Harry Potter - More Than a Character

Harry Potter - More Than A Character

Harry Potter.

The name of the character created by J.K. Rowling has sparked a worldwide phenomenon. Books, a highly successful film series, electronic media, toys...the list of associations is endless.

But what exactly is it that has made the Harry Potter series so popular with children, teenagers, and even adults the world over? The six novels released to date (in chronological order) - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - have been published in 200 countries and translated into 47 languages (including Braille). Warner Bros. Studios has the filming rights to all seven novels in the series, the remaining three of which are yet to be released.

Statistics aside, my personal reason for studying the Harry Potter novels is simple. I am deeply passionate about Harry Potter.

The novels deal with issues that young people face in their everyday lives - school, family, growing up, et cetera. But at the same time, however, one theme that J.K. Rowling deals with, in great detail, is death, something that many people will not face until they reach adulthood.

The list of reasons why the Harry Potter series is so popular is almost as endless as the list of associations. Ask any Harry Potter fan just why they enjoy reading the novels and watching the films, and different reasons will be given. My personal reason is that the seamless fusion of reality and fantasy is strangely intriguing.

This essay will investigate the effect of the novels and films on popular culture.

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The Effect of Harry Potter on Popular Culture

What is Popular Culture?

Popular culture can be defined by four characteristics:

The Harry Potter Phenomenon

Harry Potter is more than a character, a film, or even a series of books. It is a worldwide popular culture experience. Millions of people worldwide have bought into the experience, whether by purchasing the novels, or by viewing the films.

But how is the Harry Potter phenomenon a popular culture? It is a popular culture in that it demonstrates the four defining characteristics.

Being associated with commercial products

Harry Potter is associated with four aspects of the commercial market - literature, films, electronic media, and toys. Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Raincoast Books have the responsibility of publishing each Harry Potter novel and distributing them to bookstores and department stores worldwide. EA Games has the responsibility of creating video games of each novel for the various gaming platforms - namely PC, Sony PlayStation, PlayStation2, Nintendo Gameboy, Nintendo Gameboy Advance, Xbox, and PSP. Mattel and Lego have created toys and released them to the public. Warner Bros. Studios has the filming rights to all seven Harry Potter novels, due to their affirmation that they would remain true to the novels, right down to the smallest detail.

Developing from a local, to a national, to a global level

J.K. Rowling began to write stories about her character, Harry Potter, while teaching English in Portugal during the early 1990s. Upon her return to Britain, she settled in Edinburgh, Scotland, gained employment as a French teacher, and set herself a goal - to finish her novel and have it published. She eventually achieved this goal, with Bloomsbury buying the manuscript of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1996; it was bought by Scholastic a few months later.

Allowing consumers to have widespread access to it

Each of the six Harry Potter novels has been translated into 47 languages, and published in 200 countries worldwide. And, in order to cater for both children and adults, each book has been produced with two different covers - one aimed at children, and the other aimed at adults. The books may have widespread appeal, but the concern that adults may have been too embarrassed to be seen reading the books in public prompted Bloomsbury to produce books with different covers for the adult market. The novels have also been released as audio books. In addition, the films and novels have not only been released in English, but also in languages such as French, German, Hebrew and Spanish, allowing for a much wider audience than there would be if they were published only in English.

Constantly changing and evolving

The series is constantly changing. Different issues are broached in each novel, such as romance, death, jealousy, and racism. As the series has progressed, each novel has become darker in nature, which in recent years prompted the question of whether parents would continue to allow their children to read the novels. Indeed, the most recent film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is the first film in the series to be rated M in Australia by the Office for Film and Literature Classification (OLFC), with the warning that children under the age of fifteen should be accompanied by a parent or an adult guardian. As a contrast, the first three films were all rated PG.

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The Consumption of Harry Potter as a Popular Culture

The Consumers

The consumers of the Harry Potter series are of all ages, and come from all walks of life. And as with the majority of popular culture, there are extremes in the level that it is consumed. At the lower end of the scale are those who only have one or two of the novels, and who have seen the films once, perhaps twice at the most. Those who have all of the novels, the films on video or DVD, the video games, and all other assorted paraphernalia represent the higher end of the scale. And, of course, there are those who are right in the middle of the scale - they have the books and the films on video or DVD, but they have not gone completely overboard in their consumption of the experience.

Harry Potter fans come from all over the world. They are of different races, they speak different languages, and they have been raised in vastly different ways, but one thing in particular brings them together despite these barriers - their consumption of and contact with Harry Potter.

