GT #23 - The True Harry Potter Legacy

Discussion for Gryffindor Tower #23 - The True Harry Potter Legacy (http://www.mugglenet.com/editorials/gryffindortower/gt23.shtml) by Dan Hoppel Jr.

Great editorial. I definitely agree with every word you said. The HP books may be a great business franchise, but they're also marvelous books that affect the readers and give us a better outlook on life.

Welcome back, Dan!

Dan, I want to thank you a million times over for writing that editorial. It echoes the sentiment of thousands of Harry Potter fans across the globe. Although the publishers' goal might be just to make some money, there will always be us devoted fans to carry on the legacy of Harry Potter long after the last page of Book Seven is read.

The books are a franchise in the same way that Dickens' books were. When they were writen, people had to wait for the magazine to release the next part of the story. Suspense draws readers. The HP story has been done before. I love the story and some of the characters. It is the newest way to tell a great story. The reason its so popular now, partly though, is that we don't know the end. Rowling is good at clife hangers. We wait desperately for the end. That's why we've grown up with them. Because we've had to. In the future, kids can read the books in one go and be done. They may enjoy it and love it but it will be over fast and they will move on to other things. We have only just moved into this new age of technology and franchises. HP is the first in what will be a long line of popular and anticipated series, nothing quiete like HP, but all anticipated like HP. :cool:

Bravo. I really think you made some terrific points all around. It was a great read, and made me even MORE anxious (sp?) for this upcoming weekend. I predict a great writing career in your future!

Extremely well said, Dan! It gave me chills. It was nice to finally hear someone say (in much better form, I must admit) what I've been trying to tell people for ages.

Good editorial. I agree with you, Harry Potter will still remain a part of society even ten or twenty years from now, it won't just fade away.

This is an amazing editorial, and I too agreed with every word you said. Right now there are two faces to the Harry Potter craze: there is merchandising and there is pure love of the stories. After the seventh book, the merchandising will die. Theorizing sites like MuggleNet, (although I love it!), will close. The books will no longer sell like crazy, but they will instead sit on the shelves, forgotten by the majority; one will sell here and there. But the stories themselves will never be forgotten. Fans who picked up their first Harry Potter novel as a 10 year old and enjoyed the finale while in college will then introduce the series to their own children years later. The merchandising craze will end, but the love of the books will be passed down through the generation. I don't think it's far-fetched of me to claim that we have another classic on our hands, ladies and gentlemen. Years from now, although the media surrounding it will be non-exsistant the Harry Potter series will still be loved.

That was a fantastic article - the most enjoyable I've read in - well, ages, anyway. It helps, of course, that the book is so soon to be released, but you've really summed up what the series is about (as far as I'm concerned, anyway), and I think you're absolutely right (about everything).
You can't tell me that the line about having to choose between what's right and what's easy is not the best challenge you've ever been issued - and that it doesn't make everyone who reads it want to meet it.
Fantastic article.

Nice Editorial. I don't believe that future generations will have quite the fanaticism(sp?) that we all have because of the suspense for us in waiting for the next installment and eventual end. They may know the ending before ever picking up the books and in that way Harry Potter may not have the same effect on future generations (such as inspiring the record number non readers to read) as it is having now. One of my daughters is an avid reader and has been since day 1, the other would squirm on my lap after one book. Harry Potter got her reading. She was introduced to it her first year of High School by a guy friend who was carrying it around with him everyday and going on and on about what great books they were. This was not some "geek" but a cool guy. He kept bugging her to read it and she finally relented. She went from an essential reader, meaning only books assigned in class, to reading all the Harry Potter Books, then Lotr (all three books) and the Hobit to going to the library. That's what Harry Potter does for kids.

I believe it will continue to do so as long as the word of mouth grapevine continues to flourish and teachers understand its value in getting kids to read, but I don't think we will ever see anything like what we've seen over the last 6 to 8 years.

You never know though. Look at how long Lotr has sustained a loyal, almost cult like following. If present day Harry Potter fanatics (myself included ) continue to introduce Harry Potter to our children and grand children whose to say how far this will go.

Another comment about the wonders of HP that I'd like to point out is how it gives everyone in the world-no matter your age, religion, or country,-common ground. With all of the turmoil in the world it is nice to know that people can be united and have a common bond with each other. That it what HP is to me. It unites people and reminds us that there is still good in the world. HP gave each and every one of us in the whole world the opportunity to put our differences aside and discuss something positive with eachother!

