I’ll admit it right here in print: I like Harry Potter. There, I said it. What’s more, I’ll defend the attributes of this quirky little series to any naysayer out there.
When you realize what an essentially illiterate society we live in, intellectual snobs everywhere need to acknowledge that Harry Potter isn’t just making magic in those pages-he’s working a modern-day miracle.
Once relegated to the dark basements of Dungeon Masters and closet Hobbit-lovers, the fantasy genre is rising in popularity like Gandalf from the depths of Moria.
Thanks to a slew of multi-billion-dollar-grossing films in recent years, including “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the Harry Potter films themselves, Americans are embracing elves, dwarves, magic and Liv Tyler like never before.
And with more than 100 million copies of Harry Potter books currently in print in the United States, Americans are reading like never before.
The sixth Harry Potter’s initial run of 10.8 million copies, released July 16 to delighted squeals from kids and adults alike, is a publishing record. People from all demographics are eating this stuff up, with some fans obsessively rereading each book religiously.
To those concerned onlookers: chill out. Our national obsession with Harry Potter is a good thing.
Reading fosters creativity, imagination and analytical thinking. Unfortunately, iPods, Xbox, VH1 and cell phones-which foster sore thumbs and numb minds-are quickly making pleasure reading a thing of the past.
As an English major, there’s a soft spot in my heart for good books and good stories. Reading is something I do in my free time, not just when a professor makes me.
Too many Americans detest reading and avoid it whenever possible. If something’s not available on DVD or MP3, many of us simply ignore it.
Therein lies the problem. Where classics such as Of Mice and Men and Huckleberry Finn once filled the cultural void, we now discuss the genius of such modern masterpieces as “Napoleon Dynamite” and “King of the Hill.”
Book reading? Forget about it!
In a study released last year, The National Endowment for the Arts found that only half of young people ages 18 to 24 had read a book in 2004.
What’s worse, a short story in Teen Magazine would have counted as a “book.”
People! What’s next, an English lit class devoted to Maxim and Time? I’ll admit Harry Potter isn’t what I’d consider weighty literature. It’s more “literary popcorn”-light, fun and good with a little bit of butter.
As a snack, it’s no replacement for real food. But filling or not, this little wizard has cast a spell that keeps us reading and may just stave off our audio-visual electronic occupation for a little bit longer. And for that I say, “Way to go, Harry!”