Harry Potter controversies and HP inspired music revised

Religious debates over the Harry Potter series

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search



 A page from "The Nervous Witch", a tract written by fundamentalist Jack Chick, depicting the purportedly occult dangers of the Harry Potter series.
Religious debates over the Harry Potter series of books by J. K. Rowling are claims that the novels contain occult or Satanic subtexts. A number of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christians have argued against the series, as have some Shia and Sunni Muslims. Supporters of the series have said that the magic in Harry Potter bears little resemblance to occultism, being more in the vein of fairy tales such as Cinderella and Snow White, or to the works of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, both authors known for writing fantasy novels with Christian subtexts.[1] Far from promoting a particular religion, some argue,[1] the Harry Potter novels go out of their way to avoid discussing religion at all.[2] However, the books' author J. K. Rowling, describes herself as a practising Christian,[3] and many have noted the Christian references she includes in the final novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.[4]
In the United States, calls for the books to be banned from schools have led to legal challenges, often on the grounds that witchcraft is a government-recognised religion and that to allow the books to be held in public schools violates the separation of church and state.[5][6][7] The Orthodox churches of Greece and Bulgaria have also campaigned against the series,[8][9] and some Catholic writers and officials have voiced a critical stance.[10] The books have been banned from private schools in the United Arab Emirates and criticised in the Iranian state-run press.[11][12] Religious responses to Harry Potter have not all been negative. "At least as much as they've been attacked from a theological point of view," notes Rowling, "[the books] have been lauded and taken into pulpit, and most interesting and satisfying for me, it's been by several different faiths."[13]

Contents
  [hide] 1 Christianity 1.1 Evangelicalism
1.2 Catholicism
1.3 Orthodox
1.4 Anglicanism
2 Islam
3 Judaism
4 Book challenges
5 Responses to criticism 5.1 Wicca
5.2 Occult vs. fantasy and fairytale magic
5.3 Secularism
5.4 Rowling's response
6 Christianity in the novels 6.1 Rowling and the Inklings
6.2 Christian allegories in Deathly Hallows
7 Dumbledore's sexual orientation
8 References
9 External links
Christianity[edit]
Evangelicalism[edit]
Most of the criticism of Harry Potter is from Fundamental Evangelical Christian groups, who believe the series' alleged pagan imagery is dangerous to children. Paul Hetrick, spokesman for Focus on the Family, an American Evangelical Christian group based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, outlined the reasons for his opposition to them: "[They contain] some powerful and valuable lessons about love and courage and the ultimate victory of good over evil; however, the positive messages are packaged in a medium – witchcraft – that is directly denounced in Scripture."[14] Harry Potter has been the subject of at least three local book burnings.[15] In 2002, Chick Publications produced a comic book tract titled "The Nervous Witch" that declared "the Potter books open a doorway that will put untold millions of kids into hell."[16] In 2007 Jacqui Komschlies wrote an article in Christianity Today comparing Harry Potter to "rat poison mixed with orange soda," and said, "We're taking something deadly from our world and turning it into what some are calling 'merely a literary device.'"[17]
A common belief among fundamentalist Christians is that Harry Potter promotes the religion of Wicca, and so keeping them in public schools violates the Separation of church and state in the United States.[14] In her response to Laura Mallory's court case, education attorney Victoria Sweeny said that if schools were to remove all books containing reference to witches, they would have to ban Macbeth and Cinderella.[18] Jeremiah Films, a Christian video company largely known for its Clinton Chronicles release, also released a DVD entitled Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged which stated that "Harry's world says that drinking dead animal blood gives power, a satanic human sacrifice and Harry's powerful blood brings new life, demon possession is not spiritually dangerous, and that passing through fire, contacting the dead, and conversing with ghosts, others in the spirit world, and more, is normal and acceptable."[19]
In 2001, Evangelical journalist Richard Abanes, who has written several books arguing against new religions and Mormonism, published a polemical text that made similar allegations to the video: Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace Behind the Magick. Later editions incorporated comparisons and contrasts between Harry Potter and the more overtly Christian works of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.[20] In an interview with CBN.com, Abanes remarked that, "One of the easiest ways to know whether a fantasy book or film has real world magick in it is to just ask a simple question, 'Can my child find information in a library or bookstore that will enable them to replicate what they are seeing in the film or the book?' If you go to The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings what you see in, story magic and imagination, it is not real. You can't replicate it. But if you go to something like Harry Potter, you can find references to astrology, clairvoyance, and numerology. It takes seconds to go into a bookstore or library and get books on that and start investigating it, researching it, and doing it."[21]



 Image from satirical newspaper The Onion, which jokingly proclaimed that Harry Potter was leading children to Satanism
The debate has inspired at least two satirical Internet urban legends. In 2001, The Onion, an American satirical newspaper, published an article entitled "Harry Potter Sparks Rise in Satanism Among Children," which said that the "High Priest of Satanism" had described Harry Potter as "an absolute godsend to our cause."[22] This article was actually copied into a chain letter and circulated among Christians as "proof" of their views.[23] The following year the Canadian daily the National Post released a similar spoof article in its satirical column Post Morten, saying that "Rowling—or, as she shall henceforth be referred to and credited as, Mrs. J. K. Satan—said that as she sat in a coffee shop one grey day, wondering what to do with her empty, aimless life, it hit her, 'I'll give myself, body and soul, to the Dark Master. And in return, he will give me absurd wealth and power over the weak and pitiful of the world. And he did!'" This article was also copied into a chain letter and released as "truth" onto the web.[24]
In 2009, Matt Latimer, a former speechwriter for US President George W. Bush, claimed that during the Bush administration, "people in the White House" had denied Rowling the Presidential Medal of Freedom because the books "encourage witchcraft."[25]
While some evangelical Christians consider Harry Potter related to Satanism, a poll indicated that this position remains a minority view. Seven percent of Americans who have heard of the books have a negative view of them, with 52 percent having a positive opinion and the remaining 41 percent unsure.[26] This compares with 33 percent of Americans who identify themselves as Evangelical[27] and 39 percent who take the Bible literally.[28] In 2001 the Alamogordo Christ Community Church in New Mexico burned hundreds of copies of the Harry Potter books. Jack Brock, leader of the church, said the books were an abomination because they inspired children to study the occult. He and his followers admitted they have never read any of the books, and tossed in some Stephen King novels. Venezuelian scholar Ferando Baez, in a study of the history of censorship and book destruction commented, "There is more than one way to destroy a book, upon being denied a city permit to burn books, the Rev. Douglas Taylor in Lewiston, Maine, has held several annual gatherings at which he cuts the Potter books up with scissors."[29]
Some evangelicals have supported the Potter books: evangelical author Connie Neal, in her books, What's a Christian to Do with Harry Potter?,[30] The Gospel According to Harry Potter,[31] and Wizards, Wardrobes, and Wookiees: Navigating Good and Evil in Harry Potter, Narnia, and Star Wars,[32] wrote that the books preach Christian values and can be used to educate children in Christian tenets. Mike Hertenstein of Cornerstone magazine, in his article "Harry Potter vs the Muggles, Myth, Magic & Joy," uses the term 'Muggles,' used in the books to describe non-magical humans, to describe Christians without imagination.[33] Christianity Today published an editorial in favour of the books in January 2000, calling the series a "Book of Virtues" and averring that although "modern witchcraft is indeed an ensnaring, seductive false religion that we must protect our children from," this does not represent the Potter books, which have "wonderful examples of compassion, loyalty, courage, friendship, and even self-sacrifice."[34] Italian Methodist minister Peter Ciaccio analysed the relationship between J. K. Rowling's work and Christian theology, stating that the Harry Potter series is the positive outcome of the encounter of the Jewish-Christian tradition with other important features of the Western cultural heritage (namely Celtic, Nordic and Classical).[35]
Catholicism[edit]
The Catholic Church has taken no official position on the books, but various Catholics, including officials of the Roman Curia, the hierarchy, and other official bodies have presented mixed views on the subject.
Beginning in 2001, Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, has occasionally written on the Harry Potter series in his regular column in The Sunday Telegraph. In his columns, he praised the books for displaying values that are "deeply compatible with Christianity."[36] In his book Be Not Afraid, Pell praised the books as having a "good dose of moral truth" and for being "a good yarn."[37]
In 2003, Father Peter Fleetwood, a priest incardinated in the Archdiocese of Liverpool at the time serving as an official of the Pontifical Council for Culture,[38] made comments supportive of the novels during a press conference announcing the release of Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life—A Christian reflection on the "New Age." In response to a question asking if the magic presented in the Harry Potter series should be considered in the same light as some New Age practices warned against in the document, Fleetwood stated, "If I have understood well the intentions of Harry Potter's author, they help children to see the difference between good and evil. And she is very clear on this." He added that Rowling is "Christian by conviction, is Christian in her mode of living, even in her way of writing."[39] This comment was seized on by the media as an endorsement of the novels from the Catholic Church, and by extension, the Pope at that time, John Paul II,[40] though there is no evidence that the Pope officially approved of the novels.[41]
Also in 2003, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – who later became Pope Benedict XVI – received a manuscript of a book critical of the novels from a German author. He stated in a private letter expressing gratitude for the receipt of the book, "It is good that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those are subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly." He also recommended she send a copy of her book to Fleetwood at the Council for Culture. In a second letter, the cardinal gave the author permission to make his first letter public. These letters from Ratzinger prior to his elevation to the papacy have been used to suggest that the pontiff was officially opposed to the novels.[10]
Criticism against the books also comes from one of the official exorcists of the Archdiocese of Rome, Father Gabriele Amorth, who believes that, "Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the devil."[42] He further told the Daily Mail that the books make a false distinction between black and white magic, while, in reality, the distinction "does not exist, because magic is always a turn to the devil." Amorth believes that the books can be a bad influence on children by getting them interested in the occult.
Before the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in 2005, Msgr. Fleetwood, then serving with the Council of European Episcopal Conferences, gave an interview with Vatican Radio. In the interview, Fleetwood reaffirmed his positive opinion of the books, and remarked that then-Cardinal Ratzinger's letters may have been written by a member of the congregation's staff and simply signed by the prefect. He also stated that his and Amorth's opinions are just that, conflicting personal opinions of priests.[43]
For the film adaptations, the Office for Film and Broadcasting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has rated each film either "A-II" or "A-III",[44] meaning the content was not found to be morally offensive.[45] The Episcopal Conference named the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as one of the ten best family films of 2004,[46] and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 as one of the best movies of 2010.[47]
The Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, dedicated a full page to the debate in its 14–15 January 2008 issue. Essayist Paolo Gulisano said the Harry Potter novels offer lessons in the importance of love and self-giving,[48] but Professor Edoardo Rialti described Harry Potter as "the wrong kind of hero" and said that, "Despite several positive values that can be found in the story, at the foundations of this tale is the proposal that of witchcraft as positive, the violent manipulation of things and people thanks to the knowledge of the occult, an advantage of a select few: the ends justify the means because the knowledgeable, the chosen ones, the intellectuals know how to control the dark powers and turn them into good… This is a grave and deep lie, because it is the old Gnostic temptation of confusing salvation and truth with a secret knowledge."[49] However, in July 2009, L'Osservatore Romano praised the moral stance of the sixth Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, saying, "There is a clear line of demarcation between good and evil and [the film] makes clear that good is right. One understands as well that sometimes this requires hard work and sacrifice."[50] It also noted that the film made clear that "the search for immortality epitomised by Lord Voldemort" was morally wrong.[50]
A French Traditionalist Catholic circle has published a thorough critical study of the Harry Potter series along the lines of demonology, with the title - in English translation - Harry Potter and the Order of Darkness.[51]
Orthodox[edit]
In 2002, the Greek Orthodox Church authorities in Thrace released a statement denouncing the Harry Potter books as Satanic, saying that they "acquaint people with evil, wizardry, the occult and demonology." The statement also criticised the purported similarities between Harry Potter and Jesus Christ, saying, "It is beyond doubt that Harry was made to resemble a young savior. Upon his birth people try to kill him, he is forever subjected to injustice but always supernaturally manages to prevail and save others. Let us reflect, who else … is held to be the unjustly treated God?"[9] In June 2004, soon after a native Bulgarian, Stanislav Ianevski, had been cast to portray the character Viktor Krum in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church printed a front-page article in their official newspaper, claiming that "magic is not a children's game," and that the holy Synod had advised that a church in Sofia hold special liturgies every Thursday to cure those afflicted by spells or possessed by evil spirits. Pamphlets were posted throughout the city, claiming that reciting a Harry Potter spell "is as if you are praying to evil", and that "God hates magic."[8]
However, the Russian Orthodox apologist deacon Andrei Kuraev argued in his 2003 book Harry Potter in the Church: Between an Anathema and a Smile that the Harry Potter books are not dangerous. His arguments include the books' similarity with traditional fairy tales and literary classics such as the Iliad which no-one calls "Satanic"; the difference between the books' magic and real occult practices; the presence of Christian values such as humility, love, sacrifice and choosing the right over the easy. He quotes other notable Orthodox priests and church officials such as M. Kozlov and S. Pravdoliubov as supporting his position.[52]
The American academic and Orthodox Christian writer John Granger has analyzed the literature in a positive light. Granger, a Christian classicist, has defended the books in his book, Looking for God in Harry Potter.[53] Granger argues that the books do not promote the occult because none of the magic is based on summoning any sort of demon or spirit; he contrasts occult invocational magic (calling up spirit beings to do your bidding) with literature's common incantational magic (saying a set phrase to use power from an unspecified source). Indeed, says Granger, the themes of love triumphing over death and choosing what is right instead of what is easy are very compatible with Christianity.
Anglicanism[edit]
In 2000, the Dean of Canterbury Cathedral refused to allow his church to be filmed as part of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter film series, saying that it was unfitting for a Christian church to be used to promote pagan imagery.[54] Gloucester Cathedral agreed to take its place; the Dean of Gloucester, the Very Reverend Nicholas Bury, admitted to being a fan of the books; "I think the book is a marvellous traditional children's story and excellently written. It is also amusing, exciting and wholesome, and is just the sort of story families should be encouraged to read."[55] The decision still resulted in many angry letters to the local paper, the Gloucester Citizen. Said one honorary chaplain, "Oh yes, there was quite a to-do. There was one particular man, very evangelical, writing in and complaining that it wasn't right for such things to be going on. I don't think it was so much the film's subject matter but the fact that filming was happening at all."[56] Similarly, Durham Cathedral also allowed its use for two of the films.[57][58]
Then-Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey gave positive remarks about the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone film in his New Year Message for 2002, calling it "great fun," and a film that "asks some very real questions" on moral issues.[59]
In June 2007, the Anglican Church published Mixing it up with Harry Potter, a 48-page book designed to use parallels from the novels to teach the faith to 9–13-year-olds.[60] The author of the book, Kent youth worker Owen Smith, argued that, "These sessions draw parallels between events in the world of Harry and his friends, and the world in which we are seeking to proclaim the gospel to young people [...] To say, as some have, that these books draw younger readers towards the occult seems to me both to malign J. K. Rowling and to vastly underestimate the ability of children and young people to separate the real from the imaginary."[61]
Islam[edit]
The popular scholarly site Muslim Matters has spoken positively of both the books and the films.[62] However a number of Islamic scholars have argued that the books' magical themes conflict with Islamic teachings.[63][64] A series of "online fatāwa" have been logged by imams against Harry Potter, decrying it as un-Islamic.[65]
In 2002, the books were banned in schools across the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to a spokesman from the education ministry of the UAE government, the books' fantasy and magic elements were contrary to Islamic values. Despite being banned from schools in the Emirates, there are no plans to ban them from bookshops within the country.[11]
In August 2007, police in Karachi, Pakistan discovered and defused a car bomb located outside a shopping centre where, hours later, the final Harry Potter novel was scheduled to go on sale. The book launch was postponed in response. A local police superintendent commented that, "We are not sure so far whether the target of the bombing was the book launch, but the connection cannot be ruled out."[66]
While the Harry Potter books are available for sale in Iran, an editorial in the 26 July 2007 edition of the state-run newspaper Kayhan, which has ties to Iran's Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, criticised Iran's Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry for approving the distribution of the final Harry Potter novel.[12] The editorial claimed that the book, "includes destructive words and sentences which oppose to the values [of the Islamic Republic]," and that airport security had failed by "[trusting] the American-British publisher which has Zionist collaborators, such as Warner Bros.." The editorial described the books as a "Zionist project" and claimed that "Zionists had spent billions of dollars" on it.[67]
Judaism[edit]
Many prominent rabbis have described the Harry Potter books as, in the words of one, "a force for good".[68] In 2005, a conference at the University of Reading debated whether Harry Potter had "a yiddishe neshama", or Jewish soul.[69] Sir Jonathan Sacks, the chief rabbi of the Commonwealth of Nations, claims that, in "a society in which adolescents are precociously adult, and adults are permanently adolescent", Harry Potter has "reclaimed the kingdom of childhood, proving that you don’t have to betray to enchant".[70]
The decision to release the final volume of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in Israel at 2 AM on a Saturday morning briefly angered many of Israel's rabbis, since it fell during the Jewish Sabbath, a time when business dealings are forbidden.[71]
Book challenges[edit]
The books' inclusion in public and school libraries has been frequently challenged for their focus on magic,[72] particularly in the United States, where it was ranked seventh on the list of the most challenged books in American libraries between 1990 and 2000 despite having been first published in the United States in 1998.[73] In 1999, the Harry Potter books were challenged 23 times in 13 states.[74] According to the American Library Association, they are now the most challenged books of the 21st century.[75]
However, the ALA notes that overall, opposition to Harry Potter in the US appears to be waning; having topped the list of the most challenged books in American schools in many previous years, they have to date failed to reappear in the top ten since 2003.[76] Humanist commentator Austin Cline attributes this decline to school libraries employing "opt-out" policies which allow parents to prohibit their children from reading books they do not wish them exposed to.[77]
A selection follows of the more notable challenges to the books:
In 1999, in response to complaints from three local parents, Zeeland, Michigan school superintendent Gary Feenstra restricted access to the Harry Potter books to those pupils whose parents gave written permission.[78] Later reports claimed that the parents were concerned about the books' magical and witchcraft-related themes.[79] In response, children began a letter-writing campaign, forming clubs and organising petitions, which ultimately merged into an internet site called Muggles for Harry Potter. Eventually the site took on a broader remit as kidSPEAK!, a forum for children to tackle censorship in general.[74]
In 2000, The Public Library system of Jacksonville, Florida was faced with a lawsuit from conservative Christian group Liberty Counsel of Orlando after they began awarding "Hogwarts’ Certificate of Accomplishment" to young readers who completed the fourth Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. One parent complained that "If they are going to pass out witchcraft certificates they should also promote the Bible and pass out certificates of righteousness".[77] The lawsuit was averted after the Library agreed to stop awarding the certificate.[80] That same year, Carol Rookwood, headmistress of St Mary's Island Church of England Aided School in Chatham, Kent, England, banned the books from school grounds, saying that, "The Bible is very clear and consistent in its teachings that wizards, devils and demons exist and are very real, powerful and dangerous, and God's people are told to have nothing to do with them".[81] In response, the chairman of the Church of England's doctrine commission, Stephen Sykes, said, "The Church's position is that magic and sorcery are contrary to the Christian religion, Mrs Rookwood is absolutely right. [But] children who are capable of reading Harry Potter could be told not to take witchcraft seriously, or might even realise that for themselves".[82] In July 2000, Birkenhead Primary School in Auckland, New Zealand placed a ban on the Harry Potter novels being read aloud by teachers in class after parental complaints regarding the books' supposedly occult content. However, the ban was lifted after a number of students and parents complained.[83] Also in 2000, Christian parents complained to the school board in Durham Region, Ontario about Harry Potter, and managed to get the books removed from school library shelves. The books were reinstated after a public outcry.[84]
In 2002, in York, Pennsylvania, local parent Deb DiEugenio, along with her pastor, attempted to have the books banned from her daughter's school. DuEugenio said that "It's against my daughter's constitution, it's evil, it's witchcraft ... I'm not paying taxes to teach my child witchcraft".[85] The school board eventually voted 7–2 to keep the books, with an opt-out for concerned parents.[85]
In 2003, Billy Ray and Mary Nell Counts, a couple in Cedarville, Arkansas, brought suit against the local school board on behalf of their daughter to contest a rule requiring parents' written consent to read the Harry Potter books. A parent, Angie Haney, had requested such a rule on the grounds that they were "not based on fiction," at the prompting of Pastor Mark Hodges, who was also a member of the school board. A district court judge decided the rule was unconstitutional.[86] The decision was cited as precedent in subsequent censorship cases.[87] Also in 2003, a Russian woman filed charges against Rosman Publishing, responsible for Harry Potter's Russian translation, saying that the books "instilled religious extremism and prompted students to join religious organizations of Satanist followers".[88] A probe found that there were no grounds for a criminal prosecution.
In September 2005, Laura Mallory, a mother of four children in Loganville, Georgia, attempted to have the Harry Potter books banned from her children's school library on the grounds that they promoted a religion, Wicca, and thus for a public school library to hold them would violate the separation of church and state.[5][6] On her website, she states, "Harry Potter is being used to teach and promote witchcraft, Wicca, a U.S. [Government] recognised religion, in our schools, classrooms, and to this entire generation."[7] Mallory said the books carry "evil themes, witchcraft, demonic activity, murder, evil blood sacrifice, spells and teaching children all of this." Mallory, who is a Christian missionary, said that she believed the books encouraged children to practice religious witchcraft or become Wiccans.[89][90] Mallory also commented that she has not read the entire book series because "they're really very long and I have four kids. I've put a lot of work into what I've studied and read. I think it would be hypocritical for me to read all the books, honestly".[91] Following her case's rejection by the school, Mallory then took her case to the school appeals committee, but was rejected again.[5] On 20 April 2006, Mallory took her case to the Gwinnett County School Board, but on 11 May, the board voted unanimously against her.[5] In June 2006, Mallory launched an appeal against the County Board's decision with the Georgia State Board of Education; that appeal was rejected the following December.[92] In January 2007, she appealed to the Gwinnett Superior Court; that appeal too was rejected three months later. She considered taking the case to federal court, but spent the following summer with her husband and four children.[92][93][94] She is now an ordained minister for children and young adults, claiming that her case against Harry Potter has inspired her to a new calling.[94][95]
In July 2006, Sariya Allan, a teaching assistant at Durand Primary School in Stockwell, South London, quit her job after she was suspended for refusing to listen to a seven-year-old pupil read a Harry Potter book in class. A practising Pentecostal, she told the girl that "I don't do witchcraft in any form," and that she would be "cursed" if she heard the novel recited. Allan took her dispute with the school to an Employment Tribunal, citing religious discrimination and claiming for damages. The school's lawyer claimed that, "her suspension was due to her obstructive conduct over time. It was not down to that day alone."[96] The case was heard in June 2007 and the tribunal found in favour of the school.[97]
In September 2007, Pastor Ron Barker of St. Joseph Church in Wakefield, Massachusetts received international attention after pulling the books from the shelves of the parish's K-8 school. According to the ALA, this was the first time the books were banned in Massachusetts. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston claimed this was an independent action in which the Church played no role. "It may be a great series, but for some it is a vehicle for entering into some occult practices," he said. "Sorcery and witchcraft are not appropriate subjects for a Catholic school and I do not want parents or children thinking we approve of them in our library."[98] He claimed his actions were no different from protecting children with a peanut allergy; "What I did is start a spiritual peanut butter ban on Harry Potter," he said.[99]
Responses to criticism[edit]
Wicca[edit]
In response to the criticism that the books promote Wicca, a number of Wiccans and other commenters have argued that the critics' definition of Wicca tends to lump together many and various spiritualist practices that actually have little in common. They have also highlighted the differences between magic within Wicca, which is invocational and derives from the divine powers, and that depicted by the Harry Potter books, which is a purely mechanical application of spells without invoking any deities. A Wiccan review of Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged pointed out that "communing with the dead and spirit world, sorcery, curses, occult symbology, black magic [and] demon possession"—all cited by the book as evidence of Harry Potter promoting Wicca—are not part of Wiccan belief.[100]
Divinatory practices such as scrying and astrology, although occasionally employed by characters in the books are neither unique nor central to the Wiccan religion[101] and are treated in the novels in a condescending, tongue-in-cheek manner; the school divination teacher is, according to writer Christine Schoeffer, "a misty, dreamy, dewy charlatan,"[102] who is ridiculed by the students and staff alike. In the Harry Potter universe, Schoeffer claims, "the entire intuitive tradition of fortune-telling … is discredited."[102]
The website religioustolerance.org says, in their analysis of Chick's "The Nervous Witch", that the comic's heroine cries that 'she got into "The Craft" (i.e. Wicca) "Through the Harry Potter books! We wanted his powers … so we called for spirit guides. Then they came into us." In reality, spirit guides are unrelated to the Witchcraft in the Harry Potter books and are not sought by Wiccans. They are a New Age phenomenon.'[103]
Occult vs. fantasy and fairytale magic[edit]
Regardless, statements such as those in Witchcraft Repackaged that the books depict actual occultist practices of any kind have been roundly criticised. Christian writer Stephen D. Greydanus writes that the magic of the Harry Potter novels is not the ritualistic, invocative magic of Wicca or occultism but the same "fantasy" magic practised in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis; "If anything, the magic in Rowling's world is even more emphatically imaginary, even further removed from real-world practices, than that of Tolkien or Lewis; and, like theirs, presents no appreciable risk of direct imitative behaviour."[104] Christianity Today columnist Charles Colson asserts that the magic in Harry Potter is "purely mechanical, as opposed to occultic. That is, Harry and his friends cast spells, read crystal balls, and turn themselves into animals—but they don't make contact with a supernatural world. [It's not] the kind of real-life witchcraft the Bible condemns."[1] Austin Cline notes that, "The Harry Potter books simply aren't about Wicca as it is currently practiced. J.K Rowling researched Wiccan practices and incorporated a few elements in order to give her books a bit more of an air of reality, but she and Wicca are drawing upon the same corpus of ancient traditions and stories so similarities are inevitable. They certainly aren't a sign that the books work to "indoctrinate" people into Wicca as a religion."[105]
In his book, John Granger makes what he thinks a critical distinction between what he calls the dangerous invocational magic (calling a spirit) and Rowling's incantational magic, in which the formula one speaks gets the job done, and says that her presentation to the materialistic world that there is more out there than is visible is doing a service for the cause of Christian evangelism.[106]
Connie Neal has commented that, "there are 64 real references to witchcraft in the first four Harry Potter books, but you have to see them in context to know they are not teaching witchcraft or sorcery. Many of the detractors who have actually read the books already have made up their mind that Harry Potter is evil before they read. They have taken a magnifying glass and picked at the books, using literary reductionism to find what they want to find. You can pick up Dickens' A Christmas Carol and do the same thing that these people have done with Harry Potter; it is ridiculous."[107]
In 2001, Massimo Introvigne, an Italian expert in emerging religious movements, criticised the Fundamentalist impulse to distrust fantasy. "Fundamentalists reject, or even burn, all products of contemporary popular culture, because their modes of production, languages and styles are not intrinsically Christian [...] Most children understand that magic is used in fairy tales and juvenile supernatural fiction as a century-old language, and that this is fiction, not reality. If we dismiss the use of magic as a language, we should at least be fundamentalist to the bitter end, and go against "Mary Poppins," "Peter Pan," and "Sleeping Beauty," and insist that Cinderella puts a burkha on."[108]
Secularism[edit]
Another response to the claim that the books promote the religion of witchcraft, which has been raised as much by Christians critical of the books as those who support them, is that, far from promoting religion, the books do not promote religion in any way. Apart from celebrating Christmas and Easter and a non-denominational clergyman presiding at both Dumbledore's funeral and the Weasleys' wedding, religious practices are largely absent from the books. In her critical editorial on the books, Focus on the Family's Lindy Beam comments, "The spiritual fault of Harry Potter is not so much that Rowling is playing to dark supernatural powers, but that she doesn't acknowledge any supernatural powers at all. These stories are not fueled [sic] by witchcraft, but by secularism."[1] The Harry Potter books have been lauded by atheists and secularists for their determinedly non-religious outlook. Mika LaVaque-Manty of the liberal website Left2Right notes, "Religion plays no role in the books. There are no churches, no other religious institutions, nobody prays or meditates, and even funerals are non-religious affairs."[2] When considering the role of religion within Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Christopher Hitchens observed the apparent secularism in the novel, stating that the characters of Harry and Hermione possess certain moral virtues while also expressing an ignorance of Christian ideas.[109] In an article written for Time magazine before the publication of the seventh and final book in the series entitled "Who Dies in Harry Potter? God," Lev Grossman argues that, "Harry Potter lives in a world free of any religion or spirituality of any kind. He lives surrounded by ghosts but has no one to pray to, even if he were so inclined, which he isn't." Grossman goes on to contrast Harry Potter with other, more explicitly religious fantasies, such as C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia and J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.[110]
Rowling's response[edit]
J.K. Rowling has repeatedly denied that her books lead children into witchcraft.[111] In an interview with CNN in 1999, she said,[112]

"I absolutely did not start writing these books to encourage any child into witchcraft. I'm laughing slightly because to me, the idea is absurd. I have met thousands of children and not even one time has a child come up to me and said, "Ms Rowling, I'm so glad I've read these books because now I want to be a witch."
In an interview on the Donny & Marie Show in 1999, Rowling said that "You have a perfect right, of course, as every parent does, and I'm a parent, to decide what your child is exposed to. You do not have the right to decide what everyone else's children are exposed to. So that's how I feel about it".[113]
"Practicing Wiccans think I'm also a witch", Rowling told Entertainment Weekly in 2000. "I'm not."[114]
"People underestimate children so hugely", Rowling said when asked about the controversy in the 2001 documentary Harry Potter and Me, "They know it's fiction. When people are arguing from that kind of standpoint, I don't think reason works tremendously well. But I would be surprised if some of them had read the books at all."[115]
Christianity in the novels[edit]
While many describe the books as secular or Satanic, many writers, including Rowling herself, have gone to great lengths to demonstrate that the books actively promote Christian values.
Rowling attended a Church of Scotland congregation while writing Harry Potter and her eldest daughter, Jessica, was baptised into that faith.[116] "I go to church myself", she told MTV in 2007, "I don't take any responsibility for the lunatic fringes of my own religion".[117] In 2000, when asked if she was a Christian by journalist Max Wyman of The Vancouver Sun, she replied,[3]

"Yes, I am, which seems to offend the religious right far worse than if I said I thought there was no God. Every time I've been asked if I believe in God, I've said yes, because I do, but no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that, and I have to say that does suit me, because if I talk too freely about that I think the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what's coming in the books."
"Personally", she said of her religious faith, "I think you can see that in the books. Of course, Hogwarts is a multifaith school."[118] Rowling claims to have been very careful not to colour her novels in an overtly religious way, lest one faith be given prominence over any other.[13] Rowling said that to her, the moral significance of the tales seems "blindingly obvious".[3] The key for her was the choice between what is right and what is easy, "because that, that is how tyranny is started, with people being apathetic and taking the easy route and suddenly finding themselves in deep trouble."[3] In an interview with MTV after the publication of the last book, she is quoted as saying, "To me [the religious parallels have] always been obvious, but I never wanted to talk too openly about it because I thought it might show people who just wanted the story where we were going."[119]
In 2007, Rowling described her religious background in an interview with the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant:[120]

"I was officially raised in the Church of England, but I was actually more of a freak in my family. We didn't talk about religion in our home. My father didn't believe in anything, neither did my sister. My mother would incidentally visit the church, but mostly during Christmas. And I was immensely curious. From when I was 13, 14 I went to church alone. I found it very interesting what was being said there, and I believed in it. When I went to university, I became more critical. I got more annoyed with the smugness of religious people and I went to church less and less. Now I'm at the point where I started: yes, I believe. And yes, I go to the church. A protestant church here in Edinburgh. My husband is also raised protestant, but he comes from a very strict Scottish group. One where they couldn't sing and talk."
Rowling has occasionally expressed ambivalence about her religious faith. In a 2006 interview with Tatler magazine, Rowling noted that, "like Graham Greene, my faith is sometimes about if my faith will return. It's important to me."[121] In a British documentary, JK Rowling: A Year in the Life, when asked if she believed in God, she said, "Yes. I do struggle with it; I couldn't pretend that I'm not doubt-ridden about a lot of things and that would be one of them but I would say yes." When asked if she believed in an afterlife, she said, "Yes; I think I do."[122] In a 2008 interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, Rowling said, "I feel very drawn to religion, but at the same time I feel a lot of uncertainty. I live in a state of spiritual flux. I believe in the permanence of the soul."[123]
Rowling and the Inklings[edit]
Several Christian writers have compared Rowling to the Inklings, a group that included C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams, who explored Christian themes and morality in a fantasy context.[124] Dave Kopel, citing John Granger's book, draws comparisons between Rowling's and Lewis's common usage of Christian symbols, such as lions, unicorns and stags. He compares the work to Lewis's Christian allegory:[125] "In the climax of Chamber of Secrets, Harry descends to a deep underworld, is confronted by two satanic minions (Voldemort and a giant serpent), is saved from certain death by his faith in Dumbledore (the bearded God the Father/Ancient of Days), rescues the virgin (Virginia [sic] Weasley), and ascends in triumph. It's Pilgrim's Progress for a new audience."[126] (This quotation predates Rowling's revelation that Ginny Weasley's full name is Ginevra, not Virginia.)
Other Christian writers find Rowling's treatment of magic less acceptable than Lewis's and Tolkien's. In his essay "Harry Potter vs. Gandalf," Steven D. Greydanus notes that in the works of Tolkien and Lewis, magic is confined to alien realms with their own laws, whereas Rowling's world coexists with our own; he thinks this is wrong: "Lewis goes to great lengths to make clear just how dangerous and wrong, how incompatible with Christianity, is any form of attempted magic in our world."[104] John Andrew Murray similarly observes that Rowling's work portrays magic as a natural force to be manipulated, while Lewis and Tolkien portray magic as a gift bestowed by a higher power: "Despite superficial similarities, Rowling's and Lewis' worlds are as far apart as east is from west. Rowling's work invites children to a world where witchcraft is 'neutral' and where authority is determined solely by one's cleverness. Lewis invites readers to a world where God's authority is not only recognised, but celebrated — a world that resounds with His goodness and care."[107]
Rowling's attitude toward the Inklings, and to Lewis in particular, has undergone change. In 1998, in one of her earliest interviews, she said that she had a lifelong love of C. S. Lewis. "Even now, if I was in a room with one of the Narnia books I would pick it up like a shot and re-read it."[127] However, in later interviews she expressed a different opinion. "I adored [Lewis' books] when I was a child," she told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2001, "I got so caught up I didn't think C. S. Lewis was especially preachy. Reading them now I find that his subliminal message isn't very subliminal."[128] In an interview with Lev Grossman in 2005, she said, "There comes a point [in Lewis' The Last Battle] where Susan, who was the older girl, is lost to Narnia because she becomes interested in lipstick. She's become irreligious basically because she found sex. I have a big problem with that."[129]
"I did not set out to convert anyone to Christianity," she told Time in 2007; "I wasn't trying to do what C. S. Lewis did. It is perfectly possible to live a very moral life without a belief in God, and I think it's perfectly possible to live a life peppered with ill-doing and believe in God."[13]
As regards Tolkien, Rowling said in 2000 that "I didn't read The Hobbit until after the first Harry book was written, though I read Lord of the Rings when I was nineteen. I think, setting aside the obvious fact that we both use myth and legend, that the similarities are fairly superficial. Tolkien created a whole new mythology, which I would never claim to have done. On the other hand, I think I have better jokes."[130]
Christian allegories in Deathly Hallows[edit]
A number of commentators have drawn attention to the Biblical themes and references in her final Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In an August 2007 issue of Newsweek, Lisa Miller commented that Harry dies and then comes back to life to save mankind, like Christ. She points out the title of the chapter in which this occurs—"King's Cross"—a possible allusion to Christ's cross. Also, she outlines the scene in which Harry is temporarily dead, pointing out that it places Harry in a very heaven-like setting where he talks to a father figure "whose supernatural powers are accompanied by a profound message of love". Miller argues that these parallels make it difficult to believe that the basis of the stories is Satanic.[131] There is also speculation from The Leaky Cauldron's podcast, PotterCast, episode 115 entitled "Those Deathly Hallows," in the Canon Conclusion segment with Steve Vander Ark, that the Hallows act as a parallel to the Holy Trinity; Harry accepts death as did Jesus, they both come back from death, and defeat the Devil/Voldemort.[132] Jeffrey Weiss adds, in The Dallas Morning News, that the biblical quotation "And the last enemy that shall be defeated is death,"[133] featured on the tombstones of Harry's parents, refers to Christ's victory over death at the end of the world.[134] The quotation on Dumbledore's family tomb, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also", is from Matthew 6:21, and refers to knowing which things in life are of true value.[135] "They're very British books," Rowling revealed to an Open Book conference in October 2007, "So on a very practical note Harry was going to find biblical quotations on tombstones, [but] I think those two particular quotations he finds on the tombstones at Godric's Hollow, … almost epitomise the whole series."[117]
Deathly Hallows begins with a pair of epigraphs, one by Quaker leader William Penn and one from Aeschylus' The Libation Bearers. "I really enjoyed choosing those two quotations because one is pagan, of course, and one is from a Christian tradition", Rowling said. "I'd known it was going to be those two passages since 'Chamber' was published. I always knew [that] if I could use them at the beginning of book seven then I'd queued up the ending perfectly. If they were relevant, then I went where I needed to go. They just say it all to me, they really do."[117]
Raymond Keating also outlines several Christian themes of the last book in an article in Newsday, concluding that "It's possible to read Lord of the Rings and Narnia without recognizing the religious aspects. That's even more so the case with Harry Potter. But Christian themes are there nonetheless".[136] Christian commentator Jerry Bowyer says of Rowling's "fundamentalist bashers",[4] "So much of the religious right failed to see the Christianity in the Potter novels because it knows so little Christianity itself [...] The gospel stories themselves, the various metaphors and figures of the Law and the Prophets, and their echoes down through the past two millennia of Christian literature and art are largely unknown to vast swaths of American Christendom."[4] As regards Rowling's belief that discussing her faith would spoil the books, Bowyer says, "For once, I disagree with her: I don't think [the bashers] would have guessed the ending. Most of them can't recognise the ending of the story even after it's been told."[4]
In her appraisal of the series, The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide, author Nancy Carpentier Brown writes,[135]

