Tilda Swinton Criticizes Harry Potter's Depiction of Boarding School

You never know how elements of a movie are going to affect people. People can interpret and relate to what happens on the big screen in surprising ways, often based on their own life experiences and perspectives. Such is the case today, as one famous actress has taken what some may call an odd issue with the Harry Potter franchise.

Doctor Strange star Tilda Swinton was recently doing an interview with The Scots magazine (via Yahoo! Movies), in which she openly expressed her dislike for the Harry Potter series. The reason? She disagrees entirely with the depiction of Hogwarts School of Wizardry, where Harry Potter and friends learn the mystical arts.

According to Swinton, Hogwarts' warm and friendly community was a far cry from her own boarding school experience in the UK. According to Swinton, those schools, "are a very cruel setting in which to grow up and I don't feel children benefit from that type of education... That's why I dislike films like Harry Potter, which tend to romanticise such places."

For those who have attended boarding school, there may be a certain amount of truth in Swinton's words. Of course, there are probably a few boarding school that aren't charnel houses of cruel discipline and social hierarchy - and in any event, Harry Potter was a fictional series aimed at children, and since its release there hasn't exactly been a flood of children enrolling in boarding schools hoping for that "Hogwarts experience."

Clearly Swinton has a bad association with the setting, but its debatable whether its a grudge worth holding against one of more beloved, fun and creative franchises to come along in a long time. Harry Potter has introduced millions of children to reading and imagination as continued alternative to digital distractions; that victory probably outweighs any nitpicky slights about its content.

The Harry Potter spinoff film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is now in theaters.

LINKS: Fantastic Beasts Official Review / Fantasic Beats' Harry Potter Connections / Where the Franchise Goes Next / Fantastic Beasts Timeline / Johnny Depp Rumored to Cameo / There Will be 5 Fantastic Beasts Films / Will we see the Dumbledore/Grindelwald Love Affair? / Who is Newt Scamander?

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is now in theaters.