Harry Potter is a staple of the Millennial generation. Not because of his magical powers and how they can be associated with technology, although this is a comparison that can be drawn, but rather because he engulfed our lives through a multitude of medias. J. K. Rowling originally wrote Harry Potter in the mid 1990’s and our generation immediately took to it. Movies were made at the turn of the century and video games, blogs, chat forums and every other imaginable type of media source quickly followed. Harry Potter is more than a fad; it is a forum that has engulfed every facet of our lives.
Harry Potter has branched out, it is not only a movie that our youth can watch, or a book that they can read, but the series has sparked the interest of many. As explained by Ernest L Bond and Nancy L. Michelson, Harry Potter contributed greatly to “fan fiction” as an online experience. Fan fiction has expanded so rapidly now that there are countless addendums written by fans across the globe that explain additional fictional accounts of Harry and his supporting characters lives. An article by Henry Jenkins describes one archive, Fictionalley, which contains over 30,000 stories. It is great that a book like this can capture kids minds, not only to read but also to expand, use their imagination and continue to write as they develop their ideas. The Internet has allowed these amateur writers to come into contact with each other and create literary works together. The Internet has offered a medium for these kids to write about what they enjoy discussing. It allows learning and writing to be fun and occur outside of the confines of the school atmosphere.
It is incredible that a story like that of Harry Potter can become so well known. It would be hard to find a household that doesn’t recognize the name Harry Potter or his famous scar. Why is it that this story of a boy who just didn’t quite fit in resonates so well with our generation? It is possible that we view Harry a bit like ourselves. He is expected to understand magic the same way that we are expected to be exceptional with technology, but there are aspects that he doesn’t initially grasp. Sirius explained that he could not send Harry’s owl Hedwig, but rather had to use another because Hedwig may be intercepted. This made me think of emails and texts and how no means of our communication are truly secure anymore. For this reason people are constantly trying to find new ways to communicate as demonstrated by Sirius speaking though the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common room.
Harry Potter fans are not wizards. They do not read the book because they are encountering the same problems in the wizarding world, and yet it is a story that has engulfed and become a staple of our generation. Millennials have found a way to connect to the story, and have found a way through the use of the books, the Internet, TV, and video games to take on the characters and make them their own. It is incredible how one story can utilize so many facets of media.