Peace and Love and may God Bless!
Colleen

This should be sent to CNN as an editorial rebuttal on the item you mentioned. You nailed it!

Nice Editorial. I don't believe that future generations will have quite the fanaticism(sp?) that we all have because of the suspense for us in waiting for the next installment and eventual end. They may know the ending before ever picking up the books and in that way Harry Potter may not have the same effect on future generations (such as inspiring the record number non readers to read) as it is having now.
I agree with you...I don't think the rabid fanatacism will definitely be passed on to future generations. As far as it being a staple in society...think about people you know who have never seen Star Wars. They know who Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader are, and they know Vader is Luke's and Leia's father, even if they've never seen the movies. I think that the HP staple will be the same...people who never read HP or saw the movies still know he's an orphan, have heard of Quidditch, and know what a Muggle is.

That was terrific. I agree with all of your points. Further to my point, that was the best written editorial I think I've read ever since I've been reading them. (And believe me, I've read dozens of editorials.) You're going to make one hell of a writer, if this editorial is any clue of things to come.

What a great editorial. I don't know what else to say. It was just wonderful. You really are a great writer. As a parent and teacher I agree with you on all points and have seen exactly the things you have described, it is just amazing :clap: - and this may sound silly - it made me shed a tear or two to really sit and think about the points brought up in the beautifually written editorial... :upset:

Thanks JK! We love you and the wonderful world of Harry Potter. :love:

hey i am very new to this forum (having just signed up) and to this website in general....but i just read the #23 Gryffindor Tower thingy and i must say it is very moving... it sounds like a speech Dumbledore would make

WOW!!!!!!! that editoral deserves a standing ovation!

dan, thank you so much for writing that editorial and i can only hope that Mr. Lindstorm gets a chance to read that. i completely agree with what you said about Harry Potter being more than a business franchise and that the reader hype for Harry Potter will live on for much longer than the media hype. I too have been truly inspired by JKR and her magnificent stories. I have also, however, been in inspired by ur editorial ( i guess that sounds kinda cheesy, but its true). It was very well written and the perfect way for me to transition into the sixth book. I am in awe! Once again, thank you for writing this wonderful editorial and i cant wait to read more from you! I hope u enjoy the 6th book too!!!!

Bravo! That was excellently written and I wholeheartedly agree.

For the people involved in distributing, making and marketing HP products, this is a great benefit to them. Great business deal indeed. However, what does the regular fan have to gain from all of that? You are the one shelling out in the end probably $200 for the books alone, and then going to see the movies, merchendise, etc. So it can't be said that this is just some marketing scheme.

We are what has created this huge franchise. Without avid readership from the fans, there would be no huge book releases or astounding sales. It is because these books touched us that the franchise exists.

What the fan gets out of the stories is an escape, and learning opportunity, an adventure. Lord of the Rings may have become even more popular than ever because of the films, but you cannot claim that they didn't endure past even the death of Tolkien as popular pieces. The reason the movies exist is because of this "marketing machine".

To us, it doesn't matter whether HP sells a lot or not. It matters that we have the quality of the stories, and the means with which to acquire the books and the essence of Harry Potter.

I loved it, and i fully concur. The series is so much more than a huge advertisement for the merchandise, and while merchandise is a part of the HP world, if that is all you see you most obivously have not read and understood the books.

this was such a good article. i read that same absurd news articel today and could not believe the audacity of it. any critic only needs to look at the vast communities that have formed becuase of harry potter to see the legacy. do they really think that all these fan sites will shut down after the 7th book? that all the fan fiction will stop? that the fans will simply move on to the next "best seller"? the lord of the rings series and the chronicles of narnia (to name just a few) are examples of "finished" series - have they lost appeal because there is no new book around the corner? i think not. this article brilliantly expressed everyhting i have believed about the series. just yesterday i read an article on a teacher who uses harry potter to get kids interested in physics and chemistry. this is in addition to the fact that harry potter made reading cool again. i am a senior in high school, and as recently as my grade school years, i was made fun of for loving to read. harry potter has impacted the world for the better, and it will continue to do so long after we know the end to the story.

Great editorial! Thank you for voicing what many fans around here feel!

I myself can't stand it when media see in HP "just another branch". We're not helped either by people who go and see the movies, and then buy tons of merchandises, without having red any of the books.

Enjoyable as the movies are, I feel that in a way, they have dammaged Jo's and Harry's image in the media.