The Processes Involved

On the surface, the process and nature of the consumption of Harry Potter is largely involved with the sale of the novels to the public. But Harry Potter is much more than just a character from a novel - as previously stated, it is an experience. From the six novels released to date have sprouted computer games, toys, clothing, a phenomenally successful feature film series and various other products. It is this aggressive marketing of Harry Potter to the general public that has ensured that everyone knows just what all the hype is about.

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Different Perceptions of Popular Culture

J.K. Rowling's creation of a world beyond our own has caused a stir worldwide. There are different sides to this. On one hand, there are the fans of Harry Potter, who believe that J.K. Rowling has done nothing more than pushed children and teens, many of whom have been previously glued to their computers and televisions, to read for their own enjoyment. On the other are the church groups, the religious leaders, and even some parents who view the Harry Potter novels as a threat to young children and an instrument for the occult.

Hypodermic model

In the arena of popular culture, the hypodermic model demonstrates how consumers are absorbed by a product. Advocacy in this position is highly passive, and is an extreme of popular culture.

How the hypodermic model relates to Harry Potter is that there are those in society who are so completely absorbed in the hype that they have spent their hard-earned money - or even that of their parents - in an effort to own anything and everything associated with the series. It may even be seen to be bordering on obsession.

Resistance model

In this model of popular culture, the individual is able to control the focus of the popular culture in their life. It promotes the ability of someone to 'change the channel', or to switch off entirely. Advocacy in this position is highly active, as the consumer is consciously making decisions. And, like the hypodermic model, it is an extreme of popular culture.

In relation to Harry Potter, in society there are also those who have said a resounding 'no' when it comes to anything associated with the series. They are the people most likely to change the channel when the films are broadcast on free-to-air and satellite television.

Hybrid model

The hybrid model is the middle ground in the acceptance and rejection of popular culture. Positionally, the hybrid model is the one that is used the most in reality, whereas ideologically the hypodermic or resistance models may be used more frequently.

Relating this to Harry Potter, the majority of society could be placed in this category. They have bought into the Harry Potter experience as a whole, but they are neither obsessed with nor completely resistant to it.

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The Mythology in Harry Potter

There are two forms of mythology associated with the Harry Potter series - popular culture mythology, and ancient mythology. The novels also include aspects of legend.

Popular culture mythology

The story of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is well known to fans worldwide. Rowling wrote the draft of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first novel in the series, in longhand in an Edinburgh coffee shop, due to her liking of other people making coffee for her, and not because - as was popularly believed in the past - she lived in an unheated apartment. The royalties that Rowling has received from sales of the novels has enabled her to write full-time, which she has often said is her life's ambition.

Ancient mythology and legend

Each of the Harry Potter novels is steeped in mythology, legend and folklore. The novels could be seen as a history lesson of sorts, as well as a way to travel back in time.

Mythology

Many of the names of characters and creatures are derived from Roman and Greek mythology. For example, the basilisk, described in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was a massive serpent with one main form of attack - its gaze was instantly fatal. The only way to survive an attack was to look at the basilisk indirectly, e.g. using a mirror, a puddle or pool of water, or through the lens of a camera. It could only be controlled by a Parselmouth, and is derived from Greek mythology. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone we are introduced to Fluffy, a giant three-headed dog owned by Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. Again, this is a derivation of Greek mythology - the guardian of the Greek underworld is Cerberus, again a three-headed dog. The names of Argus Filch, Sibyll Trelawney and Rubeus Hagrid also derive from Greek mythology. Argus the All-Seeing, a man with one hundred eyes, gained a reputation as an excellent watchman. A sibyl was a priestess with the ability to see the future. Hagrid Rubes was the 'Giant of the Jewels'. From Roman mythology come the character names of Minerva McGonagall and Remus Lupin. Minerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, and Remus was the twin of Romulus, brothers abandoned as children and raised by wolves. Remus was killed by Romulus during an argument.

Nicolas Flamel

Nicolas Flamel was a Frenchman who lived during the 1300s. In 1357, according to Flamel, he was visited by an angel who instructed him to look at a particular book. This book was written in Hebrew, and when translated into French described a way of transforming base metals into gold. The text stated that a Philosopher's Stone was required, though it did not state was such a Stone was. The Stone was also needed for the creation of the Elixir of Life, which entitled the drinker to immortality for as long as they continued to drink it. Flamel is mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for this very reason.

Arthurian Legend

The Harry Potter novels are interwoven with the legend of King Arthur. Following is a comparison of Harry Potter to Arthurian legend.

Merlin and Professor Dumbledore

Merlin is best known as King Arthur's mentor, who hid Arthur as a child from those who, for whatever reason, might have wished to harm the future king. At the commencement of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry is concealed by Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, from the followers of Lord Voldemort after his parents' deaths. Merlin brought Arthur's parents together through the use of magic, in the same way that Harry's parents were united. It is highly probable that the union of Lily Evans and James Potter may never have happened otherwise, due to Lily being Muggle-born.

