How Does Harry Potter Reflect/Appeal to a Generation?

[Deleted member 52442]

I don't think there's any argument that it does because of the outstanding success. But I'm not sure I get why. What it is about the series that is so magnetic? Is it just that damn good? The themes connect to societal struggles now/at the time of its height? What do you guys like about the series?

 

[Vashetti]

It's escapism. Kids and adults alike find the appeal in being whisked away from our dull lives to this magical universe that exists within in our own.

 

[Geoff]

I think she just hit on a winning combination. The basic thrust of a boarding school for wizards and witches against a background of a secret wizarding world was simple and brilliant and attractive to many people. Once she had that, the rest of it was hard to fuck up, assuming a decent degree of competency.

 

[Pilgrimzero]

Still love the original stuff. Id recommend no one go beyond that though.

 

[rrc1594]

I was born in 94 and to be honest most of my friends don't talk about the series much. I always found the series forgettable.

 

[Deleted member 4367]

She was good at world building.

 

[Soap]

I'm not a big Harry Potter fan, but my wife is. What I have observed is they enjoy the escapism mixed in with the over-the-top Britishness.

 

[Chivalry]

It's the ultimate power fantasy for teenagers. It's also just a damn good story.

 

[Deleted member 16657]

It's basically an isekai

 

[BDS]

It's the classic Star Wars formula of mixing coming-of-age with "there's more to the world out there than you know" and "your life is not mundane, you are secretly special" which all really appeal to teenagers.

 

[Rosebud]

People grew up with the characters, it's that simple

 

[DrForester]

Good characters, good world building, and it's fun to return to.

I'm in the middle of my yearly reread now.

 

[Deleted member 7051]

Everyone wanted to go to Hogwarts.

 

[Deleted member 4367]

People grew up with the characters, it's that simple

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I didn't grow up with the characters but i love the shit out of the series. It's not that simple.

 

[Brazil]

The world-building was pretty neat, and the characters basically grew alongside me.

I haven't really cared about it one bit since the last book came out, though. I had an intense love for the franchise, but it's completely in the past. It's pretty weird.

 

[NealMcCauley]

For my group of friends the books largely came out when we were the same ages as the characters so there was this "Hey besides the magic they're like us" hook. Until the last book said "Oh yeah this all actually happened 20 years ago" which always left a sour taste in my mouth.

 

[Rosebud]

I didn't grow up with the characters but i love the shit out of the series. It's not that simple.

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OP: "How Does Harry Potter Reflect/Appeal to a Generation?", for my gen that is the answer.

Of course anyone can like it.

 

[NullPointerException]

People grew up with the characters, it's that simple

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This is one of the factors but there's more in play I believe.

The struggles that the characters go through (especially in a school/education environment) is also relatable I suppose.

 

[Geoff]

I didn't grow up with the characters but i love the shit out of the series. It's not that simple.

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Yeah I didn't read a single book until my friends bought me the first four (the only four at the time) for my 21st birthday. Was just days before the first movie came out iirc. Was a great time in my life. I remember it fondly. And not just because of HP I hasten to add.

 

[Deleted member 2809]

"it's cool"
I don't get how people get obsessed with it too, the uiverse really isn't that interesting. I read all the books but I was a teen, I just outgrew all of it.

 

[El Bombastico]

It's a thing of the past, Rowling going full Lucas on us with Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts 2 completely soured me on the franchise.

 

[Illusion]

My teacher pointed this out in High School: but our kids will be the generation that will be annoyed by our obsession with Harry Potter. As we stuff the books and movies down their throat.

And or there will be parents trying to have their kids watch one movie a year trying to force them to grow upon it as they did.

 

[Geoff]

My teacher pointed this out in High School: but our kids will be the generation that will be annoyed by our obsession with Harry Potter. As we stuff the books and movies down their throat.

And or there will be parents trying to have their kids watch one movie a year trying to force them to grow upon it as they did.

