Muggle Studies Discussion Class – Muggle of the Fortnight 1

Muggle Studies Discussion Class – Muggle of the Fortnight

Welcome to a new year and a new start to your Muggle Studies lessons! This class will be new for this year – a discussion class, lasting for a fortnight, where you, the students, will discuss the personality, actions, troubles, life etc. of the chosen muggle.

The first Muggle of the Fortnight is Princess Diana. Discuss away and you’ll be able to get a maximum of 50 points!

Princess Di was seriously one of the most influential women of her time. From being one of the first people to be photographed touching someone infected with HIV, to all of her work with landmines, but unfortunately her philanthropic endeavours were overlooked due to her marriage problems. I always looked up to her. She was one of the few celebrities who truly used thier notoriaty for the good of the world. I could go on and on, and probably will! But I shall digress for now.

I actually had a Princess Di paper doll- complete with her wedding dress. She strived to do a lot of good, but as Agatha said, her private life often overshadowed her humanatarian efforts. I wonder, for sake of discussion, if she had died in a less tragic, mysterius way, would we still hold her memory in almost saint-like way? I have no doubt that she would have still have been admired, but I don't think that her death would have been the huge event that it was. As it happened, it's one of those things that impacts so much that you will always remember where you were and what you were doing when she died.

Yea, I agree.

I wish I could say I looked up to her when she alive but to be honest I was too young at the time to realise what an impact she was making on society.
It's only now as an adult I can fully appreciate the work she carried out.

I think that the fact she battled with her own demons in life, made her strive to give and help others. She was able to really relate to others with personal problems, with having so many of her own. She suffered from bulimia and depression throughout her life, which in my opinion was the catalyst in her charity work.
And unlike these other celebrities who basically yell to the whole world that they're amazing because of the charity work they carry out (Bono of U2 fame springs to mind here), Diana was humble about her work.

Her marriage to Charles and her issues with the Royal Family of course were what Diana was most known for. The many theories floating around about how the Royal family were involved in her death are, to be perfectly honest, unreal. The woman had marriage problems like any normal married woman - the difference was that hers were flung centre stage for the whole world to see.

Same here. I totally believe her works would be able to stand alone had her private life been totally ordinary. Then again, had her private life been ordinary, the public would have found a way to make it scandelous even if it was completely convoluted and made up. We don't like our celebrities to be normal. I believe the public has a large influence on the way celebrities are percieved. Unfortunately this has a large effect on their personal lives as well as their public affairs. If you consider the fact that she was killed in a crash that happened while racing away from photogs who were trying to get yet another picture of the world'd most photgraphed woman, one could safely blame them for her death. I would say that it was the people who buy teh magazines that are to blame. They are the ones that were paying for the pictures, keeping the photogs employed. Had there not been a legitimate scandel going on with her personal life, I don't believe she would have been pursued quite as frequently and as brutally as she was had the rumors just been rumors. To answer your question, (kinda rambled a little there) I don't think it was the events surrounding her death that led to her saint-like status, I think it was what she did with her life and the influence she had. She used it for good, not for her own gain.

I am in no way trying to diminish the good deeds she did. A lot of people who have a lot more money and resources do far, far less. I just think that her very public and traumatic death made her catalyst for admiration. I don't believe that if she had passed away quietly from cancer that she would have acheived the status that she has now. Celebrities everywhere saw her death as something that could have happened to them, Elton John changed the lyrics to Candle In the Wind for her (I own a copy of it), because the media was blamed for her death she was everywhere, being discussed and cannonized. There was more coverage of her than Mother Theresa deaths, in part b/c Diana was still so young, and she left behind the young heirs to the throne. All of this has contributed to her reputation, and I think that her deeds now far outshine the troubled relationships she had in the past.

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I don't think it was the events surrounding her death that led to her saint-like status, I think it was what she did with her life and the influence she had.

I very much agree with this.
Yes, her death obviously was front-page news. It was traumatic, tragic and sudden. As I mentioned before, there are many theories on the Royal family playing some part in her death (which to me is utter garbage) - which cumulate in her death and the events surrounding it ... well ... bigger than what they are. Many other 'celebrities' have died in car crashes. It just so happens to be that Dianas is possibly the most famous.
The work she carried out in her own life was what led to the whole saint-like status. You don't get many people, especially celebrities, quite like her. Her charity work was recognised, more-so after her death, leading to people demanding that she be honoured as a saint and whatnot. Regardless of the way she died, I believe people would always hold her as being saint-like, due to her nature and work.

