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After watching the latest Harry Potter movie, I have to ask, “Does Hogwarts have a drinking problem?” said Tara Parker-Pope in _The New York Times_. Unlike in previous Harry Potter movies,

alcohol has a “starring role” in “The Half-Blood Prince.” Sixteen-year-old Hermione gets “tipsy” and flirtatious on butterbeer and Harry goes "partying with his professors”; it was

“jarring” to watch with my 10-year-old daughter. Kids copy what they see in movies. How “very silly,” said Damon Root in _Reason_. With all the real problems kids face today, is it really

worth “fretting” about what young wizards and their equally fictitious professors do to unwind? “Let’s just hope Parker-Pope’s 10-year-old doesn’t get wind of President Obama boozing it up

at the White House with Sgt. Crowley and professor Gates.” My 7-year-old is certainly staying home, said Colin McEnroe in _The_ _Hartford Courant_. Watching Harry, Hermione, Ron, and their

“alienated” teenage peers “wasted and making out,” you’re reminded that the “dewy innocence” of the earlier Harry Potter films is gone. But it’s gone, too, from the now-college-age kids who

first watched those films, so the latest Potter movie is probably “perfect for its core audience.” SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus

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Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. Actually, The Half-Blood

Prince offers one of the few models American teens have of “responsible drinking,” said the blog Voting While Intoxicated. Drinking isn’t a game for the Hogwarts set; there’s no binge

drinking or “drinking and flying brooms.” Instead, you see them socializing over “one butterbeer at the pub.” Shouldn’t we encourage that kind of behavior? A free daily email with the

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