Dan, that was a simply beautiful article! :tu: Bravo! :clap: Nice to learn that you were a picked-on reader as a child, too--you are not alone! :angel: As of this writing, there are 54,227 students just on Mugglenet, plus the Muggles who stop for a visit. That doesn't take into consideration those who use other sites, those who don't have access to the Net, or those who only know Harry in languages other than English! :wow:

It must be an exhilerating for Jo to know she's gotten a world reading and united by Harry Potter. :clap: Not many authors do that. I love discussing Harry Potter with people of all ages and backgrounds here on the Net--I've heard some brilliant things from people half my age, and others almost twice my age. :clap: My own kids are still a little young for Harry, but I can't wait to start reading it to them, sharing this special world with them...

Once books become movies or television programs, I wonder if that doesn't affect whether people continue to read the books as much or inspire watchers to become readers, or if they prefer to watch sooner than read (which eventually skews their view of the story because films and TV never mirror the book exactly)? Take, for example, the Little House series of books. I read them all as a kid because I loved the show. The books (of course) were better and taught me a lot about life in pioneering days of America--more than what we gleen from the whitewashed Hollywood version. Were more people like me, or did (do?) more people ignore the books and only know Laura under Melissa Gilbert's features? :rolleyes:

I think Harry and his world will stand the test of time long after the deritives stop making the cash registers go "ching". The fact that the Potterverse is parallel to our own and make-believe increases its universality because the things that tend to separate people in our world (religion, ethnics, socioeconomics, etc.) are portrayed in a way that is non-threatening to the reader. :scared:

Excellent editorial. Your veiws are completely shared by myself on this subject. When I started reading your editorial I felt personally attacked by the idea that Harry Potter could just be a fad, that something I dedicated so much to and got so much out of could just fade away. I have read all the Harry Potter books for about the billionth time in order this week. Reading them all slowly and just enjoying them for the literary works that they are, I began to realize that in my obsession for the boy wizard I had begun to loose track of why I loved Harry Potter so much in the first place. It's wonderful, witty, and powerful writing that will last through time, dispite what the CNN article statistics say. The fad of running around in plastic Harry Potter glasses and making green goo potions from a plastic play set will fade, but the fad of reading wonderful books will not. I also understand when you talk about the many audiences Harry Potter appeals to. I am going to be a senior in high school next year, and I know that many in this forum are much older and much younger than me. I also know that my fifty year old parents love Harry Potter (nearly) as much as I do. Books that appeal to so many different groups of people can never just be phased out.

Haha I've just realized I've taken a post and rambled the whole time, but I just wanted to say that I agreed with every word of this editorial and that I am so glad Gryffindor Tower editorials are back! :cool:

Dan,

The article you wrote was amzing and I was really impressed by your research and all the thought you put into your work. Awesome job!

An extremely well written editorial!

I wholeheartedly agree. What matters about Harry Potter is not the money, it's the message. Everyone who fixates only on the media hype and the money of Harry Potter should be made to read this editorial.

This is the point of Harry Potter, people!

You are one brilliant writer! That was amazing. I concur with everything you said. People think that it's just media hype that keeps it up sometimes, but the legacy of Harry Potter will remain forever with us. I love the powerful language you used for this editorial. And indeed, it does, in every way, deserve a standing ovation.

I hope that the passion we all have for Harry Potter will continue to spread to include all great literature. There really is a lot of good literature out there. I think some libraries and publishers have done a good job in the past providing lists of suggested reading for kids who are waiting for the next HP book. Even though I'm 33 - I've taken my own reading lists off of those!

I also thoroughly agree with the distinction made between a good story and good writing. There are a few popular writers out there who tell GREAT stories but are not very good writers. Jo does a great job with both sides of the coin.

I hope that some day I can join her. :-)

Amen to that! Wow, that has to be the best written editorial ever posted here. I had chills reading it. Thank you so much!

If you guys think that this editorial was good, you should read his very first editorial he ever wrote all the way at the bottom of the Gryffindor Tower main page, it is very moving as well. Probably even more so than this one.

Bravo! I totally agree. I think in 50 years' time, classroom discussions around HP will center on JKR's legacy as a writer, and not on the publishing/merchandise phenomenon.

This is my first posting on here, so hello everyone.
All I have to say, is that every child that the Harry Potter series has touched, will want their children to feel the same wonder. So the series will most definitely live on, past down from generation to generation. As a 31 year old with no children, I have already gotten my younger sisters, and boyfriend hooked, and they will pass on their love of the story to others.