What do you guys think about the example she was setting for housewives all over the world by entertaining soooo many suiters?


http://www.londonnet.co.uk/ln/guide/themes/diana_lovers.html

Apparently the driver of her car that night was drunk, or so I was told. And if so how could media, or the photographers or buyers of magazines be blamed for her death. If anyone should be blamed it should be the driver and truthfully I think no one should be blamed. Her death was accidentle. But because she was Princess Diana, it seems like someone must be blamed, when in all reality it was just an accident.

Not necessarily. Accident or not, even in everyday life, people always want to point the finger. It's extremely hard for one to lose someone so dear in such a tragic way and not look for someone to blame in it all. The same applies to Diana. The public adored her, therefore they just wanted someone/something to blame for it all. Think for a moment if she had been just a run of the mill, everyday non-celeb - her family and friends would still want to point the finger at someone to blame for her death.
The whole thing with the media being to blame was due to the fact that the car she was in was being pursued by papparazzi, desperate to get snaps of Diana and her lover.

Agatha, I had never realised she had so many lovers ! That's quite interesting. At the end of the day she was a person, she had sexual needs and the need for love. I do believe she found what she was looking for in Dodi, it just took her to get through all the others before she found him
If it had been a non-celeb no-one would think twice about having so many lovers. It just so happens that her love life was thrust into the spotlight. I think after the breakdown of her marriage to Charles the public were waiting with baited breath to see when this Princess would finally find her proper Prince Charming.

I don't think that they ever proved that the driver was drunk, he certainly appears sober in the video taken before they entered the car. There is also some evidence that the limo came in physical contact with a white car, they were able to determine that make and model of the car. But the true cause of the accident aside, there was a lot of blame that was directed toward the media which helped make her death the top news story for weeks.
As for her lovers, I don't really remember a whole lot of scandal before she died, although I remember Prince Charles and his chickie Camilla, that was a scandal all thru the marriage. A lot of rumors came out after she died simply so people could connect themselves to her fame.

Pretty good account of events that happened that night.
http://www.princess-diana.com/diana/accident.htm

They never proved that the driver had drugs and alcohol in his system. There were 7-10 photogs at the scene that didn't help, that were standing around taking pictures. I don't blame any one person or entity for the accident. It could have happened to anyone. However, there were many contributing factors that one could argue that had they not been present, the accident would have been a lot less likely to happen. Such as the photogs chasing them at high speeds to get "good" pictures to get paid so they can put food on their table. The magazines repeatedly feeding into the cycle by publishing personal phots of the princess. The public buying the trash magazines that print these photos. Everyone's hands were in the cookie jar. It may have been an accident and not "planned' by the royals like conspiracy theorists think, but it was an accident that was fueled by a lot of different events. It should have never happened like it did. There was just no reason.


P.S. This is to Running_Swift....I think our next muggle should be Britney Spears.

I don't know a lot about Princess Diana, I was only eight I believe when she died, and I honestly never thought about searching for more information on her. I wasn't going to get involved with muggle studies///although the Britney Spears idea caught my interest lol\\\because it seems to me that the only people that would be discussed are celebrities, and they don't interest me much. But something told me to jump in here and say my piece. To Whitney: Honestly, teaching people about her may not accomplish as much as you think it would. Yes, apparantly, she helped a lot of people and people idolized her, but all that that will accomplish in a classroom is information most likely never to be used again. That's why I personally don't like history; the only reason we learn history is so we can answer questions on a test. And the consensus of most American teenagers is exactly the answers you recieved. While teaching about influential people may work in other countries, it would not work in America. I think thats what this whole schpeel boils down to. American teenagers are more interested in what famous singer wore to the Grammy's compared to what Mother Teresa did throughout her lifetime or the great things Princess Diana did during hers. But here is a question for everyone: What would teaching teenagers about Princess Diana accomplish in the real world? In everyday society, what would knowing Princess Diana's mother, father, etc. etc. be used for?

Whoa Whoa whoa: Rick, Wow we do not learn about history only to take tests about it, what we learn in history class will be carried out through out all our lives! History teaches us about our future. And I do not neccessarily mean learning about her parents, but telling us what she did and how much she opened up to the world is important to some people. And to say most teenagers prefer to know what Beyonce is doing compared to Princess Diana is not true on any account. That is a steretypical thing about teenagers, that even some teenagers like yourself believe in.

