Essay

Zohra Ismaili

June 24, 2011

ENG 247-040N

Essay Paper

Harry Potter in Our Society

            When I was only 10 years old, I started reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Eleven years later, not only is the book completed with seven hefty volumes, but the novels have also inspired eight movies, a theme park at Universal Studios, numerous merchandising, and thousands of fan inspired work. The fan base for Harry Potter includes people from all around the world. There are several reasons why people are drawn to the magical world of Harry Potter. The first is that people find the story’s setting wondrous compared to reality. Another reason is that the story has multiple genres, so it is easy to appeal to many types of people. All in all, the world of Harry Potter holds great importance in the pop culture society because it has captivated people of every age and background by immersing them in a world of magic that leaves them craving for more. It has become much more than a novel, and has even become a well-known icon in the popular culture society.

In the world created by J.K. Rowling, there are elements of magic and fantasy, which all fall under the category of mythology. According to Lévi-Strauss: “Myths are stories we tell ourselves as a culture in order to banish contradictions and make the world understandable and therefore habitable; they attempt to put us at peace with ourselves and our existence” (Storey 115). In reality, we know of wizards, witches, magical beasts, spells, etc., but we also expect not to witness these things with our own eyes. The Harry Potter world justifies that these details do exist in our world, but behind the scenes of the reality we know. “He also observes that myths are structured in terms of ‘binary opposition’. Dividing the world into mutually exclusive categories produces meaning: culture/nature, man/woman, black/white, good/bad, us/them” (Storey 115). Binary opposition occurs a lot in the Harry Potter world. The magical culture is the opposite of the magical nature, wizards are the opposite of witches, good pitted against evil, magical beings are the opposite of muggles (people without magical abilities). Fans are drawn to these mythological qualities because they are a lot more exciting than the reality of our realm.

The story of Harry Potter is also unique because it contains multiple genres, such as: fantasy, coming of age, mystery, action, and romance. The number of genres appeal to a wide rage people with different tastes. Without this appeal, Harry Potter would not have such a diverse and strong fan base. “Harry Potter has educated publishers about appealing both to children and adults” (“Economist). The story’s immense popularity would not be possible if it were not for the fans. “As the books and films took off, the hunger for Harry Potter news and content quickly became so much greater than Warner Bros or the increasingly press-shy Ms Rowling were able to supply that alternative sources began to spring up. The emerging internet fuelled their growth. The most obvious of them are fan websites like MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron, which mix official announcements with rumours” (“Economist”). Some fans tend to exhibit signs of “addiction” from a psychological perspective, just in the way they obsess over anything relating to Harry Potter. In the article Addiction Research & Theory, three psychologists deduced through their studies “that a sizeable portion (though not a majority) of self-described HP fans demonstrated craving for the release of the final book in the series, and experienced some withdrawal symptoms upon finishing the book. HP fandom also produced a disruptive influence on day to day functioning of some fans in a 6 month follow-up” (Rudski, Segal, and Kallen 260-277). Harry Potter has attracted different people from all over the world and brought them together through the help of the internet and media.

Thanks to the influence of the loyal fans, the “Harry Potter craze” has impacted our society in an interesting way. I am referring to the amount of money the Harry Potter has made in sales. According to an article by Alexandra Bristow, “the seven Harry Potter books (one per year of this school saga) have so far sold over 325 million copies worldwide and been translated into 65 foreign languages,” (Bristow 313-325). Along with revenue raked in from the books, Harry Potter has also made additional profits from the movies, video games, supplementary books written by J.K. Rowling, a brand new Universal Studios theme park attraction, items based off the book, and tons of other small merchandise (Bristow 313-325). People are willing to pay good money for Harry Potter items and attractions because fans want to support the franchise.

Harry Potter has also become a household name. I have yet to meet someone who has never heard of the books or the movies just because the series is so widely advertised. In fact, certain words that were created for story have been added to dictionaries, such as the word “muggle”, which refers to “a person without magical powers” (“muggle”). The popularity for the series is only growing, and the fans are still craving for more. The last Harry Potter movie is a mere month away. But considering Harry Potter’s reputation as the Boy Who Lived, there was no way his wizard-y reign over pop culture was going to die out. Author J.K. Rowling is brewing something, it seems –something called Pottermore” (Collins). I believe that Harry Potter has become an eternal icon in pop culture society.

In conclusion, the world that Harry Potter has created has charmed people all around the world through elements of mythology, multiple genres, and also the contributions made to and by the fans. Myths are what make the realm of Harry Potter more exciting than our own. The different assortment of genres in the book is what attracts a diverse range of fans. Through the support of the fans, the Harry Potter name has made millions of dollars, and the popularity of the series is increasing with the help of the internet and the media. All of this contributes to why Harry Potter is so important in our society as an important icon in popular culture.

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