"After burying the remains of Mad-Eye Moody, Harry "marked the spot by gouging a small cross in the bark with his wand." Now, if they were true Wiccans, wouldn’t he have gouged a pentagram? When Harry finally has the chance to face Voldemort (Tom Riddle) and possibly kill him, Harry pauses and offers Voldemort a chance, saying, "Show some remorse." ... Giving a person a chance to redeem themselves, to begin to realise your own sins, by showing remorse, shows a Christian theme to the story."
Dumbledore's sexual orientation[edit]
On 19 October 2007, Rowling spoke at New York's Carnegie Hall. When asked by a fan whether Albus Dumbledore, the books' wise mentor-figure, "who believed in the prevailing power of love, ever [fell] in love himself", Rowling replied,

"My truthful answer to you … I always thought of Dumbledore as gay. … Dumbledore fell in love with Gellert Grindelwald, and that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was … falling in love can blind us to an extent … he was very drawn to this brilliant person, and horribly, terribly let down by him."[137]
The statement was met with an ovation from the audience. "If I'd known it would make you so happy, I would have announced it years ago!" Rowling said.[137] In an appearance three days later in Toronto, she responded to questions about Dumbledore's "outing" by saying that she had decided his sexuality "from very early on. Probably before the first book was published."[138]
Christians critical of both Harry Potter and homosexuality responded pointedly to the revelation. Christian author Berit Kjos wrote,

"My first response was, "Thank you, Lord," because this helps us show others that these books should not be used in the churches to illustrate Christianity. Because Dumbledore has been revealed as a homosexual, it helps me communicate my message. It helps Christians who are concerned about the use of Harry Potter books in churches, because it makes it very clear that these books are not intended to be Christian, that Rowling isn't speaking as a Christian. She has introduced values that are contrary to the Biblical message."[139]
Laura Mallory responded to the Rowling's statement by telling U.S. network ABC, "My prayer is that parents would wake up, that the subtle way this is presented as harmless fantasy would be exposed for what it really is: a subtle indoctrination into anti-Christian values … A homosexual lifestyle is a harmful one. That's proven, medically."[140] Linda Harvey, the president of Mission America, an organization which "monitors both the homosexual agenda directed at children as well as paganism among American youth,"[141] wrote an opinion piece for WorldNetDaily, asking:

"Will we allow our kids to believe it would be perfectly appropriate for the headmaster of any school to be homosexual? … Will some find ways to re-cast homosexuality into something different than the "abomination" it's called in Scripture? Will it become something more like a sad disability, one that the "mean religious right" targets for nefarious purposes?"[141]
"It's very disappointing that the author would have to make one of the characters gay," said Roberta Combs, president of the Christian Coalition of America, "It's not a good example for our children, who really like the books and the movies. It encourages homosexuality."[142] On 27 October 2007, Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network called for a ban on the books.[142]
Rowling commented on the dispute in an interview with the BBC. "Do I think a gay person can be a moral compass? I think it's ludicrous that we are asking that question in the 21st century. The Christian fundamentalists were never my base."[143]
John Granger, in his blog, reposted the negative reactions of many Christians:

"The media presentation of the event as Ms. Rowling’s endorsement of homosexuality and an anti-faith agenda was straight from Rita Skeeter’s notebook and part of their endless campaign to convince the public that Ms. Rowling is the enemy of their enemy, namely, the Church; the anguished and disappointed response of many Christian readers to these reports was also according to Culture War formula and in keeping with a hyper-extended understanding of the word gay. "Dumbledore is gay" no more makes the books an invitation to homosexuality or contrary to orthodox Christian belief than Sorcerer’s Stone made them a "gateway to the occult."[144]
Catholic fantasy author Regina Doman wrote an essay titled "In Defense of Dumbledore," in which she argued that the books actually support Catholic teaching on homosexuality because Dumbledore's relationship with the dark wizard Grindelwald leads to obviously terrible results, as he becomes interested in dark magic himself, neglects his responsibilities towards his younger sister and ultimately causes her death.[145]
Despite Rowling stating that "he (Dumbledore) is my character and as my character, I have the right to know what I know about him and say what I say about him",[138] a number of commentators have argued that Rowling's claim has no weight, as there is no indication anywhere in the novels of Dumbledore's homosexuality. "Ms. Rowling may think of Dumbledore as gay," said New York Times columnist Edward Rothstein, "but there is no reason why anyone else should."[146] According to John Mark Reynolds, assistant professor of philosophy at Biola University and the founder of Torrey Honors Institute, "there is just no way to know this “fact” about Dumbledore from the books. It is not there, it is not relevant, and Rowling’s opinions about her characters are now only of historical interest".[147] Others doubted that Rowling's claim was true to her original intent, and some considered it a publicity stunt.[148] American writer Orson Scott Card criticised Rowling's revelation as "appallingly hypocritical", saying that "Instead of making us know and understand the character as a gay man, we are slapped with it at the end, as if being gay were just an afterthought".[149]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d Ted Olsen. "Opinion Roundup: Positive About Potter". Retrieved 2007-07-06.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Mika LaVaque-Manty (2005). "J. K. Rowling's modern world". Left2Right. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
3.^ Jump up to: a b c d "'You can lead a fool to a book but you can't make them think'". Vancouver Sun. 2000-10-26. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
4.^ Jump up to: a b c d Jerry Bowyer (2007). "Harry Potter and the Fire breathing Fundamentalists". Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
5.^ Jump up to: a b c d Ben Smith (2007). "Next installment of mom vs. Potter set for Gwinnett court". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on 2007-06-01. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
6.^ Jump up to: a b "Georgia mom seeks Harry Potter ban". MSNBC.com. 4 October 2006
7.^ Jump up to: a b Laura Mallory (2007). "Harry Potter Appeal Update". Retrieved 2007-05-16.
8.^ Jump up to: a b Clive Leviev-Sawyer (2004). "Bulgarian church warns against the spell of Harry Potter". Ecumenica News International. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
9.^ Jump up to: a b "Church: Harry Potter film a font of evil". Kathimerini. 2003. Archived from the original on 4 March 2003.
10.^ Jump up to: a b "Pope Opposes Harry Potter Novels - Signed Letters from Cardinal Ratzinger Now Online". LifeSite News. 2005-07-13. Retrieved 2011-07-17.
11.^ Jump up to: a b "Emirates ban Potter book". BBC News. 2002-02-12. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
12.^ Jump up to: a b "Iranian Daily: Harry Potter, Billion-Dollar Zionist Project". The Mimri blog. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
13.^ Jump up to: a b c "Time Person of the Year Runner Up: JK Rowling". 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
14.^ Jump up to: a b Kurtz, Holly (1999-11-06). "Harry Potter expelled from school". Denver Rocky Mountain News.
15.Jump up ^ "'Satanic' Harry Potter books burnt". BBC. 2001-12-31. Retrieved 2007-03-13.; Michael Miller (2001-04-23). "Harry Potter meets Wizard of Dumb". South Florida Business Journal. Retrieved 2007-07-05.; Audi, Tamara (Aug. 6, 2003). "Church group burns Harry Potter books, Shania Twain CDs", Church group burns Harry Potter books, Shania Twain CDs. Detroit Free Press
16.Jump up ^ Chick, Jack T. "The Nervous Witch". Chick Publications. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
17.Jump up ^ Jacqui Komschlies (2000). "Matters of Opinion: The Perils of Harry Potter". Christianity Today. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
18.Jump up ^ "Ban Harry Potter or face more school shootings". The Daily Mail (London). 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
19.Jump up ^ Matrisciana, Caryl. "Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged". Chick Publications. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
20.Jump up ^ "Harry Potter, Narnia, and the Lord of the Rings". REviewers' Bookwatch. 2006. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
21.Jump up ^ Belinda Elliott. "Harry Potter: Harmless Christian Novel or Doorway to the Occult?". CBN.com. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
22.Jump up ^ "Harry Potter Sparks Rise in Satanism in Children". The Onion. 2000-07-26. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
23.Jump up ^ "Snopes.com: Harry Potter". 200. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
24.Jump up ^ "Harry Potter Author Admits She's an Avowed Satanist-Fiction!". Truthorfiction.com. 2002. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
25.Jump up ^ Alison Flood (2009-09-29). "JK Rowling lost out on US medal over Harry Potter 'witchcraft'". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
26.Jump up ^ Jones, Jeffrey M. (13 July 2000). Even Adults Familiar with Harry Potter Books. The Gallup Poll.
27.Jump up ^ Frank Newport and Joseph Carroll. "Another Look at Evangelicals in America Today". Retrieved 2007-12-27.
28.Jump up ^ "Religion". The Gallup Poll. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
29.Jump up ^ Baez, Fernando (2008). A Universal History of the Destruction of Books. New York: Atlas & Co. pp. 228–229. ISBN 978-1-934633-01-4.
30.Jump up ^ Connie Neal. "What's A Christian to Do with Harry Potter? (2000, WaterBrook Press)". Archived from the original on 2007-07-28. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
31.Jump up ^ Connie Neal. "The Gospel according to Harry Potter (2002, Westminster John Knox Press)". Archived from the original on 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
32.Jump up ^ Connie Neal. "Wizards, Wardrobes, and Wookiees: Navigating Good and Evil in Harry Potter, Narnia, and Star Wars (2007, InterVarsity Press)". Archived from the original on 2007-08-19. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
33.Jump up ^ Mike Hertenstein. "Harry Potter vs the Muggles, Myth Magic and Joy". Cornerstone Magazine. Archived from the original on 2007-07-18. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
34.Jump up ^ Editorial (Jan. 10, 2000). "Why We Like Harry Potter". Christianity Today.
35.Jump up ^ Peter Ciaccio, "Harry Potter and Christian Theology", in Elizabeth E. Heilman (ed.), Critical perspectives on Harry Potter (2nd ed.), Routledge, London and New York, pp. 33-46; Peter Ciaccio, Il vangelo secondo Harry Potter, Claudiana, Torino, 2011.
36.Jump up ^ George Pell (23 September 2007). "Harry Potter And The Christians". The Sunday Telegraph. |accessdate= requires |url= (help)
37.Jump up ^ Ruth Gledhill (2005-04-09). "A fair world built on Man's transcendent dignity". London: Times Online. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
38.Jump up ^ Paul Poupard (2003). "Presentations of the Holy See's document on "New Age"". Pontifical Council for Culture. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
39.Jump up ^ "Catholic church stands up for Harry Potter". London: The Guardian. 2003-02-04. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
40.Jump up ^ "Pope sticks up for Potter books". BBC Newsround. 2003-02-03. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
41.Jump up ^ "Harry Potter Gets Vatican's Blessing?". LifeSite Newsl. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
42.Jump up ^ Morris, Linda (2006-01-09). "Devil in the detail: Vatican exorcises Harry Potter". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
43.Jump up ^ Fr. Roderick Vonhögen (14 July 2005). "Speak of the Devil... Transcript of the Vatican Radio program 105Live". CatholicInsider.com. Internet Archive. Archived from the original on 2005-07-16. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
44.Jump up ^ "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
45.Jump up ^ "Archived Movie Reviews". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
46.Jump up ^ "Ten Best List for the Year 2004". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office for Film and Broadcasting. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
47.Jump up ^ "Ten Best List for the Year 2010". Retrieved 31 May 2011.
48.Jump up ^ Cindy Wooden (2008-01-15). "Writers in Vatican newspaper debate lessons of Harry Potter novels". Catholic News Service. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
49.Jump up ^ Katherine T Phan (2008). "Vatican slams Harry Potter as 'wrong kind of hero'". christiantoday.com. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
50.^ Jump up to: a b Nick Squires (2009). "Harry Potter and the incredibly positive review from the official Vatican paper". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
51.Jump up ^ Mikael, Mona (2007). Harry Potter et l'ordre des ténèbres. Cadillac: Editions Saint-Remi ESR. p. 446. ISBN 978-2-84519-707-7.
52.Jump up ^ Диакон Андрей Кураев. Гарри Поттер в Церкви: между анафемой и улыбкой. CПб.: Нева, 2003. Available on Kuraev's site
53.Jump up ^ Austin Cline. "Review: Looking for God in Harry Potter". Retrieved 2007-05-06.
54.Jump up ^ "THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS News in the media: 2000 to 2003". 2004. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
55.Jump up ^ "Harry Potter goes to church". BBC News. 2000. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
56.Jump up ^ McLean, Gareth (2002-06-12). "Hogwarts and all". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2007-06-15.
57.Jump up ^ "Filming Locations - Harry Potter". British Council. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
58.Jump up ^ "Sermon: Cuthbert". Durham Cathedral. 2005-03-19. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
59.Jump up ^ Carey, George (31 December 2001). Archbishop Of Canterbury New Year Message. Speech.
60.Jump up ^ "Church House Bookshop: Mixing it up with Harry Potter". Retrieved 2011-12-22.
61.Jump up ^ "Finding faith in Harry Potter's magic". Diocese of Manchester. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-03-13. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
62.Jump up ^ http://muslimmatters.org/2012/01/12/5-important-lessons-from-harry-potter/
63.Jump up ^ Khalid Baig. "Harry Potter: Facts about Fiction". Albalagh. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
64.Jump up ^ Um Noah. "Harry Who? An Islamic Analysis of the Harry Potter Phenomenon". Mission Islam. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
65.Jump up ^ "Growth of 'new media' fatwas rankles traditional Islamic establishment". The Associated Press. 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
66.Jump up ^ "Terrorist attack at the Potter book launch site foiled in Pakistan". Deutsche Presse Agentur. 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
67.Jump up ^ "Harry Potter and Zionism, the Untold Story (Updated)". Kamangir (Archer). 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
68.Jump up ^ "Some don't find 'Potter' bewitching". The Philadelphia Enquirer. 2001. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
69.Jump up ^ "Is Harry Potter Jewish?". Israel Culture. 2005. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
70.Jump up ^ Jonathan Sacks (2007-08-04). "Harry Potter could teach adults how to grow up, too". TimesOnline (London). Retrieved 2007-11-10.
71.Jump up ^ "Harry Potter's Israel launch pits wizard vs rabbis". Reuters. 2007-07-18. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
72.Jump up ^ "Harry Potter Tops ALA's Most-Challenged Books List". American Library Association. 2000. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
73.Jump up ^ "The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000". American Library Association. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
74.^ Jump up to: a b "The History of kidSPEAK!". 2001. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
75.Jump up ^ American Library Association (21 September 2006). Harry Potter tops list of most challenged books of 21st century. Press release.
76.Jump up ^ ""The Chocolate War" tops 2004 most challenged book list". ala.org. 2005. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
""And Tango Makes Three" tops ALA's 2006 list of most challenged books". ala.org. 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
""It's Perfectly Normal" tops ALA's 2005 list of most challenged books". ala.org. 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
"Children’s book on male penguins raising chick tops ALA's 2007 list of most challenged books". ala.org. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
"Top ten most frequently challenged books of 2008". 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
77.^ Jump up to: a b Austin Cline. "Christian Censorship of Harry Potter". Retrieved 2007-09-28.
78.Jump up ^ "Michigan School Superintendent Restricts Harry Potter Books". American Library Association. 199. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
79.Jump up ^ "Free Speech Victory in Zeeland". kidspeakonline.org. 1999. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
80.Jump up ^ "Jacksonville Library Drops Harry Potter Certificates". American Library Association. 2000. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
81.Jump up ^ "School bans Harry Potter". BBC News. 2000-03-29. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
82.Jump up ^ Paul Vallely (2000). "Faith & Reason: Harry Potter and a theology lesson for adults". The Independent. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
83.Jump up ^ LIBBY MIDDLEBROOK (2000-08-03). "It's wizard: Harry Potter's spells can be spoken in class". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
84.Jump up ^ Tess Kalinowski (2006). "Durham won't restrict access to book; Kids' stories on Mideast conflict deemed appropriate Same board temporarily exiled Potter series for witchcraft". cjc.ca. Archived from the original on October 22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
85.^ Jump up to: a b "Back to School with the Religious Right". People For The American Way. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
86.Jump up ^ "Judge Smites Harry Potter Restrictions in Arkansas". American Library Association. 2003-04-28. Retrieved 2007-03-13. The district court's opinion can be found here.
87.Jump up ^ "Fayetteville Rethinks Restricted Reads". American Library Association. 2005. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
88.Jump up ^ "Russian Prosecutor: Harry Potter Isn't Satanic". American Libraries Online. 2003. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
89.Jump up ^ Rick Badie (22 April 2006). Parents should teach kids difference between real, make-believe worlds. The Atlanta Journal
90.Jump up ^ Witchcraft or fantasy? Education officer hears about Harry Potter. The Associated Press. 3 October 2006
91.Jump up ^ Madan, Rubina (2006-04-19). "Hearing to determine fate of 'Harry Potter' books in GCPS". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
92.^ Jump up to: a b "Judge upholds schools' decision to keep Harry Potter books". Associated Press. 2007-05-29. Archived from the original on October 22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
93.Jump up ^ Weber, Harry R. (29 May 2007). "Ga. Judge: Keep Potter Books in School". The Washington Post (The Associated Press). Retrieved 8 August 2013.
94.^ Jump up to: a b The Associated Press (2007). "Mother who fought against Harry Potter books finds new calling". Retrieved 2007-08-16.
95.Jump up ^ Sharon Swanepoel (2007). "Harry's Harshest Critic Speaks Out". The Loganville Tribune. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
96.Jump up ^ Fernandez, Colin (2007-06-09). "Christian teacher 'bans reading of Harry Potter witchcraft in class'". London: The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
97.Jump up ^ Clover, Ben (2007-06-12). "Christian teacher 'bans reading of Harry Potter witchcraft in class'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
98.Jump up ^ Gary Band (2008). "Pastor removes Harry Potter books from school library". Wakefield Observer. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
99.Jump up ^ "Catholic School Bans Harry Potter", thebostonchannel.com, 2008
100.Jump up ^ "Reviews of the video by Jeremiah Films: "Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged"". religioustolerance.org. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
101.Jump up ^ "Six different, unrelated, forms of Witchcraft: Harry Potter to Wicca". religioustolerance.org. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
102.^ Jump up to: a b Schoeffer, Christine. "Harry Potter's girl trouble". Salon.com. Retrieved 2006-06-20.
103.Jump up ^ "NEGATIVE REVIEWS BY CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIANS TO THE HARRY POTTER BOOKS". religioustolerance.org. 2000. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
104.^ Jump up to: a b Stephen D. Greydanus. "Harry Potter vs. Gandalf". Retrieved 2007-06-06.
105.Jump up ^ Austin Cline. "Harry Potter Books to Blame for School Shootings". Retrieved 2007-10-05.
106.Jump up ^ John Granger (2006). Looking for God in Harry Potter. SaltRiver.
107.^ Jump up to: a b "Harry Potter and the Christian Cauldron". The Rutherford Institute. Archived from the original on 2007-06-15. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
108.Jump up ^ "Fundamentalism Afoot in Anti-Potter Camp, Says New-Religions Expert Popular Culture Enjoys an Autonomy, Explains Massimo Introvigne". Zenit News Agency News. 2001. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
109.Jump up ^ Hitchens, Christopher (2007). "The Boy Who Lived". The New York Times.
110.Jump up ^ Grossman, Lev (2007-07-12). "Who Dies in Harry Potter? God". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
111.Jump up ^ "Harry Potter and Me". BBC. 2001-12-28. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
112.Jump up ^ "Success of Harry Potter bowls author over". cnn.com. 1999. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
113.Jump up ^ Osmond, Danny; Marie Osmond (November 1999). "Interview of J.K. Rowling". Donny and Marie Show (ABC). Retrieved 2007-06-25.
114.Jump up ^ Jeff Jensen (2000-09-07). "'Fire' Storm". ew.com. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
115.Jump up ^ ""Harry Potter and Me" (BBC Christmas Special, British version)". BBC. 2001. Retrieved 2008-03-23.
116.Jump up ^ Linton Weeks (1999). "Charmed, I'm Sure". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
117.^ Jump up to: a b c Shawn Adler (2007). "'Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Opens Up About Books' Christian Imagery". mtv.com. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
118.Jump up ^ Karen Lindell (2007). "Magical experience for Harry Potter fans". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
119.Jump up ^ Shawn Adler (2007). "J.K. Rowling talks about Christian Imagery". MTV Online. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
120.Jump up ^ "New Interview with J.K. Rowling for Release of Dutch Edition of "Deathly Hallows"". The Leaky Cauldron. 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
121.Jump up ^ Geordie Greig (2006). "Special JK". Tatler. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
122.Jump up ^ "The Hog's Head". Retrieved 2008-04-08.
123.Jump up ^ "JK Rowling wants to see a Democrat in the White House". Earthtimes.org. 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-09.[dead link] (original article -in Spanish-)
124.Jump up ^ Mark Gudgel. "In Defense of Harry Potter". Relevant Magazine. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
125.Jump up ^ JK Rowling. "Some Random Facts About The Weasley Family". jkrowing.com. Archived from the original on 2007-06-24. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
126.Jump up ^ Dave Kopel (2003). "Deconstructing Rowling". National Review. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
127.Jump up ^ Helena de Bertodano (1998). "Harry Potter Charms a Nation". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
128.Jump up ^ Renton, Jennie. "The story behind the Potter legend: JK Rowling talks about how she created the Harry Potter books and the magic of Harry Potter's world". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
129.Jump up ^ "J.K. Rowling Hogwarts And All", 2005. Lev Grossman. TIME Magazine. Accessed: 25 October 2007
130.Jump up ^ "About the Books: transcript of J. K. Rowling's live interview on Scholastic.com". Scholastic.com. October 2000.
131.Jump up ^ Miller, Lisa. "Christ-like". Newsweek. Published: 2007-08-06 Vol. 150 Iss. 6 pg. 12 ISSN: 00289604
132.Jump up ^ "PotterCast 115: Those Deathly Hallows". The Leaky Cauldron. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
133.Jump up ^ 1st Corinthians 15:26
134.Jump up ^ Jeffrey Weiss (2007). "Christian Themes Abound in the Harry Potter books". Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 2007-08-26. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
135.^ Jump up to: a b Nancy Carpentier Brown (2007). "The Last Chapter". Our Sunday Visitor. Retrieved 2009-04-28. Kept at: OSV.com
136.Jump up ^ Keating, Raymond J. "Harry Potter and the Christian allegory." Newsday (New York) Pub: 2007-08-13 Pg. A35
137.^ Jump up to: a b "J. K. Rowling at Carnegie Hall Reveals Dumbledore is Gay; Neville Marries Hannah Abbott, and Much More". THe Leaky Cauldron. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
138.^ Jump up to: a b "Toronto Press Conference". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
139.Jump up ^ Raju Mudhar (2007-10-23). "Outing Dumbledore sparks fierce debate". thestar.com (Toronto). Retrieved 2007-10-27.
140.Jump up ^ "REASSESSMENTS: Dumbledore comes out in the world". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
141.^ Jump up to: a b Linda Harvey (2007). "Christian parents: Stop trusting Harry Potter". WorldNetDaily. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
142.^ Jump up to: a b "JK Rowling under fire from US Bible belt after outing Dumbledore as gay". The Daily Mail (London). 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
143.Jump up ^ "Harry Potter author JK Rowling pens new tale". couriermail.com.au. 1 November 2007. Accessed: 1 November 2007
144.Jump up ^ John Granger (2007). "I always thought of Dumbledore as gay." [ovation.]". hogwartsprofessor.com. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
145.Jump up ^ Regina Doman (2007). "In Defense of Dumbledore". therambleronline.com.
146.Jump up ^ Kimberly Maul (2007). "Harry Potter Fans Continue to Debate Rowling's Outing of Dumbledore". The Book Standard. Archived from the original on October 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
147.Jump up ^ Reynolds, John Mark (23 October 2007). "Dumbledore is not gay: Taking stories more seriously than the author". Scriptorium Daily. Retrieved 23 October 2007.
148.Jump up ^ "The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore". East Tennessean. 22 October 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
149.Jump up ^ Card, Orson Scott (20 July 2008). "Mamma Mia! and The Dark Knight - Uncle Orson Reviews Everything". Hatrack.com. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
External links[edit]
Book icon Book: Harry Potter


[hide]
­v·
 ­t·
 ­e
 
The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling



Philosopher's Stone
Film
Soundtrack
Game Chamber of Secrets
Film
Soundtrack
Game Prisoner of Azkaban
Film
Soundtrack
Game Goblet of Fire
Film
Soundtrack
Game Order of the Phoenix
Film
Soundtrack
Game Half-Blood Prince
Film
Soundtrack
Game Deathly Hallows
Film 1 · 2
Soundtrack 1 · 2
Game 1 · 2


Characters

Main
­Harry Potter·
 ­Ron Weasley·
 ­Hermione Granger·
 ­Lord Voldemort·
 ­Albus Dumbledore·
 ­Severus Snape·
 ­Rubeus Hagrid·
 ­Draco Malfoy
 

Supporting
­Hogwarts staff·
 ­Order of the Phoenix·
 ­Dumbledore's Army·
 ­Death Eaters
 


Universe
­Hogwarts·
 ­Magic·
 ­Magical creatures·
 ­Magical objects·
 ­Ministry of Magic·
 ­Muggle·
 ­Places·
 ­Quidditch·
 ­Spells
 

Related works
­Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them·
 ­Quidditch Through the Ages·
 ­The Tales of Beedle the Bard·
 ­Prequel·
 ­Pottermore
 

Film series
­Cast members·
 ­Critical response·
 ­Music·
 ­Production of Deathly Hallows·
 ­Theatrical run of Deathly Hallows – Part 2
 

Games
­Quidditch World Cup·
 ­Lego Harry Potter·
 ­Lego Creator: Harry Potter·
 ­Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4, Years 5–7·
 ­Book of Spells·
 ­Book of Potions·
 ­Action figures·
 ­Trading Card Game
 

Attractions
­The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort  (Dragon Challenge·
 ­Flight of the Hippogriff·
 ­Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey)
  ·
 ­The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood  (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey)
  ·
 ­Harry Potter Movie Magic Experience·
 ­Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
 

­Wikipedia book Book·
 ­Category Category·
 ­ Commons·
 ­Portal Portal
 

This is a featured article. Click here for more information.
 

Categories: Harry Potter controversies
Religious controversies
Witchcraft




Navigation menu


Create account
Log in


Article
Talk





Read
Edit
View history




 Search 


Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Toolbox
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Data item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
العربية
Español
Français
Bahasa Indonesia
Bahasa Melayu
Norsk nynorsk
Português
Simple English
Slovenčina
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 22 September 2013 at 07:06.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   



 
   
   

 




Politics of Harry Potter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

There are many published theories about politics in the Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling, which range from criticism of racism to anti-government sentiments. According to Inside Higher Ed, doctoral theses have been devoted to the Harry Potter books.[1] There are also several university courses centred on analysis of the Potter series, including an upper division Political Science course.[2]
Time Magazine noted the political and social aspects of Harry Potter in their 2007 Person of the Year issue where Rowling placed third behind politicians Vladimir Putin and Al Gore.[3] Harry Potter's potential social and political impact was called similar to the 19th century phenomenon of Harriet Beecher Stowe's popular, but critically maligned book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, which fuelled the abolitionist movement leading up to the American Civil War.[4]
When asked about the politics and message in Harry Potter, Rowling explained, "I wanted Harry to leave our world and find exactly the same problems in the wizarding world. So you have the intent to impose a hierarchy, you have bigotry, and this notion of purity, which is this great fallacy, but it crops up all over the world. People like to think themselves superior and that if they can pride themselves in nothing else they can pride themselves on perceived purity. So yeah that follows a parallel [to Nazism]. It wasn't really exclusively that. I think you can see in the Ministry even before it's taken over, there are parallels to regimes we all know and love."[5] She also said, "You should question authority and you should not assume that the establishment or the press tells you all of the truth."[6]
The Wall Street Journal compared Neville Chamberlain to Rowling's Cornelius Fudge, saying both were eager to help their constituents look the other way to avoid war. "Throughout the '30s, Chamberlain, fearing that Churchill was out for his job, conducted a campaign against his fellow Tory. Chamberlain denied the existence of the German menace and ridiculed Churchill as a 'warmonger'. He used The Times—the government's house organ—to attack Churchill and suppress dispatches from abroad about the Nazis that would have vindicated him."[7] Rowling confirmed Chamberlain was her inspiration in the Spanish newspaper magazine XLSemanal.[8] Rowling also told the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant that Voldemort was "a sort of Hitler", and that her decision to draw parallels with Nazism in the books was immediate.[9]

Contents
  [hide] 1 Education versus indoctrination
2 Racism, ethnic cleansing, and Nazism
3 Evils of war
4 Progressive values and diversity
5 Social activism
6 Subversive and anarchistic message
7 Conservative objections to liberal and socialist values
8 Conservative and sexist values
9 Neoliberal and capitalist values
10 Class distinctions
11 Anti-government interpretation
12 Characters compared to George Bush, Tony Blair, and Saddam Hussein
13 Education reform
14 Anti-terrorism
15 Harry Potter used by political activists 15.1 KidSPEAK!
15.2 The Harry Potter Alliance
15.3 Wal-Mart Watch
15.4 Stop Big Media
15.5 Center for Science in the Public Interest
15.6 Campaign for America's Future
16 Politics of J. K. Rowling 16.1 UK politics
16.2 U.S. politics
16.3 Amnesty International
16.4 Green values
16.5 Eating disorders
16.6 Age branding of children's books
17 References
18 External links
Education versus indoctrination[edit]
Entertainment Weekly noted that the post-9/11 generation's "ideas about war, about leadership, about the dangers of consolidation of power and of dictatorship, about the importance of dissent, and about heroism and sacrifice, have been shaped at least in part by Rowling," and that their concept of freedom of speech has been influenced by Rowling's weathering of her books' routine challenges.[10]
Bill O'Reilly joined in the political fray over Harry Potter character Albus Dumbledore's outing by asking if it was part of a "gay agenda" to indoctrinate children. He called J. K. Rowling a provocateur for telling fans about Dumbledore's sexuality after the books were written. His guest, Entertainment Weekly Senior Editor Tina Jordan, called his "indoctrination" claims "a shallow argument", saying "indoctrination is a very strong word" because "we all know gay people, whether we know it or not."[11] O'Reilly continued the following day saying that the real problem is Rowling is teaching "tolerance" and "parity for homosexuals with heterosexuals". His guest Dennis Miller said that tolerance was good and didn't think you could indoctrinate a child into being gay.[12]
Zenit, a news agency dedicated to promoting the message of the Catholic Church, accused Rowling of betraying her readers by disclosing Dumbledore's sexuality, and said Rowling is the wealthiest woman in Britain thanks to the lack of political, social or moral propaganda in her books.[13] The head of Human Life International, an American-based Roman Catholic activist pro-life organisation, taking a negative view of the books and "their literary offspring", said that Harry Potter indoctrinates young souls in the language and mechanics of the occult and said that Rowling's portrayal of Dumbledore socialises if not indoctrinates young people into tolerance of gays.[14] The Berkeley Beacon said that one parent's perception of indoctrination is another's education, in their article, No Politics in Harry Potter, which countered charges that Rowling promoted homosexuality in her books.[15] Discussing the controversy, Rowling told the BBC that "Christian fundamentalists were never my base" and thought it ridiculous to question if a gay person could be a moral compass in the 21st century.[16]
Discussing the values and morality of her characters Draco and Dudley, Rowling explained that both were indoctrinated with their parents' beliefs. "The moment Draco got what he thought he wanted, to become a Death Eater, and given a mission by Lord Voldemort, as he did in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, reality finally hit him," Rowling said, because his dream was "so very different". She said that there was a real moral cowardice to Draco, but that he was not wholly bad.[17]
Racism, ethnic cleansing, and Nazism[edit]



