Harry Potter is a name that has a lifetime of infinity. Its power to attract new generations and hold its popularity to this date is truly amusing. There are also infinite topics to discuss Harry Potter, such as how Harry Potter Changed the World , how Harry Potter has become an influence on popular culture, how it has captured the adoration of all ages in such a small amount of time after its release of the first book and much more. Let us not debate about which topic can be the talk of the town because it will never end. All topics about Harry Potter can be discussed over hours and it will not be over. Even J.K. Rowling, the writer of Harry Potter, was oblivious about how much of an influential work it will become one day. Harry Potter has a multi-dimensional impact on every sector of society. In the film industry, in literature, and even in serious matters like politics, it has shown a vast impact driven by Harry Potter.
These changes in various departments give us a proper view of how much people are impressed by the Harry Potter magic. New movies are being created influenced by Harry Potter; new writings are getting published that are somehow influenced by Harry Potter whether it’s writing style Or character build-up. And the Potterheads are on another level in case of improving Harry Potter’s popularity among the new generation. They are always active and manage to relate Harry Potter with each trend of today’s time, which gives Harry Potter the fuel to keep up the engine of magic.
Literature
Literature was always a sensitive topic to the world, but some researchers in the 90s have found out that as the days passed by, the admirers of literature were getting short especially in the field of fantasy genres , and it could have been a concerning moment for history as well. At that sensitive moment, in 1997 the first book of Harry Potter was published, and surprisingly, the number of book readers increased dramatically. Most of the readers were interested in reading the books of Harry Potter and were attracted to the storyline of the fantasy work. The young readers were mostly influenced by Harry Potter books. The books of Harry Potter were translated into over eighty five languages, and over six hundred million copies were sold worldwide. The book Harry Potter became one of the best-selling books in history, and it changed the lifestyle of the 90s young people. These books are a combination of fantasy elements, thrill, mystery, and mostly magical references that provide it a vast amount of readers that come from all ages, cultures, and colors. This side of Harry Potter makes it a culture binder that brings all classes, cultures, and different people under the shadow of magic. They were greatly motivated by the series and were using the phrases of Harry Potter in daily life. Slangs like muggle blood was a common trend at the time which is still a popular verse used among the Potterheads. It was a strange experience how Harry Potter changed the world and made it a place where youngsters are again putting their focus on reading books.
The Harry Potter series brought a revolutionary change in the culture of book release by introducing us to midnight book release, making it a vast cultural event for the later writers to follow. The first widely publicized midnight release of Harry Potter was in 2000 by releasing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This trend of midnight releases was a huge success that later its phenomenon only grew with each successive book. Fans would gather in bookstores across the world doing some cosplay as their favorite characters; they wait to purchase their favorite book’s new addition till midnight, and as soon as it hits the midnight clock, the shelves of the stores get filled up with the new installments. These events created a new magical culture among the readers blending fandom culture with literature in a unique way that was never seen by the world before.
These midnight releases are one kind of party for the bookworms. They come here to create some memories with their shared fandom and have their fanning time with their favorite book series. These parties come along with quizzes related to their favorite fandom, costume contests, and many snacks that give the midnight book release party a complete look. You can attend a party and get lost in the magical world of Harry Potter and act as one of the wizards of the great magical school Hogwarts. These interactions among the fandom not only provide a social aspect to read but also engage the fans in an interactive way which makes the new book as important as the story itself.
Along with the midnight release, Harry Potter has introduced the world with interactive reading experiences that deepened fan involvement. With the broad use of the internet, fans became interested in online forums, wrote fanfictions and participated in discussions about the books. J.K. Rowling herself contributed to this experience through the Wizarding World. Before at the beginning, it was called Pottermore, a platform where fans could take quizzes, explore the extra lores, and even find out which house of Hogwarts they belonged to. In many ways Harry Potter has given guidelines on how to capture the attention of the global audiences, engaging readers in dynamic and communicable experiences that are far beyond the pages.
Film
Harry Potter movies are a dream come true for the fans of Harry Potter books readers. Harry Potter is one of the most popular and first creations that has succeeded as both book and film. Harry Potter’s eight film adaptations were huge blockbusters, earning over $7.7 billion worldwide, and the fans are still loving the films that they are watching over and over again. It has given a better view of how fantasy work can be visualized and made better with technologies. Its popularity was so top-notch that other writers were inspired by the series to create films for book adaptations. Movies like Twilight, The Hunger Games, Dune, Game of Thrones, Divergent, etc., were adopted by books.
The Harry Potter film used many visual effects in all eight movies. Almost every scene has shown some things that are created by using the VFX. The visual effects have helped to make the magical creatures more realistic. The majestic creatures such as phoenixes, dragons, elves, giants, Basilisk, werewolves, and many more were all shown in the movie and were created by using VFX. The successful use of VFX in Harry Potter has influenced other filmmakers to use VFX in their films as well, and it was well accepted by the audiences as well. The fantasy genre movies, even action movies, are nowadays using visual effects in their films to make the scene more realistic and risk-free. It helps to develop the image of the movie and makes the audiences, as they watch their favorite imaginary creatures, get life through these movies. Some things that can only be presented in one’s imagination are getting life with the help of visual effects. Harry Potter is one of the first successful film series that used visual effects in their work and was admired by the fans widely.