King Arthur and Harry Potter

Like King Arthur, Harry was 'kept in the dark', so to speak. Harry had no idea of his magical abilities until he was given a letter by Rubeus Hagrid that informed him of his enrolment at Hogwarts. Arthur did not know he was destined to be king until he pulled Excalibur from the stone.

A second part of this comparison can be found in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, when Harry pulls the sword of Godric Gryffindor out of the school Sorting Hat. He is later informed that only a true Gryffindor would have been able to remove the sword from the Sorting Hat, which could be held to mean that Harry is a direct descendant of Godric Gryffindor. King Arthur was the only person able to pull Excalibur from the stone, indicating him as the true king.

Animagi

Animagi are described as witches and wizards able to transform themselves into an animal at will. They are part of both the Harry Potter novels and Arthurian legend, playing a major role in T.H. White's story The Sword in the Stone. Merlin defeated a second sorcerer, Madame Mim, in a duel that required each sorcerer to transform into an animal in order to defeat the other. Merlin defeated Madame Mim by transforming himself into a microscopic germ.

Animagi play a major role in Harry Potter. Three of the characters - James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black - became Animagi for the simple purpose of keeping their friend Remus Lupin, a werewolf, company and under control during Lupin's transformations at the full moon.

The Mirror of Erised and King Ryence's Mirror

An Elizabethan poem entitled The Faerie Queen described a magical mirror created by Merlin for King Ryence:

The great magician Merlin had devised,

By his deep science and hell-dreaded might,

A looking-glass, right wondrously built.

The mirror showed in perfect sight,

Whatever thing was in this world,

That the looker hoped to find...

The Mirror of Erised was similar to this mirror. The inscription at the top of this mirror is written in reverse, and states, 'I show not your face but your heart's desire'. The mirror plays a major role in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Harry's heart's desire was to see his parents. Near the end of the novel, Harry sees himself with the Philosopher's Stone and is able to remove it from the mirror. Professor Dumbledore later tells him that only a person who wanted to find the Stone, but not use it, would be able to obtain it.

The Goblet of Fire and the Holy Grail

The fourth instalment in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, sees the introduction of the Goblet of Fire, described as being 'a large roughly hewn wooden cup'. Rowling goes on to describe it as being entirely unremarkable 'had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames'. The Goblet of Fire was used to launch the Triwizard Tournament. The Holy Grail of Arthurian legend was used in a similar way, in that it was used to launch tournaments, and in some cases battles.

Voldemortist and Lord Voldemort

Approximately thirteen years before the birth of Arthur, Merlin defeated a dark wizard named Voldemortist. This dark wizard gathered many followers, using trickery on some in order to force them to join his ranks. Merlin used a full body bind curse on Voldemortist to defeat him, and later fed him to a three-headed dog. Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series can be compared to Voldemortist in that he also gained followers, known as Death Eaters (who were originally known as the Knights of Walpurgis), using the Imperius curse to force some to join his ranks. Thirteen years is also the approximate length of time between Harry's first defeat of Lord Voldemort, and Voldemort's rebirth at the end of the Triwizard Tournament.

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How has popular culture, and indeed society, been affected by a simple tale about a boy who learns that he is a wizard? It has been affected in the way that children now are unashamed to read for their own enjoyment - J.K. Rowling has made reading enjoyable once more, transforming it into a pastime that is seen as something to be done not only during school hours. All of the novels have become best sellers in many countries, and the films are some of the highest grossing in recorded film history. The Internet Movie Database lists all four Harry Potter films in their list of the 250 all-time top-grossing films worldwide, with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ranked in third place behind Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

J.K. Rowling has woven a special kind of magic in crafting her tales, for the Harry Potter series is one of those few series of books that anyone can enjoy. It matters not the age group of the reader, nor does their race, religion or gender have any impact. When it comes to Harry Potter, all that is needed is the love of a good story, and the willingness to be transported to a world beyond our own, a world where magic can and does happen.

When I first embarked on researching my topic, my initial feeling was that my love of Harry Potter would diminish considerably. I have instead found that the opposite is true - my love of the series has only increased, to the point where I, as a writer of my own stories, now have a greater deal of respect for other writers and their work than I did previously. I also now have a greater understanding of what popular culture is as a whole.

Harry Potter as a popular culture is not a phenomenon - it goes far deeper than that. Harry Potter is a popular culture experience. Everyone, on every level, has experienced Harry Potter. And I believe that they will continue to do so for many decades to come.