A Formula That Can’t Be Put Into Words
And part of the magic is just that magic.
Booklist contributing editor Ilene Cooper says the phenomenon can’t be totally explained that sometimes in publishing this kind of thing “just happens it’s not something you can put into a formula”.
Editorial assistant in the youth department at Booklist, Briana Shemroske, says: “There’s no doubt Harry Potter combines several irresistible elements unflappable friendships, the triumph of good over evil, love over hate, humour, a world steeped in secrets and dazzling magic.
“Together, I think these things allow us to see the magic in everyday life … but then again, many of these elements have been combined before and after Potter with nowhere near the same amount of success.”
It’s clear something about this mystical formula has charmed children, with the “Harry Potter effect” eliciting excitement from children about reading in a way no other series has.
Dr Alderman says word-of-mouth has played a role in this, particularly in reaching kids without a natural interest in books.
“The easiest way to get a book in a child’s hand is a friend that they know who has read it so many children have read them and loved them, then it’s passed around,” she says.
The Future Of Harry Potter
There is no sign that the Harry Potter series is ever going to lose popularity, even after the controversy.
Warner Bros. has found itself one of the most marketable childrens book series and it is going to continue to market Harry Potter productions and merchandise for as long as possible.
Although there have been many book series that have tried to knock the Harry Potter series from its throne, there has yet to be as influential of a series as Harry Potter.
Harry Potter: What Makes It Most Successful Series In Film History
Harry Potter is the most commercially successful series in film history.
But how and why?
Remarkably, no matter who the particular director is, or the specific release date , each of the seven chapters was a hit, and give and take, grossing domestically the same amount of money.
See Table below.
Moreover, the popular appeal of each film is also not conditioned by the relative artistic quality of the given film, or by the critics reviews. Naturally, some installments were more highly acclaimed than others.
Looking back, at least four elements have contributed to the continuous, immense success of the Harry Potter series.
First and foremost, the magic of Rowlings densely plotted and emotionally involving books. Reportedly, the single thread of the story was very much by design, and the author had a very clear idea of the direction of Harrys journey. Its important to remember that when the first picture was made, only three of the seven books had been published.
Second, the consistency of the high-caliber casting, manifest in two ways. The fact that the three leads, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, were played by the same gifted actors, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, should not be underestimated. .
Chris Columbus, essentially a craftsman, launched the franchise, directing the first two movies, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone and Harry Potter and the Chmaber of Secrets .
Harry Potter Series: Stats and Numbers
Also Check: When Does Dumbledore Die
The Making Of Harry Potter
In March 2011, Warner Bros. announced plans to build a tourist attraction in the United Kingdom to showcase the Harry Potter film series. The Making of Harry Potter is a behind-the-scenes walking tour featuring authentic sets, costumes and props from the film series. The attraction is located at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, where all eight of the Harry Potter films were made. Warner Bros. constructed two new sound stages to house and showcase the famous sets from each of the British-made productions, following a £100 million investment. It opened to the public in March 2012.
In Which I Risk All My Friendships With People Who Read
I enjoy spending time with people who appreciate great literature. The number of my friends who are intimate with Dante or Tolkien or Austen is, as Oscar Wilde would say with a wink, considerably above the proper average that statistics have laid down for our guidance. My book-loving church regularly ships in world-class English professors to give lectures and field the usual round of questions about Peter Jacksons interpretation of Aragorn and Faramir.
And Ive noticed that in these circles, its often a faux pas to admit that I, like nearly every other Millennial in America, own extremely well-loved copies of all seven Harry Potter books. And I would lose all credibility with many of these people if I suggested offhand that I think the Potter books are in the tradition of the great English novels, deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence, and are easily the most morally and socially insightful works of fantasy published in this generation.
But I do think that. And I think Im justified. So Ive decided to step forward and offer a defense, on behalf of everyone who instinctively agrees with me and has better things to do than figure out why. So here are a few thoughts on why Harry Potter is great literature.
Read Also: Which Harry Potter House Would You Be In
Also Check: Is Harry Potter Part Of Disney
Some Fans Who Were Raised On ‘harry Potter’ Faced An Existential Reckoning And The Path Forward Isn’t Clear
Suddenly, fans were reckoning with the literary equivalent of having a racist uncle: What do you do when someone or something problematic is unwittingly and inextricably entwined with your world?
It’s difficult to truly separate art from the artist when the artist’s views color her world in so many fundamental ways.