 This chart for distinguishing Jews, Germans, "mixed blood: first degree" and "mixed blood: second degree", used in Nazi Germany is redolent of the "pure-blood", "half-blood" and "Mudblood"/"Muggle-born" divisions used in Harry Potter.
Analysts note the criticism of racism in J. K. Rowling's texts.[18][19]
When asked about the theme of racism and if her books have changed how people think, Rowling said, "I do not think I am pessimistic but I think I am realistic about how much you can change deeply entrenched prejudice, so my feeling would be that if someone were a committed racist, possibly Harry Potter is not going to have an effect."[20]
When asked in a post-Deathly Hallows webchat about Hermione's future, Rowling said, "Hermione began her post-Hogwarts career at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures where she was instrumental in greatly improving life for house-elves and their ilk. She then moved to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement where she was a progressive voice who ensured the eradication of oppressive, pro-pureblood laws."[21]
After the publication of Deathly Hallows, Rowling responded to queries about metaphors in the books for ethnic cleansing: "Well, it is a political metaphor. But... I didn't sit down and think, 'I want to recreate Nazi Germany', in the—in the wizarding world. Because—although there are—quite consciously overtones of Nazi Germany, there are also associations with other political situations. So I can't really single one out."[22] Rowling also compared her character Voldemort to paranoid megalomaniacs like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.[23]
In her 2007 book tour Rowling further discussed the parallels to Nazism, stating "It wasn't really exclusively that. I think you can see in the Ministry even before it's taken over, there are parallels to regimes we all know and love." She prefaced the remark, saying "People like to think themselves superior and that if they can pride themselves in nothing else they can pride themselves on perceived purity."[24]
Rowling stated on her website that the Harry Potter phrases 'pure-blood', 'half-blood' and 'Muggle-born' compared to "some of the real charts the Nazis used to show what constituted 'Aryan' or 'Jewish' blood. I saw one in the Holocaust Museum in Washington when I had already devised the 'pure-blood', 'half-blood' and 'Muggle-born' definitions, and was chilled to see that the Nazis used precisely the same warped logic as the Death Eaters. A single Jewish grandparent 'polluted' the blood, according to their propaganda."[25]
Christopher Hitchens noted in The New York Times that the lightning bolt—the shape of the scar which Harry received as a result of Voldemort's curse, now considered to be emblematic of the series—is also the symbol of Sir Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists, a prominent group of Nazi sympathisers during the 1930s and 1940s.[26] The Nazis themselves, in their SS, made use of the symbol too.
J. K. Rowling mentions in an article that Mosley was married to Diana Mitford, sister of her heroine, Jessica Mitford. Jessica, after whom Rowling named her daughter, never forgave Diana's Nazi sympathies.[27] Oswald and Diana married in 1936, in the Berlin home of Nazi chief Joseph Goebbels with Adolf Hitler as a guest. J. K. Rowling also noted that Mitford's other sister Unity, to whom Jessica was closest in youth, became an arch-fascist and favourite of Adolf Hitler's.[27]
Jessica's story may have thus inspired a part of Harry's story: Narcissa Black (analogue to Diana Mosley) married a Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy (Oswald Mosley). Her sister, Bellatrix (Unity Mitford), was herself a Death Eater, and a favourite of Lord Voldemort (Adolf Hitler). Andromeda (Jessica Mitford) married the Muggle-born Ted Tonks against her family's wishes (as Jessica eloped with her cousin Esmond Romilly) and was blasted out of the family-tree tapestry. These parallels were noted in the American communist newspaper People's Weekly World.[19]
In a New York event hosted by MSNBC news anchor Keith Olbermann, Rowling confirmed the intentional similarities between Voldemort and Hitler.[28]
In an act commemorating the Holocaust, actor Daniel Radcliffe, whose mother is Jewish, donated his first pair of Harry Potter glasses to an art exhibition inspired by a famous World War II photo of a mangled mountain of spectacles of victims of ethnic cleansing. Radcliffe's Potter co-star Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in the films, himself a Jewish Briton, was due to participate in the commemorations on National Holocaust Memorial Day, leading a service at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall.[29]
Aviva Chomsky (daughter of famed academic Noam Chomsky) in the Providence Journal suggests that Harry Potter is a parable on immigration rights, noting that US "immigration, citizenship and naturalization laws are based explicitly on discrimination on the basis of national origin. Where you were born, and what passport you carry, determine whether you have the right to come here, to visit, to work, or to live here."[30]
Evils of war[edit]
On the Harry Potter series, Rowling said on her United States book tour in October 2007, "I very consciously wanted to show what is one of the great evils of war, which is that totally innocent people are slaughtered... Another great evil of war is that children lose their families."[31]
Progressive values and diversity[edit]
Time magazine said in 2005, "Rowling adapts an inherently conservative genre for her own progressive purposes. Her Hogwarts is secular and sexual and multicultural and multiracial and even sort of multimedia, with all those talking ghosts."[32] To mark the French publication of Deathly Hallows, prominent French center-left paper Liberation devoted the front cover and two more pages to answering the question "Why Harry Potter is of the Left".[33]
In 2007, responding to a question from a child about Dumbledore's love life, Rowling revealed, "I always saw Dumbledore as gay." Filling in a few more details, she said, "Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald.... Don't forget, falling in love can blind us. [He] was very drawn to this brilliant person. This was Dumbledore's tragedy."[34]
Melissa Anelli, webmaster of the fan site The Leaky Cauldron, told The Associated Press, "Jo Rowling calling any Harry Potter character gay would make wonderful strides in tolerance toward homosexuality.... By dubbing someone so respected, so talented and so kind, as someone who just happens to be also homosexual, she's reinforcing the idea that a person's gayness is not something of which they should be ashamed."[35] Of the ensuing controversy, Rowling said, "I know that it was a positive thing that I said it, for at least one person, because one man 'came out' at Carnegie Hall."[36] Entertainment Weekly's Mark Harris said "her choice to make a beloved professor-mentor gay in a world where gay teachers are still routinely slandered as malign influences was, I am certain, no accident." Harris also says that there is a drastic underrepresentation of gays in the population, and it is a failure of decency and nerve on the entertainment industry— "including the tremendous number of gay producers, writers, and executives who sacrifice their convictions so they don't look too strident or political."[37]
According to Think Progress, a progressive news site, conservative blogs say[clarification needed] Rowling's revelation about Dumbledore vindicates Jerry Falwell's attacks on homosexuality in children's media that were lambasted by the mass media.[38] "What's stopping her from saying that [Harry's friend] Neville grows up to be a paedophile?" said David Baggett, an associate philosophy professor at Falwell's Liberty University's School of Religion. Baggett, who coauthored the book Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts, says he was taken aback not only by Rowling's announcement, but by the fact that it came on the heels of her confirming many Potter fans' belief that the series had Christian themes.[39]
Slate Magazine quotes an attendee of the book talk who said, "It was clear that JKR didn't plan to out Dumbledore. She just cares about being true to her readers."[40] Mike Thomas of the Orlando Sentinel said that upon reflection, Dumbledore was gay from the beginning, and that this neatly explains the behaviour of his character and his relationship with Grindelwald. Thomas notes the skill Rowling displays in writing a gay character without having to put a gay label on him.[41]
According to Reuters, Rowling was surprised over the fuss and declined to say whether her "outing" of Dumbledore might alienate those who disapprove of homosexuality. "It has certainly never been news to me that a brave and brilliant man could love other men. He is my character. He is what he is and I have the right to say what I say about him," she said. Reaction has been mainly supportive on fans' Web sites, such as The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet.[42]
Actor David Thewlis (Remus Lupin) said that he was surprised about Dumbledore's sexuality, because while he was filming Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón had the idea that "Lupin was gay, and he described my character like a 'gay junkie'."[43]
Catholic fantasy author Regina Doman wrote an essay titled "In Defense of Dumbledore", in which she argued that the books actually support Catholic teaching on homosexuality because Dumbledore's relationship with the dark wizard Grindelwald leads to obviously terrible results, as he becomes interested in dark magic himself, neglects his responsibilities towards his younger sister and ultimately causes her death.[44]
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's book reviewer Chauncey Mabe says that it was wrong for Rowling to disclose Dumbledore's sexual orientation. Mabe was clear that this was not due to Dumbledore's being gay, but to his own objections to authors continuing to talk about their books after they are written. He called for Rowling to "please be quiet, please" in "public gatherings", which is contrary to the massive popularity of Rowling's book talks and her fans' thirst for more information about characters in the Harry Potter books. Mabe notes that 1,000 children attended the "reading" before they were given autographed books. Robin Berkowitz, Sun-Sentinel Entertainment Editor says of Rowlings comments, and other revelations she might make about her characters "We don't need to know any of them to appreciate the books fully," "Don't ask, don't spell" a reference to the U.S. military's former policy on homosexuality, Don't ask, don't tell.[45] These sentiments are mirrored by Jeffrey Weiss in his article, "Harry Potter and the author who wouldn't shut up", published in the Dallas Morning News.[46]
The Washington Post's Michael Gerson says "tolerance is one of the main themes of the Harry Potter books. In a marvelous social comparison, lycanthropy is treated as a kind of chronic disease, with werewolves subject to discrimination as if they had AIDS."[47]
Social activism[edit]
According to Philip Nel of Kansas State University, the Potter series can be seen as "political novels that critique racism and racial superiority. Rowling, who worked for Amnesty International, evokes her social activism through Hermione's passion for oppressed elves and the formation of her "Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."[48] Dobby the house elf has been compared to the labour lawyer Dobby Walker who introduced Rowling's heroine, Jessica Mitford, to the Communist Party.[49] Hermione is depicted as starting a campaign to emancipate the enslaved House elves, using the methods of real-world campaigns on social and political issues such as badges with slogans. She persists in this campaigning also when it is considered quixotic even by her close friends and not much appreciated even by most of the House elves themselves. But in Deathly Hallows the campaign turns out to have had enormous unforeseen results, with House elves joining the struggle and making several indispensable contributions to Voldemort's final defeat and saving the main protagonists' lives. Rowling said in an early interview that Hermione and her political conscience about the rights of elves was fairly autobiographical.[50]
Subversive and anarchistic message[edit]
Gerson of the Washington Post also described what he considered to be the very subversive nature of the Harry Potter books in the answer they offer to death. Voldemort believes that death must be mastered and "beaten". In contrast, Harry accepts the necessity of his own death for the sake of love. Gerson also suggests that some will ask the book series about tolerance also be a book series about religion. He answers that many others "believe – not in spite of their faith but because of it – that half-bloods, werewolves and others should be treated with kindness and fairness. Above all, believers are called to love, even at the highest cost."[47]
In a 1999 interview with Rowling, The Guardian Unlimited's Joanna Carey said, "JK Rowling is every bit as witty and subversive as you'd expect. Rowling described her admiration of Jessica Mitford since age 14, her time at Exeter University "not quite the chance to be the 'radical' I planned", and said the later books dealing with Harry's hormones, and deaths would be unlike other children's series like the Famous Five. Carey suggested a parallel between Harry Potter and Prince Harry which Rowling laughs off saying a friend said never let the press make you discuss the royal family.[51]
James Morone, a political science professor at Brown University, wrote in the liberal American Prospect in 2001, "Magical headmaster Albus Dumbledore practically awards bonus points for breaking rules. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is unruly, even slightly anarchic. Harry's classmate Hermione 'had become a bit more relaxed about breaking the rules,' writes Rowling near the end of Philosopher's Stone, 'and she was much nicer for it.' There's more than a touch of anarchy when all the students sing to their own tune. In her books, the kids are the central agents of their own lives. They make choices. Weigh judgments. Wrestle with freedom."[52]
Isabelle Smadja of Le Monde wrote that Harry Potter is the first fictional hero of the anti-globalist, anti-capitalist, pro-Third World, "Seattle" generation. She wrote that "Examination of the text suggests that they are, in fact, a ferocious critique of consumer society and the world of free enterprise."[53]
Conservative objections to liberal and socialist values[edit]
The right-wing U.S. John Birch Society has objected to Rowling's books and her public statements. In his article for the John Birch Society's magazine The New American, Constitution Party Communications Director Steve Bonta compared Harry Potter negatively to The Lord of the Rings, saying, "The Potter books read in places like diatribes against the modern middle class, especially whenever Harry confronts his ludicrously dysfunctional and downright abusive adopted family, the Dursleys."[54]
Conservative and sexist values[edit]
The critic Anthony Holden wrote in The Observer on his experience of judging Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for the 1999 Whitbread Awards. His overall view of the series was very negative—"the Potter saga was essentially patronising, very conservative, highly derivative, dispiritingly nostalgic for a bygone Britain."[55] A review in the Guardian echoed this interpretation and stated that "despite all of the books' gestures to multiculturalism and gender equality, Harry Potter is a conservative; a paternalistic, One-Nation Tory, perhaps, but a Tory nonetheless."[56] Rod Liddle of The Times also concludes that the Potter tale is popular for its sexist and neo-con values,[57] suggesting that this is normal for children's books, but not for adults. Salon.com critic Christine Schoefer has also criticised the books as sexist, claiming that the series presents a patriarchal world filled with stereotypes and adherence to "the conventional assumption that men do and should run the world".[58]
When an interviewer suggested her books portrayed a conservative world, Rowling replied, "So I'm told repeatedly. The two groups of people who are constantly thanking me are Wiccans and boarding schools. And really, don't thank me. I'm not with either of them. New ageism leaves me completely cold, and [my daughter] would never go to boarding school. I went to a comprehensive."[59]
Rowling says she gets frustrated with the "conservative world thing". She made Hogwarts a boarding school so that action could happen in the middle of the night and to create a sense of community among the characters. Harry also reflects the modern world, she argues, in that he is mixed race — his father being pure-blood, his mother being Muggle-born."[59] She also says her feminist conscience is saved by Hermione, "who's the brightest character" and is a "very strong female character".[60]
Neoliberal and capitalist values[edit]
In an article published in prominent French newspaper Le Monde, literary scholar Ilias Yocaris argued that Harry Potter "probably unintentionally ... appears as a summary of the social and educational aims of neoliberal capitalism." According to Yocaris' analysis, all life at Hogwarts is dominated by a culture of competition: "competition among students to be prefect; competition among Hogwarts houses to gain points; competition among sorcery schools to win the Triwizard tournament; and, ultimately, the bloody competition between the forces of Good and Evil." The free market plays a prominent and positive role, while the state (the Ministry of Magic) is presented as inefficient and bureaucratic. In this "pitiless jungle", education only aims to "give students an immediately exploitable practical knowledge that can help them in their battle to survive," while artistic subjects and social sciences are useless or absent. Yocaris concludes that "like Orwellian totalitarianism, this capitalism tries to fashion not only the real world, but also the imagination of consumer-citizens," producing literature that suggests that no alternative is possible.[61] In an article published in Journal of Contemporary Religion, Michael Ostling also argued that the series depicts a modern capitalist and consumerist society, where the role of gadgetry is played by magic.[62] The article by Yocaris provoked the response by Isabelle Smadja cited previously.
Class distinctions[edit]
O: The Oprah Magazine noted that Rowling admires Roddy Doyle and Jane Austen, saying "both of whom write about class distinctions," and asked if the reason Rowling wrote about class was a conscious decision. Rowling replied, "kids are acutely aware of money—before they're aware of class. A kid isn't really going to notice how another kid holds his knife and fork. But a kid will be acutely aware that he doesn't have pocket money. Or that he doesn't have as much pocket money. I think back to myself at 11. Kids can be mean, very mean. So it was there in Ron not having the proper length robes, you know? And not being able to buy stuff on the trolley. He's got to have sandwiches his mum made for him, even though he doesn't like the sandwiches. Having enough money to fit in is an important facet of life—and what is more conformist than a school?"[60]
Anti-government interpretation[edit]
Some political commentators have seen J. K. Rowling's portrayal of the bureaucratised Ministry of Magic and the oppressive measures taken by the Ministry in the later books (like making attendance at Hogwarts School compulsory and the "registration of Mudbloods" with the Ministry) as an allegory criticising the state.[63]
The People's Weekly World, the newspaper of the Communist Party USA, claims the books draw you "into the politics of the wizarding world—the 'Educational Decrees' from the toad-like Ministry of Magic representative, the high-level connections of 'war criminals' from the last rise of Voldemort, the predjudice [sic] against 'mudbloods' and 'half-breeds.'" They suggest connections "to the world we live in, to the similarities and differences between the Fudge administration and the Bush administration".[64]
Philosopher Jean-Claude Milner claimed "Harry Potter is a war machine against the Thatcherite-Blairist world and the 'American Way of Life'" in France's Libération.[33]
University of Tennessee law professor Benjamin Barton discusses libertarian aspects of Harry Potter in his paper Harry Potter and the Half-Crazed Bureaucracy, published in the Michigan Law Review. Barton says, "Rowling's scathing portrait of government is surprisingly strident and effective. This is partly because her critique works on so many levels: the functions of government, the structure of government, and the bureaucrats who run the show. All three elements work together to depict a Ministry of Magic run by self-interested bureaucrats bent on increasing and protecting their power, often to the detriment of the public at large. In other words, Rowling creates a public-interest scholar's dream—or nightmare—government."[65]
Rowling describes the beloved wizard Dumbledore as Machiavellian and says "I wanted you to question Dumbledore. It is right to question him, because he was treating people like puppets, and he was asking Harry to do a job that most men twice his age wouldn't have been able to do."[17]
Characters compared to George Bush, Tony Blair, and Saddam Hussein[edit]
Newsweek magazine asked Alfonso Cuarón, director of the third film based on Rowling's Prisoner of Azkaban if the villainous wizard Voldemort still reminded him of George W. Bush. Cuarón confirmed, "In combination with Saddam. They both have selfish interests and are very much in love with power. Also, a disregard for the environment. A love for manipulating people. I read books four and five, and Fudge is similar to Tony Blair. He's the ultimate politician. He's in denial about many things. And everything is for the sake of his own persona, his own power. The way the Iraq thing was handled was not unlike the way Fudge handled affairs in book four."[66]
Slate Magazine also says Rowling takes jabs at the Bush and Blair administrations suggesting the Ministry of Magic's security pamphlet recalls the much-scorned Operation TIPS (Terrorism Information and Prevention System). The author also suggests that Azkaban, the wizard penitentiary, is a stand-in for Guantanamo Bay.[67]
Rowling has never confirmed these interpretations in Harry Potter; however, when the then Chancellor Gordon Brown once asked her to endorse the Labour Party while Tony Blair was Prime Minister, Rowling refused.[68] Rowling attacked the Blair government's policy on single parent families. She said that Labour could do "a good deal more" and then donated £500,000 to the One Parent Families charity to set an example.[68] Rowling said that Brown's measures for children 'would have made a real difference to my family's life' when she was poor.[69] Blair stepped down shortly before the release of Rowling's seventh book, and Brown was appointed Prime Minister. Rowling subsequently donated £1 million to the Labour party during the 2010 general election which Labour lost.[70]
Education reform[edit]
Teachers have hailed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as a "blistering satire on years of politically motivated interference in the running of schools".[71]
Rowling describes her character Dolores Umbridge, the Ministry-appointed headmistress of Hogwarts, saying "She has good contacts at the Ministry. She is one of those people, and they do exist in real life, who will always side with the established order. As far as she is concerned authority cannot be wrong so she doesn't question it, and I would go as far as to say that whatever happened and whoever took over at the Ministry, Umbridge would be there, she likes power. So she is going to side with the people who give her the authority."[20]
Andrew Slack, founder of the Harry Potter Alliance, says in In These Times, "Harry Potter supersedes news about genocide, men assess their 'worth' by their paychecks, women's bodies are treated as commodities and our educational system preoccupies itself not with stimulating children's curiosity but rather getting them to efficiently regurgitate information on standardised tests."[72]
Hungarian Secretary of State for Education Rózsa Hoffmann and her reforms have often been compared to Dolores Umbridge and her actions in the novels.[73][74][75]
Anti-terrorism[edit]
The Capitalism Magazine website says that, "With a long-term war in progress and threats of further terrorist attacks on American soil," Harry Potter isn't mere escapism and "shows a world in which happiness can be achieved, villains can be defeated, and the means of success can be learned."[76]
Time magazine says that by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, "Harry is embroiled in a borderless, semi-civil war with a shadowy, hidden leader whose existence the government ignored until disaster forced the issue and who is supported by a secret network of sleeper agents willing to resort to tactics of shocking cruelty. The kids who grew up on Harry Potter—you could call them Generation Hex—are the kids who grew up with the pervasive threat of terrorism, and it's inevitable that on some level they'll make a connection between the two."[32]
Slate Magazine's Julia Turner compares Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to the current War on Terror against Osama bin Laden saying Voldemort takes up terrorism by destroying bridges, murdering innocents, and forcing children to kill their elders. She also notes the parallels in the community's response saying Fred and George Weasley's shop makes a mint selling Shield Cloaks and the new Minister of Magic jails an innocent man, hoping to stave off panic and create the impression that he's taking action.[67]
Rowling said "I've never thought, 'It's time for a post-9/11 Harry Potter book,' no. But what Voldemort does, in many senses, is terrorism, and that was quite clear in my mind before 9/11 happened.... but there are parallels, obviously. I think one of the times I felt the parallels was when I was writing about the arrest of Stan Shunpike, you know? I always planned that these kinds of things would happen, but these have very powerful resonances, given that I believe, and many people believe, that there have been instances of persecution of people who did not deserve to be persecuted, even while we're attempting to find the people who have committed utter atrocities. These things just happen, it's human nature. There were some very startling parallels at the time I was writing it.[77]
Harry Potter used by political activists[edit]
KidSPEAK![edit]
In response to restricted access to the Harry Potter books[78] children began a letter-writing campaign, forming clubs and organising petitions, which ultimately merged into an internet site called Muggles for Harry Potter. The site evolved into kidSPEAK!, a forum for children to tackle censorship in general, and to fight for Harry Potter specifically.
The Harry Potter Alliance[edit]
Andrew Slack, an actor/comedian and Harry Potter aficionado, co-founded the Harry Potter Alliance to highlight the crisis in Sudan and social inequities.[79] In These Times featured Slack in 2007, in an article about Muggle Activists where Slack said, "The Harry Potter parallel to Darfur is simple: With both the Ministry of Magic and the Daily Prophet (the Wizarding World's mainstream news source) in denial that Voldemort has returned and evil is afoot, Harry and his underground rebel group, 'Dumbledore's Army,' work with the adult group, 'The Order of the Phoenix,' to awake the world. We in the Alliance seek to be Dumbledore's Army for the real world, working with anti-genocide organisations, such as 'Fidelity Out of Sudan' and the 'Genocide Intervention Network,' to wake our governments, corporations and media up to the fact that 'never again' means 'never again.'"[80]
When Time Magazine asked about The Harry Potter Alliance, Rowling said, "It's incredible, it's humbling, and it's uplifting to see people going out there and doing that in the name of your character. What did my books preach against throughout? Bigotry, violence, struggles for power, no matter what. All of these things are happening in Darfur. So they really couldn't have chosen a better cause."[81] Rowling awarded The Harry Potter Alliance a Fan Site Award in December 2007.
In February 2010, the HPA ran a massive fundraiser to support those in dire need after the tragic event of the Haiti Earthquake. Live webcasts were held in which celebrities (especially those a part of the Harry Potter Fandom) performed and encouraged viewers to donate money. Donations came through an auction that did not guarantee you the prize. Some items that were up for bid were: a signed set of the Harry Potter books, a guitar signed by actor Tom Felton, handmade earrings from actress Evanna Lynch, and a one thousand word story about whatever the winner wishes it to be written by Maureen Johnson and John Green. The webcasts were rather successful, garnering over $125,000. The original plan of Helping Haiti Heal was to have three plane fulls of aid (each one dubbed: Harry, Hermione, and Ron) shipped off to Haiti. As of June the same year, five planes were sent to Haiti, Harry, Hermione, Ron, DFTBA (Don't Forget To Be Awesome) and the last being Dumbledore. On 28 June, there was a livestream video celebrating the landing of Dumbledore. Evanna Lynch was present at the stream and even answered questions asked by fans. Ophelia Dahl, the daughter of the late British author Roald Dahl was also present since she worked with Partners In Health, who the Harry Potter Alliance teamed up with for Helping Haiti Heal.[82]
In March 2010, The Harry Potter Alliance had a campaign for people to send in their books to the Mississippi Delta which went to Rwanda. As of June, when the campaign ended, they donated over 40,000 books. In July 2010, The Harry Potter Alliance won $250,000 in the Chase Community Giving contest. The money will go towards literacy, LGBT rights, and online community building.
Wal-Mart Watch[edit]
Wal-Mart Watch uses parodies of Harry Potter to compare WalMart to Lord Voldemort and draws analogies between House elves and forced labour.[83]
Stop Big Media[edit]
Stop Big Media gained support from "Rocking Out Against Voldemedia", a compilation of ten original songs by ten Harry Potter-themed "Wizard Rock" bands. Andrew Slack and The Harry Potter Alliance compare media consolidation in the U.S. to the control of the Ministry of Magic over the Daily Prophet in the Harry Potter books saying "Once Voldemort took over every form of media in the Wizarding World, Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix formed an independent media movement called "Potterwatch. Now the HP Alliance and Wizard Rock have come together to fight for a Potterwatch movement in the real world to fight back against Big VoldeMedia from further pushing out local and foreign news, minority representation, and the right to a Free Press."[84]
Center for Science in the Public Interest[edit]
A worldwide campaign to "save Harry Potter from the clutches of the Coca-Cola Company" was launched by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. The group says that by aggressively marketing sugar- and caffeine-laden drinks to young fans of the Harry Potter series, Coke is helping fuel the childhood obesity epidemic.[85]
Campaign for America's Future[edit]
In a parody of Harry Potter, Campaign for America's Future cast Seinfeld alumnus, Jason Alexander as "Lord Rovemort", a Karl Rove figure that coordinates Republican "obstruction" in Congress.[86]
Politics of J. K. Rowling[edit]
Rowling is a noted philanthropist and maintains links on her website promoting Amnesty International, the Multiple sclerosis Society, One Parent Families, and Lumos (formerly the Children's High Level Group), which Rowling co-founded to advocate against the use of cage beds for mentally handicapped children. Rowling says her heroine is muckraker Jessica Mitford, whom Rowling describes as a "self-taught socialist".[87] Rowling acknowledges being left-wing and said "there is a certain amount of political stuff in [Harry Potter]. But I also feel that every reader will bring his own agenda to the book. People who send their children to boarding schools seem to feel that I'm on their side. I'm not. Practicing wiccans think I'm also a witch. I'm not."[88]
UK politics[edit]
J. K. Rowling has been a long-time friend of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah Brown. In September 2008, Rowling donated £1 million to the Labour Party, saying, "I believe that poor and vulnerable families will fare much better under the Labour Party than they would under a Cameron-led Conservative Party. Gordon Brown has consistently prioritised and introduced measures that will save as many children as possible from a life lacking in opportunity or choice. The Labour government has reversed the long-term trend in child poverty, and is one of the leading EU countries in combating child poverty. David Cameron's promise of tax perks for the married, on the other hand, is reminiscent of the Conservative government I experienced as a lone parent. It sends the message that the Conservatives still believe a childless, dual-income, but married couple is more deserving of a financial pat on the head than those struggling, as I once was, to keep their families afloat in difficult times."[89] Rowling praised Brown in a 2009 Time Magazine essay saying she "still wanted him in charge".[90]
Rowling wrote about what it meant to be British saying, "It means a welfare state of which we should be fiercely proud and a tradition of tolerance and free speech we should defend to our last collective breath." Rowling also praised the National Health Service (NHS).[91]
U.S. politics[edit]
Rowling told a Spanish newspaper in February 2008 that "the international political stance of the United States has been wrong in previous years, for its own and for my country... I want a Democrat in the White House. It's sad Obama and Clinton are rivals because they are both great."[92] In 2009, Obama returned the compliment when he met Rowling at a G20 dinner telling her that he had read all her books himself and to his children Sasha and Malia.[93]
Rowling advised the 2008 graduating class of Harvard, "the great majority of you belong to the world's only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden."[94]
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was allegedly refused to be awarded to Rowling under George W. Bush, because her writing "encouraged witchcraft". This was claimed by Matt Latimer, a former speechwriter for Bush, who went on to write a memoir about his time in the administration,[95] although then First Lady Laura Bush had declared a fondness for the books. [96]
Amnesty International[edit]
Her employment at Amnesty International made Rowling realise that "imagination is what allows us to empathise with people who have suffered horribly and to act on their behalf." The danger of inaction, Rowling said, comes from people who "prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages. They can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.
I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces leads to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid."[94]
Green values[edit]
J. K. Rowling was recognised with the Order of the Forest for demanding that 16 publishers around the world print her books using "eco-friendly" papers. The last book in the Potter series is considered within the industry to be the most environmentally friendly in publishing history.[97]
In 2008, J. K. Rowling blocked the Finnish publication of her latest Harry Potter novel on paper from Finland because it lacked the ecologically friendly certification she favours.[98]
Eating disorders[edit]
Rowling used her celebrity status on her personal website to advocate her views on skinny, celebrity role models. Rowling said these young women's "only function in the world appears to be supporting the trade in overpriced handbags and rat-sized dogs."[99]
Simon Walters, political editor of the Mail on Sunday, complained that Rowling's attack on weight standards was hypocritical because so many "evil" characters in her books, such as Dudley and Vernon Dursley, are fat, while Harry Potter himself is so skinny.[100] Rowling responded to her critics by saying that the people in the Harry Potter books who are "on the plumper side" include "several of my most important, admirable and loveable characters". She included a link to a fan website – www.mugglenet.com – that lists seven characters who are "fat and good", three who are "fat and bad" and claims there are none who are "fat and evil" however there were skinny and evil characters.[101]
Age branding of children's books[edit]
J. K. Rowling opposes the labelling of children's books as "age appropriate".[102]
References[edit]
Library of Congress: Rowling, J. K. Criticism and interpretation
1.Jump up ^ McLemee, Scott Pottering Around Inside Higher Ed, 18 July 2007
2.Jump up ^ The Telegraph, 2007-07-20.
Edinburgh News, The Scotsman.
Babson professor makes Harry P. an academic star
"Wisdom of Harry Potter" author to offer fall college course
Charlotte Observer (dead link)
"The World of Harry Potter". Retrieved 14 July 2007.
3.Jump up ^ Gibbs, Nancy (19 December 2007). "Time Magazine". Time. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
4.Jump up ^ Readers Of the World, Unite: Metro Santa Cruz
Time Magazine
5.Jump up ^ Posted by: Edward. "J. K. Rowling at Carnegie Hall Reveals Dumbledore is Gay; Neville Marries Hannah Abbott, and Much More". The-leaky-cauldron.org. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
6.Jump up ^ Entertainment Weekly, October 2007
The Leaky Cauldron
7.Jump up ^ Jonathan, Last (15 July 2005). "History according to Harry". Wall Street Journal. pp. W.13. Archived from the original on 29 January 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
8.Jump up ^ "J. K. Rowling Discusses Inspiration for Minister of Magic and More in New Interview". XLSemanal. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
9.Jump up ^ "New Interview with J. K. Rowling for Release of Dutch Edition of "Deathly Hallows"". de Volkskrant. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
10.Jump up ^ The Top 25 Entertainers of the year Entertainment Weekly
11.Jump up ^ The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News Channel. October 23, 2007.
12.Jump up ^ The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News Channel. October 24, 2007.
13.Jump up ^ "Benedict XVI's Pep Talk; A Potter Betrayal". Zenit.org. 2 November 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
14.Jump up ^ "HLI Head Says Harry Potter Indoctrinates Young Souls in Language and Mechanics of Occult". Lifesite.net. 6 November 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
15.Jump up ^ No politics in Harry Potter – Opinion
16.Jump up ^ "Rowling says goodbye to Potter with fairy tales". The New Zealand Herald. Reuters. 2 November 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
17.^ Jump up to: a b "MTV". MTV. 19 October 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
18.Jump up ^ Harry Potter and the Complicated Identity Politics
Hillary Nelson (2007). "Rowling's message is pro-bravery, pro-freedom". Concord Monitor. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
19.^ Jump up to: a b Teresa Albano (2007). "A summer of reading, struggle and Harry". People's Weekly World. Archived from the original on 8 September 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
20.^ Jump up to: a b Transcript of the Harry Potter Children's Press Conference Weekend[dead link]
21.Jump up ^ Webchat with J. K. Rowling, 30 July 2007 www.bloomsbury.com
22.Jump up ^ Harry Potter: The final chapter. MSNBC. Retrieved 9 August 2007.
23.Jump up ^ Posted by: sue. "New Interview with J. K. Rowling for Release of Dutch Edition of "Deathly Hallows"". The Leaky Cauldron. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
24.Jump up ^ Posted by: Edward. "The Leaky Cauldron". The Leaky Cauldron. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
25.Jump up ^ J. K. Rowling Official Website|Faqs[dead link]
26.Jump up ^ Hitchens, Christopher. The Boy Who Lived, published 12 August 2007.
27.^ Jump up to: a b J. K. Rowling: "The First It Girl." Sunday Telegraph
28.Jump up ^ Barrett, Annie (20 October 2007). "J. K. Rowling outs Dumbledore! | PopWatch Blog | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
29.Jump up ^ http://www.haaretz.com/news/jewish-world-voldemort-s-sidekick-turns-jewish-psychiatrist-in-film-on-nazi-era-1.268520
30.Jump up ^ Chomsky, Aviva: Harry Potter and immigration. Providence Journal, 13 September 2007
31.Jump up ^ New Orleans students give Rowling a rousing welcome
Transcript of J. K. Rowling's live interview on Scholastic.com
32.^ Jump up to: a b Grossman, Lev J. K. Rowling, Hogwarts and all Time, 17 July 2005
33.^ Jump up to: a b Harry Potter seen as left-wing hero
34.Jump up ^ Barrett, Annie (20 October 2007). "Entertainment Weekly". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
35.Jump up ^ "MSNBC". MSNBC. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
36.Jump up ^ Rowling knew early on Dumbledore was gay The Star
37.Jump up ^ Harris, Mark (30 October 2007). "Dumbledore: A Lovely Outing". Ew.com. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
38.Jump up ^ Corley, Matt (22 October 2007). "Conservatives Attack Gay Dumbledore; Claim Vindication For Jerry Falwell's Homophobia". Thinkprogress.org. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
39.Jump up ^ "Albus Dumbledore cast in a new light". Baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
40.Jump up ^ Wickman, Forrest. "Bloggers on Stephen Colbert's presidential run. – By Laurel Wamsley – Slate Magazine". Slate.com. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
41.Jump up ^ "So Dumbledore is Gay". Blogs.orlandosentinel.com. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
42.Jump up ^ By Ian Bremmer (9 February 2009). "Dumbledore brave, brilliant; why not gay: Rowling". Today.reuters.com. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
43.Jump up ^ Posted by: sue. "The Leaky Cauldron". The Leaky Cauldron. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
44.Jump up ^ Regina Doman (2007). "In Defense of Dumbledore". therambleronline.com.
45.Jump up ^ "Don't ask, don't spell". Weblogs.sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
46.Jump up ^ Harry Potter and the author who wouldn't shut up[dead link]
47.^ Jump up to: a b "Harry Potter's Secret". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
48.Jump up ^ "'Potter' inspires academic analysis". USA Today. 16 November 2001. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
49.Jump up ^ Morag Traynor, Is Dobby a Communist? HP-Lexicon
Readers Of the World, Unite: Metro Santa Cruz
UK Independent
50.Jump up ^ Solomon, Evan (13 July 2000). "J. K. Rowling Interview". CBCNewsWorld: Hot Type. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
51.Jump up ^ Who doesn't know Harry?
52.Jump up ^ "Cultural Phenomena: Dumbledore's Message". Prospect.org. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
53.Jump up ^ French go potty over Harry's politics, Lichfield, John. The Star 5 July 2004
54.Jump up ^ Steve Bonta (28 January 2002). "Tolkien's Timeless Tale". The New American 18 (2).
55.Jump up ^ Holden, Anthony (25 June 2000). "Why Harry Potter doesn't cast a spell over me". The Observer (London). Retrieved 22 May 2010.
56.Jump up ^ Richard Adams. "Quidditch quaintness". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
57.Jump up ^ Liddle, Rod Hogwarts is a winner because boys will be sexist neocon boys. The Times, 21 July 2007
58.Jump up ^ Schoefer, Christine (12 January 2000). "Harry Potter's girl trouble". Salon.com. Retrieved 20 June 2006.
59.^ Jump up to: a b Hattenstone, Simon. "Harry, Jessica and me", The Guardian, 8 July 2000.
60.^ Jump up to: a b J. K. Rowling's Books That Made a Difference O, The Oprah Magazine January 2001
61.Jump up ^ Yokaris, Ilias (18 July 2004). "Harry Potter, Market Wiz.". New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
62.Jump up ^ Harry Potter and the Disenchantment of the World. By Michael Ostling. Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 18, No. 1, 2003. pp. 3–23 [1]
63.Jump up ^ Barton, Benjamin (2006). Harry Potter and the Half-crazed Bureaucracy (PDF). Michigan Law Review. Retrieved 31 July 2007.
The Anti-Government Message Is Being Spread Through Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Harry Potter vs. Compulsory Schooling at LewRockwell.com
64.Jump up ^ Barnett, Jennifer. People's Weekly World Newspaper "Harry Potter and the irresistible read", 10 July 2003. Archived from thr original on 27 September 2007
65.Jump up ^ Harry Potter and the Half-Crazed Bureaucracy Michigan Law Review
66.Jump up ^ Pierce, Nev. Reel Life – 28 July 2003 BBC
Carla Power and Devin Gordon, Caution: Wizard at Work. Newsweek magazine, 4 August 2003
67.^ Jump up to: a b Turner, Julia When Harry Met Osama; Terrorism comes to Hogwarts. 20 July 2005
68.^ Jump up to: a b "2001". Accio Quote!. 18 February 2001. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
69.Jump up ^ "Who will have the last word?". The Guardian (London). 24 September 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
70.Jump up ^ Woodcock, Andrew (20 September 2008). "JK Rowling donates £1m to Labour". The Independent. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
71.Jump up ^ Fraser, Stephen Rowling causes umbrage with her Umbridge... Scotsman
72.Jump up ^ Slack, Andrew (26 October 2007). "Harry Potter and the Muggle Activists". In These Times. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
73.Jump up ^ Ceglédi Zoltán (10 March 2011). "Végre a fontos dolgokkal foglalkoznak (nem)" (in Hungarian). Hírszerző. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
74.Jump up ^ Fóti Péter (June 2010). "Professzor Umbridge céljai és eszközei" (in Hungarian). Retrieved 22 August 2012.
75.Jump up ^ Scott J. Gardner (16 November 2011). "Újabb kirohanás a közoktatásról" (in Hungarian). Retrieved 22 August 2012.
76.Jump up ^ Durante, Dianne. Thank You, Harry Potter! 22 August 2003
77.Jump up ^ Anelli, Melissa; Emerson Spartz (15 July 2005). "The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Two". The Leaky Cauldron. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
78.Jump up ^ "Michigan School Superintendent Restricts Harry Potter Books". American Library Association. 199. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
"Free Speech Victory in Zeeland". kidspeakonline.org. 1999. Retrieved 29 September 2007.
79.Jump up ^ "Harry Potter as a political force". Politico.com. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
80.Jump up ^ Slack, Andrew (26 October 2007). "Harry Potter and the Muggle Activists". Inthesetimes.com. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
81.Jump up ^ Gibbs, Nancy (19 December 2007). "Time Magazine Person of the Year". Time. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
82.Jump up ^ "Our partners in health: The Harry Potter Alliance, wizards with a cause | Partners In Health". Standwithhaiti.org. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
83.Jump up ^ Harry Potter and the Dark Lord WaldeMart.
84.Jump up ^ The Phoenix
Huffington Post
85.Jump up ^ BBC
CSPI
86.Jump up ^ "Collactive: ourfuture.org – Caught On Tape! – The Plot to Bury Progress". Ws.collactive.com. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
87.Jump up ^ "Accio Quote!, the Largest Archive of J. K. Rowling quotes on the web". Accio-quote.org. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
88.Jump up ^ [2] Jensen, Jeff. "'Fire' Storm", Entertainment Weekly, 7 September 2000
89.Jump up ^ Ben Leach (20 September 2008). "Harry Potter author JK Rowling gives £1 million to Labour". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 20 September 2008.
90.Jump up ^ J. K., Rowling (30 May 2009). "Gordon Brown". Time Magazine. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
91.Jump up ^ What does it mean to be British?
92.Jump up ^ "Ser invisible... eso sería lo más". El Pais (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2008.
93.Jump up ^ Pierce, Andrew (2 April 2009). "G20 summit: Barack Obama is a fan of Harry Potter". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 5 January 2010.
94.^ Jump up to: a b Rowling, J. K. (5 June 2008). "The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
95.Jump up ^ "Bush Officials Refused Award to J. K. Rowling Because of "Witchcraft" Writing, Book Claims". Fox News. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
96.Jump up ^ http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2008/04/laura_bush_cant_get_enough_of.html
97.Jump up ^ JK Rowling wins the 'Order of the Forest' Financial Post
98.Jump up ^ "Special Paper Required for Harry Potter Book". The New York Times. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
99.Jump up ^ "JK Rowling is right about skinny models – but nothing will change while men still run the fashion world". The Guardian. 16 July 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
100.Jump up ^ "The ULTIMATE Harry Potter Site". MuggleNet. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
101.Jump up ^ "Some of my best characters are fat, Rowling insists". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
102.Jump up ^ Lindesay Irvine. "JK Rowling says no to age banding on children's books". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
External links[edit]
Carrie-Ann Biondi ed., "Imagining Better: Philosophical Issues in Harry Potter," collection of essays on philosophy and politics of Harry Potter in Reason Papers: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Normative Studies, vol. 34, no. 2 (June 2012).
Book icon Book: Harry Potter


