"He'll be famous – a legend – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future – there will be books written about Harry – every child in our world will know his name!"

This insightful foretelling is from book one of the Harry Potter series, published in 1997. It is a description of Harry Potter by one of the literary characters, Professor McGonagall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And so, as American children eagerly anticipate the Nov. 16 release of the first Harry Potter motion picture, I pose the question: Does entertainment imitate life, or does life imitate entertainment? In this case, it would seem to be the latter.

Last week, I came across flyers announcing "Harry Potter Day!" and inviting children to "attend a 'potions' class at Hogwarts." The program is scheduled to take place at a public library and is sponsored by ExxonMobile. Such activities are being planned around the nation as Nov. 16 draws nearer, and children are gearing up. No doubt we will see a repeat of the frenzy surrounding the August 2000 release of book four in the Harry Potter series: children donning robes, painting Potter-like lightning-bolt tattoos on their foreheads and playing imaginary Quidditch matches (a fictional wizard-world ball game played on flying broomsticks).

Potter fans have repeatedly told me this is all just harmless fun – it's children exercising their imaginations in a fantasy world. But at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have to ask: Why are we allowing our children to be entertained by depictions of the very real world of witchcraft? This is not "Space Invaders." This is not pure make-believe, conjecture or childhood fantasy. The spiritual content in the world of Harry Potter was modeled, quite accurately, after the real-life worldview of witchcraft and paganism. Harry Potter's world, its creator and their impact have been glorified to such a degree that we celebrate them – even defend them – in many circles.

However, some circles are beginning to understand the serious problems associated with Potter mania. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers, one of Britain's biggest teaching unions, issued a stern warning to parents that the Harry Potter film "could lead children into the sinister world of the occult." Pronounced the union, "The movie had visually realistic images of witchcraft and wizardry which could cause many children to take an unhealthy interest in the supernatural world."

Life – children – imitate entertainment. It is not a stretch, nor is it an easily dismissed, right-wing position to suggest that children want to emulate what is presented to them as "cool" and exciting. Just think back to Halloween and how children choose their costumes. They wouldn't choose to dress up as something they don't find intriguing. Likewise, if witchcraft and the world of the occult is presented to kids as "cool" and exciting, as it is in the Harry Potter books and movie, many may be inspired to participate in that world.

Society will accept almost anything, it seems, in the name of entertainment. The weekend edition of USA Today ran a front-page feature on the upcoming Harry Potter film, suggesting the Warner Bros. project is just what post-Sept. 11 Americans need.

"It plays perfectly, given the mood of the country," said Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. The box-office tracking firm president told USA Today, "People are going to go into this movie and totally forget what's going on in the world. It's an inexpensive form of group therapy. Who needs a psychiatrist? Just go see Harry Potter."

But while adults who see the film may find themselves temporarily anesthetized to the world around them, chances are that Potter-watching children – the movie's target audience – will leave with more baggage than they came with. The London Telegraph interviewed a 9-year-old girl who saw the London premiere of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" on Nov. 5. Said young Jessica Hatrick, "Some parts of the film were much scarier than anything in the books. … One of the parts ... was so scary I had to hold onto my seat. There were times when I had to hide my eyes and I could hear other people in the cinema gasping with fear."

One of the most popular descriptions of the movie is "dark." In fact, director Chris Columbus, of "Home Alone" fame, told the Telegraph that "film two will be darker, three will be darker still and four will be in two parts." Columbus has already begun working on the film's sequel. Indeed, banking on the book series' popularity, the four additional films mentioned by Columbus have already been mapped out.

It appears that using fear to entertain children has become mainstream in our society. But while such methods may turn huge profits for Hollywood and the countless beneficiaries of cross-promotion (fast-food gimmicks, toys, clothing lines, etc.), we parents must ask ourselves if we are responsibly raising the next generation by following this disturbing trend. In my documentary video, "Death by Entertainment: How the Media Manipulates the Masses," syndicated film critic Holly McClure (and author of the book by the same title) cites a study by the universities of Michigan and Wisconsin, finding that one in four students had some lingering side effects from a movie or television show they saw as a young child or teen-ager (particularly movies). More specifically, 90 percent said they were scared by a movie they saw in their childhood or adolescence, and 26 percent still experience residual anxiety.

Though movies appear to be the most popular form of entertainment for children and teens, the entertainment medium extends far beyond theaters. As explored in depth in "Death by Entertainment," television, video games, the Internet, advertising and much, much more all work to feed messages to our children. Do you know what those messages are? Are you aware of what your child is exposed to through the entertainment industry? If not, I urge you to find out. Then do something about it, because chances are, you won't like what you find. Put our "tolerant" society to the test by living what you believe – even if it means not taking your children to see Harry Potter.