Why is Harry Potter so popular?

[PERCON]

I think that the books are so popular because of the way they're written, and I don't just mean because they are fantasy books about magic, I mean that J.K.Rowling has a way of writing that entices people, young and old, because it sounds so interesting it becomes interesting to the reader. Other than that I don't have a clue why they're popular, but they are so there .

PERCON

[Alia]

Originally Posted by Winters_Sorrow

Wow!
Way to resurrect a thread on it's 1 yr anniversary, Alia!
I just hope this Harry Potter book actually advances the story along. I hated the Order of the Phoenix. 500 pages of nothing happening.

I personally was let down with the Order of the Phoenx, immensely... but I still look forward to reading the next book. Have a bit of a competition going on with a good friend on who can finish it first. I'm a slow reader and O of the P took me 3 days to read whilst it took her 2... this year, I will win... I have my no doze handy, pepsi is stocked and I'm going to Barnes and Noble's midnight bash. Not because I want to read the book of course, but to beat her, at least once... hehe...

And I resurrected the thread for a dozen of reasons, one of which there are a lot of new people on the forum with fresh ideas and I would like to know them concerning HP and I note that you didn't not answer Winter Sorrow.

Percon... any thoughts about why, even your own are worthy ones. Thanks for sharing.

[longplay]

I wrote up my thoughts on the popularity of Harry Potter on my blog a while back, check out http://www.thedigeratipeninsula.org....6/08/hprecipe/

[Tikal]

I qiute liked the Order of the phoenix. For me the book I least enjoy is the fourth one. I cant wait till the next book comes out. My leavers dance is the night before and I will be mightly drunk the next day but I still plan on reading it!

[Winters_Sorrow]

I have the 6th book on order too. Trouble is its due out this Saturday and I've pre-ordered it online (current status: Packing) but I'm going to Scotland on Friday morning for the weekend (note to self: stop milk & paper deliveries ) so I hope it arrives before I go. However, being a lifelong pessimist, I fully expect to arrive after I'm gone!

[Alia]

I will keep my fingers crossed for you Winter Sorrow... And have fun in Scotland! Lucky guy...

[Winters_Sorrow]

You have obviously never been to the Glasgow 'Megacity'

It could actually do with some judges with lawgivers, actually

[Alia]

Haven't ever been out of California but only in my dreams. Wish I had a magic broom to take me places...

Your a judge? Scary thought...

[Winters_Sorrow]

Had to share this 'story'

This is hype taken too far. I wouldn't care if this series was actually worth all this trouble...

http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/art...499168,00.html

[longplay]

I found this story on the BBC site about the supposed 'next JK Rowling' interesting. I've heard of a couple of them, but none of them have hit the same levels as JK.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4636971.stm

[GOLLUM]

I'm not a fan of Rowling but she's obviously very popular, presumbably because she represents mainstreeam fantasy rather than the more niche style markets I have an interest in.

Also like JP alludes too, she was in the right place at the right time with the right kind of story to appeal to both adulta and children.

I didn't mind the movies too much but fairly generic stuff as far as fantasy goes....

[terryweide]

I think part of is that Rowling is playing with archetypes in her writing. Harry Potter, starts out as an underdog, the kid who has to live in a closet under the stairs, and then goes on to have both great adventures and fame. Because he started out as a misunderstood nobody, that makes it easy for readers to identify with him, and the fact that he grows into a hero is the type of fantasy we'd all like to believe in. That is, that no matter how bad my life is, I could really be a hero, if only given the right opportunities. Joseph Campbell, who wrote The Hero With a Thousand Faces, the seminal research book on this topic, would doubtless say Harry Potter fits perfectly into the hero archetype. Harry starts out with nothing, then he journeys beyond the edge of the known world (to the magical Hogwarts) to learn valuable lessons and to become greater than he was before.

It's also fun, in my mind, to compare Harry Potter to the comicbook hero Spiderman, because it's essentially the same story. Peter Parker, geeky high school nobody, gets bitten by a radioactive spider, and then receives great powers. Again, it's a story of an underdog, a social misfit, who suddenly has great speed, strength, and powers beyond those of ordinary people, and who then goes on to have countless fantastic adventures. I think the idea of the underdog who makes good, who becomes a hero despite his original circumstances, is a recurring theme in literature and one that countless authors, Rowling included, make use of.

Terry

P.S.

Saw the new Harry Potter film last night. I think it's the best so far, but I also thought there were some things they could have done better. I will refrain from posting any specific thoughts until everyone has had the chance to see it.

[Thadlerian]

Originally Posted by Lacedaemonian

Harry Potter is popular mainly because of the idea of the school. Everybody would have loved to have gone to Hogwarts. JK Rowling has the hearts and minds of a generation in her hands. Part of me is waiting for the death of Harry. The global response would be interesting if not funny.

I believe Lacedaemonian hit the nail on the head here; I think this is the crucial reason for the popularity. Children (and adults alike) want to believe in the Hogwarts universe. The key I've had in my mind for some time is that you wouldn't even have to be the protagonist to have a good time; it's not the character Harry Potter that attracts, but simply the Hogwarts setting. Fresh and exciting, while at the same time protected (without being too safe and boring) and comfortable.

It seems to be a common (perhaps even slightly deliberate) misunderstanding that Harry Potter's popularity is caused by a well-oiled marketing mechanisms. But if I recall correctly, the publicity machine didn't really churn into life before someplace around book 3 or 4, or perhaps as late as the first movie. Surely the fanbase wouldn't have been quite as high without the movies and the marketing, but I still think that on a whole, the Harry Potter books can sell themselves perfectly on their own by means of word-of-mouth marketing. J.K. Rowling simply punched the right values into the formula, and is rewarded for that.

But I agree with Lace on that watching the fluctuating sentiments of the fan base can be just as amusing as reading the books themselves.

[Marky Lazer]

I haven't read a single HP book, and saw half of the movie Prisoner of Azkaban. Why should I start reading them?

[GOLLUM]

Originally Posted by Marky Lazer

I haven't read a single HP book, and saw half of the movie Prisoner of Azkaban. Why should I start reading them?

Yes that's what I want to know although unlike your good self I've seen the first 3 movies so far..