Whitney, you are a teenager, as am I, and can you honestly tell me that the majority of teenagers in your school care about those things? Because honestly it would amaze me if you could. I left my school because I couldn't stand how much people seemed to not care about school things and caring more about what was on TV last night, or what's gonna happen on the OC or whatever stupid show is popular at the time. And how is history carried throughout our lives? Personally, I kind of enjoy history, well not US history, but places with more history because it interests me. But many teens today don't seem to care like they used to. That's what I was talking about. And, yes it is important to some people to learn those things, but in order for it to be taught in a class they would need to put those other things in there so they would have something to test people on. Otherwise most people see it as a waste of time to teach something and not test it.


///okay people I know my view is probably a bit unpopular, but don't flame me too hard, its just my opinion\\\

[[Lol, I love hearing all veiws of a situation it makes me think.]]

Honestly, no I cant say because I dont know. I go to a private school though, so I have alot of nerdy friends. And some of them are weird like me and like to explore topics like these on random just to find out the subjects. This topic was brought to my attention today and I knew nothing about Princess Diana at all but after a little of research from others posts and sites I realized that this woman that I knew nothing about helped with lots of things that should be recognized.

I think there is a lot to be gained from learning about Diana and her legacy in school. She impacted the world with the things she did, and some would see her as a positive role model. The work she did on landmines is still very relevant today. I think that this discussion proves that teenagers do care about more than just Britney Spear's shaved head. It's possible that future generations will be inspired by her memory. She may be dead, but Diana is far from ancient history.

Well I myself only know of Princess Diana from what I've seen and heard in the media and a few magazine articles. It was a tragic thing her death and yes she did do some amazing things while she was here on this earth. But there are alot of people who do many things she has done. Work with children with disease and the like. But they do not get the attention and credit as much as she had. Obviously most do not have the status she had but still there are those who do good in this world and go unnoticed more often than not. And all of her demons she faced and everything personal in her life,that shouldn't be anyones business but hers.But unfortunately in todays society if you are in the spotlight every detail of you life is scrutinized.

Perhaps she is given too much credit for doing the same things that other do, but I think that she made an effort to actually use her status, position and money to make a difference. She got her hands dirty when she didn't need to, she could have raised money from her castle, instead she choose to physically go to the people who were reaching for her help. I think in our society even though we idolize people just for their looks or wealth, we are still extemely critical of every move they make. Saturday Night Live used to make fun of Diana and her alleged bulimia (I think its alleged?) when I was a kid, and now that she's dead it does seem that we tend to forget the negative things that surrounded her. Even if she is given more credit, the impotant thing is that she got her message out, which is why charities court celebrities to their cause. The larger issue is why we are so obsessed with celebrities.

I think society may be so obessed with celebrities because its like dream. The wealth,attention,publicity,and idol status. Everyone I think one time or another in their lives has wanted to be a star and many still do. There is nothing wrong with this of course but sometimes boundries are crossed and things can get out of hand. The reality of it all in my opinion some people who think they can be stars really aren't made for something like that. But Princess Diana,she held her celebrity status very well and used it in a postive way. Though she had her problems and difficulties (who doesn't) she still carried on and did her best. And she should be commended and recognized for all of her good deeds in this world,we should also honor her memory but not allow ourselves to let it become an obsession.

I think that mainly why we idolize celebrities and why we try to find out all the dirt and personal things they go through is to justify mainly ourselves as people. We want to know that other people are just as stupid as us and yet still are popular and noaticed. So Princess Diana doing all the things she did, was a role model to millions of people. Seeing all the work she has done makes me want to go out and do things for people, even if I cant make as big of an impact as she can.

I really agree with you, Whitney. Most of what Princess Di did was before my lifetime, but I really admire her for being such a great role model for all of those teenagers out there (teenagers in her lifetime that is) who aspired to be celebrities. Nowadays, when we read magazines like People, etc., we mostly read about scandals or things like that. It seems that nowadays, when we think of celebrities, the words usually connect with people who have abused their celebrity status by proving themselves to be very horrible role models, like Paris Hilton, for example. But Princess Di was a celebrity who actually seemed as if she cared about the people.

