Blogpost 4: Under the Harry Potter Influence

Books are important tools that go beyond entertaining people. It is a device that ignites our imagination and influences the way a person thinks. There is, of course, the Holy Bible, The Art of War, The Da Vinci Code, and then there's also Harry Potter.

Millions of Harry Potter fans get totally immersed in the story of the famous fictional hero. Suddenly, reading the books doesn't cut it anymore. Harry Potter fans must watch the movie adaptations, dress up in black wizarding robes and hold a wand, join the prestigious fan site Pottermore, and attend events just to meet other fellow Harry Potter fans. Suffice to say that the famous fictional story has had a huge impact over its readers who have grown up alongside The Boy Who Lived. Its avid readers, including myself, can attest to Harry Potter being one of the most influential books in the world.

The Potter effect

In an article entitled Did Harry Potter Influence the Political Views of Millenials, the author Mark Strauss pointed out a study conducted by Anthony Gierzynski, a political scientist at the University of Vermont. The study included interviewing 1,100 Millenial-aged college students from different countries and draw the conclusion that people who grew up with the famous young wizard tend to be more accepting in terms of diversity and see violence or use of deadly force as offensive. Gierzynski particularly discussed his findings on how the Millenials' political view is increasingly becoming susceptible to the influence of the entertainment industry. He reiterated that we are being subconsciously molded by what we read, watch, hear and/or see.

"We're often drawn to stories for reasons that may have nothing to do with our views. This may be its popularity, attention given to it in the media, critical reviews, special effects, advertising, boredom, inadvertent exposure when we have little choice— the reasons go on. And once we're immersed in the book, TV programe, film or whatever, once we've come to identify with certain characters we are, as communications scholars have demonstrated, likely to internalize the lessons of the narrative, and emulate the qualities of those with whom we identify," said Gierzynski.

We all wanted to somehow fit in. Oftentimes, we deny who we really are and started acting like everyone else. In the book, Harry grew up in a hostile environment. His only living relatives treated Harry horribly. He slept in the cupboard under the stairs, often verbally abused by his uncle and cousin, and even had to pretend that he's invisible. He felt all alone. Then all of a sudden, he was told that he was a wizard, that he wasn't 'normal' like his relatives but could do magic. All at once, he finally belonged. And so the readers who grew up with Harry felt a very powerful connection between them and The Boy Who Lived. They find something — a hobby, a place, a friend — and then they stopped feeling alone. They had become stronger.

Additionally, Alyssa Rosenberg expounded in her article Why the 'Harry Potter' books are so Influential All Around the World the reason why said famous magical story topped the Facebook survey of books that have stayed with us. Rosenberg stated that Harry Potter accumulated strong audience because of the diversity of characters J.K. Rowling used in her story. It can also be attributed to the way Rowling introduced the world outside of Hogwarts, starting at the fourth book Goblet of Fire, during the Quidditch World Cup, an event pretty much like a pro-football league where wizards and witches all over the world gather around. Rosenberg said that Harry's interaction with other wizards made the story more influential to its readers.

"But ultimately, I think the sustained influence of 'Harry Potter' is probably more a function of a larger shift in culture that is happening everywhere at once. At a moment when our culture is fracturing into tiny niches, fine-tuned to meet the exact needs of a small but passionate group of people, 'Harry Potter' feels like it might be one of the last truly global book phenomena," said the author.

Harry Potter has various themes: friendship, love, courage, perseverance. But ultimately, Harry Potter is the classic "good vs. evil" coming-of-age story. That is something we can all relate to. We make decisions everyday, whether to wake up early, have eggs for breakfast or wash your hair. No matter how small it seems, we experience struggles. We need to differentiate what is right from wrong. We can see our lives mirrored in those texts, sans the wands and spells. Despite their magical ability, they all have their own flaws, and that is exactly what endeared Harry Potter to us. They are realistic and relatable. With that, I can say that Harry Potter brought us all together in such a way that it ignores differences whether it be race, gender, age or religion.