[hide]
­v·
 ­t·
 ­e
 
The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling



Philosopher's Stone
Film
Soundtrack
Game Chamber of Secrets
Film
Soundtrack
Game Prisoner of Azkaban
Film
Soundtrack
Game Goblet of Fire
Film
Soundtrack
Game Order of the Phoenix
Film
Soundtrack
Game Half-Blood Prince
Film
Soundtrack
Game Deathly Hallows
Film 1 · 2
Soundtrack 1 · 2
Game 1 · 2


Characters

Main
­Harry Potter·
 ­Ron Weasley·
 ­Hermione Granger·
 ­Lord Voldemort·
 ­Albus Dumbledore·
 ­Severus Snape·
 ­Rubeus Hagrid·
 ­Draco Malfoy
 

Supporting
­Hogwarts staff·
 ­Order of the Phoenix·
 ­Dumbledore's Army·
 ­Death Eaters
 


Universe
­Hogwarts·
 ­Magic·
 ­Magical creatures·
 ­Magical objects·
 ­Ministry of Magic·
 ­Muggle·
 ­Places·
 ­Quidditch·
 ­Spells
 

Related works
­Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them·
 ­Quidditch Through the Ages·
 ­The Tales of Beedle the Bard·
 ­Prequel·
 ­Pottermore
 

Film series
­Cast members·
 ­Critical response·
 ­Music·
 ­Production of Deathly Hallows·
 ­Theatrical run of Deathly Hallows – Part 2
 

Games
­Quidditch World Cup·
 ­Lego Harry Potter·
 ­Lego Creator: Harry Potter·
 ­Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4, Years 5–7·
 ­Book of Spells·
 ­Book of Potions·
 ­Action figures·
 ­Trading Card Game
 

Attractions
­The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort  (Dragon Challenge·
 ­Flight of the Hippogriff·
 ­Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey)
  ·
 ­The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood  (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey)
  ·
 ­Harry Potter Movie Magic Experience·
 ­Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
 

­Wikipedia book Book·
 ­Category Category·
 ­ Commons·
 ­Portal Portal
 

 

Categories: Harry Potter controversies
Political controversies
Politics in fiction




Navigation menu


Create account
Log in


Article
Talk





Read
Edit
View history




 Search 


Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Toolbox
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Data item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Français
Italiano
Norsk nynorsk
Svenska
Edit links
This page was last modified on 22 September 2013 at 21:01.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   





Legal disputes over the Harry Potter series

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Since first coming to wide notice in the late 1990s, the Harry Potter book series by J. K. Rowling has engendered a number of legal disputes. Rowling, her various publishers and Time Warner, the owner of the rights to the Harry Potter films, have taken numerous legal actions to protect their copyrights, and also have fielded accusations of copyright theft themselves.[1] The worldwide popularity of the Harry Potter series has led to the appearance of a number of locally produced, unauthorised sequels and other derivative works, sparking efforts to ban or contain them.[2] While these legal proceedings have countered a number of cases of outright piracy,[3] other attempts have targeted not-for-profit endeavours and have been criticised.[4]
Another area of legal dispute involves a series of injunctions obtained by Rowling and her publishers to prohibit anyone from reading her books before their official release dates. The sweeping powers of these injunctions have occasionally drawn fire from civil liberties and free speech campaigners and sparked debates over the "right to read".[5][6] The powers afforded by these injunctions have even been used in subsequent cases unrelated to publishing.[7]
Outside these controversies, a number of particular incidents related to Harry Potter have also led, or almost led, to legal action. In 2005, a man was sentenced to four years in prison after firing a replica gun at a journalist during a staged deal for stolen copies of an unreleased Harry Potter novel, and attempting to blackmail the publisher with threats of releasing secrets from the book.[8] Then in 2007 Bloomsbury Publishing contemplated legal action against the supermarket chain Asda for libel after the company accused them of overpricing the final Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.[9]

Contents
  [hide] 1 Allegations of copyright and trademark infringement against Rowling 1.1 Nancy Stouffer
1.2 The Wyrd Sisters
1.3 Adrian Jacobs
2 International publications
3 Other accusations of infringement
4 Legal injunctions
5 Blackmail
6 Accusation of libel
7 References
8 External links
Allegations of copyright and trademark infringement against Rowling[edit]
See also: Harry Potter influences and analogues
Nancy Stouffer[edit]
In 1999, American author Nancy Kathleen Stouffer alleged copyright and trademark infringement by Rowling of her 1984 works The Legend of Rah and the Muggles (ISBN 1-58989-400-6) and Larry Potter and His Best Friend Lilly.[1] The primary basis for Stouffer's case rested in her own purported invention of the word "Muggles", the name of a race of mutant humanoids in The Legend of Rah and the Muggles, and Larry Potter, the title character of a series of activity booklets for children. Larry Potter, like Harry Potter, is a bespectacled boy with dark hair,[10] though he is not a character in The Legend of Rah and the Muggles.[11] Stouffer also drew a number of other comparisons, such as a castle on a lake, a receiving room and wooden doors.[10] Portions of Rah were originally published in booklet form by Ande Publishing Company in 1986, a company founded by Stouffer together with a group of friends and family.[12] Ande Publishing filed for bankruptcy in September 1987 without selling any of its booklets in the United States or elsewhere.[12] Rowling has stated that she first visited the United States in 1998.[13]
Rowling, along with Scholastic Press (her American publisher) and Warner Bros. (holders of the series' film rights), pre-empted Stouffer in 2002 with a suit of their own seeking a declaratory judgment that they had not infringed on any of Stouffer's works. The court found in their favour, stating that "no reasonable juror could find a likelihood of confusion as to the source of the two parties' works".[12] During the course of the trial, it was proven "by clear and convincing evidence, that Stouffer has perpetrated a fraud on the Court through her submission of fraudulent documents as well as through her untruthful testimony",[12] including changing pages years after the fact to retroactively insert the word "muggle".[12] Her case was dismissed with prejudice and she was fined $50,000 for her "pattern of intentional bad faith conduct" in relation to her employment of fraudulent submissions, along with being ordered to pay a portion of the plaintiffs' legal fees.[12] Stouffer appealed the decision in 2004, but in 2005 the appeals court upheld the ruling.[14] In 2006 she stated on her website that she was planning to republish her books and was entertaining the possibility of another lawsuit against Warner Bros., J. K. Rowling and Scholastic Press.[15]
The Legend of Rah and the Muggles is currently out of print. In the spring of 2001, it was published by Thurman House, LLC, a Maryland publishing company.[12] Thurman House, formed by Ottenheimer Publishers to republish the works of Nancy Stouffer, was closed when Ottenheimer ceased operations in 2002 after filing for bankruptcy.[16] Stouffer later asserted that any copies of the book published by Thurman House are unauthorized because the publisher failed to honour its contractual obligations to her.[15]
The Wyrd Sisters[edit]
In 2005, Warner Bros. offered CAD$5,000 (later CAD$50,000) to the Canadian folk band the Wyrd Sisters for the rights to use their name in the film version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.[17] Rowling had written a scene in the novel in which a band called the Weird Sisters appeared at a school dance, and the group owned the rights to the name in Canada. However, the offer was declined, and instead the band undertook a legal action against Warner Bros., as well as Jarvis Cocker of Pulp and Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway of Radiohead, who were to play the band in the film.[18] All plans to use the name in the movie were later abandoned. Despite that decision, the Canadian band filed a CAD$40-million ($39 million) lawsuit against Warner in Ontario court. In connection with the lawsuit, the band brought an interlocutory injunction hoping to prevent the release of the film. The injunction application was dismissed.[19] The entire suit was dismissed in November 2005. In June 2006, an Ontario judge decreed that the band pay Warner Bros. CAD$140,000 in legal costs, describing their lawsuit as "highly intrusive".[19][20] The group claimed they planned to appeal the decision.[19] Jarvis Cocker initially wished to release an album of "Weird Sisters"-themed music with collaborators including Franz Ferdinand, Jack White and Iggy Pop, but the project was dropped as a result of the lawsuit.[20] The band reported receiving death threats from irate Harry Potter fans.[21] As of March 2010, the lawsuit has been settled out of court, the details sealed.[22]
Adrian Jacobs[edit]
In June 2009, the estate of Adrian Jacobs, a children's author who died in 1997, sued Rowling's publishers, Bloomsbury, for £500 million, accusing her of having plagiarised "substantial parts" of his work in writing the novel Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.[23][24] In a statement, Jacobs's family claimed that a scene in Goblet of Fire was substantially similar to Jacobs's book The Adventures of Willy the Wizard: Livid Land: "'Both Willy and Harry are required to work out the exact nature of the main task of the contest which they both achieve in a bathroom assisted by clues from helpers, in order to discover how to rescue human hostages imprisoned by a community of half-human, half-animal fantasy creatures."[24] They also launched a joint suit against Rowling and her publishers. Bloomsbury countered with a statement of its own, saying that "This claim is without merit and will be defended vigorously," and that Rowling "had never heard of Adrian Jacobs nor seen, read or heard of his book Willy the Wizard until this claim was first made in 2004, almost seven years after the publication of the first Harry Potter book."[24] The Jacobs estate, driven by his son and grandson, have published a website with details and excerpts from the book, according to the Toronto Star.[25] In July 2010, the estate filed suit against Rowling's American publisher, Scholastic, demanding that the company burn all copies of Goblet of Fire.[26]
On 6 January 2011, the US lawsuit against Scholastic was dismissed. The judge in the case stated that there simply wasn't enough similarity between the two books to make a case for plagiarism.[27] In the UK courts, on 21 March 2011, Paul Allen, a trustee of the Jacobs estate, was ordered to pay as security to the court 65% of the costs faced by Bloomsbury and Rowling, amounting to over £1.5million, to avoid the claim being struck out.[28] It was reported in The Bookseller[29] that Paul Allen has appealed against paying this sum. As a condition of the appeal, he paid £50,000 to the court in May 2011.[30] The claim was formally struck out in July 2011 after the deadline for Allen's initial payment was missed.[31]
International publications[edit]
See also: Tanya Grotter
In 2002, an unauthorised Chinese-language sequel titled Harry Potter and Bao Zoulong (Chinese: Simplified: 哈利波特与豹走龙, Traditional: 哈利波特與豹走龍, Hanyu Pinyin: Hālì Bōtè yǔ Bào Zǒulóng) appeared for sale in the People's Republic of China. (In English-language media this was mistranslated as Harry Potter and Leopard-Walk-Up-to-Dragon.) According to translated excerpts, the book principally consists of the text of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, but with most names changed to those of Harry Potter characters.[32] The book was quickly recognised by media outlets as a fake.[33] Rowling and Warner Bros. took steps to stop its distribution.[32] Copies were briefly distributed around the world, including e-book copies traded on the Internet. In November 2002, the Bashu Publishing House, in the southwestern city of Chengdu, agreed to pay a £1,600 (US$3,400) fine and publish an apology in China's Legal Times for printing and distributing the novel.[34] As of 2007, the identity of the anonymous "author" has not been discovered. The opening of Harry Potter and Bao Zoulong, translated into English, was included in several news articles.[34] As of 2007, it is estimated that there are fifteen million copies of fraudulent Harry Potter novels circulating in China.[35] In 2007, Rowling's agents, the Christopher Little Literary Agency, began to discuss the possibility of legal proceedings concerning a fake version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that appeared in China ten days before the actual book's publication.[35]
In 2003, legal pressure from Harry Potter's publishers led an Indian publisher to stop publication of Harry Potter in Calcutta by Uttam Ghosh; a work in which Harry meets figures from Bengali literature.[36][37] The case was settled out of court.[38]
Also in 2003, courts in the Netherlands prevented the distribution of a Dutch translation of Tanya Grotter and the Magical Double Bass, the first of Dmitri Yemets' popular Russian series about a female apprentice wizard. Rowling and her publishers sued, arguing that the Grotter books violate copyright law. Yemets and his original Moscow-based publishers, Eksmo, argued that the books constitute a parody, permitted under copyright.[2] The Dutch courts ruled that the books did not constitute parody and thus were not allowed to be sold in the Netherlands.[39] Later that year, as the Dutch translation Tanja Grotter en de magische contrabas was still legal in Belgium, the Flemish publishers Roularta Books decided to print 1,000 copies (and no more) in order to let people decide whether it was plagiarism, hoping that under those circumstances Rowling and her publishers would not sue.[40] Rowling did not sue, but as there was a lot of interest in the book (Dutch people could buy the book by postal order from another Flemish publisher, Boekhandel VanIn) it was soon sold out.[40] The books continue to be published in Russia and have spawned several sequels.[41]
In August 2008, Warner Bros. filed a lawsuit against production company Mirchi Movies due to the similarity of the title of their Bollywood film Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors to the Harry Potter film series. Mirchi Movies CEO Munish Purii claimed there is very little similarity between Hari Puttar and any elements in the Harry Potter franchise, and explained that Hari is a popular Indian name, while "puttar" means "son" in Punjabi, although Indian versions of Harry Potter also translate Harry's name to Hari Puttar.[42] The film was delayed until late September. Warner Bros. claimed that the title was confusing, but Mirchi Movies claimed they registered the name in 2005.[43] On 24 September 2008, the court in Delhi rejected Warner Bros.' claim, saying that Harry Potter readers were sufficiently able to distinguish between the two works. They also accused Warner Bros. of delaying the action, since they were aware of the film as far back as 2005.[44]
Other accusations of infringement[edit]
See also: Warner Bros and JK Rowling vs RDR Books
In 2000, in the lead-up to the release of the first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone; Warner Bros., the film's distributor, sent a series of letters to owners of Harry Potter fansites, demanding that, to protect their copyright, they hand over their domain names.[4] The action resulted in negative publicity for the company when Claire Field, the then 15-year-old webmaster of the British fansite harrypotterguide.co.uk, was reduced to tears by what were described by her father as unnecessary bully tactics. Eventually the corporation backed down in the face of media opposition and declared that, as the site was non-commercial, it did not violate the trademark.[4][45]
In their May 2004 issue, the US Army publication The Preventive Maintenance Monthly, which instructs soldiers on how to maintain their equipment, featured a spoof comic based on Harry Potter, featuring a character named Topper who resided at Mogmarts School under Professor Rumbledore.[46] The publication received notice from Rowling's lawyers that the comics breached copyright, though the magazine's editor, Ken Crunk, claimed that no violation had taken place, as "[t]he drawings do not look like any of the characters from Harry Potter".[46] After a discussion with Rowling's representatives, the magazine agreed not to use the characters again.[47]
In 2004, Rowling and Time Warner launched legal actions against bazee.com, now the Indian branch of the online auction site eBay. The site had hosted illegally-created e-books of Harry Potter, which Rowling had never agreed to be published.[48] In 2005, Rowling warned her fans on her website that various "signed" Harry Potter memorabilia appearing for sale on eBay did not in fact use her signature. She urged her fans to protest eBay to prevent other children from being swindled.[49] In 2007, Rowling launched lawsuits against a number of users of the site,[50] obtaining a series of stay orders preventing them from selling her work. However eBay claimed that in her dealings with the media, Rowling had falsely claimed that her injunctions had been against eBay itself.[51] In June 2007, eBay filed papers with the Delhi High Court, alleging that Rowling had caused them "immense humiliation and harassment".[51] The High Court circumvented the application, claiming that it could not make such a judgment until the case went to trial.[51]
In October 2007, Warner Bros. sued a group constructing a façade during a Hindu religious festival in the Indian city of Kolkata for INR2 million (US$31,000), claiming that they had erected a giant replica of Harry Potter's school, Hogwarts, without their permission. Initial reports stated that, as the effort was not for profit, it did not violate Rowling's copyright.[52] The Associated Press claimed that the High Court of Delhi, where the petition was filed, allowed the organisers to carry on with the temporary construction with an order that the structure had to be dismantled after the festival was over[52] and that the court refused to impose any compensation on the basis that the organisers were involved in a "non-profit making enterprise".[53] However, these statements were later retracted: the court had in fact ruled in favour of Warner Bros., but no fine had been ordered, and Warner Bros. claimed that they had only requested a fine because such action was necessary under Indian law.[54] In November 2007, Rowling discussed the case on her website, listing the rumours that she had targeted a non-profit organisation as "Toxic" and saying, "The defendants were not religious charities, and theirs was not a religious celebration. On the contrary, it was a large-scale, commercial, sponsored event involving corporations that included a major Indian high street bank. The event was, however, set up while a Hindu festival was going on ... The court ruled that Warner Bros. rights had indeed been infringed, and that events such as the one in question would need Warner Bros.' permission in the future. The court also restrained all the defendants from any future events infringing Warner Bros. rights."[55]
On 31 October 2007, Warner Bros. and Rowling sued Michigan-based publishing firm RDR Books to block the publication of a 400-page book version of the Harry Potter Lexicon, an online reference guide to her work.[56] Rowling, who previously had a good relationship with Lexicon owner Steve Vander Ark, reiterated on her website that she plans to write a Harry Potter encyclopedia, and that the publication of a similar book before her own would hurt the proceeds of the official encyclopaedia, which she plans to give to charity.[57] A judge later barred publication of the book in any form until the case was resolved.[58] In their suit, Rowling's lawyers also asserted that, as the book describes itself as a print facsimile of the Harry Potter Lexicon website, it would publish excerpts from the novels and stills from the films without offering sufficient "transformative" material to be considered a separate work.[59] The trial concluded on 17 April 2008.[60] On 8 September 2008, the judge ruled in her favour, claiming that the book would violate the terms of fair use.[61] In December, 2008, a modified (and shorter) version of Vander Ark's Lexicon was approved for publication and was released 16 January 2009 as The Lexicon: An Unauthorized Guide to Harry Potter Fiction.
In November 2007, The Scotsman reported that Rowling had threatened legal action against American computer programmer G. Norman Lippert for allegedly violating her intellectual property rights by producing and publishing the online novel, James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing, an unofficial and unauthorised continuation of the Harry Potter series. Written as a fan fiction project for Lippert's wife and sons, the novel is set eighteen years after the end of the last official installment in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and describes the adventures of Harry Potter's son, James Potter, during his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[62] A specialist in intellectual property law at Strathclyde University commented that, "If an insubstantial character from a novel is taken and built up by another author in a new story, that can be a defence against copyright infringements."[62] However, after Lippert offered Rowling an advance copy of the novel, Rowling dismissed her threat[63] and said she supported the novel and any others like it.[63] Lippert subsequently produced a sequel, James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper.[63] After the novel first appeared online in early November 2007, some Harry Potter fans on the Internet initially speculated that the site might be part of an elaborate viral marketing campaign for an official continuation or spinoff of Harry Potter, one either written or at least approved by Rowling herself.[64] On 9 November 2007, Rowling's agent Neil Blair denied that Rowling was in any way involved with the purported project,[65] and Warner Bros., the studio which owns the rights to the Harry Potter film series, denied that the novel was in any way connected to the official Harry Potter franchise.[66]
Legal injunctions[edit]



 Boxes of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince awaiting delivery
Rowling and her publishers have brought a series of legal injunctions to ensure the books' secrecy before their launch. These injunctions have drawn criticism from civil liberties campaigners over their potentially sweeping powers over individual freedoms.
In 2003, in an attempt to maintain secrecy over the impending release of the fifth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Rowling and her publishers sought and received a groundbreaking injunction against "the person or persons who has or have physical possession of a copy of the said book or any part thereof without the consent of the Claimants".[7] The ruling obtained, for the first time in British law, an injunction against unnamed or unknown individuals; before then, injunctions could only be obtained against named individuals. Lawyers Winterbothams noted that, "The new Harry Potter style injunction could be used if you expected a demonstration or trespass to take place, but which had not yet begun, so long as you could find a description for the people expected which the Court was satisfied identified 'those who are included and those who are not'".[7] The "Potter injunction" was later used against a camp of Roma travellers.[7] In 2006, pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline employed the injunction against anonymous animal rights campaigners who had sent threatening letters to their investors.[67]
The series garnered more controversy in 2005 with the release of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when a Real Canadian Superstore grocery store accidentally sold several copies before the authorised release date. The Canadian publisher, Raincoast Books, obtained an injunction from the Supreme Court of British Columbia prohibiting the purchasers from reading the books in their possession. A comment by a media lawyer that "there is no human right to read" led to a debate in the public sphere about whether free access to information was a human right. Michael Geist, the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, said in response, "The copyright law claim was particularly puzzling. While copyright law does provide copyright owners with a basket of exclusive rights, the right to prohibit reading is not among them. In fact, copyright law has very little to say about what people can do with a book once they have purchased it."[6][68] Free-speech activist Richard Stallman posted a statement on his blog calling for a boycott until the publisher issued an apology.[5] Solicitors Fraser Milner and Casgrain, who represented Raincoast and formulated the legal argument for the embargo,[69] have rebutted this, saying that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies only to the government, not to private litigation, and does not offer any protection of the right to read in any case, and the innocent purchasers of the Harry Potter book had no more right to read it than if they had come into possession of someone's secret diary.[70]
In 2007, Scholastic Corporation threatened legal action against two booksellers, Levy Home Entertainment and DeepDiscount.com, for selling copies of the final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, before its release date of 21 July. In an official statement, Scholastic appealed "to the Harry Potter fans who bought their books from DeepDiscount.com and may receive copies early requesting that they keep the packages hidden until midnight on 21 July."[71] Customers who agreed not to read the book received a special Harry Potter t-shirt and a $50 coupon for Scholastic's online store.
Blackmail[edit]
In June 2005, Aaron Lambert, a security guard at a book distribution centre in Corby, Northamptonshire, England, stole a number of pages from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince six weeks before its intended publication date. He was arrested a day later after negotiations to sell them to John Askill, a journalist from The Sun, turned violent. Lambert reportedly fired a shot from his imitation Walther PPK pistol, but Askill was unharmed.[72] At his trial the following October, Lambert pleaded guilty to threatening Askill and to attempting to blackmail Harry Potter's publishers, Bloomsbury.[73] In January 2006, Lambert was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.[8] In November 2011, in her testimony before the Leveson Inquiry, Rowling said that the Sun had attempted to "blackmail" her into a photo-op in return for returning the stolen manuscript.[74]
Accusation of libel[edit]
In July 2007, a dispute arose between Harry Potter's British publisher, Bloomsbury, and Asda, a British supermarket chain owned by the US corporation Wal-Mart. On 15 July, a week before the release of the final Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Asda issued a press release accusing Bloomsbury of unfairly fixing their prices. Asda spokesman Peter Pritchard claimed that Bloomsbury was "holding children to ransom" and that, "[i]t seems like Bloomsbury need to do a quid-ditch as they have sent their prices up north on the Hogwarts Express. By setting the recommended retail price at this level can only be seen [sic] as blatant profiteering on their part." Pritchard went on to say that Asda was acting to "champion the right of young readers", and that the recommended retail price was "twice the average child's pocket money and £5 more than the average children's bestseller".[9] Asda had planned to sell the book as a loss leader at £8.87 ($16.30), or half Bloomsbury's recommended retail price of £17.99 ($33.00) and below the wholesale price of £9.89 ($18.00).
Two days later, Bloomsbury responded that the claims were "potentially libellous" and that:

