I was watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix over Thanksgiving break and I was literally quoting every line before the character actually said it. My Mom actually walked in and asked who I was talking to. Thank you for embarrassing me about the fact that I was talking to fictional characters on a screen that can’t even hear me, Mom. Because it’s not pathetic enough that I was watching these movies alone. Really, I have the thirteen years of watching this movie to thank for my exquisite knowledge of every lick of detail.
(The fact that I’m still re-watching these movies after I know almost single detail about almost every movie, shows you the state I’m in after both the book and movie series has been completed. It’s like I’m in denial that the beloved J.K. Rowling isn’t going to continue the wonderful adventures of Harry Potter.)
Maybe what I’m trying to do (as I re-watch and quote this movie) is try to experience this movie again like I did in 2007 when it first came out. My best friend and I (also another Potter Geek) waited and waited three hours ahead of time at the midnight premier for this movie. Her mom was there with us because a) we were still and middle school and b) she was secretly obsessing over it too. Shows you how this obsession applies to generations other than the millennium generation. It was glorious. I knew what happened because of reading the books, but seeing it all put into action was like heaven.
So, I’m lying in my bed, watching my beloved Harry Potter on my computer screen as he sneaks Dumbledore’s army into the Room of Requirement and I was let down once I realized that Hogwarts is technically still a fictional place. It may still be fictional in the aspects of magic and flying broomsticks, but Universal Studios has done all the Potter Geeks a favor by making the fictional not so fictional.
I know there are those skeptics out there that say with a furrowed brow that the phenomenon travel that has exploded out of Harry Potter will soon come to a close just as my Twilight obsession did. Even researchers say that the tourism based on movies and books is short-lived and will soon fade into the background.* Here’s what I’ve got to say to Roger Riley and all the other Film Tourism experts: Harry Potter does not fit into your theory. Twilight targeted the adolescent girls, where Harry Potter has turned very sensible adults (my best friend’s mom from earlier) into crazed fans. The fact that Harry Potter is so widespread, a part of so many fans’ childhoods, and something that was the first of its kind (not to mention the best series ever, but that’s just my opinion); is the reason why it’s such a long-lasting fandom and the tourism that it stimulates won’t just fade into the background.
The Harry Potter theme park opened in 2010 and I have still not been. I could be strolling along in Hogsmead and fancy a Butterbeer at Three Broomsticks. Then I could take a trip to Diagon Alley to purchase all my school supplies (like a wand that specifically picks me) for my upcoming school year at Hogwarts. I could do all the things that Harry did before he fought He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and saved the wizarding world from dark magic. I could even go out on a limb here and buy an owl at the local pet store that always seems to be crowded, but I don’t think my Mom would be okay with an owl in our house (plus my dog might eat it). Never mind, I don’t think getting a pet owl is a great idea, so scratch that idea. If only I could take a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter where all of this is possible.
I would have to wait in lines for hours on end for the many attractions that’s offered, you say? I don’t mind. Did I hear that it costs a lot of money? I can save up for it. I will call all the families with small kids that I know and beg them to need a babysitter and hire me for the task. I could add that money to the money I make tutoring and just keep doing it for a while.
If I beg my sister to join me in this adventure, maybe she’ll pitch in and help the cause. We could even make a road trip out of it and spend the time on the road bonding. Maybe sing a couple lines of Kumbaya. Actually, scratch the road trip because my sister would get so annoyed with me during that long drive to Florida, she might kill me before I have a chance to get inside the park gates.
New plan: convince parents to plan a vacation to Florida and include the access to the beach and the Harry Potter park. The whole family would like the beach. I only need two days max at the Harry Potter World. They wouldn’t even need to come with me if they didn’t want to join me. Yeah, that proposition will be made ASAP. I’ll keep you posted about the Get Macy to Harry Potter World Operation as soon as there are updates.
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* Riley, Roger, Dwayne Baker, and Carlton S. Van Doren. “Movie Induced Tourism.” Annals of Tourism Research 25.4 (1998): 919-935. 7 Nov 2013.
I think you are right that HP will last longer than many other series. But it still seems like no one can quite say why! Why does it appeal so broadly to so many audiences?
ReplyDeleteIt appeals to so many audiences because there is something that every generation can connect to like the fantasy, Harry's upbringing, or the fight between good and evil.
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