The Hidden Generational Messages of Harry Potter

The world of Harry Potter is fictional but readers would be justified in arguing that J K Rowling39s work has a strong socialist edge and religious overtonesIn the book series the author uses characters such as Harry39s guardian family to depict a middleclass modern world Harry39s family is weak and meanspirited wealthy characters are greedy and villainous In the movie series visuals like neighborhoods with hundreds of identical houses reinforce the idea of mindless conformityThe implication is that this invented world reflects the values of today39s real worldBy contrast however Harry39s life at Hogwarts a boarding school for young wizards is a world based on competitive assessment capitalist values and advancement through merit and hard work Two beloved Hogwarts charactersamp8211amp8211Fred and George Weaselyamp8211amp8211open a successful business together in the sixth book Central characters like Dumbledore and Potter are wealthy but they live modestlyAmong the most popular book series ever published JK Rowling39s Harry Potter has fans in every age bracket Internet Pioneers grew up with quotPottermaniaquot and are now in college with those who first read The Philosopher39s Stone at age 11 now graduating and joining the workforce In short most Internet Pioneers are intimately familiar with the Harry Potter books and movies and many have had their psyches and values at least partially influenced by this seriesTo date no major research has been conducted to find out how powerful the effect of these themes has been on the development of the quotHarry Potter Generationquot Much like the influence of rock music Dungeons and Dragons or ubiquitous television what research has been conducted is largely inconclusiveamp8211amp8211it39s simply too difficult to eliminate all independent variables from such an event However the 60s generation engaged in social activism while reading works such as Siddhartha Steppenwolf On the Road and Lord of the Rings This may suggest that certain popular books read during formative years have a strong influence on decisions made by the readers as young adults So it is with the children who grew up reading Harry Potter They are beginning to show tendencies that align with the values of the novelsamp8211amp8211but it remains to be seen whether they have those values because of the series or if the series owes its popularity to the prevalence of those valuesProgressive Politics ampamp Sexual AttitudesIn a 2005 Time Magazine article Lev Grossman pointed out that the Hogwarts school is a progressive bastion secular multicultural multiracial and genderintegrated Some students and staff mourn this state of affairs but they are the villains of the seriesamp8211amp8211or at least the unfortunate products of a bigoted or otherwise backward upbringingIn a 2005 article Benjamin Barton of the University of Tennessee points out another potential influenceamp8211amp8211the author39s portrayal of the wizardry governmental authority the Ministry of Magic as a rigid ineffectual bureaucracy incapable of protecting its subjects from any meaningful threatOne example of the series39 progressive stance appears in Goblet of Fire book 4 with the introduction of an enslaved race of quothouse elvesquot Heroine Hermione Granger tries to improve the elves39 lives through grassroots activism This activity demonstrates her moral superiority and fairness of mind rather than portraying her as an adolescent with a kneejerk reaction to harsh realities Among others John Rose of metrosantacruzcom has drawn historical parallels between Hermione39s mission and that of the American Communist PartyPerhaps the most famous and controversial progressive stance in the Harry Potter universe never appeared in the books Rather in a postrelease conference for the final installment Rowling announced that the character of Harry Potter39s caring mentor Albus Dumbledore was gay Casting a major heroic character as homosexual might be another subtle influence in Internet Pioneers39 generally accepting attitudes toward homosexualityFrom the first book in the series Harry Potter and his friends consistently break rules and attempt to solve adult problems out of a mistrust of adult capability intelligence and motivation Though this behavior may be common in children39s literature the Harry Potter series especially in later installments takes youthful rebellion to an arguably anarchistic extremeReligious CriticismThough some Christian organizations have attacked the author for her handling of controversial issues such as a positive portrayal of witchcraft and homosexuality other reviewers draw a strong parallel between Harry39s story and that of Jesus Christ In the final volume Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the link is particularly strong Harry dies spends a brief time in the afterlife and then returns to earth after conquering death itself In a 2007 interview Rowling said that the Christian allegories had always been part of her plan for the seriesHowever fans and critics note that Rowling also drew inspiration from nonChristian tradition The resulting blend is a weave of different influences that strengthens the inclusive nature of the series Some see the Harry Potter series and its overt portrayal of magic and celebration of pagan mythology as a threat to Christian values This is much like the protests against the Dungeons and Dragons game and Lord of the Rings in earlier decadesSome church leaders from mainstream religions Catholic Islam American Protestant have asked church members to avoid reading the books These leaders claim that the books actively encourage children to experiment with the occult