Asda's latest attempt to draw attention to themselves involves trying to leap on the Harry Potter bandwagon. This is just another example of their repeated efforts of appearing as Robin Hood in the face of controversy about their worldwide group, which would suggest they are perceived as more akin to the Sheriff of Nottingham. Loss leaders were invented by supermarkets and have nothing to do with Bloomsbury Publishing or Harry Potter and we deeply regret having been dragged into their price-wars.[9]
Bloomsbury stated that the price hike of £1 from the previous Harry Potter novel was due to it having been printed on recycled paper. "There is a price to be paid by the consumer for environmental best practice", a Bloomsbury spokeswoman said.[75]
Bloomsbury CEO Nigel Newton said, "[They have] unleashed a very disingenuous, self-interested attack on us. This is complete nonsense and all they're doing is grandstanding as they've done on the price of aspirin and bread. They try to turn it into a big deal as though it's a moral crusade for them, but it's nothing of the kind."[75]
That same day, Bloomsbury cancelled all Asda's orders of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, or roughly 500,000 copies, citing unpaid bills from the company totalling £38,000 ($70,000) for unauthorised returns of the sixth Harry Potter book.[75] "The two matters are completely unrelated", said a Bloomsbury spokeswoman, "We decided today that we couldn't risk having arrears with anybody."[9] The dispute had been "going on a while – going on for weeks actually."[76] Asda responded that Bloomsbury owed them £122,000 ($224,000) ("for pulping and for other book trade issues and work we have done for them"[75]) and that, as one company spokesman claimed, "It just seems funny that after we expose the potty Potter price hike, Bloomsbury are trying everything they can to stop kids getting hold of Harry Potter at a price they can afford.
Asda paid the bill within hours, and claimed that Bloomsbury would be in breach of contract if it did not allow the store to sell its books. However, Bloomsbury claimed that the block on Asda's orders was still in place as, "Unfortunately, we've now had to initiate a significant libel claim against them. That matter will have to be dealt with. If they want their 500,000 books, they'll have to come and make peace with us ... It could be good news for all their disappointed customers, because they don't have to go to a soulless Asda shed to buy their book and they can share the magic of Harry Potter at an independent or specialist bookstore instead."[75]
Upon receipt of Bloomsbury's legal letter, Asda responded that, "There is nothing defamatory in our press release. Everything there is factual. It is a commentary on how we see things."[75] Said another Asda spokesperson, "If they don't supply us with the books, it will have a massive implication and [be] a breach of contract – but I don't think they will do that."[75]
Later that day, however, Asda released a statement retracting its original comment: "We apologise unreservedly to Bloomsbury for [our] press release dated 15 July and withdraw our statement. We look forward to a good relationship with Bloomsbury going forward, including selling the latest Harry Potter book from 00:01 am BST on Saturday 21 July and many other Bloomsbury books in the future".[77] In response, Bloomsbury lifted the block and Asda was allowed to sell its books. The original press release was then expunged.[78]
The rationale behind Asda's initial press release remains uncertain. Neill Denny, commentator for thebookseller.com, opined that "the whole episode has the whiff of a badly-conceived PR stunt by ill-briefed senior executives at Asda out of touch with the subtleties of the book world."[79] Ralph Baxter of Publishing News concurred: "For Asda ... it may be seen as mission accomplished, a high-risk strategy to maximise publicity for its Harry Potter offer rewarded with television, radio, Internet and newspaper coverage. And the association of Asda with low prices has no doubt been entrenched in a few more minds."[80]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b "Potter author zaps court rival". CNN. 2002-07-19. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
2.^ Jump up to: a b "Rowling seeks 'Grotter' ban". BBC News. 2003-03-13. Retrieved 2006-03-31.
3.Jump up ^ "Fake Harry Potter novel hits China". BBC News. 2002-07-04. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
4.^ Jump up to: a b c Kieren McCarthy (2000-12-21). "Warner Brothers bullying ruins Field family Xmas". The Register. Retrieved 2007-05-03.
5.^ Jump up to: a b Richard Stallman (2005). "Don't Buy Harry Potter Books". stallman.org. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
6.^ Jump up to: a b Michael Geist (2005-07-17). "Harry Potter and the Right to Read". michaelgeist.ca. Retrieved 2007-10-12.Geist, Michael (2005-07-18). "Appeared in". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
7.^ Jump up to: a b c d Sir Andrew Morritt V.C (2004). "Hampshire Waste Services Ltd v. Intending Trespassers upon Chineham Incinerator Site". High Court of Justice (Chancery Division) Ch D. Retrieved 2008-08-23. (kept at: Oxford Center for Higher Education Policy Studies)
8.^ Jump up to: a b Oliver, Mark (2006-01-19). "Man jailed for Potter theft". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2007-05-23.
9.^ Jump up to: a b c d Nigel Reynolds (2007-07-17). "Asda barred from selling seventh Harry Potter". The Telegraph (London). Retrieved 2007-08-01.
10.^ Jump up to: a b "Muggle Versus Wizard". The Washington Post. 2001-03-28. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
11.Jump up ^ Hillel Italie (2002-09-19). "'Harry Potter' Prevails In Court". CBS News. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
12.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Scholastic, Inc. v. Stouffer 221 F. Supp. 2d 425 (S.D.N.Y. 2002)
13.Jump up ^ "All Things Considered: Harry Potter". NPR Radio. 1998-12-03. Retrieved 2008-09-03. (Rowling interview)
14.Jump up ^ "Nancy Stouffer: Appeal request". realmuggles.com. 2005. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
15.^ Jump up to: a b Nancy Stouffer. "realmuggles.com". Retrieved 2007-10-18.
16.Jump up ^ "Ottenheimer Closing Down". Publishers Weekly. 2002-06-17 June. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
17.Jump up ^ "Winnipeg's Wyrd Sisters Still Fighting Harry Potter". Chart magazine. 2006-04-07. Retrieved 2008-09-23.[dead link]
18.Jump up ^ "'Wyrd Sisters' cannot stop Harry Potter". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2005-09-04. Retrieved 2008-09-03.[dead link]
19.^ Jump up to: a b c "Wyrd Sisters continue Harry Potter battle with studio". The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2006-07-03. Retrieved 2007-12-23.[dead link]
20.^ Jump up to: a b Adrian Humphreys (2006-07-01). "Winnipeg folk band that took on Harry Potter ordered to pay $140,000 court costs". The National Post. Retrieved 2008-09-03.
21.Jump up ^ Leah Collins (2007-08-04). "Wyrd Sisters keep fighting the good fight, fan mail or not". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
22.Jump up ^ Lambert, Steve (2010). "Wyrd five-year court battle over Harry Potter movie ends with secret settlement". Winnipeg: Canadian Press. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
23.Jump up ^ Ryan Kisiel (16 June 2009). "JK Rowling sued for £500m in plagiarism lawsuit by family of late Willy The Wizard author". Daily Mail (UK). Retrieved 2009-06-16.
24.^ Jump up to: a b c "Rowling didn't plagiarise". Reuters. 2009. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
25.Jump up ^ Lesley Ciarula Taylor (18 February 2010). "J.K. Rowling sued for plagiarism". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
26.Jump up ^ Karen Sloan (2010). "It's Harry Potter and the Allegation of Plagiarism". The National Law Journal. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
27.Jump up ^ "Harry Potter plagiarism case dismissed". BBC. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
28.Jump up ^ "Author who claimed JK Rowling stole idea for Harry Potter ordered to pay £1.5m 'security' before plagiarism case starts". Daily Mail (London). 21 March 2001. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
29.Jump up ^ The Bookseller Trustee of Willy the Wizard Makes Appeal over Court Costs (29 April 2011)
30.Jump up ^ The Bookseller, 24 May 2011
31.Jump up ^ [1], 18 July 2011
32.^ Jump up to: a b David Eimer (2005-11-09). "Beatrix Potter court victory deals blow to China's publishing pirates". Independent on Sunday (London: Independent News and Media Limited). Retrieved 2007-08-06.
33.Jump up ^ "Fake Harry Potter novel hits China". BBC News. 2002-07-04. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
34.^ Jump up to: a b Legal magic spells win for Harry in China Oliver August and Jack Malvern, The Times, 2002-11-02 Retrieved on: 2007-09-25
35.^ Jump up to: a b Howard W French (2007-07-31). "What is the seventh Potter book called in China?". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
36.Jump up ^ Wu, Tim. "Harry Potter and the International Order of Copyright." Slate. Friday 27 June 2003. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
37.Jump up ^ William Sutton (2007-10-12). "Who won the race to translate ‘Harry Potter'?". The Times (London). Retrieved 2009-05-21.
38.Jump up ^ Chitra Subramanyam & Subrata Nagchoudhury (2003). "Pirates Potter Around Kolkata". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
39.Jump up ^ "Rowling blocks Grotter release". BBC News. 2003-04-03. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
40.^ Jump up to: a b 'Tanja Grotter' wel in België te lezen, Nieuws.nl, 2003-09-25. Retrieved on 2008-09-25 (in Dutch)
41.Jump up ^ "Tanya Grotter title list". Tanya Grotter official site. Retrieved 2008-09-25. (in Russian)
42.Jump up ^ "India's "Hari Puttar" caught in Harry Potter spell". NewsDaily. 2008-08-27. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
43.Jump up ^ Karishma Vaswani (2008-09-12). "Court delays Puttar film release". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
44.Jump up ^ Anil Sinanan (2008-09-25). "Harri Puttar free to cast its spell at Indian box-office". The Times (London). Retrieved 2008-09-25.
45.Jump up ^ Kieren McCarthy (2000-12-15). "Warner Bros backs down on Harry Potter Web site". The Register. Retrieved 2007-05-03.
46.^ Jump up to: a b "Army mag draws Potter comparisons". BBC News. 2005-02-07. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
47.Jump up ^ Lizette Alvarez (2005-02-09). "Arts, Briefly; Harry Potter Crosses Wands With the U.S. Army". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
48.Jump up ^ Jack Malvern (26-02- 2007). "Potter author sues eBay over pirate books". The Times (London). Retrieved 2008-09-08.
49.Jump up ^ JK Rowling (2005-09-07). "E-Bay Users Once Again". jkrowling.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
50.Jump up ^ Candace Lombardi. "Harry Potter author fights e-book fraud on eBay". c:net. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
51.^ Jump up to: a b c Cade Metz (2007-06-08). "JK Rowling badmouths eBay". The Register. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
52.^ Jump up to: a b "Rowling sues Indian festival for building replica of Hogwarts Castle". Agence France-Presse. 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
53.Jump up ^ Harish V Nair, 'Pottermania defeats Rowling at Salt Lake', Hindustan Times, Kolkata Edition, 2007-10-13
54.Jump up ^ "Correction: Festival-Harry Potter story". Associated Press. 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
55.Jump up ^ JK Rowling (2007). "Rubbish Bin: J K Rowling demands 2 million rupees from religious charities in India". jkrowling.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
56.Jump up ^ David B. Caruso (2007-09-01). "Rowling Sues to Block Harry Potter Book". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-11-01.[dead link]
57.Jump up ^ Joanne Rowling (2007-10-31). "Companion Books". jkrowling.com. Archived from the original on 3 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
58.Jump up ^ "Row delays Harry Potter Lexicon". BBC News. 2007-11-10. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
59.Jump up ^ Dan Slater (2008-04-18). "Final (For Now!) Reflections on the Harry Potter Trial". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
60.Jump up ^ "Rowling Says Fan's Book Could Endanger other Authors". Epoch Times. 2008-04-16. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
61.Jump up ^ "U.S. judge halts unofficial Harry Potter lexicon". Reuters. 2008-09-08. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
62.^ Jump up to: a b Ross, Shan (2007-11-19). "Rowling goes Potty over US bid to post Harry's son's story on web". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
63.^ Jump up to: a b c "On Eve of James Potter Sequel, Harry Potter fan Fiction Heats up: Unlikely Author Poised to Keep the Story Alive". PRWEB. 2008. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
64.Jump up ^ Schliebs, Mark (2007-11-09). "Web abuzz with Harry Potter sequel rumours". Retrieved 2007-11-09.[dead link]
65.Jump up ^ Maughan, Shannon (2007-11-09). "RDR Books Agrees to Delay Potter Title". Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
66.Jump up ^ CHEESER (2007-11-09). "Elder's Crossing, James Potter, Book 8, RIP". Archived from the original on 11 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
67.Jump up ^ Dan Tench (2006-05-23). "Animal extremists can no longer hide behind a web of secrecy". The Times (London). Retrieved 2007-05-30.
68.Jump up ^ Jack Malvern (2005-07-13). "Reading ban on leaked Harry Potter". The Times (London). Retrieved 2007-10-11.
69.Jump up ^ "Important Notice: Raincoast Books". Raincoast Books. 2005-08-25. Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
70.Jump up ^ Barbara Grossman, Aaron Milrad and Annie Na (2005). "Understanding the Harry Potter Injunction: Protecting Copyright and Confidential Information" (PDF). Fraser Milner and Casgrain. Retrieved 2007-05-30.
71.Jump up ^ "Scholastic will take action against Harry Potter distributors". Reuters. 2007-07-18. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
72.Jump up ^ "Guard admits to Harry Potter theft". BBC News. 2005-10-13. Archived from the original on 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
73.Jump up ^ "Potter book thief admits threats". BBC News. 2005-12-20. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
74.Jump up ^ Richard Allen Greene (2011). "J.K. Rowling chased from home by press, she says". CNN. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
75.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Katherine Rushton (2007-07-17). "Bloomsbury: Asda must make peace". thebookseller.com. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
76.Jump up ^ "Asda Apologises following Potter Book Row". UK News Lifestyle Extra. 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
77.Jump up ^ Philip Jones (2007-07-17). "Asda apologises to Bloomsbury". thebookseller.com. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
78.Jump up ^ Graeme Warden (2007-07-17). "Harry Potter and the Asda Apology". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2007-08-01.
79.Jump up ^ Neill Denny (2007-07-17). "Opinion: Asda's climbdown". thebookseller.com. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
80.Jump up ^ Ralph Baxter (2007). "The Great Stand-Off". Publishing News Online. Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
External links[edit]

Portal icon Harry Potter portal
Portal icon Law portal
Book icon Book: Harry Potter

Online transcription of the judge's ruling in Rowling v. Stouffer
Willy the Wizard website
RealMuggles.com, Nancy Stouffer's web site
Tanya Grotter official website (in Russian)
harrypotterguide.co.uk Claire Field's fansite
slate.com on the issues raised by Harry Potter parodies
Descriptions of various Asian illegal translations
'Harry Potter plagiarism case struck out'

[hide]
­v·
 ­t·
 ­e
 
The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling



Philosopher's Stone
Film
Soundtrack
Game Chamber of Secrets
Film
Soundtrack
Game Prisoner of Azkaban
Film
Soundtrack
Game Goblet of Fire
Film
Soundtrack
Game Order of the Phoenix
Film
Soundtrack
Game Half-Blood Prince
Film
Soundtrack
Game Deathly Hallows
Film 1 · 2
Soundtrack 1 · 2
Game 1 · 2


Characters

Main
­Harry Potter·
 ­Ron Weasley·
 ­Hermione Granger·
 ­Lord Voldemort·
 ­Albus Dumbledore·
 ­Severus Snape·
 ­Rubeus Hagrid·
 ­Draco Malfoy
 

Supporting
­Hogwarts staff·
 ­Order of the Phoenix·
 ­Dumbledore's Army·
 ­Death Eaters
 


Universe
­Hogwarts·
 ­Magic·
 ­Magical creatures·
 ­Magical objects·
 ­Ministry of Magic·
 ­Muggle·
 ­Places·
 ­Quidditch·
 ­Spells
 

Related works
­Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them·
 ­Quidditch Through the Ages·
 ­The Tales of Beedle the Bard·
 ­Prequel·
 ­Pottermore
 

Film series
­Cast members·
 ­Critical response·
 ­Music·
 ­Production of Deathly Hallows·
 ­Theatrical run of Deathly Hallows – Part 2
 

Games
­Quidditch World Cup·
 ­Lego Harry Potter·
 ­Lego Creator: Harry Potter·
 ­Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4, Years 5–7·
 ­Book of Spells·
 ­Book of Potions·
 ­Action figures·
 ­Trading Card Game
 

Attractions
­The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort  (Dragon Challenge·
 ­Flight of the Hippogriff·
 ­Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey)
  ·
 ­The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood  (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey)
  ·
 ­Harry Potter Movie Magic Experience·
 ­Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
 

­Wikipedia book Book·
 ­Category Category·
 ­ Commons·
 ­Portal Portal
 

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
 

Categories: Harry Potter controversies
Legal disputes
Plagiarism controversies






Navigation menu


Create account
Log in


Article
Talk





Read
Edit
View history




 Search 


Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Toolbox
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Data item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Italiano
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 13 September 2013 at 11:58.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   





Harry Potter influences and analogues

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search


Contents
  [hide] 1 Influences 1.1 British folklore and mythology
1.2 The Iliad
1.3 The Bible
1.4 Aeschylus
1.5 The Pardoner's Tale
1.6 Macbeth
1.7 William Penn
1.8 Emma
1.9 The Story of the Treasure Seekers
1.10 The Wind in the Willows
1.11 Dorothy L. Sayers
1.12 The Chronicles of Narnia
1.13 The Little White Horse
1.14 The Sword in the Stone
1.15 Manxmouse
1.16 Jessica Mitford
2 Other favourites
3 Analogues 3.1 The Pilgrim's Progress
3.2 Wuthering Heights
3.3 Tom Brown's Schooldays
3.4 Kaytek the Wizard
3.5 The Lord of the Rings
3.6 Roald Dahl
3.7 X-Men
3.8 The Chronicles of Prydain
3.9 The Dark Is Rising
3.10 A Wizard of Earthsea
3.11 The Worst Witch
3.12 Charmed Life
3.13 Discworld
3.14 Ender's Game
3.15 Young Sherlock Holmes
3.16 Troll
3.17 Groosham Grange
3.18 The Books of Magic
3.19 Spellcasting series
3.20 Wizard's Hall
3.21 The Secret of Platform 13
4 References 4.1 Bibliography
5 External links
Writer J. K. Rowling cites several writers as influences in her creation of her bestselling Harry Potter series. Writers, journalists and critics have noted that the books also have a number of analogues; a wide range of literature, both classical and modern, which Rowling has not openly cited as influences.
This article is divided into three sections. The first section lists those authors and books which Rowling has suggested as possible influences on Harry Potter. The second section deals with those books which Rowling has cited as favourites without mentioning possible influences. The third section deals with those analogues which Rowling has not cited either as influences or as favourites but which others have claimed bear comparison with Harry Potter.
Influences[edit]
J.K. Rowling has never openly credited any single author with inspiration, saying, "I haven't got the faintest idea where my ideas come from, or how my imagination works. I'm just grateful that it does, because it gives me more entertainment than it gives anyone else."[1] However, she has mentioned a number of favourite authors as probable influences in her creation of Harry Potter. The works are listed roughly in order of publication.
British folklore and mythology[edit]
Rowling has said, "I've taken horrible liberties with folklore and mythology, but I'm quite unashamed about that, because British folklore and British mythology is a totally bastard mythology. You know, we've been invaded by people, we've appropriated their gods, we've taken their mythical creatures, and we've soldered them all together to make, what I would say, is one of the richest folklores in the world, because it's so varied. So I feel no compunction about borrowing from that freely, but adding a few things of my own."[2]
The Iliad[edit]
When an interviewer said that saving Cedric's body resembled the Iliad and the actions of Hector, Achilles, and Patroclus, Rowling said, "That's where it came from. That really, really, really moved me when I read that when I was 19. The idea of the desecration of a body, a very ancient idea... I was thinking of that when Harry saved Cedric's body."[3]
The Bible[edit]
A number of commentators have drawn attention to the Biblical themes and references in J. K. Rowling's final Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In an August 2007 issue of Newsweek, Lisa Miller commented that Harry dies and then comes back to life to save humankind, like Christ. She points out the title of the chapter in which this occurs—"King's Cross"—a possible allusion to Christ's cross. Also, she outlines the scene in which Harry is temporarily dead, pointing out that it places Harry in a very heaven-like setting where he talks to a father figure "whose supernatural powers are accompanied by a profound message of love."[4] Jeffrey Weiss adds, in the Dallas Morning News, that the biblical quotation "And the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death", (I Corinthians 15:26), featured on the tombstones of Harry's parents, refers to Christ's resurrection.[5] The quotation on Dumbledore's family tomb, "Where your treasure is, your heart will be also", is from Matthew 6:21, and refers to knowing which things in life are of true value.[6] "They're very British books", Rowling revealed to an Open Book conference in October 2007, "So on a very practical note Harry was going to find biblical quotations on tombstones, [but] I think those two particular quotations he finds on the tombstones at Godric's Hollow, they (...) almost epitomize the whole series."[7]
Aeschylus[edit]
Deathly Hallows begins with a pair of epigraphs, one from Quaker leader William Penn's More Fruits of Solitude and one from Aeschylus' The Libation Bearers. "I really enjoyed choosing those two quotations because one is pagan, of course, and one is from a Christian tradition", Rowling said. "I'd known it was going to be those two passages since 'Chamber' was published. I always knew [that] if I could use them at the beginning of book seven then I'd queued up the ending perfectly. If they were relevant, then I went where I needed to go. They just say it all to me, they really do."[7]
The Pardoner's Tale[edit]
In a July 2007 webchat hosted by her publisher Bloomsbury, Rowling stated that The Pardoner's Tale of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales was an inspiration for a folktale retold by Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.[8] In the tale, three brothers outwit Death by magicking a bridge to cross a dangerous river. Death, angry at being cheated, offers to give them three gifts, the Deathly Hallows, as a reward for evading him. The first two die as a result of the gifts granted to them, but the third uses his gift wisely and dies in his bed an old man. In The Pardoner's Tale, three rogues are told that if they look under a tree, they can find a means to defeat Death. Instead they find gold, and, overcome with greed, eventually kill each other to possess it.[9]
Macbeth[edit]
Rowling has cited Shakespeare's Macbeth as an influence. In an interview with The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet, when asked, "What if [Voldemort] never heard the prophecy?", she said, "It's the Macbeth idea. I absolutely adore Macbeth. It is possibly my favourite Shakespeare play. And that's the question isn't it? If Macbeth hadn't met the witches, would he have killed Duncan? Would any of it have happened? Is it fated or did he make it happen? I believe he made it happen."[10] On her website, she referred to Macbeth again in discussing the prophecy: "the prophecy (like the one the witches make to Macbeth, if anyone has read the play of the same name) becomes the catalyst for a situation that would never have occurred if it had not been made."[11]
William Penn[edit]
See: Aeschylus
Emma[edit]
Rowling cites Jane Austen as her favourite author and a major influence. "My attitude to Jane Austen is accurately summed up by that wonderful line from Cold Comfort Farm: 'One of the disadvantages of almost universal education was that all kinds of people gained a familiarity with one's favourite books. It gave one a curious feeling; like seeing a drunken stranger wrapped in one's dressing gown.'"[1] The Harry Potter series is known for its twist endings, and Rowling has stated that, "I have never set up a surprise ending in a Harry Potter book without knowing I can never, and will never, do it anywhere near as well as Austen did in Emma."[1]
The Story of the Treasure Seekers[edit]
Rowling frequently mentions E. Nesbit in interview, citing her "very real" child characters.[12] In 2000, she said, "I think I identify with E Nesbit more than any other writer", and described Nesbit's The Story of the Treasure Seekers' as, "Exhibit A for prohibition of all children's literature by anyone who cannot remember exactly how it felt to be a child."[1]
The Wind in the Willows[edit]



The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
In a 2007 reading for students in New Orleans, Rowling said that the first book to inspire her was Kenneth Grahame's children's fantasy The Wind in the Willows, read to her when she had the measles at age 4.[13]
Dorothy L. Sayers[edit]
Rowling has also cited the work of Christian essayist and mystery writer Dorothy L. Sayers as an influence on her work, saying "There's a theory — this applies to detective novels, and then Harry, which is not really a detective novel, but it feels like one sometimes — that you should not have romantic intrigue in a detective book. Dorothy L. Sayers, who is queen of the genre said — and then broke her own rule, but said — that there is no place for romance in a detective story except that it can be useful to camouflage other people's motives. That's true; it is a very useful trick. I've used that on Percy and I've used that to a degree on Tonks in this book, as a red herring. But having said that, I disagree inasmuch as mine are very character-driven books, and it's so important, therefore, that we see these characters fall in love, which is a necessary part of life."[14]
The Chronicles of Narnia[edit]
Rowling has said she was a fan of the works of C. S. Lewis as a child, and cites the influence of his Narnia chronicles on her work: "I found myself thinking about the wardrobe route to Narnia when Harry is told he has to hurl himself at a barrier in Kings Cross Station - it dissolves and he's on platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and there's the train for Hogwarts."[15]
She is, however, at pains to stress the differences between Narnia and her world: "Narnia is literally a different world", she says, "whereas in the Harry books you go into a world within a world that you can see if you happen to belong. A lot of the humour comes from collisions between the magic and the everyday worlds. Generally there isn't much humour in the Narnia books, although I adored them when I was a child. I got so caught up I didn't think CS Lewis was especially preachy. Reading them now I find that his subliminal message isn't very subliminal."[15] New York Times writer Charles McGrath notes the similarity between Dudley Dursley, the obnoxious son of Harry's neglectful guardians, and Eustace Scrubb, the spoiled brat who torments the main characters until converted by Aslan.[16]
The Little White Horse[edit]
In an interview in The Scotsman in 2002, Rowling described Elizabeth Goudge's The Little White Horse as having, "perhaps more than any other book . . . a direct influence on the Harry Potter books. The author always included details of what her characters were eating and I remember liking that. You may have noticed that I always list the food being eaten at Hogwarts."[17] Rowling said in O that "Goudge was the only [author] whose influence I was conscious of. She always described exactly what the children were eating, and I really liked knowing what they had in their sandwiches."[18]
The Sword in the Stone[edit]
Rowling also cites the work of T. H. White, a grammar school teacher, and the author of the well-known children's classic saga, The Once and Future King, which tells the story of King Arthur of Britain, from childhood to grave. Perhaps the best-known book from this saga is The Sword in the Stone (the first book) which was made into an animated movie by Disney Studios. Arthur (called Wart) is a small scruffy-haired orphan, who meets the wizard Merlin (who has an owl, Archimedes, and acts, much like Dumbledore, in the manner of an "absent-minded professor"[19]) who takes him to a castle to educate him. As writer Phyllis Morris notes, "The parallels between Dumbledore and Merlin do not end with the protection of the hero in danger . . . In addition to both characters sporting long, flowing beards (and blue eyes, according to T.H. White), Merlin was King Arthur's mentor and guide, as Dumbledore has been Harry's guide and mentor."[20] Rowling describes Wart as "Harry's spiritual ancestor."[21]
Manxmouse[edit]
Rowling is also a fan of Paul Gallico, "especially Manxmouse. That's a great book. Gallico manages the fine line between magic and reality so skilfully, to the point where the most fantastic events feel plausible."[15]
Jessica Mitford[edit]
In the Scotsman interview, Rowling described civil rights activist Jessica Mitford as "my most influential writer", saying, "I love the way she never outgrew some of her adolescent traits, remaining true to her politics - she was a self-taught socialist - throughout her life."[17] In a review of Decca—The letters of Jessica Mitford, she went further saying, "Jessica Mitford has been my heroine since I was 14 years old, when I overheard my formidable great-aunt discussing how Mitford had run away at the age of 19 to fight with the Reds in the Spanish Civil War", and claims what inspired her about Mitford was that she was "incurably and instinctively rebellious, brave, adventurous, funny and irreverent, she liked nothing better than a good fight, preferably against a pompous and hypocritical target."[22]
Other favourites[edit]



A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
In 1999, while Rowling was on a tour of the United States, a bookseller handed her a copy of I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, saying she would love it. The book became one of her all time favourites. Rowling says that, "it is the voice of the narrator, in this case 17-year- old Cassandra Mortmain, which makes a masterpiece out of an old plot."[1][23]
Also in 1999, Rowling said in interview that she was a great fan of Grimble, by Clement Freud, saying, "Grimble is one of funniest books I've ever read, and Grimble himself, who is a small boy, is a fabulous character. I'd love to see a Grimble film. As far as I know, these last two fine pieces of literature are out of print, so if any publishers ever read this, could you please dust them off and put them back in print so other people can read them?"[24]
On a number of occasions, Rowling has cited her admiration for French novelist Colette.[25]
Rowling said that the death of Sydney Carton in Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, and the novel's final line, "It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known", had a profound impact on her.[26]
In a 2000 interview with BBC Radio 4, Rowling revealed a deep love of Vladimir Nabokov's controversial book Lolita, saying, "There just isn't enough time to discuss how a plot that could have been the most worthless pornography becomes, in Nabokov's hands, a great and tragic love story, and I could exhaust my reservoir of superlatives trying to describe the quality of the writing."[27]
In an interview with O: The Oprah Magazine, Rowling described Irish author Roddy Doyle as her favourite living writer, saying, "I love all his books. I often talk about him and Jane Austen in the same breath. I think people are slightly mystified by that because superficially they're such different writers. But they both have a very unsentimental approach to human nature. They can be profoundly moving without ever becoming mawkish."[28]
Many of Rowling's named favorites decorate the links section of her personal webpage. The section is designed to look like a bookcase, and includes I Capture the Castle, The Little White Horse and Manxmouse, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma, a book of fairy tales by E. Nesbit, The Commitments and The Van by Roddy Doyle, two books by Dorothy L. Sayers and a book by Katherine Mansfield.[29]
In January 2006, Rowling was asked by the Royal Society of Literature to nominate her top ten books every child should read. Included in her list were Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Animal Farm by George Orwell, The Tale of Two Bad Mice by Beatrix Potter, The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.[30]
Analogues[edit]
There are a number of authors to which Rowling has been repeatedly compared in the media. Some of these she has herself mentioned, others have been mentioned by Internet sites, journalists, critics or other authors. The works are listed roughly in order of publication.
The Pilgrim's Progress[edit]



