The best stories are those whose worlds prove so vivid and mesmerizing, that they make us crave to be a part of them.
In 1997, J.K. Rowling introduced us to the world of “Harry Potter.” With seven books, eight movies, video games, theme parks and attractions in multiple countries and the 2012 launch of Rowling’s Pottermore website, it’s clear that people can’t get enough of the wizarding world.
Enter the club sport of collegiate Quidditch and the upcoming documentary “Mudbloods.” In the film, director Farzad Sangari takes his audience along for the ride as UCLA’s Quidditch team trains, travels and competes for the Fifth Annual Quidditch World Cup in New York City.
Let’s get some things out of the way. The broomsticks don’t fly, the bludgers and quaffle are the same red rubber you were pelted with in middle school gym and the golden snitch is a dude running around in all yellow. Other than that, the game remains true to the books: same rules and, if the documentary’s trailer is any indication, same intense level of dedication and play from the club’s participants.
It is clear from the trailer that for members of the UCLA Quidditch team, the game is more than an athletic competition. Admit it, you’ve secretly been wondering if the owl took a wrong turn and misdelivered your Hogwarts acceptance letter. You’d swap your chemistry, biology or English composition classes for apparition, transfiguration or divination any day of the week.
Being a muggle can get tedious at times, and it’s for that reason that some on our campus have taken to brooms to live out dreams instilled in them some 17 years ago by J.K. Rowling. These players might be muggle-born, but they’ve chosen to embrace a bit of the wizarding world. In that sense, they are mudbloods and this is their story.