Harry Potter fan debates are one of the popular activities among the fans. They debate on a particular topic that can give a massive turnover to the Harry Potter story. There are many fan theories out there on what some agree, and some disagree with. But these debates are only friendly, never too outrageous that can harm the friendship among the Potterheads. These debates keep the interaction among the Potterheads more prominent. Many fans are interested in attending this kind of debate as, in this way, they can learn much more about the series. Some may notice some details that others haven’t and these debates make them all aware of that particular detail. There are many topics on which we can debate. However, the most interesting one is the friendship between Severus Snape and Lily Evans, the mother of Harry Potter.
The Harry Potter series has held its popularity for over 20 years and still continues its magic. Have ever wondered how it still holds its place? The intriguing series has opened up many ways for the fans to still feel its magic and experience it as fresh as new.
Controversial Characters
Many characters have many controversial roles in the series. Harry Potter fan debates are still growing. Credit goes to these characters. They create empathy in the audience’s mind and also give them confusion about whether the character is good or bad.
Serious Black:
Serious Black, known as the godfather of Harry Potter, had a tragic end in the series that left many of us heartbroken. His life story with bare eyes may look so tragic and filled with sadness though is it really a tragic story? This controversy is always one of the best topics for the fans to debate on. Honestly speaking, Serious is one of my favorite figures of the Harry Potter series, but some of his actions make me doubt his responsibility as a godfather. Serious was framed by Peter Pettigrew to escape and hide the crimes that he has committed for the sake of Voldemort. Serious was sent to Azkaban as his crime was said that he served Voldemort and had killed Peter Pettigrew. He loses 12 years of his life, enduring mental and emotional torment. Despite this, he never loses his love for Harry and risks everything to protect him. His tragic flaw—recklessness—leads to his downfall, but his loyalty and courage make him a noble figure. His death, which was caused by his inability to hide, showcases him as a hero who ultimately pays for his past mistakes.
It is well known that Serious loves Harry unconditionally, but some of his actions put Harry in grave danger. He often sees Harry as a replacement for James, which leads him to support Harry in some of his reckless behavior. Sometimes, he treats Harry as an equal or adult where he is supposed to protect him from danger. He sneaks into Hogsmeade and taunts the Ministry, putting Harry at risk. These activities prove him to be an unfit character guardian for Harry Potter. He many times couldn’t even overcome his past traumas, showing his vulnerability compared to being a brave guardian.
Bellatrix Lestrange:
Bellatrix Lestrange is a pure evil character who earned many of the fans’ hatred because of her use of power. Though some have different opinions about her. She may be a villain in many ways but she is just a woman who is blindly in love with a person who does not even care about her. Bellatrix comes from a well-known family, and she is the aunt of Draco Malfoy. She is brilliant and is a very cunning witch. She is one of the most merciless and sadistic witches in the series. She enjoys inflicting pain, as seen in her torture of Hermione, Alice, and Frank Longbottom. She resembles pure darkness with her sinister, screeching laugh. Unlike other Death Eaters, Bellatrix serves Voldemort with genuine devotion; she feels proud by doing bloody chaos in the name of The Dark Lord. Her ruthlessness and brutality, with a calm and taunting mind, made her one of the cruelest villains of the Harry Potter series.
Although Bellatrix is known as the evil one, at some point Bellatrix is not a mindless villain. She comes from a pure-blood Black family, where elitism and loyalty to blood supremacy were imprinted on her from birth. The woman she became was shaped by the environment she grew up in and her undoubtable commitment to Voldemort. Her loyalty towards Voldemort can be seen as a twisted desire for the love she holds for him. She worships Voldemort and keeps some romantic feelings for him as well. Unlike other Death Eaters, she does not follow Voldemort out of fear. She sees him as more than just a leader but as a cause worth dying for.
