Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix definitely illustrates magic as representing technology and how this contributes to identity in the wizarding world. As the Shletrown article discusses, magic and its role in the Harry Potter universe is analogous millennials and technology. It is essential for their daily lives and plays a major role in forging their identity. The clearest example of this is wands. As the article points out, a witch/wizard’s relationship with their is very much a two-way interaction- as much as someone choose their wand, the wand also chooses them. When Umbridge attempts to restrict the students’ use of magic and wands, it’s like if she had restricted cell phone, facebook, and internet time for muggle students- they find themselves a way to use it help others with it. There is a clear generational discrepancy between Umbridge and the Ministry’s view on the use of magic/technology and those of Harry and his millennial group of friends.

In terms of the Ciaccio article on the connection between Harry Potter and Christian theology, I didn’t really buy it. Western culture and conceptions of morality are so informed by Judeo-Christian thought that most Western discourse in regard to morality are going to contain strains of that sort of theology. He did make two important points, though. First, he pointed out that while magic is traditionally framed as being opposed to Christianity, yet this series (and others- LOTR and Narnia have clear Christian archetypes and allusions among their magic/fantasy worlds yet there is not a huge stink surrounding them) aligns magic with a Judeo-Christian informed set of morals. More importantly, he makes the point that Harry Potter works to break down good/evil binaries. The similarities between Harry and Voldemort are highlighted throughout the seven works yet both are clearly established as being good or evil. Whether this is informed by Derridean or Eastern philosophy it is certainly a step beyond traditional Western morality.

One thing I also picked up on was political thought that was very millennial and relates to the Obama campaign. The one thing Harry and his friends want most from the ministry is honesty and transparency, two things the 08 Obama campaign advertised heavily.

Das Racist- Who\’s That? Brooown!

Das Racist- Rapping 2 U ft. Lakutis

These guys, Wesleyan grads, are like the Daily Show of rap. They have valid and well thought-out political views but hate serious political discussion and serious political rap like Talib Kewli. They spit smart but goofy, almost stream of consciousness raps over electro-dance beats from such producers such as Diplo and Boi 1-da, who worked on Drake’s album. Really fun wordplay and danceable beats. Oh yeah, and they’re also probably the only rappers ever to have rhymed Kierkegaard and Queens Boulevard.

Lil B, formerly of the Bay Area rap group The Pack, is one of hip-hop’s most interesting figures and seems to display some millennial traits. He has used social media and other digital resources to release over 3000 songs over the past two or so years. Lil B has an official website, a twitter, two tumblrs, two facebook accounts, several youtube accounts, and over 150 myspace pages from which he is able to release music, videos, photos, and can interact with fans. Oh, and he’s twenty years old and writes all his raps and for the most part does his own production. But why is he called the Based God? He performs what he calls Based freestyles, freestyle raps over ambient beats where he doesn’t think and just goes stream-of-consciousness. Based is also, as branded by Lil B, an enlightenment-level of thinking that Lil B preaches. One of his self-proclaimed goals is to use language as a tool of inclusion and make as many people happy as possible and help people become Based. These are pretty lofty goals for a twenty-year old rapper that self-releases all of his music. This ambition and his use of technology and millennial traits.

Lil B- Motivation

Lil B- I\’m God

Lil B- Cold War

diorpaint.tumblr.com

basedworld.com

Harry Potter is certainly a large and important part of the millennial media paradigm. As the readings this week point out, many young people are using the Harry Potter universe as a springboard for creating paratexts and other creative endeavors. While fan-created media is nothing new, the Start Trek community has been doing it for a long time, but several things stuck out that made this seem particularly millennial. First, was the age of the authors or the paratexts. It seems a lot of younger teenagers, 13-16 years old, are active in the creation of works within the Harry Potter community. These are young people taking on impressive projects and utilizing digital media to circulate them. In addition, they are not simply creating short stories, comic books, youtube vids, and slideshows- some of them are writing full-length novels. That’s a big task for a teenager to take on- going along with the millennial attitude that we are capable of greatness and of changing the world. Also fitting into the millennial framework is that all of this fan community interaction takes place over the internet. While I’m sure there are fan conventions, the majority of these works are presented online and other digital platforms.

One millennial facet of the movie that really struck me was the magnitude of the struggle that depended on the action of the young main characters. Good, evil, and the fate of the well-being of the entire magic world rely on the action of the Harry and his friends. A group who directly identify with a millennial audience are saving the world, and the levity of the situation is not understated. In Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire, millennials are actually saving the world.