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This is me with our kids. But I can assure you that they fucking love it.

 

[Kyuuji]

I grew up right alongside it and loved falling into that world, same with Redwall and Sabriel/Lirael/Abhorsen. Diminished slightly after Order of the Phoenix as started to grow out of it, but still bought them on release and read them.

Now Rowling is a trashbag and I don't go back to it

🤷‍♀️

 

[Deleted member 52442]

It's a thing of the past, Rowling going full Lucas on us with Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts 2 completely soured me on the franchise.

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i dont mind those things at all, thankfully the original series ended before that stuff started happening. it might have ruined the whole thing for me (like Game of Thrones did)

 

[Jesse_and_the_rippers]

It's the classic Star Wars formula of mixing coming-of-age with "there's more to the world out there than you know" and "your life is not mundane, you are secretly special" which all really appeal to teenagers.

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this. Plus it made being book smart seem cool.

 

[flatearthpandas]

Not sure. Maybe the cultural phenomenon. It definitely got people reading which is a great thing. I first saw it from someone who went on vacation in England bringing back the first two or three books and gushing about them, around when i was still importing Redwall books from England to read them "early".

The movies came out to where the characters were basically my age the whole time but that never really resonated. Just depends on taste, I guess. I kept up with them as they released after my first exposure but as they progressed into more "mature" themes i had read enough where it fell flat and was just a fantasy thing that s culturally fun to keep on top of. When spoiler trolling started with it, i was beyond caring to the point where people driving by in cars with "snape kills Dumbledore" banners while we were waiting outside borders for the midnight release didn't even bother me.

There's something there though and that's great. Just sad many people ducked into things like twilight and the hunger games after but as long as they're reading, great

 

[Thuddert]

Looking back at it, the books would have been better without Harry. The whole world revolves around him.

 

[Yasuke]

OP: "How Does Harry Potter Reflect/Appeal to a Generation?", for my gen that is the answer.

Of course anyone can like it.

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We grew up with a ton of characters that don't have a fraction of the cachet of this series.

Of course that's a factor, but it's a pretty minor one in comparison to it just being a damned good story.

I reread the books once a year as a kid, and I still go back through em all once every two or three as an adult. I might be doing that till my dying day.

 

[Deleted member 1476]

Everyone loved it, I never cared about it. During school it was a pain because everything revolved around the series.

 

[Duane]

I was about 19 when the first one came out, but I think they belong to people my age, because that's how old Harry and his friends are more or less.

 

[Yasuke]

My teacher pointed this out in High School: but our kids will be the generation that will be annoyed by our obsession with Harry Potter. As we stuff the books and movies down their throat.

And or there will be parents trying to have their kids watch one movie a year trying to force them to grow upon it as they did.

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I used to think so, but I've been pleasantly surprised with how much kids today seem to love it. It's not on the same level as us, obviously, but it still resonates with children and appears to be as relevant as you'd expect a story that ended in 2007 to be.

 

[Weegian]

Wish the message of fighting back against fascism and "racial purity" had resonated a little better with our generation

 

[Croc Man]

I think it's like GoT in the sense it's the acceptable face of fantasy for people that don't like fantasy.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

Looking back at it, the books would have been better without Harry. The whole world revolves around him.

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Wat.

 

[davepoobond]

It's witchcraft and we are all going to hell, that's why

 

[Nooblet]

The movies and books came out around the same time, so they helped popularise each other. Coupled that with the readers/watchers growing up with the characters/actors made for a really terrific combo for escapism.

Basically it was a kids series that transitioned to a YA series along with the audience, so when the original audience grew up they were still in it...but at the same time the newer and younger audience could get in as well.

 

[BringBackSonics]

I don't think there's any argument that it does because of the outstanding success. But I'm not sure I get why. What it is about the series that is so magnetic? Is it just that damn good? The themes connect to societal struggles now/at the time of its height? What do you guys like about the series?