The Wizarding World’s Ethical Flaws
The mystical wizarding flaws in the Harry Potter series can be ignorant but a keen eye of Potterhead can not ignore them. These flaws make the series more perfect. Even J.K. Rowling herself used these flaws in her stories to make some subplot lines. These flaws raise new debates among the fans and continue the magical flow of the Harry Potter series. Let’s discuss some of the ethical flaws of the magical series:
The treatment of house-elves:
The treatment of house elves in the series is one of the most controversial topics in the Harry Potter series. House elves like Dobby have proved that not all the house elves like to be oppressed, as the wizards claim that they are naturally submissive. Dobby was a dreamer who wanted to be a free elf and live his life. Harry was the reason he was able to gain his freedom but not all the house elves are as lucky as Dobby. They have to spend their life as house elf for century after century. They accept servitude as their fate. This case of house-elves represents the systemic oppression of our society. As a result, just like in the wizarding world, some people debate on the topic that they are naturally submissive, and they love their work, so they do it without any outbursts. To me, it is a dumb topic to debate; I love Dobby, and I think house elves are more powerful than wizards, so suppressing them is a waste of their powers. The treatment of house elves in the magical world shows its deep moral failings. By portraying their oppression as both normalized and unquestioned by most wizards, Harry Potter encourages readers to reflect on issues of injustice, power, and the responsibility to challenge societal wrongs.
Was Azkaban an acceptable punishment system?
Being a prisoner of Azkaban is a nightmare for most criminals. Azkaban was designed to hold its most dangerous criminals. Their jailers are Dementors, who use their powers to torment the prisoners mentally and raise serious ethical concerns. Azkaban’s inhuman torture of its prisoners makes it more of a torture chamber than a justice system.
The use of Dementors to drain happiness and feed on despair from all the prisoners leaves them in a state of near-permanent misery. Unlike Muggle prisons, which (at least ideally) focus on rehabilitation, Azkaban strips inmates of their will to live. Even those falsely imprisoned, such as Sirius Black, suffer immense psychological damage, making survival almost impossible. So if someone gets imprisoned for deceiving, they would get punished, which is quite similar to death for a person. Some fans say this much bigger punishment is unnecessary for the criminals. Even worse, Dementors don’t only take away happiness from criminals, any living thing that crosses it goes lifeless from it.
Azkaban does not leave any place for the prisoners to redeem. Azkaban’s method of punishment ensures that once someone enters, they are permanently damaged, whether they deserve it or not.
Adaptation and Spin-Off Debates
Harry Potter debates resonate around the topics that are even remotely related to the series. It has many many topics on what a debate can be raised among the fans or the antis.
Did the movies do justice to the books?
Personally, to me, the Harry Potter movies have done no justice to the books at all. It ruined many scenes and was not able to recreate some moments perfectly as the main storyline. The movies left many important scenes untouched, and much valuable information was left. It has changed many characters’ behavior and roles.
On the other hand, the movies have given the fans a perfect image of the characters’ faces, and now those faces are the most popular ones in the movie industry. The casts of the Harry Potter series are an inseparable emotional part of the whole magical world. Even though the movie lacks at some points we all have to agree that it has helped the Harry Potter novel to reach every corner of the world. It introduced the 11-year-old magical boy to the world and spread the magic of the Harry Potter series in every corner of the world. So I sometimes get in a dilemma on this question, “Did the movies do justice to the books?” So debate on this topic is a must for the fans to feel the cores of the series.
Is Fantastic Beasts a worthy addition to the Wizarding World?
The Harry Potter series is the main trunk of the tree and other books like Fantastic Beasts are just the branches. These books dealt with some of the topics that were left behind in the main series. To me, the books of The Fantastic Beasts were a really good addition to the Harry Potter novel. We can learn more about the magical beasts of Harry Potter’s magical world. The beasts that we were interested in and wanted to learn more about were described in the Fantastic Beasts series.
But I can’t say the same thing about the movie adaptation of it. It was a little disappointing that it didn’t reach even the little hype of the Harry Potter movies. I can’t pinpoint where it all went wrong for the movie but some say the plotline of the movie series seems slow and was rather boring than thrilling. It couldn’t touch the sky-high hopes of the fans; I guess Harry Potter has just set the limit too high for other series to touch its fame with the magical theme.
Harry Potter is not just a name, an emotion, a history in the fantasy world. It has spellbound the world and a whole generation. Harry Potter debates have kept its popularity going from one generation to another. Kids these days are learning about the series from their parents or the debates that go viral over the internet. There are many controversial topics of Harry Potter though its aroma is still strong and keeps us surrounded by it. There are even many Harry Potter fan debate clubs where they discuss these topics regularly and everyone gives their opinions about the topics individually. These activities are amazing entertainment places to visit as they can be very fun to watch fans interact with each other through some debates about their favorite series.
