Harry Potter: More than Just a Fad

I’m still a bit tired from the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows premier but it was so incredibly worth it. My crew and I got to the theatre around 8:00 and it was both miserable and exciting. The wind was howling, the sun was set and the cold air was finding any way it could to break through my multiple layers of clothing.

Non-Harry Potter fans don’t understand. They scoff, say Mr. Potter is overrated and some even claim that Twilight is better.  But us hardcore fans know different. A lot of us (myself included) grew up with the characters and the cast. I still remember turning 11 and waiting for my letter to Hogwarts. It never came and I think a part of me is still waiting.

But okay, fine, we grew up with the series. A lot of us also grew up with NSYNC, overalls, fanny packs and Digimon and it’s probably pretty difficult to find people who still go all fan-girl over those things. That’s because Harry Potter is about more than something we know and something we’ve grown accustomed to. The truth is, it’s a little hard to explain to people who haven’t read the books and gotten sucked in, but I’ll do my best.

In a nutshell, JK Rowling (the author of Harry Potter) champions the unlikely heroes. The nerds, geeks, outcasts and losers are the real heroes of the story. Rowling also illustrates that love is more important and more powerful than hate. One of my favorite lines from the books comes from Albus Dumbledore: “Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.” The other common themes in the series are friendship, bravery, unity. All working together to fight a common evil. It’s uplifting as well as inspiring. Best of all, they’re well written and entertaining!

I feel like I could write pages and pages about Harry Potter and why I love it so much, but I won’t. I think I’ve already shown a little too much of my nerdy side . So I encourage everyone who hasn’t already to give the books a try! The first 3 are actually pretty short, so if you read them and don’t like them, you haven’t really lost much! Talk to me if you want to borrow a book or two. Or all of them.

Go here: http://cobblog.cord.edu/?p=4220 to check out the video I made and read about some other Concordia bloggers!