Book-adapted movies always have to be very careful about casting a person on a particular character. Harry Potter’s filmmakers have done incredible work on giving the characters life in films. Fans can relate to the characters as they had imagined them to be. This is a very important element in book-adapted movies as it is complicated to match the imaginations of the readers and cast an actor for it. Later, other movies such as Twilight and The Hunger Games also put much effort into casting a character that can perfectly align with the reader’s imagination. However, there was a complication in Harry Potter’s casting from the beginning. The characterization of Severus Snape in the movie was done by Alan Rickman; his acting as a complicated character was done efficiently and well. Audiences have a different place in the heart for Severus Snape and the credit goes to the talented actor Alan Rickman. The complication that showed at the beginning was that Severus Snape, the book, was 32 years old, and Alan Rickman was 54 years old at that time. This topic caused a fuss among the readers and fans, though Alan’s professional acting has terminated all the fuss and doubts about his character from the minds of the readers. We greatly miss the late Alan Rickman as Professor Severus Snape no one can ever fill the place that he has once created in the heart of the Potterheads.
Same kind of incident happened with the characterization of Dumbledore. In the first two movies, Dumbledore’s role was played by Richard Harris, a veteran of over seventy films. Film critics were very much impressed by his casting as Dumbledore, who had that twinkle in his eyes and had certainty in him, which the wide readers of Rowling knew him to be. However, the problem occurred when this talented actor passed away right before the principal photography was to begin on the third film. A new cast for Dumbledore was needed as soon as possible. When things are getting heated over the conversations on who will be the next cast for Professor Dumbledore? Michael Gambon made his first appearance as Dumbledore in Prisoner of Azkaban. At first, audiences were hesitant about how good the new Dumbledore would do in the movies. Although Michael did great work all the confusion died down in an impulse. But the sad part is Michael Gambon also passed away in 2023.
Fandom and Community
Harry Potter’s fandom grew up and has also become mature with the characters itself. When the first book was released the young generation were very much interested in the Wizarding World and were actively engaged with it. Now they have become adults just like the characters of Harry Potter. They played a vital role in growing Harry Potter’s cultural effect on society. Harry Potter’s fandom is one of the largest fandoms the world has ever seen. The fans of Harry Potter are growing day by day, and some of the credit for this growth is dedicated to those who love to add more Potterheads to the magical world.
The Harry Potter fandom’s members engage with the series in an active and widespread way that reflects their passion and creativity. Fanfiction is one of the most popular platforms for fans to stay active within the series. In this new fiction, the characters and the backstories stay the same with additional adventures within the Wizarding World. There are many websites presented where you can find attractive fanfictions with attractive stories such as Archive of Our Own, FanFiction.net; some are shorts, and some are multi-chapter epics that have some handsome turns of events in the stories. These stories allow the fans to stay connected and strengthen the bonding between their favorite series which they love to the core. These fanfictions even help the fans to get a better understanding of the Harry Potter universe.
Creating fan art is another activity that is popular among the fans to engage with the series. Both talented professional artists and new artists introduce everything from intricate illustrations and digital paintings to handcrafts to costumes. These fan arts are shared on platforms like DeviantArt, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. On these platforms, the artworks receive adorations and advice to do better for fellow fans. Fan arts not only bring out new talents but also showcase some new elements that may have not been depicted in the films fully.
The Harry Potter fans are active in charity organizations as well. They own three charity foundations most known among them is the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA). This organization was founded in 2005, where they conduct campaigns on raising issues like literacy, equality and environmental sustainability. Many small charity organizations were founded by the fans of Harry Potter.
The Harry Potter fans learned to be up to date with society. It has embraced technologies and new media formats for community engagement. Podcasts such as “PotterCast” and “MuggleCast” provide fans with daily discussions about Harry Potter and new theories, its analysis. They even discuss the interviews that were related to the series. It helps the fans to be up to date about the new additions or films or series that are related to Harry Potter.
Many YouTube channels provide analyses of Harry Potter’s plot points and twists. Some channels even create parodies that, at some point, criticize the scenes of the films that do not make proper sense. Some YouTube shows that are popular among the fans are “Potter Puppet Pals” and, “How Harry Potter Should Have Ended”. These channels attract new fans and help the fans engage with Harry Potter content in a new and active way.
Harry Potter has become one of the most influential subjects in the world that has dominated the world for over 20 years and its magic is still growing. There are many examples of how Harry Potter changed the world. The number is uncountable and Harry Potter is still maintaining its continuity with stability that surprises many critics. There may be many complications in continuing the series further at some point. However, we Potterheads are always ready to protect our beloved series from getting down or harmed. It has given a new life to the entertainment world and is still spreading its effect in the muggles world.