The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
John Granger sees Chamber of Secrets as similar to a morality play like John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. He describes the climax, where Harry descends to the Chamber of Secrets to rescue Ginny Weasley as "the clearest Christian allegory of salvation history since Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. ... Using only traditional symbols, from the ‘Ancient of Days’ figure as God the Father to the satanic serpent and Christ-like phoenix (‘the Resurrection Bird’), the drama takes us from the fall to eternal life without a hitch."[31]
Wuthering Heights[edit]
In 2006, Rowling recommended Emily Brontë's Gothic post-Romantic Wuthering Heights as number one of the top ten books every child should read. In her essay, "To Sir With Love" in the book Mapping the World of Harry Potter, Joyce Millman suggests that Severus Snape, Harry Potter's morally ambiguous potions master, is drawn from a tradition of Byronic heroes such as Wuthering Heights' Heathcliff[32] and that chapter two of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is reminiscent of the opening of Wuthering Heights when Heathcliff is coldly introduced and asks his servant Joseph to bring up wine for him and Lockwood. Snape commands the almost identical line to his servant Wormtail, with Snape described similarly to how Emily Brontë described Heathcliff.
Tom Brown's Schooldays[edit]
The Harry Potter series draws upon a long tradition of boarding school-set children's literature in English. This school story genre originated in the Victorian era with Tom Brown's Schooldays, by Thomas Hughes. Tom Brown's Schooldays laid down a basic structure which has been widely imitated, for example in Anthony Buckeridge's 1950s Jennings books.[33]
Both Tom Brown's Schooldays and Harry Potter involve an average eleven-year old, better at sport than academic study, who is sent to boarding school. Upon arrival, the boy gains a best friend (In Tom's case, East, in Harry's case, Ron Weasley) who helps him adjust to the new environment. They are set upon by an arrogant bully — in Tom Brown's case, Flashman, in Harry's case Draco Malfoy. Stephen Fry, who both narrates the British audio adaptations of the Harry Potter novels and has starred in a screen adaptation of Tom Brown, has commented many times about the similarities between the two books. "Harry Potter - a boy who arrives in this strange school to board for the first time and makes good, solid friends and also enemies who use bullying and unfair tactics", notes Fry, "then is ambiguous about whether or not he is going to be good or bad. His pluck and his endeavour, loyalty, good nature and bravery are the things that carry him through - and that is the story of Tom Brown's Schooldays".[34]
Kaytek the Wizard[edit]
Janusz Korczak's 1935 novel Kaytek the Wizard concerns a schoolboy named Kaytek who gains magical powers. According to some critics, Kaytek has a far more difficult path than Harry Potter: he has no Hogwarts-type School of Magic where he could be taught by expert mages, but must learn to use and control his powers all by himself – and most importantly, to learn his limitations.[35][36] In Korczak's worlds, a happy ending is not guaranteed, and the child-hero must learn about the limitations of power and the consequences of its abuse.[35][36] According to Polish sociologist and writer Kinga Dunin, Kaytek, in pedagogical terms, is a superior book to Harry Potter, as within one book, Kaytek experiences much more growth than Harry; furthermore, the world is more realistic, less black and white.[36] At the same time, Dunin notes the book's outdated attitudes to issues of gender and race.[36]
The Lord of the Rings[edit]
Fans of author J. R. R. Tolkien have drawn attention to the similarities between his novel The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series; specifically Tolkien's Wormtongue and Rowling's Wormtail, Tolkien's Shelob and Rowling's Aragog, Tolkien's Gandalf and Rowling's Dumbledore, Tolkien's Nazgûl and Rowling's Dementors, Old Man Willow and the Whomping Willow and the similarities between both authors' antagonists, Tolkien's Dark Lord Sauron and Rowling's Lord Voldemort (both of whom are sometimes within their respective continuities unnamed due to intense fear surrounding their names; both often referred to as 'The Dark Lord'; and both of whom are, during the time when the main action takes place, seeking to recover their lost power after having been considered dead or at least no longer a threat).[37] Several reviews of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows noted that the locket used as a horcrux by Voldemort bore comparison to Tolkien's One Ring, as it negatively affects the personality of the wearer.[38] Rowling maintains that she hadn't read The Hobbit until after she completed the first Harry Potter novel (though she had read The Lord of the Rings as a teenager) and that any similarities between her books and Tolkien's are "Fairly superficial. Tolkien created a whole new mythology, which I would never claim to have done. On the other hand, I think I have better jokes."[39] Tolkienian scholar Tom Shippey has maintained that "no modern writer of epic fantasy has managed to escape the mark of Tolkien, no matter how hard many of them have tried".[40]
Roald Dahl[edit]
Many have drawn attention to the similarities between Rowling's works and those of Roald Dahl, particularly in the depiction of the Dursley family, which echoes the nightmarish guardians seen in many of Dahl's books, such as the Wormwoods from Matilda, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker from James and the Giant Peach, and Grandma from George's Marvellous Medicine.[41] Rowling acknowledges that there are similarities, but believes that at a deeper level, her works are different from those of Dahl; in her words, more "moral".[42]
X-Men[edit]
The Marvel Comics superhero team the X-Men, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963, are similar to Harry Potter in their examination of prejudice and intolerance. Comic book historian Michael Mallory examined the original premise of the comic, in which teenage mutants study under Professor X to learn how to control their abilities, safe from fearful Homo sapiens, and also battle less benign mutants like Magneto. He argued, "Think about [the comic] clad in traditional British university robes and pointy hats, castles and trains, and the image that springs to mind is Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizard[ry], with Dumbledore, Voldemort and the class struggle between wizards and muggles." He acknowledged that while the X-Men was for the longest time "a phenomenon that was largely contained in the realm of comic book readers as opposed to the wider public [such as Rowling]", he argued "nothing exists in a vacuum, least of all popular culture. Just as the creators of X-Men consciously or unconsciously tapped into the creative ether of their time for inspiration, so has the X-Men phenomenon had an effect on the books and films that has since followed."[43]
The Chronicles of Prydain[edit]
Lloyd Alexander's five-volume Prydain Chronicles, begun in 1964 with The Book of Three and concluding in 1968 with "The High King", features a young protagonist, an assistant pig keeper named Taran, who wishes to be a great hero in a world drawn from Welsh mythology. Entertainment Weekly cited Lloyd Alexander as a possible influence on Rowling when it named her its 2007 Entertainer of the Year.[44] When Alexander died in 2007, his obituary in New York Magazine drew many comparisons between Harry Potter and Prydain and said that "The High King is everything we desperately hope Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be."[45]
The Dark Is Rising[edit]
Susan Cooper's Dark Is Rising sequence (which commenced with Over Sea, Under Stone in 1965 and now more commonly bound in a single volume) have been compared to the Harry Potter series. The second novel, also called The Dark Is Rising, features a young boy named Will Stanton who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he is in fact imbued with magical power; in Will's case, that he is the last of the Old Ones, beings empowered by the Light to battle the Dark. The books open in much the same way, with Will finding that people are telling him strange things and that animals run from him.[46] John Hodge, who wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of The Dark Is Rising, made substantial changes to the novel's plot and tone to differentiate it from Harry Potter.[47]
A Wizard of Earthsea[edit]
The basic premise of Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), in which a boy with unusual aptitude for magic is recognised, and sent to a special school for wizards, resembles that of Harry Potter.[48] Le Guin has claimed that she doesn't feel Rowling "ripped her off", but that she felt that Rowling's books were overpraised for supposed originality, and that Rowling "could have been more gracious about her predecessors. My incredulity was at the critics who found the first book wonderfully original. She has many virtues, but originality isn't one of them. That hurt."[49]
The Worst Witch[edit]
Many critics have noted that Jill Murphy's The Worst Witch series (first published in 1974), is set in a school for girls, "Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches", reminiscent of Hogwarts.[50][51] The story concerns an awkward pupil at a boarding school for witches, who faces a scheming rival student. Her professors include a kindly and elderly headmistress and a bullying, raven-haired potions teacher.[52] Murphy has commented on her frustration at constant comparisons between her work and Harry Potter: "It's irritating … everyone asks the same question and I even get children writing to ask me whether I mind about the Hogwarts school of witchcraft and pointing out similarities. Even worse are reviewers who come across my books, or see the TV series, and, without taking the trouble to find out that it's now over quarter of a century since I wrote my first book, make pointed remarks about "clever timing" – or say things like "the Worst Witch stories are not a million miles from J K Rowling's books". The implications are really quite insulting!"[53]
Charmed Life[edit]
In Diana Wynne Jones' Charmed Life (1977), two orphaned children receive magical education while living in a castle. The setting is a world resembling early 1900s Britain, where magic is commonplace. Diana Wynne Jones has stated in answer to a question on her webpage: "I think Ms Rowling did get quite a few of her ideas from my books - though I have never met her, so I have never been able to ask her. My books were written many years before the Harry Potter books (Charmed Life was first published in 1977), so any similarities probably come from what she herself read as a child. Once a book is published, out in the world, it is sort of common property, for people to take ideas from and use, and I think this is what happened to my books."[54]
Discworld[edit]
Before the arrival of J. K. Rowling, Britain's bestselling author was comic fantasy writer Terry Pratchett. His Discworld books, beginning with The Colour of Magic in 1983, satirise and parody common fantasy literature conventions. Pratchett is repeatedly asked if he "got" his idea for his magic college, the Unseen University, from Harry Potter's Hogwarts, or if the young wizard Ponder Stibbons, who has dark hair and glasses, was inspired by Harry Potter. Both in fact predate Rowling's work by several years; Pratchett jokingly claims that yes he did steal them, though "I of course used a time machine."[55] The BBC and other British news agencies have emphasised a supposed rivalry between Pratchett and Rowling,[56] but Pratchett has said on record that, while he doesn't put Rowling on a pedestal, he doesn't consider her a bad writer, nor does he envy her success.[57] Claims of rivalry were due to a letter he wrote to The Sunday Times, about an article published declaring that fantasy "looks backward to an idealised, romanticised, pseudofeudal world, where knights and ladies morris-dance to Greensleeves".[58] Actually, he was protesting the ineptitude of journalists in that genre, many of whom did not research their work and, in this case, contradicted themselves in the same article.[59]
Ender's Game[edit]
Science fiction author Orson Scott Card, in a fierce editorial in response to Rowling's copyright lawsuit against the Harry Potter Lexicon, claimed that her assertion that she had had her "words stolen" was rendered moot by the fact that he could draw numerous comparisons between her books and his own 1985 novel Ender's Game; in his words, "A young kid growing up in an oppressive family situation suddenly learns that he is one of a special class of children with special abilities, who are to be educated in a remote training facility where student life is dominated by an intense game played by teams flying in midair, at which this kid turns out to be exceptionally talented and a natural leader. He trains other kids in unauthorised extra sessions, which enrages his enemies, who attack him with the intention of killing him; but he is protected by his loyal, brilliant friends and gains strength from the love of some of his family members. He is given special guidance by an older man of legendary accomplishments who previously kept the enemy at bay. He goes on to become the crucial figure in a struggle against an unseen enemy who threatens the whole world."[60]
Young Sherlock Holmes[edit]
Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Harry Potter film adaptations, has cited the 1985 film Young Sherlock Holmes, which he wrote, as an influence in his direction for those films. "That was sort of a predecessor to this movie, in a sense", he told the BBC in 2001, "It was about two young boys and a girl in a British boarding school who had to fight a supernatural force."[61] Scenes from Young Sherlock Holmes were subsequently used to cast the first Harry Potter film.[62] On 3 January 2010, Irish journalist Declan Lynch (writing in The Sunday Independent) stated that "there's more than a hint of young Sherlock evident in Harry".[63]
Troll[edit]
The 1986 Charles Band-produced low-budget horror/fantasy film Troll, directed by John Carl Buechler and starring Noah Hathaway, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Sonny Bono, features a character named "Harry Potter Jr." In an interview with M. J. Simpson, Band claimed, "I've heard that J. K. Rowling has acknowledged that maybe she saw this low-budget movie and perhaps it inspired her."[64] However, a spokesman for Rowling, responding to the rumors of a planned remake of the film, has denied that Rowling ever saw it before writing her book.[65] Rowling has said on record multiple times that the name "Harry Potter" was derived in part from a childhood friend, Ian Potter, and in part from her favourite male name, Harry.[66] On 13 April 2008, The Mail on Sunday wrote a news article claiming that Warner Bros. had begun a legal action against Buechler; however, the story was denied and lawyers for Rowling demanded the article be removed.[67]
On 14 April 2008 John Buechler's partner in the Troll remake, Peter Davy, said about Harry Potter, "In John's opinion, he created the first Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling says the idea just came to her. John doesn't think so. There are a lot of similarities between the theme of her books and the original Troll. John was shocked when she came out with Harry Potter."[68]
Groosham Grange[edit]
Groosham Grange (first published in 1988), a novel by best-selling British author Anthony Horowitz has been cited for its similarities with Harry Potter; the plot revolves around David Eliot, a young teenager mistreated by his parents who receive an unexpected call from an isolated boarding school, Groosham Grange, which reveals itself as a school for wizards and witches. Both books feature a teacher who is a ghost, a werewolf character named after the French word for "wolf" (Lupin/Leloup), and passage to the school via railway train.[69] Horowitz, however, while acknowledging the similarities, just thanked Rowling for her contribution to the development of the young adult fiction in the UK.[70]
The Books of Magic[edit]
Fans of the comic book series The Books of Magic, by Neil Gaiman (first published in 1990 by DC Comics) have cited similarities to the Harry Potter story. These include a dark-haired English boy with glasses, named Timothy Hunter, who discovers his potential as the most powerful wizard of the age upon being approached by magic-wielding individuals, the first of whom makes him a gift of a pet owl. Similarities led the British tabloid paper the Daily Mirror to claim Gaiman had made accusations of plagiarism against Rowling, which he went on the record denying, saying the similarities were either coincidence, or drawn from the same fantasy archetypes. "I thought we were both just stealing from T.H. White", he said in an interview, "very straightforward."[71] Dylan Horrocks, writer of the Books of Magic spin-off Hunter: The Age of Magic, has said they should be considered as similar works in the same genre and that both have parallels with earlier schoolboy wizards, like the 2000 AD character Luke Kirby.[72]
Spellcasting series[edit]
The text adventure game Spellcasting 101: Sorcerers Get All The Girls (1990) is the first installment of the Spellcasting series created by Steve Meretzky during his time at Legend Entertainment. All the three games in the series tell the story of young Ernie Eaglebeak, a bespectacled student at the prestigious Sorcerer University, as he progresses through his studies, learning the arcanes of magic, taking part in student life, occasionally saving the world as he knows it. Each separate game takes place during consecutive school years as well, much like the Harry Potter books.[73]
Wizard's Hall[edit]
In 1991, the author Jane Yolen released a book called Wizard's Hall, to which the Harry Potter series bears a resemblance. The main protagonist, Henry (also called Thornmallow), is a young boy who joins a magical school for young wizards.[74] At the school "he must fulfill an ancient prophecy and help overthrow a powerful, evil wizard."[75] Yolen has been very critical of Rowling's work, and has stated publicly that she believes Rowling stole her ideas. In an interview with the magazine Newsweek, Yolen said, "I always tell people that if Ms. Rowling would like to cut me a very large cheque, I would cash it."[76]
The Secret of Platform 13[edit]
Eva Ibbotson's The Secret of Platform 13 (first published in 1994) features a gateway to a magical world located on an underground railway platform. The protagonist belongs to the magical world but is raised in our world by a rich family who neglect him and treat him as a servant, while their fat and unpleasant biological son is pampered and spoiled. Amanda Craig is a journalist who has written about the similarities: "Ibbotson would seem to have at least as good a case for claiming plagiarism as the American author currently suing J. K. Rowling [i. e Nancy Stouffer], but unlike her, Ibbotson says she would 'like to shake her by the hand. I think we all borrow from each other as writers.'"[77]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e J. K. Rowling (2000). "From Mr Darcy to Harry Potter by way of Lolita". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
2.Jump up ^ Fry, Stephen Living with Harry Potter BBC Radio4, 10 December 2005.
3.Jump up ^ Jeff Jensen (2000-09-07). "Harry Up!". ew.com. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
4.Jump up ^ Miller, Lisa. "Christ-like." Newsweek. Published: 2007-08-06 Vol. 150 Iss. 6 pg. 12 ISSN: 00289604
5.Jump up ^ Jeffrey Weiss (2007). "Christian Themes Abound in the Harry Potter books". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
6.Jump up ^ Nancy Carpentier Brown (2007). "The Last Chapter". Our Sunday Visitor. Retrieved 2009-04-28. Kept at: OSV.com
7.^ Jump up to: a b Shawn Adler (2007). "'Harry Potter' Author J.K. Rowling Opens Up About Books' Christian Imagery". mtv.com. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
8.Jump up ^ "J.K. Rowling Web Chat Transcript". The Leaky Cauldron. 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
9.Jump up ^ Larry D. Benson, ed. (1987). The Riverside Chaucer. Oxford University Press.
10.Jump up ^ Melissa Anelli and Emerson Spartz (2005). "The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part Three". Retrieved 2007-06-26.
11.Jump up ^ "What is the significance of Neville being the other boy to whom the prophecy might have referred?". J.K.Rowling Official Site. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
12.Jump up ^ J. K. Rowling. "J. K. Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival". Retrieved 2006-10-10.
13.Jump up ^ Susan Larson (2007). "New Orleans students give Rowling a rousing welcome.". Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
14.Jump up ^ Peg Duthie. "Placetne, J. K. Rowling?" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-08-28.
15.^ Jump up to: a b c Renton, Jennie. "The story behind the Potter legend: JK Rowling talks about how she created the Harry Potter books and the magic of Harry Potter's world". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
16.Jump up ^ Charles McGrath (2005-11-13). "The Narnia Skirmishes". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
17.^ Jump up to: a b "Fraser, Lindsay. "Harry Potter - Harry and me,"". The Scotsman. November 2002.
18.Jump up ^ "J.K. Rowling's bookshelf". oprah.com. 2001. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
19.Jump up ^ "Real Wizards: The Search for Harry's Ancestors (archived copy)". Channel4.com. 2001. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
20.Jump up ^ Phyllis D. Morris. "Elements of the Arthurian Tradition in Harry Potter". Retrieved 2009-09-25.
21.Jump up ^ "JK (JOANNE KATHLEEN) ROWLING (1966-)". Guardian Unlimited (London). Retrieved 2007-10-08.
22.Jump up ^ J. K. Rowling (2006-11-26). "The first It Girl". The Telegraph (London). Retrieved 2007-06-27.
23.Jump up ^ Lindsey Fraser (2004). "J K Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival, Sunday, 15 August 2004". Retrieved 2007-05-10.
24.Jump up ^ "Magic, Mystery, and Mayhem: An Interview with J.K. Rowling". Amazon.com. 199. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
25.Jump up ^ Jennie Renton (2001). "Wild About Harry". Candis Magazine. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
26.Jump up ^ Stephen Mcginty (2003). "The J.K. Rowling Story". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
27.Jump up ^ Sarah-Kate Templeton (2000). "How Lolita inspired Harry Potter". The Sunday Herald. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
28.Jump up ^ "JK Rowling: Favourite living author". O Magazine. 2001. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
29.Jump up ^ "J. K. Rowling's Official Site". Retrieved 2007-06-10.
30.Jump up ^ Higgins, Charlotte (2006-01-31). "From Beatrix Potter to Ulysses ... what the top writers say every child should read". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2007-08-17.
31.Jump up ^ "Reconstructing Harry". Sydneyanglicans.net. 2003. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
32.Jump up ^ Mercedes Lackey, ed. (2006). Mapping the World of Harry Potter. BenBella Books, Inc. pp. 39–52. ISBN 978-1-932100-59-4. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
33.Jump up ^ Dr Jules Smith (2003). "J K Rowling". contemporarywriters.com. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
Nicholas Tucker (1991). "Happiest Days: The Public Schools in English Fiction by Jeffrey Richards; English Children and Their Magazines, 1751-1945 by Kirsten Drotner". History of Education Quarterly. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
34.Jump up ^ Ian Wylie. "Stephen Fry's Schooldays". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
35.^ Jump up to: a b ""Kajtuś Czarodziej" w Polskim w Bydgoszczy - pisze Anita Nowak - Teatr dla Was". Teatrdlawas.pl. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
36.^ Jump up to: a b c d Kinga Dunin (2006-12-31). "Epitafium dla Kajtusia". Czytelnia.onet.pl. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
37.Jump up ^ Monroe, Caroline. "How Much Was Rowling Inspired by Tolkien?". GreenBooks. TheOneRing.net. Retrieved 2006-05-21.
38.Jump up ^ Elizabeth Hand (2007). "Harry's Final Fantasy: Last Time's the Charm". Powell's Books. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
Gina Carbone (2007). "Book review: 'Deathly Hallows'". Seacoastonline. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
Laura Miller (2007). "Goodbye, Harry Potter". salon.com. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
39.Jump up ^ John Granger (2008). "Tolkien and Rowling: A Case for "Text Only"". Retrieved 2009-09-25.
40.Jump up ^ Thomas, Shippey (2000). J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. Harper Collins.
41.Jump up ^ Sally Blakeney (1998). "The Golden Fairytale". The Australian. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
John Shirley (2001). "Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". LocusOnline. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
42.Jump up ^ Feldman, Roxanne. "The Truth About Harry". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2009-09-25. (subscription required)
43.Jump up ^ Michael Mallory (2006). X-Men: The Characters and Their Universe. Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc. p. 133. ISBN 0-88363-120-2.
44.Jump up ^ Mark Harris (2007). "2007 Entertainer of the Year: J.K. Rowling". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
45.Jump up ^ "Author Lloyd Alexander Dies at 83". New York Magazine. 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
46.Jump up ^ Anne Pelrine. "The Christian Guide to Fantasy: The Dark Is Rising". Retrieved 2007-05-17.
"The Ottery: Rereading "The Dark Is Rising"". Retrieved 2007-05-17.
47.Jump up ^ Margot Adler (2007). "Author Uncertain About 'Dark' Leap to Big Screen". NPR. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
48.Jump up ^ Ben Patrick Johnson (2001). "Rowling's Magic Spell: Two Parts Fantasy, One Part Familiar?". CultureKiosque. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
49.Jump up ^ Maya Jaggi (2005-12-17). "The magician". Guardian Unlimited (London). Retrieved 2006-10-10.
50.Jump up ^ Polly Shulman (1999). "The Harry Potter series". slate.com. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
51.Jump up ^ David Aaronovitch (2003-06-22). "We've Been Muggled". The Observer (London). Retrieved 2007-05-10.
52.Jump up ^ "The Worst Witch". Minneapolis Star Tribune. January 11, 2002. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
53.Jump up ^ Joanna Carey (2002). "Jill Murphy interview". Books For Keeps. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
54.Jump up ^ Wynn Jones, Diana. "DIANA'S ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS". Diana Wynne Jones: Official Site. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
55.Jump up ^ "The Last Hero". The Annotatted Pratchett File. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
56.Jump up ^ KAREN MCVEIGH and LESLEY WALKER (2002-07-13). "Pratchett casts a bitter spell on rivals". TheScotsman (Edinburgh). Retrieved 2007-05-16.
"Pratchett wins first major award". BBC News. 2002-07-12. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
"Pratchett takes swipe at Rowling". BBC News. 2005-07-31. Retrieved 2006-10-16.
57.Jump up ^ "Mystery lord of the Discworld". The Age (Melbourne). 2004-11-06. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
58.Jump up ^ Grossman, Lev (2005-07-17). "Rowling Hogwarts And All". Time. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
59.Jump up ^ "Terry Pratchett clarifies J.K. Rowling remarks". Wizard News. Retrieved 2007-06-30.
60.Jump up ^ Orson Scott Card (2008). "Rowling, Lexicon, and Oz". Uncle Orson Reviews Everything. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
61.Jump up ^ "Potter director's Brit passion". BBC news. 2001-11-13. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
62.Jump up ^ Brian Linder. "Trouble Brewing with Potter Casting?". Filmforce. Retrieved 2006-10-11.
63.Jump up ^ Declan Lynch (2010-01-03). "Curious case of Holmes versus Potter". The Sunday Independent. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
64.Jump up ^ MJ Simpson. "Charles Band (Part 2)". Retrieved 2007-05-06.
65.Jump up ^ Vanessa Thorpe (2007). "Second coming for first Harry Potter". The Observer. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
66.Jump up ^ Danielle Demetriou. "Harry Potter and the source of inspiration". Retrieved 2007-05-06.
J. K. Rowling. "J. K. Rowling: Autobiography". Retrieved 2007-05-06.
""J.K. Rowling Discusses the Surprising Success of 'Harry Potter'", Larry King Live". 2000. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
67.Jump up ^ "JK Rowling threatens to sue Political Gateway?". The Political Gateway (2008). "'Harry Potter' at center of legal battle". Retrieved 2008-04-25.
68.Jump up ^ "Legal battle over who first thought of Harry Potter". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 2008-04-13. Retrieved 2009-09-25.
69.Jump up ^ Lana A. Whited (2002). The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: perspectives on a literary phenomenon. University of Missouri. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
70.Jump up ^ Espinosa, Michael (October 2006). "Anthony Horowitz sur la Yozone". Retrieved December 27, 2010.
71.Jump up ^ Linda Richards. "Interview: Neil Gaiman". January Magazine. Retrieved 2006-12-22.
72.Jump up ^ Singh, Arune (August 6, 2002). "Wizard of Hicksville: Horrocks talks 'Hunter: Age of Magic'". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
73.Jump up ^ Huw Collingbourne (2005). "Huw Collingbourne's Rants and Raves June 2005". Retrieved 2007-08-06.
74.Jump up ^ Stephen Richmond (2005). "Before there was Harry Potter, there was Thornmallow!". Retrieved 2006-10-27.
75.Jump up ^ Publishers Weekly quoted on amazon.com
76.Jump up ^ Karen Springen (2005). "Writing Dynamo". Newsweek magazine. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
77.Jump up ^ Amanda Craig. "Eva Ibbotson". Retrieved 2006-10-11.
Bibliography[edit]
1.Pat Pincent, "The Education of a Wizard: Harry Potter and His Predecessors" in The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives in a Literary Phenomenon. Edited with an Introduction by Lana A. Whited. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2002.
2.Amanda Craig, "Harry Potter and the art of lifting ideas", The Sunday Times, 17 July 2005.
3.Heath Paul, Helmer says he invented Harry Potter", The Hollywood News 14 April 2008.
External links[edit]

Portal icon Children's literature portal
Book icon Book: Harry Potter


[hide]
­v·
 ­t·
 ­e
 
The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling



Philosopher's Stone
Film
Soundtrack
Game Chamber of Secrets
Film
Soundtrack
Game Prisoner of Azkaban
Film
Soundtrack
Game Goblet of Fire
Film
Soundtrack
Game Order of the Phoenix
Film
Soundtrack
Game Half-Blood Prince
Film
Soundtrack
Game Deathly Hallows
Film 1 · 2
Soundtrack 1 · 2
Game 1 · 2


Characters

Main
­Harry Potter·
 ­Ron Weasley·
 ­Hermione Granger·
 ­Lord Voldemort·
 ­Albus Dumbledore·
 ­Severus Snape·
 ­Rubeus Hagrid·
 ­Draco Malfoy
 

Supporting
­Hogwarts staff·
 ­Order of the Phoenix·
 ­Dumbledore's Army·
 ­Death Eaters
 


Universe
­Hogwarts·
 ­Magic·
 ­Magical creatures·
 ­Magical objects·
 ­Ministry of Magic·
 ­Muggle·
 ­Places·
 ­Quidditch·
 ­Spells
 

Related works
­Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them·
 ­Quidditch Through the Ages·
 ­The Tales of Beedle the Bard·
 ­Prequel·
 ­Pottermore
 

Film series
­Cast members·
 ­Critical response·
 ­Music·
 ­Production of Deathly Hallows·
 ­Theatrical run of Deathly Hallows – Part 2
 

Games
­Quidditch World Cup·
 ­Lego Harry Potter·
 ­Lego Creator: Harry Potter·
 ­Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4, Years 5–7·
 ­Book of Spells·
 ­Book of Potions·
 ­Action figures·
 ­Trading Card Game
 

Attractions
­The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort  (Dragon Challenge·
 ­Flight of the Hippogriff·
 ­Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey)
  ·
 ­The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood  (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey)
  ·
 ­Harry Potter Movie Magic Experience·
 ­Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
 

­Wikipedia book Book·
 ­Category Category·
 ­ Commons·
 ­Portal Portal
 

 

Categories: Harry Potter controversies

Navigation menu


Create account
Log in


Article
Talk





Read
Edit
View history




 Search 


Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Toolbox
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Data item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Français
Edit links
This page was last modified on 5 September 2013 at 21:37.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   





Warner Bros. and J. K. Rowling v. RDR Books

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

See also: Legal disputes over the Harry Potter series
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. and J. K. Rowling v. RDR Books, 575 F.Supp.2d 513 (SDNY 2008) is a copyright lawsuit brought on 31 October 2007 by the media company Warner Bros. and Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling against RDR Books, an independent publishing company based in Muskegon, Michigan.[1] Lawyers for Rowling and Time Warner argued that RDR's attempt to publish for profit a print facsimile of The Harry Potter Lexicon, a free online guide to the Harry Potter fictional universe, constituted an infringement of their copyright and was not protected by the affirmative defense of fair use. The trial was held from 14–17 April 2008 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. In September 2008, the court ruled in Rowling's favor, and publication of the book was blocked.

Contents
  [hide] 1 Origins
2 Pre-trial
3 Trial
4 Verdict
5 Reaction
6 Appeal
7 Implications
8 References
9 External links
Origins[edit]
In 2000, Steve Vander Ark, a librarian from Grand Rapids, Michigan, created the Harry Potter Lexicon, an online encyclopedia of the Harry Potter book series that collected and reorganized various facts from the novels into a searchable form.[2] The Lexicon, which is non-profit, with only its operations paid for by advertising, quickly became a favorite for fans of the books, including Rowling herself, who claimed on her website that "I have been known to sneak into an internet cafe while out writing and check a fact rather than go into a bookshop and buy a copy of Harry Potter, which is embarrassing."[2]
In August 2007, Vander Ark was contacted by Roger Rapoport, President of RDR Books, and asked about the possibility of publishing a for-profit print version of the site. Although Vander Ark had previously claimed he had no interest in doing so, Rapoport assured Vander Ark that such a publication would be legal. To further pacify Vander Ark's concerns, he added an addendum to the contract that stated that RDR Books would act to defend him in any future lawsuits.[2]
Pre-trial[edit]
Ambox PR.svg This section reads like a news release and needs to be rewritten. (February 2011)
On 31 October 2007, Warner Bros. and Rowling sued RDR Books to block the book's publication.[3] Rowling, who previously had a good relationship with Vander Ark, reiterated on her website that she plans to write a Harry Potter encyclopedia, and that the publication of a similar book before her own would hurt the proceeds of the official encyclopedia, which she plans to give to charity.[4] A judge later barred publication of the book in any form until the case was resolved.[5] In their suit, Rowling's lawyers also asserted that, as the book describes itself as a print facsimile of the Harry Potter Lexicon website, it would publish excerpts from the novels and stills from the films without offering sufficient "transformative" material to be considered a separate work.[6]
On her website, Rowling said, "Despite repeated requests, the publishers have refused to even countenance making any changes to the book to ensure that it does not infringe my rights."[7] On his website, Vander Ark responded, "I have worked diligently with everyone associated with the books to make sure we don’t violate copyright. There have been a number of times when I have talked with Jo's people and held back information they didn’t want published or modified material on the Lexicon to make sure they approve. I got specific permission from Warner Bros. to use film images and the illustrations from the books. I have been just as diligent with the rights of fans who have allowed me to use their writing and artwork. In each case I have listed the copyright owner and made sure that they were credited and that they retained their copyright."[8]
"There have been a huge number of companion books that have been published", said Neil Blair of Rowling's literary agency, Christopher Little, "Ninety-nine percent have come to speak to us. In every case they have made changes to ensure compliance. They fall in line. But these guys refused to contact us. They refused to answer any questions. They refused to show us any details."[9]
RDR Books retained Lizbeth Hasse, from the Creative Industry Law Group in San Francisco, who recommended that RDR Books also retain a New York trial attorney, David Hammer. Ms. Hasse then asked, a group of intellectual property lawyers at Stanford Law School to help defend RDR Books' right to publish. Fair Use Project Executive Director Anthony Falzone said the Lexicon is protected by U.S. law which has long given people "the right to create reference guides that discuss literary works, comment on them and make them more accessible."[10]
On 16 January 2008, Rowling and Warner Bros. filed their full 1,100 page complaint against RDR Books, claiming that the book "compiles and repackages Ms. Rowling's fictional facts derived wholesale from the Harry Potter works without adding any new creativity, commentary, insight, or criticism. Defendant's attempt to cloak the Infringing Book in the mantle of scholarship is merely a ruse designed to circumvent Plaintiffs' rights in order to make a quick buck."[11]
On 25 January 2008, RDR submitted a request to Judge Robert Patterson, United States District Court that Rowling and her publishers hand over to them all potential source material for the planned encyclopaedia, including, "The notes that JKR has made on the seven novels ... Cheryl Klein's [the novels' continuity editor] full index ... Bloomsbury's 'comprehensive bible'" and "The 'further material from Ms. Rowling's creative mind'".[12] Patterson refused, but did grant "statements contained in the publications listed in the plaintiffs' response" to Warner Bros. claims.[12]
In February 2008, Vander Ark, in an interview with the British fan magazine Ansible, said[13]

The book is not simply a cut and paste of the Lexicon website. The entries on the website provide much more detailed and complete information than the entries in the book. We took the information on the site and did a lot of editing, condensing, and in some cases complete rewriting. We avoided direct quotations whenever we could and clearly cited any quotations that we kept in. In the case of entries from Rowling's own "encyclopedia"-style books, we intentionally left a lot out and urged readers in the introduction to the book to go buy her books for the complete information ... While I was working on the Lexicon book, I received assurances from several copyright and intellectual property experts that the book we were creating was legal.
Vander Ark dismissed Rowling's claim to copyright:

Part of the problem all along has been the automatic assumption on the part of many that Rowling has the right to completely control anything written about the Harry Potter world. That's quite a huge power grab on her part and from everything I can tell, not legal. You and I are part of a subculture that lives off the creative work of others. We always try to do that in a legal and respectful way. However, if Rowling manages to extend her reach that far into our subculture, she will choke us off very quickly. And if she doesn't, what's to stop the next person from taking this legal precedent to even more dangerous places?
On 8 February 2008, RDR Books published their official memorandum in response to Warner Bros injunction, saying, in part, "[Rowling] appears to claim a monopoly on the right to publish literary reference guides, and other non-academic research, relating to her own fiction. This is a right no court has ever recognized. It has little to recommend it. If accepted, it would dramatically extend the reach of copyright protection, and eliminate an entire genre of literary supplements."[14]
Rowling and Warner Bros. responded on 27 February, saying, "The book consists of 400 pages of material taken from the series. Its 2437 entries use the series' fictional facts, long plot summaries and paraphrased character descriptions, all of which is actionable,"[15] and that, "RDR's argument that the book is "transformative" is wrong because . . . the book does not create "new information, new aesthetics, new insights and understandings."[15] The statement also claimed that Warner Bros "have shown that the book is devoid of analysis, commentary or anything else rising to the level of scholarship,"[15] and that, "Of the book's 2437 entries, 2034 simply lift information straight from the series."[15]
Rowling supported the injunction, saying, "I am particularly concerned about RDR's continued insistence that my acceptance of free fan based websites somehow justifies its efforts to publish an unauthorized Harry Potter "lexicon" directly contrary to my stated intention to publish my own definitive Harry Potter Encyclopedia,"[16] and that, "RDR's position [that fans could simply buy both books] is presumptuous because it assumes that everyone would want to have two Harry Potter encyclopedias and insensitive in thinking that everyone who would want to have both could afford to purchase both."[16] She concluded by saying, "I am very frustrated that a former fan has tried to co-opt my work for financial gain. The Harry Potter books are full of moral choices and ethical dilemmas, and, ironically, Mr. Vander Ark's actions tend to demonstrate that he is woefully unfit to represent himself as either a "fan of" or "expert on" books whose spirit he seems entirely to have missed."[16]
Trial[edit]
The trial began on 14 April 2008 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, with Rowling testifying on day one and Vander Ark testifying on day two.[17][18] During her testimony, Rowling reiterated her claim that the Lexicon contained minimal commentary and merely recycled her writing, adding nothing other than "facetious asides and etymologies of the easiest kind."[19] Rowling referred to the Lexicon as "wholesale theft of 17 years of my hard work", and criticized it as "sloppy" and characterized by "very little research". In sometimes emotional testimony, Rowling recalled beginning the Potter books when she was an impoverished 25-year-old single mother, nearly coming to tears when saying, "These characters continue to mean so much to me over a long period of time. The closest you could come is to say, 'How do you feel about your children?'" Rowling also revealed that the lawsuit has "decimated her creative work" over the prior month, causing her to cease work on a new novel.[17] In his testimony, Vander Ark said that he too had had reserves about publishing the encyclopedia and that the publishing company had talked him into it. "It's been difficult because there has been a lot of criticism, obviously, and that was never the intention. ... This has been an important part of my life for the last nine years or so," he said.[18]
Wary of the consequences of a legal ruling, the presiding judge, Robert P. Patterson, Jr., urged the parties to settle, saying, "I’m concerned that this case is more lawyer-driven than it is client-driven. The fair use people are on one side, and a large company is on the other side. . . . The parties ought to see if there’s not a way to work this out, because there are strong issues in this case and it could come out one way or the other. The fair use doctrine is not clear."[20]
The plaintiffs made their closing remarks on the third day of the trial. Rowling claimed that "This case is about an author's right to protect their creation. If this book is allowed to be published the floodgates will open. Are we, or are we not, the owners of our own work? It's not just my work that is endangered."[21] In addition, she claimed that the Lexicon was "sloppy, lazy" and "filled with errors,"[21] though RDR Books lawyer Anthony Falzone noted that "Copyright law does not permit an author to suppress a book because she doesn't like it."[21]
On day three, the two sides reached a limited settlement involving the use of any Rowling endorsements on the book. It was agreed that, should it be published, neither her name nor her previous endorsement of the website would be used to promote it.[22]
Each side employed a literary expert to testify whether or not the Lexicon had copied text without attribution.[21] RDR hired a literature professor from the University of California, Berkeley, who cited reference guides to The Lord of the Rings and C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia as precedents to the Lexicon's book.[23] David Hammer, lawyer for RDR, claimed that the need for a reference guide was greatest when the work being discussed is most creative, and fantasy is presumably the most creative form of literature.[22]
Ms. Jeri Johnson, senior tutor in English at Exeter College, Oxford, spoke as an expert witness in literature for the plaintiffs, decrying Vander Ark's work as unscholarly, and claiming that there was enough material in Rowling's world for serious academic analysis.[23] Rowling's lawyers said that, unlike those guides, the Lexicon consists largely of information taken from the books and contains little interpretation or analysis. RDR's lawyers agreed, but said that such guides can provide other benefits for the reader than analysis.[22]
During the trial, Rowling said on the stand, "I never ever once wanted to stop Mr. Vander Ark from doing his own guide, never ever. Do your book, but, please, change it so it does not take as much of my work."[24] However, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, RDR Books' publisher, Roger Rappaport, said, "That opportunity was never presented to us. The only thing they said was: 'Will you stop the book?'"[24]
Verdict[edit]
On 8 September 2008, Judge Patterson decided the case in Rowling's favor, claiming that "because the Lexicon appropriates too much of Rowling's creative work for its purposes as a reference guide, a permanent injunction must issue to prevent the possible proliferation of works that do the same and thus deplete the incentive for original authors to create new works."[25] Patterson awarded the plaintiffs $750 for infringement of each of the seven Harry Potter novels and $750 for infringement of each of two official companion books (i.e., Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them); the minimum amount possible, "since the Lexicon has not been published and thus plaintiffs have suffered no harm beyond the fact of the infringement."[25] Patterson was careful to draw a distinction between the Lexicon book and other potential guidebooks, saying, "While the Lexicon, in its current state, is not a fair use of the Harry Potter works, reference works that share the Lexicon's purpose of aiding readers of literature generally should be encouraged rather than stifled".[26]
Patterson concluded that, "Because it serves ... reference purposes, rather than the entertainment or aesthetic purposes of the original works, the Lexicon’s use is transformative and does not supplant the objects of the Harry Potter works."[27] However, he also noted that, "The Lexicon’s use of Rowling’s companion books is transformative to a much lesser extent. The content of the companion books takes on the informational purpose of the schoolbooks they represent in the novels. As Vander Ark testified, the companion books are 'essentially encyclopedias already'."[27]
"The transformative character of the Lexicon is diminished, however, because the Lexicon’s use of the original Harry Potter works is not consistently transformative," Patterson ruled. "The Lexicon’s verbatim copying of ... highly aesthetic expression raises a significant question as to whether it was reasonably necessary for the purpose of creating a useful and complete reference guide."[27]
Patterson rejected Rowling's argument that the book interfered with her plans to write a Harry Potter encyclopedia, saying, "the market for reference guides to the Harry Potter works is not exclusively hers to exploit or license, no matter the commercial success attributable to the popularity of the original works."[27]
Reaction[edit]
In a statement released to the media, Rowling responded favorably to the verdict: "I took no pleasure at all in bringing legal action and am delighted that this issue has been resolved favorably. I went to court to uphold the right of authors everywhere to protect their own original work. The court has upheld that right. The proposed book took an enormous amount of my work and added virtually no original commentary of its own. Many books have been published which offer original insights into the world of Harry Potter. The Lexicon just is not one of them."[28]
The Stanford Law School fair use project, which had represented RDR, said, "We are encouraged by the fact that the Court recognized that as a general matter authors do not have the right to stop the publication of reference guides and companion books about literary works. As for the Lexicon, we are obviously disappointed with the result, and RDR Books is considering all of its options, including an appeal."[29]
On their website, the group clarified their position: "In a thoughtful and meticulous decision spanning 68 pages, the Court recognized that as a general matter authors do not have the right to stop publication of reference guides and companion books about literary works, and issued an important explanation of why reference guides are not derivative works. Needless to say, we're very happy the Court vindicated these important principles ... The Court held the Lexicon infringed Ms. Rowling's copyright, was not protected by fair use, and permanently enjoined the publication of it. ... Careful and thoughtful as the decision is, we think it's wrong. So stay tuned to see where we go from here."[30]
David Hammer, the lawyer who represented RDR Books, said, "I'm sorry about the result, that the lexicon was not found to be sufficiently transformative, but I am happy the judge endorsed the genre of reference works and companion books as valuable and important and that authors don't have an automatic right to control what's written about their works."[31]
In an interview with the Grand Rapids Press, Vander Ark commented, "I've always been a fan of Harry Potter and of Rowling and my hope all along was that we'd find an amicable way to settle this," Vander Ark said from England this on Tuesday morning. "I'm disappointed, but this is the way it went and I don't hold any ill will at all. It was a question of law over a difference of opinion and, in a way, I'm glad that it's finally over."[32] He is currently creating a new version of the Lexicon and writing a Harry Potter-themed travel memoir, relating his experiences of visiting various locations mentioned in the Harry Potter books.[32]
Novelist Joanna Trollope commented in The Times that, "This is not a matter of that age-old - and impossible - difficulty of the plagiarism of ideas. It is something much easier to define, and a danger to all writers. It is - let's not mince our words - the theft of someone's writing, someone's own words stolen in exactly the form in which their brain produced them. And it's a theft to which all writers are vulnerable. Jo Rowling didn't have to do this. I should think that her time in New York was horrible, exacerbated by a lack of support caused, no doubt, by deeply unattractive sourness over her wealth. Well, I applaud her, and I bet I'm not alone. I am thrilled for her, and very grateful to her, for taking the stand she did - and winning."[33]
Appeal[edit]
Vander Ark and Rapoport considered appealing the decision, and said that the book could be edited until it complies with the ruling.[34] Patterson said he expected this case could go as far as the Supreme Court.[22] In December 2008, RDR Books dropped its appeal, and instead decided to release another unauthorized Harry Potter guide (The Lexicon: An Unauthorized Guide to Harry Potter Fiction and Related Materials), which would include far more commentary than the original. The book was released on January 16, 2009.[35]
Implications[edit]
An analysis by Jonathan Band for the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the American Library Association (ALA) contends that "the big winner actually was fair use."[36] Band found a number of "pro–fair-use holdings" and concluded that the decision "provides a clear roadmap for how to avoid infringement claims when creating" reference guides to literary works, even when the guides do not contain scholarly criticism or analysis.[37]
Matthew Rimmer, an Australian law expert, commented that the ruling, "is an important precedent in respect of the defense of fair use and it represents a victory of authorial rights over the freedoms of secondary users of copyright works ... The case leaves the way open for future conflict over derivative works, character merchandising and fan fiction based upon the Harry Potter series."[38]
David Ardia of the Citizen Media Law Project opined that, "there is some good news in the opinion for fair use advocates. First, the court concluded that reference guides such as the Lexicon are transformative in character and in order to fulfill their purpose they must be able to "make considerable use of the original works ... Second, reference works don't lose their transformative nature just because they lack analysis or commentary. The court rejected Rowling's argument that the Lexicon is not transformative because it fails to add these elements ... Third, copyright holders cannot exert exclusive control over the market for reference works. According to Judge Patterson, even a copyright holder as eager as Rowling is to control through licensing all related markets must face limits."[39]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "RDR Books". Retrieved 2008-09-09.
2.^ Jump up to: a b c William Patterson (2008). "Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc and JK Rowling against RDR Books". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-09-10.
3.Jump up ^ David B. Caruso (2007). "Rowling Sues to Block Harry Potter Book". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-11-01.[dead link]
4.Jump up ^ Joanne Rowling. "Companion Books". jkrowling.com. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
5.Jump up ^ "Row delays Harry Potter Lexicon". BBC News. 2007-11-10. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
6.Jump up ^ Dan Slater (2008-04-18). "Final (For Now!) Reflections on the Harry Potter Trial". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
7.Jump up ^ JK Rowling (2007). "Lexicon continued". jkrowling.com. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
8.Jump up ^ Steve Vander Ark. "HPL: What's New?". The Harry Potter Lexicon. Archived from the original on 2007-12-23. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
9.Jump up ^ Joe Nocera (2008-02-09). "A Tight Grip Can Choke Creativity". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
10.Jump up ^ "Stanford Law group enters fray over Harry Potter guide". Associated Press. 2007-12-05. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
11.Jump up ^ "WB and JKR File Full Request for Injunction of Harry Potter Lexicon (Part 1)". The Leaky Cauldron. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
12.^ Jump up to: a b David S. Hammer (2008). "Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. et al. v. RDR Books et al.; Filing 44". Attorney, RDR Books. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
13.Jump up ^ "Ansible 247, February 2008". Ansible. 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
14.Jump up ^ "Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. et al. v. RDR Books et al.". Justia. 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
15.^ Jump up to: a b c d Dale M Cendali, Claudia Ray, Melanie Bradley (27 February 2008). "Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc and JK Rowling against RDR Books". United States District Court, Southern District of New York. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
16.^ Jump up to: a b c "Declaration of JK Rowling in Support of Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction". United States District Court. 27 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
17.^ Jump up to: a b Neumeister, Larry; "J.K. Haunted by Potter 'theft'"; 15 April 2008; Associated Press; amNY; Page 3.
18.^ Jump up to: a b David B. Caruso (2008-04-16). "'Harry Potter' fan testifies in trial". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
19.Jump up ^ John Sellers (2008). "Rowling Takes the Stand in RDR Suit". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2008-04-15.[dead link]
20.Jump up ^ Dan Slater (2008-04-15). "Judge in Potter Trial Calls on Parties to Settle". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
21.^ Jump up to: a b c d Christine Kearney (2008). "Rowling says fan's book could endanger other authors". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
22.^ Jump up to: a b c d Ashby Jones (2008-04-16). "Notes from the Potter Trial: After a Partial Settlement, the Defense Digs In". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
23.^ Jump up to: a b "Rowling implores NYC judge to block publication of guide". The Associated Press. 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
24.^ Jump up to: a b Patrick T. Reardon (2008-05-04). "Harry Potter and the battle of the lexicon". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-05-05. (requires subscription)
25.^ Jump up to: a b "U.S. judge halts unofficial Harry Potter lexicon". Reuters. 2008-09-08. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
26.Jump up ^ "Rowling wins book copyright claim". BBC. 2008-09-08. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
27.^ Jump up to: a b c d out-law.com (2008). "Why JK Rowling won the Harry Potter lexicon lawsuit". Retrieved 2008-09-12.
28.Jump up ^ John Eligon (2008-09-09). "Judge Rules For Rowling Against Writer Of Lexicon". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
29.Jump up ^ "Stanford Law School's Fair Use Project Releases Statement from RDR Books and Its Counsel Regarding the Harry Potter Lexicon Decision". Market Watch. 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
30.Jump up ^ Anthony Falzone (2008). "Avada Kedavra -- The Harry Potter Lexicon Disappears". Center for Internet and Society. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
31.Jump up ^ Hamblett, Mark (2008). "Judge Blocks Book That Takes 'Too Much' From 'Harry Potter'". New York Law Journal. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
32.^ Jump up to: a b The Grand Rapids Press (2008). "After losing Harry Potter encyclopedia case, Vander Ark working on new Potter book". Retrieved 2008-09-10.[dead link]
33.Jump up ^ Joanna Trollope (2008-09-12). "Good for J.K.Rowling". The Times (London). Retrieved 2008-09-13.
34.Jump up ^ Emelia Askari (2008). "Harry Potter 'Lexicon' case not over yet". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2008-09-15.[dead link]
35.Jump up ^ John A. Sellers and Jim Milliot (2008-12-05). "RDR Drops Rowling Appeal; Has New Book". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2008-12-06.[dead link]
36.Jump up ^ "How Fair Use Prevailed in the Harry Potter Case: ARL & ALA Release Copyright Analysis". press release. Association of Research Libraries. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
37.Jump up ^ Band, Jonathan (October 2008). "How Fair Use Prevailed in the Harry Potter Case". ARL: A Bimonthly Report (260): 3–4. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
38.Jump up ^ news.com.au (2008). "Harry Potter ruling 'has wide effect'". Retrieved 2008-09-12.[dead link]
39.Jump up ^ David Ardia (2008). "Judge Rejects Fair Use Defense in Harry Potter Lexicon Case, J.K. Rowling Recovers Her Plums". The Citizen Media Law Project. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
External links[edit]
Judge Patterson's ruling, at The Wall Street Journal
RDR Books homepage
JK Rowling's homepage
Stanford Law fair use project
"The Harry Potter Lexicon". Archived from the original on 2008-02-13.
The new Harry Potter Lexicon
Part one of The Leaky Cauldron's annotations of Rowling and Warner Bros's complaint against RDR Books
Part two of The Leaky Cauldron's annotations of Rowling and Warner Bros's complaint against RDR Books
 