Some fans treasure their existing copies of the beloved series while refusing to purchase anything new to support Rowling financially. For others, the books lie obscured and discarded, awaiting a fate yet to be determined.
As the original generation of fans has children, some may choose to omit the books entirely, opting for more inclusive family reading. Others may still introduce the series but ensure that it’s accompanied by disclaimers and caveats.
This intrusion of real life means the series can’t be a safe haven for the next generation. When we introduce the real world to the Wizarding World, we inherently drain some of its magic.
Is Harry Potter Too Scary For A 5 Year Old
Due to the success, J K Rowling started making them darker and more adult orientated as the series went one. Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone is fine for young children. Once you get to book 4 The Goblet of Fire, four would be too young for it. With the films, I would say number 3 is a bit too scary for a 4 y/o.
Don’t Miss: What Is The Effect Of The Wideye Potion
Which Is The Most Popular Harry Potter
Rowling And The Fantasy Tradition
Fantasy appeals to us, to put it crudely, because of the relationship between magic and morality. An alternate world filled with strange and wonderful things, a world defined by imagination, gives us a setting in which to engage with moral questions free from the complications and biases with which we engage our own setting. This can be blindingly obvious, as with Lewiss explicitly allegorical Narnia, or more subtle, as with Tolkiens stubbornly not allegorical Middle Earth. Fantasy, mythology, and fairy tales allow an author to shape our unconscious ideas about what our own world should be likewithout beating us over the head with them or even stating them outright. Fantasy stories can tell you a lot about what a civilization values, and the best fantasy stories help a civilization value the right things.
Rowling does both.
The Millennial generation is dealing with a real world increasingly bereft of the healthy families, relationships, and institutions that gave previous generations a framework for considering moral questions. Its also increasingly bereft of the framework people used to have for knowing who they were. Todays kids are told that all the answers can be found within that they can achieve anything they want if they just follow their passions. Its been called the litany of expressive individualism. The further past college they get, the less true they suspect it is. But theyve been shown no alternative.
Recommended Reading: Draco Malfoy’s Birthday
Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone By Jk Rowling
The Philosophers Stone is the first in J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter series of seven novels that have made her the most successful literary author of all time, selling in excess of 400 million copies world-wide. The books are read and enjoyed by children and adults alike and have also been made into hugely popular films.
Do the Harry Potter books live up to the hype? When I first began reading the Philosophers stone I was immediately struck by how good – and laugh-out-loud funny – the humour was. You usually need to read a Terry Pratchett novel to ensure constant laughter throughout but Rowling has managed to infuse this book with a lovely wit and charm that will both amuse and delight adults and children.
Here is an example, with the ending being particularly good:
“Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large, pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes and thick, blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.”Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone: The Vanishing Glass
When Harry begins his first term at Hogwarts he is not alone in being overawed:
Is all the hype about the Harry Potter books justified? In a word, yes, the books are a joy to read and possibly the most rewarding young adults book since The Hobbit.
Book Editor Arthur Levine Took A Chance On Rowling With A $105000 Contract
Although she was an unknown author, readers were immediately drawn to J.K. Rowlings boy wizard.
“I wasn’t neglected. I didn’t sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. My family loves me,” Arthur Levine tells The Washington Post.
Levine is the Scholastic childrens book editor who famously bought the rights to the Harry Potter series for $105,000 after reading the first book.
“That doesn’t mean I didn’t feel invisible and I didn’t feel powerless and I didn’t have the fantasy that I would be recognized someday. This is something we all share,” says Levine in explaining why he took a chance on Rowling.
“I remember loving the humor, thinking she is so funny,” Levine continues, “and thinking that here’s a rare range of talents in a writer: somebody who can engage me emotionally and yet who can make me laugh. And whose plot is really driving me forward.”
Don’t Miss: Harry Potter Stupefy Effect
As Rowling’s Personal Beliefs Became Harder To Ignore So Too Did The Biases Embedded In Her Books
As fans reexamine the books and amplify long-quieted critiques in the wake of this backlash, it’s become increasingly clear that Rowling’s personal views and biases made their way into the subtext of the series.
Like so much of the media of yesteryear, the books are rightfully subjected to critiques and criticisms. Everything from the naming of Cho Chang, to the injustice that was the Patil twins’ Yule Ball look, to the absence of prominent Black and queer characters dulls the series’ luster.
Rowling’s attempts to revise history by sharing postcanonical details about characters and the Wizarding World at large such as Dumbledorebeing gay and a minor, unknown character being Jewish did little to quell these claims.