In the United States several schools have banned or challenged the value of the book In addition an inside White House source claims that Rowling has never been recognized for enthusing millions of young readers specifically because of the concerns mentioned aboveNo legitimate source believes the hysterical fringe reports of sinister subliminal or intentionally hidden messages within the Harry Potter novels and movies Howeveramp8211amp8211like much fictionamp8211amp8211the books communicate an underlying philosophy that has influenced many young readers who came simply for the story Whether or not that philosophy could be called quotsinisterquot depends on how it is interpretedNevertheless such attitudes toward the iconic influences of Internet Pioneers lead them to distance themselves from traditional institutions Instead Pioneers depend more on their own opinions and role models As Internet Pioneers form their own religious and political standards the influences of Harry Potter Nickelodeon Pretty Little Liars and Family Guy will be stronger than the establishment standards of religion politics or schools See Chapter 11 for more on this topicRacism War and CorruptionRowling has publicly stated on multiple book tours that she wanted to incorporate many horrors of the real world into the world of Harry Potter Rowling formerly worked for Amnesty International resulting in her awareness of such horrors Thus the characters andamp8211amp8211vicariouslyamp8211amp8211the readers are exposed to these darker parts of human natureFrom the start of the series racism class discrimination and abuse of power provide a backdrop to Harry39s adventures The death and suffering of war take center stage by volume four of the series As the power of character Lord Voldemort and his quotDeath Eatersquot escalates their policies become eerily similar to those of Nazi Germany and other cultures that engaged in ethnic cleansing The young heroes of the series react with horror and grief as they try to prevent or minimize the effects of such evil Their confrontations serve as a vehicle for an exploration of morality and rules in an unjust societyquotHarry Potterquot and the quotOccupyquot MovementquotFor the greater goodquot is a quote right out of Dumbledore39s journals about his exploration of dark wizardryamp8211amp8211and a quote from the journals of many real life utilitarians As a powerful and politically influential wizard Dumbledore39s crimes include involuntary manslaughter assault high treason endangering minors smuggling and blackmailamp8211amp8211and those are just the infractions that he admits toHarry and his friends behave in a similar vein In the first book they use aggressive magic to temporarily paralyze a friend Rulebreaking becomes lawbreaking early in the series By the sixth book Harry is using quotunforgivable cursesquotamp8211amp8211magic spells so terrible that their use can be punished with execution Still Harry and the other heroes are never punished or even asked to account for their choices Generally the responsible adults simply wave away their behaviors as understandable given the circumstancesThe contemporary quotOccupyquot and quotAnonymousquot movements are strongly in line with themes of social equality socialist political ideals a utilitarian definition of just action and a mistrust of authority and institutional structures They ignore the lines of state and nation focusing instead on human issues many members consider larger than any individual culture or group In short these movements share much of their core values with the values espoused in the Harry Potter series Heroes Hermione Ron and Harry would fit right in at an quotOccupyquot encampment Other characters like Fred and George would proudly hack large corporations to expose their dirty laundry and embrace the WikiLeaks philosophyFuture Tech ImaginedOne way in which the Harry Potter books are almost certain to impact the near future is in the directions taken by technology The Internet owes some of its existence to the imagination of science fiction writers Much of our space program is indebted to Jules Verne Arthur C Clarke Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury for the inspiration that launched its ongoing success Steven Spielberg39s films AI Artificial Intelligence and Minority Report share visions that are becoming increasingly realisticAuthor and futurist Ray Kurzweil wrote in The Singularity is Near that the types of magic seen in the Harry Potter series will be everyday sights within the next few decades He didn39t mean actual occult magic but rather the technological capabilities of a rapidly developing human race As Kurzweil points out technology that could simulate magic will be part of daily lives within a few short yearsamp8211amp8211and Internet Pioneers inspired by the Harry Potter series will be the young scientists who bring those technologies forwardMedical nanotechnology will allow healing that looks and feels like magic both in terms of its capacity and its time frame As cloning and genetic technologies advance it39s difficult to rule out any possibility The influence of Harry Potter is likely to emerge in every aspect of societyAlthough it39s hard to quantify exactly how much JK Rowling39s worldchanging series will affect the personalities politics and morality of young people today it39s almost impossible to argue that it hasn39t already As this cohort grows older and initiates change in the world the inspiration and influence of these popular novels will continue to be evidentChapter 8 A Socially Conscious Political Force

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Jack Myers

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