I actually remember when it happened, cuz it was all over in the news... sure, I was like 5, but clever enough to understand what they said. What I heard, the driver was drunk, and the papparazzis chased after Princess Diana and Dodi. There's been a lot of discussing about her death, atleast what I've seen. Some blamed at the papparazzis, and that the media killed her. Of course it might have been quite annoying and so on to have someone always taking pictures wherever you go. But Princess Di showed nothing but the happy side, so no one really knew if she was suffering or not. This was during her marriage with Charles... and we all know - atleast afterwards - that she wasn't happy with him. It's very sad that those you think are happy, turn to be the ones suffering the most... But what else would you expect from the Royal Family? They are supposed to live the 'happily ever after' life, and show that their life is perrrrrfect!
Eventhough Princess Di had a rough time herself, she never showed it, but instead helped those who were in a lot rougher state, like charity work and such. And I saw this one document about Princess Di, and it was such a huge thing when she touched this little boy who had AIDS - with bare hands. Everyone else had these gloves and whatnot, but she didn't treat them like they would be some kind of monsters that could eat her alive. She treated them like humans, and I think that's pretty amazing. So even if Princess Di is gone, she'll never be forgotten. She did so much that we should all look up to and respect.

In my opinion Princess Diana was one of the greatest woman of her time. She did many things for her country as well as ones in countries which were and still are less fortunate. Yes she was a Princess and these kind of thigs are done by Princess, but Diana really seemed to enjoy doing them. She seemed to have a heart of gold and was willing to share her time with others.

I remember when her death occured quite some years ago. I remember being saddened by this quite a bit. She was someone I always looked up to when I was younger. She was beautiful, caring and she had a bit of spunk standing up to the royal family like she did. I still believe that there is something a bit fishy about her death, but I will not talk about this any further.

It's a shame that she had to have such a tragic end to her life because she really had so much more to give to the people who loved her and the people who needed her. I hope her sons are being told just how much of a wonderful person she was and can continue to do things to help others in her honor.

I was 19 when she died, I was working in Ocean City, MD, which is packed with tourists in the summer time and pretty much vacant the rest of the year. At the time there were a lot of Irish and English college students who would come over and work for the summer (now it's more Russian students). I was working with John, who was from England, and Owen, who was from Ireland. John's girlfriend was the one who broke the news to us, she had run from her apartment to our boardwalk store to say that Diana had been in a fatal car accident. She was crying, and John started to as well. To be honest, Owen was a bit jerky about it as he didn't care for her much. Customers coming to our store were just hearing the news, we had turned on the radio and instead of selling anything everyone just discussed Diana and what happened. It was a bit like Sept 11, no one could believe it, and most people were sad and upset. In the days that followed it was all we watched on television, all we talked about. I think another thing that Diana gave us was the belief that the Royal Family wasn't a bunch of stiffs. Diana was so vibrant, and her legacy, her two beautiful sons, will continue to effect us all in the future. Her death was a major event, a memory that I will always carry with me.

I was ... 10 when she died. I had been staying in a friends house the night before. The following morning we were watching Nick and a message came onscreen to switch to the news channel where it was announced that she had died. Even though I was young I knew who she was and what kind of an impact she had on people, even though I may not have totally understood it all. I ran across the street to my own house and told my Mum and Dad.

I guess it's like any major event, regardless of if you cared for her not, you were to an extent, affected by her death. Hence why so many people remember how/when they found out, and what they were doing at the time.

In my opinion the Royal Family are a bunch of stiffs. Well, the older generation. Things are changing dramatically, the most recent being Charles' marriage to Camilla. I'm still surprised the Queen allowed them to marry. I do believe that the Queen as well as the Queen Mother had a serious dislike for Diana.

I guess the English royal family is supposed to give a semblance of aloofness and "better"ness. Maybe they didn't really like her because she wasn't aloof. The English people loved her. Now I really want to see the movie, "The Queen".

Why do you think Charles chose Diana? Was it just her pedigree, or was the royal family hoping to breathe life into their bloodline? It wasn't a love match, since he never seemed to get over Camilla. Did she succeed in making the Royals more likeable, or did she just point out the drastic difference between us and them?

Princess Diana was the princess of Whales. Now I heard on
the radio this morning that the case of her death might close soon. They are thinking
her driver is guilty. Now I know this completely off the topic the last person
posted but who do you think caused her to die. I saw a movie about the car
accident and I personally don’t think it was her chauffeur. My guess it was
planned. That night was also a strange day because she was in Paris, instead of
Whales. So what do you think? :suspect:

Thank you to all who participated in this class. The scores (albeit, late) are as follows:

Gryffindor
harryandginnyfan 25
RhiannonMei 30
Caroru 25

Slytherin
Agatha Black 50
SmittenKitten 30
Snapes_girl 25

Ravenclaw
Rigby Dumbledore 50
Puppet_Master 50
Legendary 35
Vicky_Weasley 10

Hufflepuff
none