Categories: 2007 in United States case law
2008 in United States case law
United States copyright case law
Harry Potter controversies



Navigation menu


Create account
Log in


Article
Talk





Read
Edit
View history




 Search 



Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Toolbox





Print/export



Languages
Edit links
This page was last modified on 14 May 2013 at 15:11.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   





Wizard rock

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Wizard rock

Stylistic origins
Alternative rock, punk rock, indie rock and Harry Potter series
Cultural origins
Early 2000s (decade), United States
Typical instruments
Guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, vocals
Regional scenes
Global, but centered in the USA
Other topics
Timeline of alternative rock, DIY ethic, Filk music
Wizard rock (sometimes shortened as Wrock) is a genre of rock music that developed between 2002 and 2004 in the United States. Wizard rock bands are characterized by their performances and humorous songs about the Harry Potter and Septimus Heap realms.[1][2] Wizard rock initially started in Massachusetts with Harry and the Potters, though it has grown internationally.[3][4] Wizard rock embraces a do it yourself ethic, with many bands self-producing their recordings and distributing them through online social networking channels.

Contents
  [hide] 1 Characteristics
2 History
3 See also
4 References
Characteristics[edit]
Leading bands in this genre include Harry and the Potters and Draco and the Malfoys.[5] Although most listeners of the genre are fans of Harry Potter, some bands have attracted listeners outside of the books' fanbase.[6] Wizard rock songs are often written from the point of view of a particular character in the books, usually the character who features in the band's name. In contrast to mainstream bands that have some songs incorporating literary references among a wider repertoire of music (notably Led Zeppelin to The Lord of the Rings),[7] wizard rock bands take their inspiration entirely from the Harry Potter universe.[8] When performing live, wizard rock bands often cosplay, or dress as, characters from the novels.[8] Some bands have performed at fan conventions.[9]
History[edit]
The earliest Harry Potter-themed song is conventionally traced to 2000 when the Los Angeles based pop-punk band Switchblade Kittens released an "Ode to Harry" from the perspective of Ginny Weasley.[10] Harry and the Potters originated the Harry Potter-themed band which became the genesis of a fandom centered genre of music called wizard rock.[10] As Harry and the Potters increased in popularity, other wizard rock bands started to emerge. Ross and Mehlenbacher originally conceived Draco and the Malfoys as a parody of Harry and the Potters, who were performing at a local house party.[11] In April 2005, Matt Maggiacomo invited Harry and the Potters to play at an all-Harry Potter show at his Rhode Island home. That night, Maggiacomo made his debut as The Whomping Willows, and his friends, Mehlenbacher and his brother, Brian Ross, played for the first time as Draco and the Malfoys.[3]
The Septimus Heap music idea is gradually increasing in popularity even with a smaller fanbase. The first band to play music for the Septimus Heap series are The Rambling Heaps whose first song made was, in 2012, Boy 412. This song was part of The Rambling Heaps first album Musyk.
See also[edit]
Harry Potter
Harry Potter fandom
Filk
Septimus Heap
Wrockstock
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Brady, Shaun (2006-11-28). "Yule Ball rolls into Philly". The Philadelphia Daily News.
2.Jump up ^ Humphries, Rachel (2007-07-13). "Harry Potter 'Wrockers' Conjure Musical Magic". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
3.^ Jump up to: a b Loftus, Meghan (2007-07-20). "Wizard Rock". The Post-Standard. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
4.Jump up ^ Davies, Shaun (2007-07-20). "The unexpected wizards of rock and roll". MSN. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
5.Jump up ^ Grossman, Lev (July 20, 2009). "The Boy Who Rocked". Time magazine. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
6.Jump up ^ Rose, Lacey (2005-07-13). "Wizard Rock". Forbes. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
7.Jump up ^ Gleason, Janelle (2007-01-04). "Four reasons you should raid your parents' music collection". Fort Wayne News Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2007-03-30. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
8.^ Jump up to: a b Sweeney, Emily (2004-09-16). "Sibling musicians bring out the 'punk' in Harry Potter". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
9.Jump up ^ Traister, Rebecca (2007-06-01). "Potterpalooza". Salon.com. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
10.^ Jump up to: a b Zumbrun, Joshua; Sonya Geis (2007-07-08). "Wizard Rock Has Fans in Hogwarts Heaven With an Assist From MySpace, Bands Ride Harry Potter Mania Into the Spotlight" (newspaper). The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
11.Jump up ^ Harry Potter 'Wrockers' Conjure Musical Magic
Bibliography
Anelli, Melissa (2008). Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon. Word Dancer Press. ISBN 1-4165-5495-5.
Beahm, George W. (2007). Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide to J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon (3rd ed.). Hampton Roads Publishing Company. ISBN 1-57174-542-4.
Gilsdorf, Ethan (2009). Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms. ISBN 1-59921-480-6.
Gunelius, Susan (2008). Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-230-20323-X.
Paré, Joelle (2009). "Magical Musical Manifestations: A Literacy Look at Wizard Rock". In Diana Patterson. Harry Potter's World Wide Influence. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 181–200. ISBN 1-4438-1394-X.
Pyne, Erin A. (2007). A Fandom of Magical Proportions: An Unauthorized History of The Harry Potter Phenomenon. Nimble Books. ISBN 0-9788138-8-X.
Thomas, Scott (2007). The Making of the Potterverse: A Month-By-Month Look at Harry's First 10 Years. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-763-7.
Turner-Vorbeck, Tammy (2008). "Pottermania: Good, Clean Fun or Cultural Hegemony?". In Elizabeth E. Heilman. Critical perspectives on Harry Potter (2nd ed.). Routledge. pp. 329–342. ISBN 0-415-96484-9.
Koury, Josh (director) (2008). We Are Wizards (DVD). Brooklyn Underground Films.
Schuyler, Megan & Schuyler, Mallory (directors) (2008). Wizard Rockumentary: A Movie About Rocking and Rowling (DVD). GryffinClaw Productions.

[hide]
­v·
 ­t·
 ­e
 
Alternative rock


Styles
­Alternative dance·
 ­Alternative metal·
 ­Baggy·
 ­Britpop·
 ­C86·
 ­Christian alternative rock·
 ­College rock·
 ­Dream pop·
 ­Dunedin Sound·
 ­Emo·
 ­Gothic rock·
 ­Grebo·
 ­Grunge·
 ­Indie folk·
 ­Indie pop·
 ­Indie rock·
 ­Industrial rock·
 ­Jangle pop·
 ­Lo-fi·
 ­Madchester·
 ­Math rock·
 ­Noise pop·
 ­Noise rock·
 ­Paisley Underground·
 ­Post-Britpop·
 ­Post-grunge·
 ­Post-punk revival·
 ­Post-rock·
 ­Psychobilly·
 ­Riot grrrl·
 ­Sadcore·
 ­Shoegazing·
 ­Slowcore·
 ­Wizard rock
 

Other topics
­Artists·
 ­College radio·
 ­History·
 ­Independent music·
 ­Independent record label·
 ­Lollapalooza·
 ­Alternative Songs
 

­Category Category:Rock music·
 ­Portal Portal:Rock music
 

 

Categories: American styles of music
Alternative rock genres
Harry Potter bands
Musical subcultures
Fantasy music
Fantasy fandom


Navigation menu


Create account
Log in


Article
Talk





Read
Edit
View history




 Search 



Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Toolbox





Print/export



Languages
Norsk nynorsk
Português
Русский
Edit links
This page was last modified on 13 October 2013 at 01:53.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   





Draco and the Malfoys

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Draco and the Malfoys
Dracoandthemalfoys.jpg
From left to right: Bradley Mehlenbacher and Brian Ross during a performance at Los Angeles Public Library in Los Angeles, California in July, 2006.

Background information

Origin
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Genres
Wizard rock
Years active
2004–2011
Associated acts
Harry and the Potters
Website
http://evilwizardrock.com/

Members
Brian Ross
 Bradley Mehlenbacher
Draco and the Malfoys were a wizard rock band founded in Woonsocket, Rhode Island in 2004. The group is composed of half-brothers[1] Brian Ross and Bradley Mehlenbacher,[2] who both perform under the persona of Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter book series.
Since the band's formation in 2004, they have released two full-length studio albums, one extended play release and have collaborated on four compilation albums.

Contents
  [hide] 1 History 1.1 Early career (2004-2005)
1.2 Harry Potter fandom and fan conventions (2006-2007)
1.3 Recent events and breakup (2008-2011)
2 Musical style 2.1 Lyrics
2.2 Influences
2.3 Instrumental
2.4 Reception
3 Discography
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links
History[edit]
Early career (2004-2005)[edit]
Ross and Mehlenbacher originally conceived Draco and the Malfoys as a parody of Harry and the Potters, who were performing at a local house party.[1] In late 2004, Matt Maggiacomo invited the Harry and the Potters to play at an all-Harry Potter show at his Rhode Island home. That night, Maggiacomo made his debut as The Whomping Willows, and his friends, Mehlenbacher and his brother, Brian Ross, played for the first time as Draco and the Malfoys.
ABC news reports that Brian Ross and Bradley Mehlenbacher's:

...love for the Harry Potter book series is no less than that of the DeGeorge brothers, but Brian and Bradley seem to better recognize the absurdity of the bands, even mocking the idea that Paul and Joe represent two differently aged versions of the popular wizard.
"We look like nothing like Draco Malfoy, and are clearly too old to be going to Hogwarts," said Brian, 32, of he and his brother Bradley, soon to be 27. "So we say that we're Draco from years 19 and 15 at Hogwarts."[1]
Harry Potter fandom and fan conventions (2006-2007)[edit]
Ross said in the ABC news story that the mock rivalry between Draco and the Malfoys and the Harry and the Potters is all for show. In fact, the Potters and the Malfoys toured together for a month in the summer of 2007 and often collaborate on albums."[1]

It's a catchy concept, two bands portraying the most beloved and hated characters in the Harry Potter series, both celebrating their passion for the fictional wizard world with catchy tunes and kid-friendly rock concerts."[1]
Neither Draco and the Malfoys nor their nemesis Harry and the Potters think of the burgeoning wizard rock community as a joke, or "even as some bastard-dork cousin of indie-rock".[3] The Boston Phoenix reports that:

Both groups - Draco and the Malfoys and Harry and the Potters - take their efforts quite seriously, especially at this juncture. Amidst the fervor leading up to the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, wizard rockers seem to be drawing bigger and better crowds, at every show.
For Draco and the Malfoys, the band is an escape from the humdrum pressures of hipster irony — like the Potters, they’re prone to rocking out in libraries. In this venture, says Ross, he and his band are just a pipeline for Pottermania. “With this, we’re all fans of something much larger,” he says. “Everyone shows up to have a good time, never to be a snob about the music, ever, ever, ever.”[3]
The Boston Phoenix wondered - in spite of fully booked calendars - how long will wizard rock last once there are no new stories to riff on as their musical identity is contingent on the lasting success and popularity of a book series.

Ross sound[ed] almost tearful, in fact, when he professes his faith that the Potter phenomenon will outlast Deathly Hallows. He and his brother have both been in bands where, “if you go four hours away from your hometown, nobody comes to see you.” When the wiz kid is involved, they have a built-in fan base wherever they go. “Our experience with wizard rock has been the best musical experience of our lives,” says Ross. “We don’t really have any interest in stopping at all.”[3]
Recent events and breakup (2008-2011)[edit]
Draco and the Malfoys, Tom Riddle and Friends, Whomping Willows and the Moaning Myrtles played at Wrockstock 2008 at a YMCA summer camp lodge in the Ozark foothills. They released their third studio album, It's A Slytherin World and a compilation album, Anthology of Slytherin Folk Music, in 2009. They have released plans to create a series of extended plays, the first being Draco and the Malfoys Celebrate... Piracy!. In December 2011, Draco and the Malfoys played their last show at the Yule Ball. On December 19, 2011, they posted this message on their Facebook page: "Thank you for making our final two shows this weekend completely amazing. It's been an unbelievably gratifying 6+ years. We've been playing music together our whole lives, and always dreamt of touring and playing together. Thank you all for making our dreams come true. You've given us more awesome times than we ever could have imagined. Here's to all of our futures. Cheers! ♥ Brian & Bradley."
Musical style[edit]
Lyrics[edit]
Ross and Mehlenbacher write lyrics from Draco's perspective. Thus dressed in Slytherin-themed costumes (green and silver ties), their anti-Potter lyrics – "You may have freed our house elf, and brought doubt to our family name/ but your parents still got toasted by a big, green, glowing flame" – were initially a parody of wizard rock but were met with success and another Harry Potter-themed garage band was born.[1] Draco and the Malfoys write catchy pop songs from the perspective of Harry's rival and tormentor, Draco Malfoy - "My dad's always there to open all my doors, you have to call a patronus just to catch a glimpse of yours... my dad is rich, and your dad is dead" - goes one chorus[4] They make reference to various Harry Potter objects, such as the Mirror of Erised and the Patronus Charm. The lyrics are generally mocking and condescending towards Harry, Ron, and others. BostonNOW asked the band if Ross ever had "any anti-fans at your shows?" Ross replied: "Never. Everyone is very supportive, although we will get little kids getting mad and yelling at us because we write songs making fun of Neville and Harry". The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut reported that:

The pair said they had fun trying to figure out why Draco's so mean, Mehlenbacher said. Their lyrics are written tongue-in-cheek, and all but the very youngest Harry Potter fans seem to understand that.
 "Little kids really take it personally," Ross, 32, told the Advocate. "They yell at us."
Influences[edit]
The band was inspired by the band Harry and the Potters, who were in turn inspired by the J.K. Rowling book series Harry Potter.
Instrumental[edit]
Draco and the Malfoys both play guitar. Brian plays a Fender Stratocaster, and Bradley plays a Fender Telecaster. They are often backed up by a BOSS Dr. Rhythm drum machine (both live and in studio recordings). Their music is more akin to hard rock than Harry and the Potters.
Reception[edit]
Draco and the Malfoys have toured with Harry and the Potters and both bands usually charge $5 to $10 for tickets to their shows, though some performances are free.[1] Draco and the Malfoys put their songs on Apple's iTunes for download and have created a MySpace page (see external links).
Discography[edit]
Studio albumsDraco and the Malfoys (2005)
Party Like You're Evil! (2007)
It's A Slytherin World (2009)
An Anthology of Slytherin Folk Songs (2009)
 Extended playsFamily (2007)
Draco and the Malfoys Celebrate... Piracy! (TBR)

See also[edit]
Filk
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Humphries, Rachel (July 13, 2007). "Harry Potter 'Wrockers' Conjure Musical Magic". ABC News.
2.Jump up ^ "About Draco and the Malfoys". Draco and the Malfoys. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
3.^ Jump up to: a b c Steel, Sharon (July 24, 2007). "The last Potter". The Boston Phoenix.
4.Jump up ^ Davies, Shaun (July 20, 2007). "The unexpected wizards of rock and roll". Nine News.
Further reading[edit]
Dowling, Tim. Books, films and now gigs: Harry Potter rocks. The Guardian. July 17, 2007.
External links[edit]
Official website
Draco and the Malfoys on Myspace
 

Categories: Harry Potter bands
Rock music groups from Rhode Island
Family musical groups
Musical groups established in 2004
Musical groups disestablished in 2011
Sibling duos


Navigation menu


Create account
Log in


Article
Talk





Read
Edit
View history




 Search 


Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Toolbox
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Data item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Français
Italiano
Svenska
Edit links
This page was last modified on 10 September 2013 at 06:21.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   





Harry and the Potters

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the band. For their self-titled album, see Harry and the Potters (album).

Harry and the Potters
Harry and the Potters - Most Wanted Fine Arts Gallery - June 30, 2010.jpg
Harry and the Potters performing in June 2010. From left to right: Joe, and Paul DeGeorge

Background information

Origin
Norwood, Massachusetts
Genres
Wizard rock
Years active
2002–present
Labels
Charming Records
Associated acts
Draco and the Malfoys
Website
harryandthepotters.com

Members
Joe DeGeorge
 Paul DeGeorge
Harry and the Potters are an American rock band known for spawning the genre of wizard rock. Founded in Norwood, Massachusetts in 2002, the group is primarily composed of Joe and Paul DeGeorge, who both perform under the persona of the title character from the Harry Potter book series.[1] Harry and the Potters are known for their elaborate live performances, and have developed a cult following within the Harry Potter fandom.[2]
Since 2002, Harry and the Potters have released three studio albums, seven extended plays, and one compilation album. The duo founded the independent record label Eskimo Laboratories, and starred in the documentary films We Are Wizards and Wizard Rockumentary. They also co-founded charity organisation The Harry Potter Alliance, and formed the Wizard Rock EP of the Month Club, an extended play syndicate.

Contents
  [hide] 1 History 1.1 Formation (2002)
1.2 Harry and the Potters and Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock! (2003–04)
1.3 Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love (2005–06)
1.4 Other releases and films (2007–09)
1.5 Further releases (2010–present)
2 Lyrical themes and style
3 Campaigning and activism
4 Legacy and influence
5 Discography
6 References
7 External links
History[edit]
Formation (2002)[edit]
The origins were quite accidental. In Cambridge, MA, Paul DeGeorge (born  June 10, 1979 (age 34)) was developing vaccines for a biotech firm as a chemical engineer.[3][4] Paul had recently graduated from Tufts University.[5] Outside the lab, Paul was a musician whose indie band—The Secrets—had toured in the northeast from 2001 to 2002.[6] To promote his band, Paul co-founded a small indie label called Eskimo Laboratories. One of the other bands in Eskimo’s stable of talent included a juvenile act called Ed in the Refridgerators [sic],[7] which was fronted by Paul's 14-year-old brother Joe.[8] Joe DeGeorge (born  July 4, 1987 (age 26)) was a student at Norwood High School.[4] He and his school friend Andrew MacLeay (A.K.A. Shaggy) had been playing in rock bands together since they were 11 and 12 years old.[9] A couple of years earlier after reading the Harry Potter books, Paul formulated the premise for Harry and the Potters where the principle Harry Potter characters would be the musicians: Harry as the front man, Ron on guitar, Hermione on bass and Hagrid on drums.[5] Then a crisis of sorts struck the brothers on June 22, 2002. During a barbecue at the DeGeorge family’s Norwood Massachusetts home, Joe had advertised a concert with Ed and the Refridgerators and several other indie bands. The venue was the back yard shed. Perhaps the venue was too modest but while an audience had arrived, the bands did not.[10][11] To rescue a nearly lost opportunity, while waiting hopefully for a band to show, Harry and the Potters came into existence over the next hour when the two brothers wrote seven Potter-themed songs. They performed that first concert as Harry and the Potters for six people who remained of their audience. Of those seven backyard songs, six were to make it onto the band's first album in 2003.[8]
Harry and the Potters and Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock! (2003–04)[edit]



 Harry and the Potters performing in Bloomington, Indiana on April 30, 2003
After recruiting drummer Ernie Kim, the band recorded their eponymous debut album over a weekend in the DeGeorge family living room.[4][8] Released in June 2003 under the Eskimo Laboratories record label, the album contains six of the seven songs composed the day of their first concert[8] and another twelve written spontaneously and immediately thereafter recorded.[12][13] In "the summer of" 2003, Harry and the Potters set out on an American tour, performing at libraries. The fifth Harry Potter book – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – came out that summer and on June 21, 2003, the highly anticipated day of release, the band played five sets in a span of 24 hours.[5] The library gigs drew crowds of mostly children and their parents. The brothers played a show at the library in Dorchester, Massachusetts that August where they noticed the children in the audience singing along. Joe said, "Paul forgot the words to one of the songs. [The kids] were like, 'You sang it wrong!'"[14] Paul said, "They'd be like, 'Hey, why'd you skip that song?' because they knew the exact sequence of the album."[14] The DeGeorge brothers quickly developed an on-stage persona of dressing in the fashion of wizard-school Hogwarts: white shirts under gray crew-neck sweaters, red-and-yellow striped ties, wire-rim glasses. In a show of quirky egalitarianism, both brothers play the role of Harry Potter and dress almost identically; Paul is older and to conform to the character’s persona, he is Harry of Year 7; while Joe is the Harry of Year 4.[3][11]
During May and June 2004, the band worked on their next album, Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock! in the DeGeorge family shed.[15] Following the release, the band toured heavily. The two brothers drove 13,000 miles across the U.S and into Canada in their "Potter Mobile", a silver 1998 Ford Windstar minivan with a black lightning bolt emblazoned on its hood.[4] In live concerts, Paul and Joe used pre-recorded backing tracks for much of the tour, but during the second half, Joe called on his childhood friend and former bandmate Andrew MacLeay to join the band temporarily as drummer.[3][4] During the Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock! tour, Paul and Joe DeGeorge received a letter from Warner Brothers that stated that the brothers were breaking copyright laws.[16] Although Paul sent a letter to Warner Brothers in an attempt to smooth things over, Marc Brandon, the company representative, asked to speak to Paul personally.[16] The two later settled upon a Gentlemen's agreement that, in essence, would allow Harry and the Potters to continue to sell music online and tour, but all other merchandise could only be sold at live shows.[16]
Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love (2005–06)[edit]



 Harry and the Potters on stage in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on September 23, 2006
The following winter, the band began their first overseas tour. In February 2005, they toured the United Kingdom – playing London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Chester, and Liverpool – and then followed it by playing some gigs in the Netherlands to coincide with the release of the Dutch translation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which took place in November 2005. In the Netherlands, they played one of their earliest songs "Platform Nine and 3/4" in Dutch.[5] In late 2005, Harry and the Potters enjoyed more tongue-in-cheek critical success from respectable quarters. The web based music ’zine Pitchfork Media even hailed Harry and the Potters as having one of the best five live shows in 2005, quipping that "The Decemberists wish they could lit-rock like this."[17] In the fall of 2005, Joe entered Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.[14] While Harry and the Potters play infrequently at rock clubs and other venues—a Yule Ball at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, MA in December 2005 attracted an audience of 600 with 200 turned away at the door[18]
The previous year was the watershed when a joke between two colorblind, Massachusetts-born brothers had developed into something they had never imagined.[19] The band continued its odd success and toured early in the year with a New Wave 'sock puppet rock band' called Uncle Monsterface who opened for in March 2006.[20] During the summer, they embarked on their 3rd cross-country summer tour ("Summer Reading and Rocking Tour 2006"), this time accompanied by fellow wizard rock band Draco and the Malfoys. Brad Mehlenbacher from Draco and the Malfoys handled drumming duties for the Potters for the entirety of their summer tour. While in the earlier albums the band's musical style was goofy inept pop-punk, Scarred for Life became musically darker reflecting the penultimate book Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.[21] Scarred for Life‘s scenario takes as its central conceit a Harry Potter who has started a hardcore rock band.[21] Paul and Joe departed from their proud DIY home recording and sought a studio for Scarred for Life and their untitled split EP with the Zambonis. Paul and Joe DeGeorge feel that the songs on the "Scarred for Life" EP are among their "most badass songs."[22] In the same year, they returned to home recording with the Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love but with a bigger sound and with the assistance recording veteran Kevin Micka.[23] Paul and Joe DeGeorge feel that the songs on the "Scarred for Life" EP are among their "most badass songs."[24]
Other releases and films (2007–09)[edit]



 Harry and the Potters performing at Horace Mann School on January 25, 2007
By 2007, Harry and the Potters and their unexpected fan based indie music genre of wizard rock have grown into an international phenomenon.[1] Recently, the band has engaged in charity side-projects and activism within the Harry Potter community.[21] In January 2007, Harry and the Potters created the "Wizard Rock EP of the Month Club", through which they released an EP featuring music from different wizard rock bands every month.[25][26] Reflecting wizard rock's literacy focus, the club raises funds for First Book, a non-profit organization that gives children the ability to read and own their first new books. In 2007, the Club raised over $13,000 for the organization. May 2007 was also the beginning of their large 70-show summer-library tour across the US and Canada called simply "Summer Tour 2007".[17] Like their initial year in 2003, the summer of 2007 would see the release of another Harry Potter book. Harry and the Potters scheduled the mid-point of the tour to arrive back in their home state and celebrate the July 21 midnight release of the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at Harvard Yard. The festivities became an excuse for a meet-up of a number of wizard rock bands including The Hungarian Horntails and their nemesis Draco and the Malfoys which all played to a large crowd of Harry Potter fans in the Cambridge, Massachusetts college venue. Harry and the Potters resumed their tour which finally wound-up in late August.[27] In Vancouver on July 7, 2007, hundreds of people crowded outside the Vancouver Public Library to see Harry and the Potters.[21] ABC News reported that the band usually charge $5 to $10 for tickets to their shows, though some performances are free.[11] Harry and the Potters said 600 people turned out for a recent show, July 10, 2007, in Portland, Oregon.[11][28]
In 2008, the band were unsure as to whether they would work on a new studio album.[29] In February 2008, Harry and the Potters launched a website called Unlimited Enthusiasm. The website led users through a series of images and eventually to a forum, which contained much speculation concerning the nature of Unlimited Enthusiasm. Unlimited Enthusiasm ended up being the name of their Summer 2008 tour alongside bands Uncle Monsterface and Math The Band. Harry and the Potters undertook a summer tour, Unlimited Enthusiasm, with Math the Band, Uncle Monsterface and Jason Anderson. One of the stops in that tour was Nerdapalooza. This fall they released a short punk rock EP, In the Cupboard as part of the Wizard Rock EP of the Month Club.[30] A full-length feature film project documenting Harry and the Potters and the wizard rock movement, Wizard Rockumentary: A Movie About Rocking and Rowling, was released in 2008.[10][31][32]
The band released a two-disc compilation album, Priori Incantatem, a collection of previously unreleased songs, compilations appearances, songs from their out-of-print EPs, remixes and demos on May 22, 2009. The band played its 500th show in June 2009 at Norwood Elementary School (MA) the founding members' hometown. The group continued the Wizard Rock EP of the Month Club in 2009, and as a member of the club, they released The Yule Ball EP, which featured a CD and a DVD of their performance at the Fourth Annual Yule Ball.[33]
Further releases (2010–present)[edit]
In April 2010, the group announced a series of shows in the Midwestern United States, Scandinavia, and Ireland for July and August.[34] In April 2010, Paul DeGeorge revealed that Harry and the Potters is contemplating making a fourth studio album. He explained, "But maybe there's something like that [a Deathly Hallows-related full length] in the future. It's hard to say right now."[35] On November 16, 2010 Harry and the Potters released a remix album entitled Remixes via Bandcamp, using the sites ability to ask potential buyers to name their own price.[36][37] The EP features various fan-submitted remixes.[37] On December 8, 2010, the band released a digital-only Christmas album entitled A Wizardly Christmas of Wizardry. The album contains new songs and older songs that have appeared on various Christmas compilations.[38]
In Summer 2011, Harry and the Potters embarked on another summer tour entitled, Ride The Lightning. The tour was to the biggest since 2007, playing dates all throughout the United States. The first show was held May 25 in Portland, ME and the last show was July 31 at the Knitting Factory in New York. Drummer Jacob Nathan played with the group throughout the tour.[39] Jacob is a member of the band 926 Main Street Apt. 2 that he formed with Joe DeGeorge and Emily Barnett while attending college at Clark University "[35] Prior to touring, Harry and the Potters revealed masters for a new live album titled Live at the New York Public Library through their official Facebook page.[40] The album was physically released as a vinyl album and sold throughout the tour.
Lyrical themes and style[edit]



 Harry and the Potters often use Roland Juno-D synthesizers (as pictured) in their music.
Harry and the Potters couple their rough-edged music with themed lyrics, which define the band as much as the costumes. The straight-forward but quirky presentation of adolescent concerns and direness in the simplest of worries gives the songs their easy likeability.[5] They poke fun at awkward situations from the books. For example, in the song "The Human Hosepipe", they sing, "Maybe you shouldn't have brought up Cedric Diggory/ Because I'd rather not talk about your dead ex-boyfriends over coffee." Two other examples of the bands distinctive take on teenage angst are seen in the song "Save Ginny Weasley" where they sing, "Are you petrified of being petrified?" and the song "The Godfather." where the gothic or mock-morbid line "Why do I always think that I am going to die?" is sung to an up-beat tune.
For the Harry Potter fandom, Harry and the Potters refer to words and phrases in the books, including Hogwarts, Harry's Firebolt, Felix Felicis, the Flying Car, wizard chess, platform nine and three-quarters, The Burrow, the three-headed dog Fluffy, Mrs. Norris, the basilisk, The Marauder's Map, various spells and incantations, and the Invisibility Cloak.
Harry and the Potters with its strong persona or theme is as much a performance art project as it is a rock band.[21] Musically, they sound much like other indie rock music with the exception that the band adheres to a novel conceit: the Harry Potter books will inspire the lyrics.[14] As Joe said in a 2005 interview, "We try to take the themes from the books and amplify them."[41] Their musical sound is described as "simple, catchy rock – think The White Stripes crossed with Raffi – where everyone sings along which is easy because in songs like 'Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock' the title is pretty much the only line."[3] Another reviewer’s ear hears "a touch of the Ramones in their ultra simple lyrics."[1]
The band is organized quite simply with Paul and Joe playing their songs in a simple basic guitar-synth-and-drums indie pop style and they sing in the semi-deadpan way; a review found the vocal delivery similar to that of They Might Be Giants.[42] The raison d’être of the band is to put enough energy and spirit into their songs to make them fun.[42]
The band is not musically polished. Paul has joked that, if they had known of the band’s popularity, they might have made "an effort to sing in tune. But it’s hard to anticipate that sort of thing when you’re just writing silly songs and recording them in your living room over a weekend.".[5] While musicianship is not the strength of the band, Paul says that the fans "know we're not the best singers and keyboard players, but we're okay. And they think, well, I could do that, too. I think that’s really encouraging to people..."[3] Paul sees the brothers as a "bridge between this mainstream phenomena of Harry Potter and the indie rock underground. Plus, we’re also pretty strong adherents to the DIY ideal."[5] The two brothers promote this ideal of making music independently and have fused the legions of fans on to the DIY free-for-all of indie rock and punk music, albeit of the silly kind.[43]
The Washington Post describes the brothers as having vast quantities of both passion and ability to engage an audience: the "combination of their happy, who-cares personalities and Harry Potter fanaticism has cast a spell over book-loving teens across the country."[3] Paul said, "the band is neither geeky nor cool but 'geeky-cool'. I think the indie-rock community at the very least realizes we're taking a very DIY approach to this."[3]
Campaigning and activism[edit]
See also: Harry Potter Alliance
In 2005 the duo co-founded the non-profit organisation The Harry Potter Alliance with Andrew Slack, Seth Reibstein and Sarah Newberry,[44][45] an organization that uses the Harry Potter books as a platform for inspiring real-world activism,[21] which amongst other activities, helps "wake the world up" to the genocide in Darfur. The projects invites its members to inform their local senator to support the Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act. The Harry Potter Alliance raises awareness for these projects by holding wizard rock concerts and by selling memorabilia to help fund these campaigns.[46]
Harry and the Potters have also collaborated the Harry Potter Alliance complication album, Rocking Out Against Voldemedia with a song entitled “Don’t Believe It”. The purpose of the album was to achieve the right to free press and against media consolidation by asking site viewers to contact their member of congress to support S 2332, the "The Media Ownership Act of 2007."[47] Paul said their third EP, the 2007 The Enchanted Ceiling was recorded in their living room.[21]
Harry and the Potters actively promote literacy.[48] Another example of this literary activism is the reference to Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) in the song "Voldemort Can't Stop The Rock," which contains the verse, "And we won't let the Dark Lord ruin our party/ Just like Tipper Gore tried with the PMRC."[49]
Legacy and influence[edit]
See also: Wizard rock