In a series that spans thousands of pages and often provides minute details, the thought that Rowling couldn’t spare a few words to mention a character’s race or sexuality already seems preposterous. But to imply that these facts were always present and that fans merely missed or failed to imagine them feels mildly insulting.
Rowling, like any person, is only human. Although some of the series’ flaws exist as overt bigotry, other coded messages may have been the result of unconscious biases or internalized stereotypes.
But intentional or not, the implications of these problematic portrayals left a stain on the series that even the most ardent Potterphiles can no longer ignore.
Why Harry Potter Became So Popular
J.K Rowling has cleverly blended reality with fantasy in her famous creation of Harry Potter. Unlike Middle Earth and Narnia, Potterheads can relate to the world of Potterverse. The hidden world of Harry Potter is not much of a difference from their own world. Rowling has shown that wizards are living with Muggles or non-magic folks, and Muggles are unable to realize that. It leads to thinking further if in reality such a world actually exists. In this aspect, Rowling has presented a hidden world of wizard within our world or, in the world of Muggles.
In Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion that was created in the Durham University module has helped Potterheads in exploring that fantasy world is somehow hidden in their own world. The mirror shown in Harry Potter is not only an important part of the story, but it also created an illusion that reality and fantasy are two sides of the same mirror as shown in Philosophers Stone. In terms of reality presented in Harry Potter, Rowling has helped several adults and children in understanding that what comes to the naked eyes may not be the ultimate truth of life. It can also be a trap. You need to be insightful like Harry Potter and can overcome the hurdles. This gave birth to hero that inspired the children to indulge in the will to overcome hurdles in their lives.
You May Like: When Was Hermione Granger Born
The Enduring Popularity Of Harry Potter
Since the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, the first book in the Harry Potter series, in 1997, readers across the world have been gripped by the daring exploits of Harry and his trusty friends Hermione and Ron as they battle He who must not be named and his evil associates. But what exactly is it about this fictitious tale that has captured the imagination of so many young and old and that has made the stories such an international phenomenon?
Was Harry Potter An Instant Success
What is the name of the first novel t book in the series? Do you think Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone is t Potter and the Philosophers Stone? The publication takes place in the United Kingdom. One 500-print run has been established as of today. A lot of awards have been given to the book for its success within the first year.
Also Check: How Old Was Emma Watson In Harry Potter 5
Live Action Television Series
On 25 January 2021, a live action television series was reported to have been in early development at HBO Max. Though it was noted that the series has “complicated rights issues”, due to a seven-year rights deal with Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution that included U.S. broadcast, cable and streaming rights to the franchise, which ends in April 2025.
Jk Rowling’s Transphobic Viewpoints Left Many Potter Fans Disenchanted
In 2020, in a now-infamous series of tweets and a subsequent essay, the controversial “Harry Potter” author issued a spate of contentious statements about biological sex and gender. Rowling’s opinions led many to label her a trans-exclusionary radical feminist.
A TERF is generally characterized as a person who says they’re a feminist while espousing trans-exclusionary views. Common examples include saying that trans women aren’t women, barring trans women from women’s spaces, and conflating sex with gender.
These comments weren’t her first foray into transphobia. In addition to liking a couple of offensive tweets in 2018, she also tweeted in 2019 in support of a British woman who was fired over making transphobic comments.
Then, amid the backlash of her 2020 tweets and essay, the author published a poorly received book under her pseudonym, Robert Galbraith, that follows a male serial killer who lures his victims by dressing as a woman.
Her actions disenchanted scores of fans, who have struggled to figure out what to do with their love for the series given the controversy around its creator.
Don’t Miss: Does Harry Kill Voldemort
Completion Of The Series
In December 2005, Rowling stated on her web site, “2006 will be the year when I write the final book in the Harry Potter series.” Updates then followed in her online diary chronicling the progress of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, with the release date of 21 July 2007. The book itself was finished on 11 January 2007 in the Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh, where she scrawled a message on the back of a bust of Hermes. It read: “J. K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room on 11 January 2007.”
Rowling herself has stated that the last chapter of the final book was completed “in something like 1990”. In June 2006, Rowling, on an appearance on the British talk show Richard & Judy, announced that the chapter had been modified as one character “got a reprieve” and two others who previously survived the story had in fact been killed. On 28 March 2007, the cover art for the Bloomsbury Adult and Child versions and the Scholastic version were released.
In September 2012, Rowling mentioned in an interview that she might go back to make a “director’s cut” of two of the existing Harry Potter books.