Tilda Swinton slams Harry Potter
Tilda Swinton has slammed the ‘Harry Potter’ movies.
The 56-year-old actress was sent to the exclusive West Heath Girls’ School in Kent, South East England, when she was youngster, but thinks boarding schools are "cruel" and damaging to children, and admitted she thinks the wizarding franchise’s Hogwarts Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry "romanticizes" the educational setting and gives people an unrealistic view.
She said: "I think they are a very cruel setting in which to grow up and I don’t feel children benefit from that type of education.
"Children need their parents. That’s why I dislike films like ‘Harry Potter’, which tend to romanticize such places."
The ‘Doctor Strange’ star – who has twins Honor and Xavier, 19, with ex-partner John Byrne and is in a relationship with painter Sandro Kopp – admits she had a "privileged" upbringing but has done all she can to fight against what has been expected of her.
She told The Scots magazine: "I grew up under privileged circumstances and was expected to marry a duke.
"I spent a lot of time and energy making certain that I would not find myself living a life that had been pre-ordained for me."
Despite her comments about boarding schools, Tilda’s own children were sent to Drumduan Upper School, which she co-founded in 2013, in Scotland.
But she has previously insisted the twins were very happy there because the small school doesn’t have any formal exams and is more "art-based" and practical.
She previously said: "There’s no grading, no testing at all.
"My children are now 17, and they will go through this school without any tests at any time, so it’s incredibly art-based, practical learning. For example, they learn their science by building a Canadian canoe, or making a knife, or caramelizing onions. And they’re all happy 17 year olds. I can’t believe it – happy and inspired."