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Adults and Kids love it. It also helps to have the Harry Potter World at Universal Studios, it helps build that magic even more (We are going in Feburary) and my son is a huge fan.

 

[Mulciber]

I started reading the books when I was 21 and kind of fell in love with them, despite being kids books. Never was a huge fan of the movies, but Azkaban is good.

 

[Geoff]

The studio tour in Watford is also well worth a visit if you're ever near London

 

[Aomame]

It was a ridiculously well-written series that challenged young readers and aged up with them. It also hit during early internet fandom days, which enabled its fanbase to grow and abide as it did. I grew up with the books and still love them wholeheartedly.

For my group of friends the books largely came out when we were the same ages as the characters so there was this "Hey besides the magic they're like us" hook. Until the last book said "Oh yeah this all actually happened 20 years ago" which always left a sour taste in my mouth.

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The series taking place in the 90s was established in Chamber of Secrets.

 

[Ravenwraith]

The premise was a strong enough by itself and most of the books function as a decent mystery on top of that.

It also does probably the best job of growing up with the readers I've seen.

 

[Geoff]

I am pretty much exactly the same age as canon Harry (four months younger), also English, also went to an independent school and also a motherfucking wizard so fuck y'all

 

[Deleted member 2809]

Wish the message of fighting back against fascism and "racial purity" had resonated a little better with our generation

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Well they forgive drago in the end so good luck with that lmao 🤷‍♀️

 

[Stranger Things]

I was only a few years younger than the main cast when The Sorcerers Stone came out. I basically looked up to Daniel Radcliff and had a secret crush on Emma Watson lol. So 7 year old me was absolutely hooked on HP and wished the world was real​

I grew up with the films and started reading the books in elementary school. I was in the 10th grade when the Deathly Hallows Part 2 came out. By then I had read every book multiple times and pretty much memorized every line from the films. To this day I have a strong sense of nostalgia when it comes to first 3 HP films.​

Visiting the Wizarding World in Orlando last year was like a childhood dream come true. I'm sure plenty of currently aged 20-30 year olds feel the same. We are the HP generation, as corny as that may sound.​

 

[iksenpets]

I think it's similar to what makes stuff like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings land with people. It's a lot of world building in a way that helps a certain obsessive fandom, and the classic unassuming protagonist swept up into great destiny trope that really builds the escapism — how many little kids of that era were fantasizing about the day they would learn they were actually a wizard and that a whole secret world was available to them? — all combined with a deep moral simplicity that avoids alienating anyone. Individual characters may have some moral depth to them (see: Snape) but the overall world is pretty clearly divided between good and evil, without much deeper questioning of it.

And then the books really do a good job of growing up with the reader, which probably adds to the degree it attached to a specific generation.

 

[Deleted member 4353]

It's a fantastic series that I love with all my heart. To me it's the greatest fictional series ever. The world is fantastic and so interesting to discover, the characters are fantastic and the books just have so many themes. The books are infinitely re-readable.

 

[sersteven]

I think its the same reason school/slice of life stuff is popular, combined with magic, just made it a great combo.

I think school and school-aged life is heavily romanticized. Kids relate to it, and adults are nostalgic for it. It's a very comfortable and safe concept. A microcosm where you can love, learn, live, etc. Things are relatively safe. Your basic needs are met. You have friends, enemies, rivals. There's stressors but they're defined and not horrifying.There are basic rules and concepts are easy to understand (curfews, basic morals, etc) and this also gels well with rebellious attitude (breaking rules, doing the right thing).

Think where HP set it apart from something like say, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, is that it takes place in a mystical fun setting, versus a regular school. Gives just a extra dash of escapism that lets you seperate it from your own school experience, and imagine it as what you would want it to be.

 

[Huncho_Houdini]

Great world building, lore, and characters. Great movie adaptations. Kids grew up with the story as a reflection of their own lives.

I always love returning to the movies. Azkaban is the best one.