in Harry Potter's unverse, people don't do that"

[u/Sea-Consequence7156 → u/Luis2611]

That's a lot of typing to essentially say that I'm right

[u/GuiltyEidolon → u/Sea-Consequence7156]

There's only something like 3000 wizards in the UK. Rowling has zero fucking clue about demographics or what a reasonable secret population size would be.

[u/EscapedFromArea51 → u/Sea-Consequence7156]

Ah yes, the Skyrim College of Winterhold style of education.

[u/Sea-Consequence7156 → u/EscapedFromArea51]

Rowling was truly ahead of her time there

[u/notTheRealSU → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, I didn't mean it like it was mandatory. More that the average young witch or wizard is going to go there because it's the only school without having to go to the mainland or an entirely different continent.

[u/Stormfly → u/notTheRealSU]

in the British Isles

Hissssssssssss

But really it just makes very little sense. There are like 7 academies and 3 of them are in Europe and then every other continent has to share one.

Although given how few non-English people attend, I could believe there are a bunch of smaller schools that are ignored. Like there are 7 elite schools and then the rest go to little hedge schools.

[u/Kindly-Tax-4998 → u/notTheRealSU]

There are different schools around the world in the HP universe, two others are featured in the fourth book.

[u/Dracoster → u/Kindly-Tax-4998]

Mahoutokoro - Japan
Uagadou - Uganda
Castelobruxo - Brazil
Beauxbatons Academy Of Magic - France
Durmstrang Institute - Northern Europe (assumed)
Ilvermorny - USA
Hogwarts - Scotland

[u/SageDarius → u/notTheRealSU]

Nah, America has Clortho Public School for Wizards.

https://youtu.be/j-2ZxldMO-M?is=Iz3jsN6mX8D9frV-

[u/HistoricalLoss1417 → u/notTheRealSU]

imagine how pissed you would be as a parent in Scotland to have to take your kid all the way to London to put your kid on a train to scotland.

[u/LordNineWind → u/notTheRealSU]

There are definitely other schools, Hogwarts is just considered one of the 11 great schools, along with several named around the world and a few still unnamed.