Everyone knows Harry Potter. No matter your beliefs about the author and her views, you can’t deny the books and movies have been highly influential in the fantasy scene. Just recently one of the actors was telling people to grow up and move on, but it’s fine to let people like what they like.
A book phenomenon, it then became a movie phenomenon, and for a while it seemed you couldn’t turn around without seeing Potter somewhere. It was, and is, a cultural icon.
For my part, I have only read the first book, but I’ve seen all the movies. We also went on the studio tour in London many years ago, and I really enjoyed it. I fell through the cracks of reading because I saw the movies first, and when I tried to read the books I kept knowing what was going to happen, so there was little point to continuing.
What’s it all about?
You already know the story. Kid goes to magic school and ends up being the Chosen One, fighting the greatest villain ever (who in my opinion was really kind of weak). There are all kinds of challenges and mysteries to solve, none of which are very difficult and are pretty simple for the parents of the intended teen audience.
The Themes of Harry Potter
The Power of Friendship
This one is pretty obvious. The three main characters face everything together and succeed. Any time they are pushed apart for some reason, they fail and distrust each other.
Discovering Identity
Harry is an orphan living with an aunt and uncle. It’s clear he’s going to be very powerful, and much of the story is him discovering his own power and the expectations others put on him.
Good and Evil
If you are good you are very very good, and if you are bad you are horrid. This is the rare case where nuance goes out the window, and you immediately know which side of good and evil every character falls on.
A Character of Great Interest
Is it Harry? Kind of has to be, right? But no, I think I’ll talk about Hermione.
She’s the goody two shoes of the group. Always studying, the smartest person in the class, annoyingly smart. She gets a time turner and uses it to study even more.
I compare her to my character Cabac. I know what you’re thinking: they’re nothing alike. Cabac’s lazy, not smart, doesn’t care about anything.
But you’re wrong.
Cabac isn’t lazy. She simply doesn’t know what she wants out of life. She’s a queen, she has everything in front of her. All she has to do is take it. This is almost the opposite of Hermione, who has to fight for literally everything.
Cabac not being smart is wrong, too. Again she’s just trapped in the system she’s in and unable to break free. This is the story of so many people: you could be great but you had to do something else instead (getting a job to help your family rather than going to college is the classic example).
And the idea that Cabac doesn’t care doesn’t stand up either. She cares, perhaps too much. Her problem is the things she cares about aren’t the things she is forced to care about.
So, yeah. Cabac and Hermione might be opposite sides of the same coin. One had nothing and drives herself to everything. One had everything and drove herself to nothing.
Maybe they’re less alike than I think. Or more alike than you think.
What to read next
Potter is a series for teens, so it makes sense to read other teen books.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan: Another magical world for teenagers, this is where Greek mythology comes to life. Very similar in that magic is coming into the real world.
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis: More magic, this time in a magical land rather than the real world, but you get there from here. Lots of similar themes of faith, bravery, and redemption.
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman: Another story which works best for teenagers. I guess there is the idea of developing into a person who can get all these stories. It’s not something every teenager will do, but if you can, reading all of these would really help your growth into the fantasy genre.
In Conclusion
I haven’t even mentioned all the problematic parts of the Potter series. Simplistic stories, casual racism, a hero who doesn’t have to do anything to be successful. It’s still culturally huge, but it does feel like it’s slowly losing power, like a tire losing air. Plenty of folks would happily see it disappear.
Me, I’m ambivalent. I haven’t engaged with the series in a while. I can see why people do. I understand the appeal of sinking yourself into a book or show, but I don’t think any show is worth making it your whole identity. Honestly, there’s so much out there to see and read that it’s hard to stop myself from consuming more and more every day.