I loved the article. It was the first time that I truly believed eveything that was written. Many classic books were once overly marketed and at the top of media and they lasted. It is true that perhaps HP will fade from the media, but in the book world it will continue to last for a long time and possibly it will have effects on young readers and boost up literacy levels. It is hard to say that this will happen, but I believe that is very possible. Great article!

I agree one hundred percent. Great editorial. Thanks for saying what is apparent to all us HP fans, but apparently completely elusive to those who have not.

I agree. I have always loved books and I always will. My home is overflowing with books minie and my childrens and we are gradually converting my husband. But I never buy hardback books -they take up too much room and I like to keep my books - well never until I discovered HP. I'll be waiting at midnight tomorrow after having left a very unhappy 6 year old who wants to come with me.

Think about how often we re read these books - just as I did with my favourite books as a child but I very rarely do as an adult- again only HP

That was a fantastic article, and I would like to thank Dan for writing it. Harry Potter has changed my life immensely and affected who I am today, as a reader,a writer, and a person. I do believe that such a truly wonderful story will live on and I think that its absolutely disgusting the way some people ridicule these incredible books.

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Fantastic editorial!! I started reading the Harry Potter series while I was pregnant with my son. I fell in love with JKR's universe, and like everyone else, am eagerly awaiting the 16th. Aside from the story itself, is the bond it has formed between me and my son. He turned 6 in March and we started reading the SS together. He was so excited for Harry at the end SS and we will start the COS as soon as I am done with HBP. It brings us together everynight and I know that when it is time to teach his kids to read, he will turn to Harry Potter for help. We have an adventure together everytime we read, and that will be the legacy of Harry Potter, generations teaching each other the joys of reading.

Your editorial was spot on!! Thank you Dan.

Great Job!

beautifully written - I am much older than most of the contributors to this site, having children who are between 21 and 31 , but JK has , in such an uncomplicated way expressed morality and taking responsiblility for one's actions that is alamost impossible to pass to children as they are not yet able to relate to their importance. I was introduced to the books when my then teenaged daughter started to read them. Here was a child who just refused to read, and she gobbled up the first three books in a matter of days! I was floored. Naturally the books were passed to her sibblings - (three - one younger and two older ) and her parents (last but not least), so she could talk about the books . Amasing to say the least. Ten years from now children and adults will still be reading about and his adventures, and begging Jk for just one more , and one more installment of the adventures of the wizarding world

I too thought this was a fantastic editorial but I especially had to chortle about the Da Vinci Code comment..."fantastic story poorly written" indeed....I've read it a few times, mostly to try and get as much as possible out of the actual historical fact within, but never fail to wince at the plodding, superficial, expository nature of his writing. It's a tribute to the ideas underneath (and the Indiana-Jones-esque quality of the adventure) that the book has been so popular even when....so mundane. You're the first person I've read who's publically come out and said so, and I applaud that as well!

Thats great. :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

I must agree with all the points made in this fabulously written editorial. As an example of the Harry Potter series influencing kids to read, as the opening for Goblet of Fire approached the biggest topic of conversation on the playground at my sons school was of course the movie. Every kid talking about it had read the book and were wondering if their favorite part would be in the movie etc, etc. Movies are released all the time but I've never heard this much interest until Harry Potter.

Yeah, choosing between what's right and what's easy is difficult. What's easy is to continue posting here, what's right is to get all my homework done now(due in 3 days...) I'm pretty sure I could get it all done on the last day of course(and I've never defaulted on my homework before), but ... there you go, rationalization :D.
Indeed, it's a great article. Many outsiders, antipotter bigots and so on really never picked up a Potter book or they'd be mesmerized as well.
During the last term, I was working my butt off so I didn't really get a chance to read HP. Actually, I didn't read HBP till a year after its release. I was thinking, I'm too old for this stuff.
How very wrong I was.
Then I read HBP, and OoTP then HBP again and then OotP and then the whole series 3 times in about 3 weeks of my summer vacation. 12-16 hours every day anyday.
It's a wonderful story, realistic characters and backgrounds, and so on. I must admit I've always been somewhat of an oddball in real life so I don't hang out much. Reading HP far compensates that. Admittedly, I don't read it all the time(or even most of the time, lots of stuff to do), but I do feel great when read it(oh dear, it's becoming an addiction) and feel bad/empty when it ends.
So, in years to come, we'll be quoting Harry Potter.
***
Some random university student: You know, I wanna do a Weasley like Bill Gates...