 Wizard rock band Draco and the Malfoys perform under the persona of Draco Malfoy.
Harry and the Potters have influenced similar acts, such as Draco and the Malfoys, The Whomping Willows and The Remus Lupins. Wizard rock bands generally play all-ages shows at libraries, bookstores and schools, as the promotion of reading is a hallmark of the genre.[28] In turn, because of their active promotion of literacy, young-adult and teen librarians have been promoting the band.[50] While Harry and the Potters would become notable for making libraries their primary venue, Joe DeGeorge did not see a future in the modest venues, "I think we thought we'd play a few libraries."[14] Paul added, "We thought it would be short-lived. We weren't like super fans, so we didn't understand this whole (Harry Potter) subculture when we started."[14] As The Washington Post wrote, "wizard rock is an escape into a different world – a world of non-judgmental fun where grown-ups dress as wizards, evil is vanquished by song, and reading is cool."[3] The peculiar success of Harry and the Potters has led Paul to "sense a growing affection for us amongst other musicians" and at home.[5] The Boston Phoenix has called Harry and the Potters the "Pink Floyd of Potterdom."[17]
In 2005 there was a tidal wave of new wizard rock bands.[43] The brothers do-it-yourself musical ethos has caught on with bands forming as fellow Potter fans are picking up instruments for the first time.[43] Like Harry and the Potters, these new bands also take on the persona, or dress as a Harry Potter-themed character.[4] Though most fans of the music are previous fans of Harry Potter, some bands have attracted listeners outside of the Harry Potter fanbase.[2] Paul and Joe are aware of around 200 other Harry Potter-related rock bands who at least record and post songs on the Internet.[43] The Boston Phoenix wondered—in spite of fully booked calendars—how long wizard rock would last once there are no new stories to riff on, as their musical identity is contingent on the lasting success and popularity of a book series. "In some ways," said Paul, "we want to tie things off and consider it a done deal. We’ve always viewed this as a project that had a finite life and end point."[17]
Discography[edit]
Main article: Harry and the Potters discography
Harry and the Potters (2003)
Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock! (2004)
Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love (2006)
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c Davies, Shaun (July 20, 2007). "The unexpected wizards of rock and roll". MSN. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
2.^ Jump up to: a b Rose, Lacey (July 13, 2005). "Wizard Rock". Forbes. Retrieved January 26, 2007.
3.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Zumbrun, Joshua; Sonya Geis (July 8, 2007). "Wizard Rock Has Fans in Hogwarts Heaven With an Assist From MySpace, Bands Ride Harry Potter Mania Into the Spotlight" (newspaper). The Washington Post. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
4.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Sweeney, Emily (September 16, 2004). "Sibling musicians bring out the 'punk' in Harry Potter". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 26, 2007.
5.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Sean, Moeller (May 28, 2006). "Harry and the Potters: Promoters of Dental Hygiene And The Wizards Who Share Their Spinal Tap Moments With Dewey Decimal" (online music magazine). Daytrotter.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2007.
6.Jump up ^ "The Secrets". Retrieved August 6, 2007.
7.Jump up ^ Anelli, p. 107
8.^ Jump up to: a b c d Miliard, Mike (2003 July 25 to August 1). "Potterific! Harry rocks out" (newspaper). The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
9.Jump up ^ "Ed in the Refridgerators.". Retrieved August 6, 2007.
10.^ Jump up to: a b Brady, Shaun (November 28, 2006). "Yule Ball rolls into Philly". The Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved February 27, 2007.[dead link]
11.^ Jump up to: a b c d Humphries, Rachel (July 13, 2007). "Harry Potter 'Wrockers' Conjure Musical Magic". ABC News. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
12.Jump up ^ "Harry and the Potters DISH!". Wizrocklopedia. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
13.Jump up ^ Couch, Christina (November 18, 2005). "Harry and the Potters rock by the book". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved July 6, 2008.
14.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Loftus, Meghan. "Wizard Rock". The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY). Retrieved August 6, 2007.
15.Jump up ^ DeGeorge, Paul. "Albums". Retrieved July 10, 2010.
16.^ Jump up to: a b c Anelli, p. 122
17.^ Jump up to: a b c d Steel, Sharon (July 24, 2007). "Voldemort Can’t Stop The Rock". The Phoenix (Boston, MA. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
18.Jump up ^ Torrez Riley, Jessica (December 6, 2006). "Wizards of rock" (newspaper). The Northeastern News (Northeastern University). Retrieved August 6, 2007.
19.Jump up ^ Veenstra, Collin (August 22, 2007). "Harry and the Potters, community Benefits House". Boise Weekly. Retrieved September 4, 2007.
20.Jump up ^ Smith, Scott C. (September 13, 2007). "Tearing up suburbia". Kingston Reporter and Patriot Ledger. Retrieved October 5, 2007.
21.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Aleksandra, Brzozowski (July 18, 2007). "Bowling with Bands: Harry and the Potters". Streethawk. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
22.Jump up ^ "Scarred for Life". Priori Incantatem (Media notes). Harry and the Potters. Eskimo Laboratories. 2009.
23.Jump up ^ DeGeorge, Paul (2006). Power of Love (liner). Massachusetts, USA: Eskimo Laboratories Records.
24.Jump up ^ DeGeorge, Paul (2009). Priori Incantatem (liner). Massachusetts, USA: Eskimo Laboratories Records.
25.Jump up ^ DeGeorge, Paul. "2009 Wizard Rock EP of the Month Club". Retrieved July 10, 2010.
26.Jump up ^ DeGeorge, Paul. "Wizard Rock Club – About". Retrieved July 10, 2010.
27.Jump up ^ O'Brian, Amy (July 17, 2007). "Brothers are unofficial music makers for Harry Potter films" (newspaper). The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver, BC). Retrieved July 19, 2007.
28.^ Jump up to: a b "Harry and the Potters: The Band". Harry and the Potters. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
29.Jump up ^ Hallett, Alison (2008-07-21). "Harry and the Potters - Tonight! | Blogtown, PDX". Blogtown.portlandmercury.com. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
30.Jump up ^ Hallett, Alison (July 21, 2008). "Harry and the Potters – Tonight!". The Portland Mercury.
31.Jump up ^ Cadwalladr, Carole (August 6, 2006). "Harry Potter and the mystery of an academic obsession" (newspaper). The Observer (UK). Retrieved August 6, 2007.
32.Jump up ^ "Megan and Mallory Schuyler: Documenting the Culture of Wizard Rock". Filmmaking Focus. October 9, 2006. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
33.Jump up ^ DeGeorge, Paul (June 1, 2010). "December 2009 – Harry and the Potters". Retrieved October 10, 2010.
34.Jump up ^ DeGeorge, Paul. "Weekend shows in CT, NY, PA +IRELAND ++Midwest Tour in July!". Retrieved June 16, 2010.
35.^ Jump up to: a b "Harry and the Potters". Retrieved August 12, 2010.
36.Jump up ^ "Remixes by Harry and the Potters and Friends". Retrieved November 21, 2010.
37.^ Jump up to: a b DeGeorge, Paul. "FREE Remix EP available now!". Retrieved November 21, 2010.
38.Jump up ^ DeGeorge, Paul. "NEW RELEASE: A Wizardly Christmas of Wizardry". Retrieved December 8, 2010.
39.Jump up ^ http://jacobandthewhale.tumblr.com
40.Jump up ^ "Foto's van Harry and the Potters - Prikbordfoto's". Facebook. Retrieved 2011-08-15.
41.Jump up ^ Hallett, Vicky (July 16, 2005). "Siriusly, Potter Rocks!" (news magazine). US News & World Report. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
42.^ Jump up to: a b Wolf, Eric (March 24, 2004). "Harry & The Potters" (on-line music magazine). Mundane sounds. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2007.
43.^ Jump up to: a b c d Mitts, Eric (2007-08). "Harry and the Potters" (on-line entertainment magazine). Recoil. Retrieved September 4, 2007.
44.Jump up ^ "For some fans, lessons of 'Potter' carry over into real world". CNN. July 16, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
45.Jump up ^ Lee, Amy (January 24, 2011). "Andrew Slack: "Harnessing The Power Of Imagination To 'Imagine Better'"". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
46.Jump up ^ "hpalliancemyspace".
47.Jump up ^ "StopBigMedia.com: Rock Out Against Voldemedia". Retrieved July 10, 2010.
48.Jump up ^ Weaver, Drew (January 19, 2007). "Harry Potter tribute bands, say fight evil – read books" (newspaper). Tulsa World (Tulsa, OK). Archived from the original on December 18, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
49.Jump up ^ Anelli, p. 120
50.Jump up ^ "Wizard Rock!". "Alternative Teen Services" – Library Services Blog. September 8, 2006. Archived from the original on June 29, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
Bibliography
Anelli, Melissa (2008). Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon. Word Dancer Press. ISBN 1-4165-5495-5.
Beahm, George W. (2007). Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide to J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon (3rd ed.). Hampton Roads Publishing Company. ISBN 1-57174-542-4.
Gilsdorf, Ethan (2009). Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms. ISBN 1-59921-480-6.
Gunelius, Susan (2008). Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-230-20323-X.
Paré, Joelle (2009). "Magical Musical Manifestations: A Literacy Look at Wizard Rock". In Diana Patterson. Harry Potter's World Wide Influence. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 181–200. ISBN 1-4438-1394-X.
Pyne, Erin A. (2007). A Fandom of Magical Proportions: An Unauthorized History of The Harry Potter Phenomenon. Nimble Books. ISBN 0-9788138-8-X.
Thomas, Scott (2007). The Making of the Potterverse: A Month-By-Month Look at Harry's First 10 Years. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-763-7.
Turner-Vorbeck, Tammy (2008). "Pottermania: Good, Clean Fun or Cultural Hegemony?". In Elizabeth E. Heilman. Critical perspectives on Harry Potter (2nd ed.). Routledge. pp. 329–342. ISBN 0-415-96484-9.
Koury, Josh (director) (2008). We Are Wizards (DVD). Brooklyn Underground Films.
Schuyler, Megan & Schuyler, Mallory (directors) (2008). Wizard Rockumentary: A Movie About Rocking and Rowling (DVD). GryffinClaw Productions.
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harry and the Potters.
Harry and the Potters – official website
Eskimo Laboratories – record label
Harry and the Potters on Myspace
Harry and the Potters at Internet Archive
CBC British Columbia radio interview - 5:40, Thursday June 23, 2011
The Harry Potter Alliance - The Harry Potter Alliance, co-founded by Paul DeGeorge

[hide]
­v·
 ­t·
 ­e
 
Harry and the Potters


­Joe DeGeorge·
 ­Paul DeGeorge
 

Studio albums
­Harry and the Potters·
 ­Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!·
 ­Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love
 

Related articles
­Discography·
 ­Wizard rock
 

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
 

Categories: Harry Potter bands
Musical groups from Massachusetts
Sibling musical duos
Musical groups established in 2002
Alternative rock groups from Massachusetts
2002 establishments in Massachusetts





Navigation menu


Create account
Log in


Article
Talk





Read
Edit
View history




 Search 


Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Toolbox
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Data item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Français
Italiano
Nederlands
Norsk nynorsk
Oʻzbekcha
Português
Svenska
ไทย
Edit links
This page was last modified on 16 August 2013 at 19:17.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   





Harry and the Potters (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Harry and the Potters

Studio album by Harry and the Potters

Released
June 2003
Recorded
April—May 2003 at the DeGeorge family living room, Norwood, Massachusetts
Genre
Wizard rock, indie rock
Length
38:27
Label
Eskimo Laboratories
Producer
Harry and the Potters
Harry and the Potters chronology

 Harry and the Potters
 (2003) Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!
 (2004)

Harry and the Potters is the eponymous debut studio album by indie rock band Harry and the Potters, released in June 2003.[1] The album was inspired by the first four novels in the Harry Potter book series.[2]

Contents
  [hide] 1 Background
2 Writing and recording
3 Promotion and reception
4 Track listing
5 Personnel
6 References
Background[edit]
The origin of Harry and the Potters is rooted in accident. After reading the Harry Potter books, Paul DeGeorge formulated the premise for Harry and the Potters where the principle Harry Potter characters would be the musicians: Harry as the front man, Ron on guitar, Hermione on bass and Hagrid on drums.[3] Then a crisis of sorts struck the brothers on 22 June 2002. During a barbecue at the DeGeorge family’s Norwood Massachusetts home, Joe had advertised a concert with Ed and the Refrigerators and several other indie bands. The venue was the back yard shed. Perhaps the venue was too modest but while an audience had arrived, the bands did not.[4][5] To rescue a nearly lost opportunity, while waiting hopefully for a band to show, Harry and the Potters came into existence over the next hour when the two brothers wrote seven Potter-themed songs. They performed that first concert as Harry and the Potters for six people who remained of their audience. Of those seven backyard songs, six were to make it onto the band's first album in 2003.[6]
Writing and recording[edit]
After the makeshift show at the DeGeorge's backyard, Paul and Joe had the idea that they might be able to write and record music, release an album, and even tour as Harry and the Potters. In April 2003, the brothers wrote an entire album's worth of songs.[2] The brothers split songwriting responsibilities between the two of them: Joe was responsible for songs dealing with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, whereas Paul was responsible for songs dealing with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.[2]
Harry and the Potters' themed lyrics - which have come to define the band as much as the costumes - have become an integral part of the band's work. For the Harry Potter fandom, Harry and the Potters refer to words and phrases unique to the books, including Firebolt, Felix Felicis, the Flying Car, wizard chess, platform nine and three-quarters, the three-headed dog Fluffy, Mrs. Norris, the basilisk, and the Invisibility Cloak.
Harry and the Potters couple their themed lyrics with rough-edged music on their debut album. Harry and the Potters was recorded and produced by Harry and the Potters in 2003 under the Eskimo Laboratories record label, at the DeGeorge Family Living Room in Massachusetts.[7] According to Melissa Anelli, Paul wrote the majority of the instrumental tracks on his Casio keyboard, whereas Joe conceptualized most of the vocal tracks.[2] Vocalist Paul DeGeorge later said, "We were pretty much writing songs and then recording them on the spot".[8] This statement emphasizes the band's do-it-yourself amateurishness as an essential aspect of the album.[9]
In recording Harry and the Potters, the band aimed to release the album shortly before the fifth book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released.[10] According to Paul, "We were in a rush to get that stuff done before the 5th book release" and this instinct supports claims it took only two weekends to record the album.[11] He went on to say "it’s kind of cool because it serves as a document and really captures the moment".[8] Despite the band's purported rush to finish the album, Paul and Joe worked particularly hard on the song "These Days are Dark."[2]
When the recording sessions for the album were finished, the band had twenty songs for an album. However, the songs "Diagon Alley" and "The Wrath of Hermione" were left off.[12] The two were later released on the Harry and the Potters compilation album Priori Incantatem.[12] Paul DeGeorge explained that the former was left off because the band felt they had enough short songs on their debut, and the latter was omitted because the DeGeorge brothers found it annoying, although it was played live.[12]
Promotion and reception[edit]
Paul DeGeorge used $1,200 of his own money to finance the pressing of the CDs.[2] The band also started silk-screening about two hundred T-shirts with the help of friends.[2] In order to publicize the release, Harry and the Potters decided to undertake a summer tour performing at libraries through the publicity from the highly anticipated release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. On 21 June 2003 the band played five sets in a span of 24 hours.[13]

Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating
Sputnikmusic (3.3/5)[14]
Critical reception to Harry and the Potters has been, for the most part, positive, with many reviewers praising the bands lo-fi sound and album production. Before the release of the album, Harry and the Potters had already made minor headlines in the news, thanks to their quirky appearance and their energetic lives shows. However, a year after releasing their debut album, in the spring of 2004, the Barnard Bulletin, a student news magazine of Barnard College, printed one of the earliest reviews of their music. Until then, it had been the stage persona of the band that drew media attention. The student reviewer said that, “The best thing about Harry and the Potters is not how silly the whole concept is or the faithfully accurate retelling of the books but how very bad the band is.”[15] The review was tongue-in-cheek and emphasized the do-it-yourself (DIY) amateurishness as an essential part of the group's "reading, rocking, all ages" vision.[16]
Track listing[edit]
All songs written and composed by Paul DeGeorge, Joe DeGeorge and Ernie Kim.

No.
Title
Length

1. "I am a Wizard"   2:34
2. "Platform 9 and ¾"   1:04
3. "The Dark Lord Lament"   2:02
4. "Fluffy"   0:17
5. "Wizard Chess"   1:26
6. "Problem Solving Skillz"   1:43
7. "Back to School"   1:22
8. "The Foil (Malfoy)"   1:35
9. "Follow the Spiders"   1:34
10. "Save Ginny Weasley"   3:02
11. "2 Weeks to Myself"   3:10
12. "Gryffindor Rocks"   1:36
13. "The Firebolt"   1:26
14. "My Teacher is a Werewolf"   0:36
15. "The Godfather"   2:37
16. "The Fourth Triwizard Champion"   2:14
17. "The Yule Ball"   2:25
18. "These Days are Dark"   5:27
Total length:
 38:27 
Personnel[edit]
Harry and the PottersPaul DeGeorge – vocals, guitar, baritone saxophone, melodica
Joe DeGeorge – vocals, keyboard, tenor saxophone, glockenspiel, theremin
Additional personnelErnie Kim – drums
Georg Pedersen – artwork design
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Paul and Joe, DeGeorge (2003). Harry and the Potters (liner). Massachusetts, USA: Eskimo Laboratories Records.
2.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Anelli 2008, pp. 101–136
3.Jump up ^ Sean, Moeller (2006-05-28). "Harry and the Potters: Promoters of Dental Hygiene And The Wizards Who Share Their Spinal Tap Moments With Dewey Decimal" (online music magazine). Daytrotter.com. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
4.Jump up ^ Brady, Shaun (2006-11-28). "Yule Ball rolls into Philly". The Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved 2007-02-27.[dead link]
5.Jump up ^ Humphries, Rachel (2007-07-13). "Harry Potter 'Wrockers' Conjure Musical Magic". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
6.Jump up ^ Miliard, Mike (2003 July 25 to August 1). "Potterific! Harry rocks out" (newspaper). The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved 2007-08-06.[dead link]
7.Jump up ^ Sweeney, Emily (2004-09-16). "Sibling musicians bring out the 'punk' in Harry Potter". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
8.^ Jump up to: a b "Harry and the Potters DISH!". Wizrocklopedia. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
9.Jump up ^ Aleksandra, Brzozowski (2007-07-18). "Bowling with Bands: Harry and the Potters". Street Hawk Magazine. Retrieved 2008-07-06.[dead link]
10.Jump up ^ Rosen, Ben (2004-08-07). "Wailing Wizards: Boston brothers' musical repertoire inspired by Harry Potter". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
11.Jump up ^ Couch, Christina (2005-11-18). "Harry and the Potters rock by the book". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
12.^ Jump up to: a b c DeGeorge, Paul (2009). Priori Incantatem (liner). Massachusetts, USA: Eskimo Laboratories Records.
13.Jump up ^ DeGeorge, Paul and Joe. "About Harry and the Potters". Harry and the Potters. Retrieved 2009-12-25.
14.Jump up ^ "Harry and the Potters - Harry and the Potters". sputnikmusic.com. 2001-02-02. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
15.Jump up ^ Plummer, Jessica (2004-04-21). "music review: harry and the potters". Barnard Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
16.Jump up ^ Aleksandra, Brzozowski (2007-07-18). "Bowling with Bands: Harry and the Potters". Streethawk. Retrieved 2007-08-30.[dead link]
Bibliography
Anelli, Melissa (2008). Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon. Word Dancer Press. ISBN 1-4165-5495-5

[hide]
­v·
 ­t·
 ­e
 
Harry and the Potters


­Joe DeGeorge·
 ­Paul DeGeorge
 

Studio albums
­Harry and the Potters·
 ­Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!·
 ­Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love
 

Related articles
­Discography·
 ­Wizard rock
 

 

Categories: 2003 debut albums
Harry and the Potters albums




Navigation menu


Create account
Log in


Article
Talk





Read
Edit
View history




 Search 



Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Toolbox





Print/export



Languages
Italiano
Nederlands
Edit links
This page was last modified on 1 September 2013 at 12:19.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   





Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Power of Love

Studio album by Harry and the Potters

Released
July 4, 2006
Recorded
February — June 2006 at April Fog, basement of Norwood High School, Cambridge, Massachusetts and the DeGeorge family living room, Norwood, Massachusetts[1]
Genre
Wizard rock, indie rock
Length
42:51
Label
Eskimo Laboratories
Producer
Harry and the Potters
Harry and the Potters chronology

Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!
 (2004) Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love
 (2006) The Enchanted Ceiling
 (2007)

Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love, or Power of Love, is the third studio album by indie rock band Harry and the Potters, released on July 4, 2006.[2] The album was primarily inspired by the sixth novel in the Harry Potter book series.[3]

Contents
  [hide] 1 Writing and recording
2 Promotion and reception
3 Track listing
4 Personnel 4.1 Harry and the Potters 4.1.1 Studio musicians
4.2 Production
4.3 Artwork
5 References
Writing and recording[edit]
In early 2006, Harry and the Potters departed from their proud DIY home recording and sought a studio for their Scarred for Life EP. In the same year, they returned to home recording with the Power of Love but with a bigger sound and with the assistance recording veteran Kevin Micka.[1] This time the band was joined by other musicians (including their sister, Cathy), and together, they recorded the album at April Fog, the basement of Norwood High School, and the DeGeorge Family Living Room in Cambridge, MA.[1]
When the recording sessions for the album were finished, the band had several songs that were left off of the final pressing, including "New Wizard Anthem (Club Mix)" and a new recording of "My Teacher is a Werewolf (Rock Version)," which had originally appeared on their second album.[4] Paul DeGeorge explained that the band had wanted "New Wizard Anthem (Club Mix)" to be a hidden track in the pregap of the album, but the CD manufacturer was unable to do this, and thus it was left off the album.[4] The two songs were later released on the compilation album Priori Incantatem.[4]
Promotion and reception[edit]

Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating
Sputnikmusic 5/5 stars[5]
Critical reception to Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love has been mostly positive.
Melissa Anelli, the webmistress of the popular fansite The Leaky Cauldron,[6] wrote positively about the albums most popular song, "Save Ginny Weasley from Dean Thomas," stating that "no show would be complete without a performance of it" and that "it's [Harry and the Potters] 'Free Bird'."[3]
Track listing[edit]
All songs written and composed by Paul DeGeorge and Joe DeGeorge, except where noted.

No.
Title
Length

1. "New Wizard Anthem"   1:50
2. "Song for the Death Eaters"   4:32
3. "Flesh, Blood, and Bone"   2:58
4. "Save Ginny Weasley from Dean Thomas" (P. DeGeorge, J. DeGeorge, Dawn Riddle, Steve Gevurtz, Nicole J. Georges[1]) 2:44
5. "Felix Felicis"   1:39
6. "Slug Club"   1:30
7. "Smoochy Smoochy Pukey Pukey"   1:33
8. "This Book Is So Awesome"   0:30
9. "(Not Gonna Put On) The Monkey Suit"   2:37
10. "We Save Ron's Life, Part 8"   2:24
11. "Hermione's Birds and Boys"   1:09
12. "In Which Draco Malfoy Cries Like a Baby"   2:19
13. "Dumbledore"   6:14
14. "Phoenix Song"   6:24
Total length:
 42:51 
Personnel[edit]
Harry and the Potters[edit]
Paul DeGeorge - Vocals, guitar, baritone saxophone and melodica[1]
Joe DeGeorge - Vocals, keyboard, tenor saxophone, glockenspiel and theremin[1]
Studio musicians[edit]
Ernie Kim - Drums, Gang vocals on "New Wizard Anthem"[1]
Brian Church - Bass[1]
Juliet Nelson - Cello on "Dumbledore" and "Phoenix Song"[1]
Jeanie Lee - Violin on "Dumbledore" and "Phoenix Song"[1]
Kevin Micka - Guitar Solo on "New Wizard Anthem", Gang vocals on "New Wizard Anthem"[1]
Sean McCarthy - Audio feedback on "(Not Gonna Put On) The Monkey Suit"[1]
Catherine DeGeorge - Whistling on "In Which Draco Malfoy Cries Like a Baby"[1]
Devin King, Mike Gintz, Farhad Ebrahimi, Steeve Mike - Gang vocals[1]
Production[edit]
Recorded at April Fog, Cambridge, MA, Norwood High School Basement, and DeGeorge Family Living Room, Norwood, MA[1]Recorded by Kevin Micka[1]
Produced by Harry and the Potters[1]
Artwork[edit]
Design by Georg Pedersen[7]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q DeGeorge, Paul and Joe (2006). Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love (liner). Massachusetts, USA: Eskimo Laboratories Records.
2.Jump up ^ Alison, Hallett (7/5/07). "Uh-Oh It's Magic: Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock". Portland Mercury. Retrieved 6/23/10.
3.^ Jump up to: a b Anelli, p. 101–136
4.^ Jump up to: a b c DeGeorge, Paul (2009). Priori Incantatem (liner). Massachusetts, USA: Eskimo Laboratories Records.
5.Jump up ^ "Harry and the Potters - Power of Love". Sputnikmusic.
6.Jump up ^ "As the end of Potter nears, fans sites remember their own rise". International Herald Tribune. April 12, 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
7.Jump up ^ DeGeorge, Paul. "Albums". Retrieved 07-10-10.
Bibliography
Anelli, Melissa (2008). Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon. Word Dancer Press. ISBN 1-4165-5495-5.

[hide]
­v·
 ­t·
 ­e
 
Harry and the Potters


­Joe DeGeorge·
 ­Paul DeGeorge
 

Studio albums
­Harry and the Potters·
 ­Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!·
 ­Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love
 

Related articles
­Discography·
 ­Wizard rock
 

 

Categories: 2006 albums
Harry and the Potters albums


Navigation menu


Create account
Log in


Article
Talk





Read
Edit
View history




 Search 



Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Toolbox





Print/export



Languages
Italiano
Edit links
This page was last modified on 17 March 2013 at 09:20.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 

 


 
   
   

 




Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!

Studio album by Harry and the Potters

Released
July 1, 2004
Recorded
May — June 2004 at the DeGeorge family shed, Norwood, Massachusetts
Genre
Wizard rock, indie rock
Length
41:58
Label
Eskimo Laboratories
Producer
Harry and the Potters
Harry and the Potters chronology

Harry and the Potters
 (2003) Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!
 (2004) Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love
 (2006)

Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock! is the second studio album by indie rock band Harry and the Potters, released on July 1, 2004. The album was primarily inspired by the fifth novel in the Harry Potter book series.[1]
Although some of the songs revisit events from previous books in the series, a majority of the songs on the album relate to the rebellion of Harry and Dumbledore's Army against the Ministry of Magic, Dolores Umbridge, Lord Voldemort, and the Death Eaters.

Contents
  [hide] 1 Context
2 Writing and recording
3 Promotion and reception
4 Track listing
5 Personnel
6 References
Context[edit]
During a barbecue at Paul and Joe DeGeorge family’s Norwood Massachusetts home on 22 June 2002, Joe had advertised a concert with Ed and the Refrigerators and several other indie bands. The venue was the back yard shed. Perhaps the venue was too modest but while an audience had arrived, the bands did not.[2][3] To rescue a nearly lost opportunity, while waiting hopefully for a band to show, Harry and the Potters came into existence over the next hour when the two brothers wrote seven Potter-themed songs. The following year, the band released an album, Harry and the Potters, to critical acclaim. After the release of the fifth Harry Potter book, the brothers started to record Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!, a new album based on The Order of the Phoenix.[1]
Writing and recording[edit]
Harry and the Potters actively promote literacy, and as the band began writing more music, their lyrics slowly begain turning more political.[4] For instance, the album's title song references Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC)'s attempts in the 1980s to censor music. The song contains the verse, "And we won't let the Dark Lord ruin our party/ Just like Tipper Gore tried with the PMRC."[1]
Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock! was recorded in May and June 2004 in the DeGeorge family shed.[5] The bands friend and fellow musician Ernie Kim played drums again.
Promotion and reception[edit]

Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating
Sputnikmusic (3.8/5)[6]
Following the release of Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock, the band began touring once again. At first, the band toured lightly, but during the summer of 2004, Paul got a two-month leave from work.[1] The band played more than thirty shows, although they largely skipped the Midwest.[1]
The two brothers drove 13,000 miles across the U.S. and into Canada in their "Potter Mobile", a silver 1998 Ford Windstar minivan with a black lightning bolt emblazoned on its hood.[7] In live concerts, Paul and Joe used pre-recorded backing tracks for much of the tour, but during the second half, Joe called on his childhood friend and former bandmate Andrew MacLeay to join the band temporarily as drummer.[7][8]
During the late winter of 2005, the band undertook their first overseas tour. In February 2005, they toured the United Kingdom[1] – playing London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Chester, and Liverpool – and then followed it by playing some gigs in the Netherlands to coincide with the release of the Dutch translation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which took place in November 2005. In the Netherlands, they played one of their earliest songs "Platform Nine and 3/4" in Dutch.[9]
Following the release of Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!, Harry and the Potters enjoyed success from respectable quarters. The reputable Pitchfork Media hailed Harry and the Potters as having one of the best five live shows in 2005.[10] The 'zine quipped "Unless you frequent MuggleNet.com, you probably aren't aware that the greatest rock and roll tour of the year took place this past summer in public libraries across America"[10] and "The Decemberists wish they could lit-rock like this."[10] In a 2010 article, it was revealed by TuneCore that Harry and the Potters had shifted 200,000 digital downloads of an unspecified song.[11] Paul DeGeorge later attributed this remarkable feat to the fact that the song "Human Hosepipe" was released on a free compilation album, which in turn was downloaded more than 200,000 times.[12]
During the band's tour of England, Paul and Joe DeGeorge received a letter from Warner Brothers that stated that the brothers were breaking copyright laws.[1] Although Paul sent a letter to Warner Brothers in an attempt to smooth things over, Marc Brandon, the company representative, asked to speak to Paul personally.[1] The two later settled upon a gentleman's agreement that, in essence, would allow Harry and the Potters to continue to sell music online and tour, but all other merchandise could only be sold at live shows.[1]
Track listing[edit]
All songs written and composed by Paul DeGeorge, Joe DeGeorge and Ernie Kim.

No.
Title
Length

1. "Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!"   3:05
2. "The Weasle"   2:01
3. "The Missing Arm of Viktor Krum"   1:54
4. "Fred and George"   2:26
5. "Keeping Secrets from Me"   1:44
6. "Cornelius Fudge is an Ass"   1:34
7. "Dumbledore's Army"   4:56
8. "These Dreams Are Dark"   3:16
9. "Stick it to Dolores"   2:32
10. "S.P.E.W."   1:01
11. "The Human Hosepipe"   3:33
12. "Luna Lovegood is OK"   2:20
13. "The Godfather: Part II"   2:25
14. "The Weapon"   4:27
Total length:
 41:58 
Personnel[edit]
Harry and the PottersPaul DeGeorge – vocals, guitar, baritone saxophone, melodica
Joe DeGeorge – vocals, keyboard, tenor saxophone, glockenspiel, theremin
Additional personnelErnie Kim – drums
Georg Pedersen – artwork design
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Anelli, p. 101–136
2.Jump up ^ Brady, Shaun (November 28, 2006). "Yule Ball rolls into Philly". The Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved February 27, 2007.[dead link]
3.Jump up ^ Humphries, Rachel (July 13, 2007). "Harry Potter 'Wrockers' Conjure Musical Magic". ABC News. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
4.Jump up ^ Weaver, Drew (January 19, 2007). "Harry Potter tribute bands, say fight evil – read books" (newspaper). Tulsa World (Tulsa, OK). Retrieved August 6, 2007.
5.Jump up ^ DeGeorge, Paul and Joe. "Albums". Retrieved December 25, 2009.
6.Jump up ^ "Harry and the Potters - Voldemort Can't Stop The Rock!". Sputnikmusic.
7.^ Jump up to: a b Sweeney, Emily (September 16, 2004). "Sibling musicians bring out the 'punk' in Harry Potter". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 26, 2007.
8.Jump up ^ Zumbrun, Joshua; Sonya Geis (July 8, 2007). "Wizard Rock Has Fans in Hogwarts Heaven With an Assist From MySpace, Bands Ride Harry Potter Mania Into the Spotlight" (newspaper). The Washington Post. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
9.Jump up ^ Sean, Moeller (May 28, 2006). "Harry and the Potters: Promoters of Dental Hygiene And The Wizards Who Share Their Spinal Tap Moments With Dewey Decimal" (online music magazine). Daytrotter.com. Retrieved September 4, 2007.
10.^ Jump up to: a b c Phillips, Amy (December 11, 2010). "Top Five Live Shows of 2005 (That Weren't Intonation)". Pitchfork. com. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
11.Jump up ^ Warila, Bruce (2010-01-21). "TuneCore politely smacks down TommyBoy and Nielsen". Music Think Tank. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
12.Jump up ^ "haha! yeah, they're using the term "sold" very loosely there. "human hosepipe" was on a free comp and got DLed 200K times". Twitter. 2010-10-20. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
Bibliography
Anelli, Melissa (2008). Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon. Word Dancer Press. ISBN 1-4165-5495-5.

[hide]
­v·
 ­t·
 ­e
 
Harry and the Potters


­Joe DeGeorge·
 ­Paul DeGeorge
 

Studio albums
­Harry and the Potters·
 ­Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!·
 ­Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love
 

Related articles
­Discography·
 ­Wizard rock
 

 

Categories: 2004 albums
Harry and the Potters albums



Navigation menu


Create account
Log in


Article
Talk





Read
Edit
View history




 Search 



Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikimedia Shop

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Toolbox





Print/export



Languages
Italiano
Edit links
This page was last modified on 17 March 2013 at 06:50.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki