I will admit that when the movie's came out I was disappointed. Absolutely no one looked like I had pictured them in my mind. Harry's hair didn't look perpetually gelled up, Hermione's name was pronounced "hər-my-ə-nee" instead of "hər-mee-own" , and Alan Rickman did not use nearly enough grease nor have a big enough nose to play Severus Snape. The movies were mega short in comparison to reading the book (I was a fairly slow reader, not out of disability but because I read like it was being acted out) and included a quarter of the detail. In fact I would go as far to say that if you haven't read the books I'm not allowing you to be a fan in the same way that you can't seriously like Lucky Charms without having actually tasted the cereal. The movies make sweet looking cereal boxes, but the books contain all of the sugar-blasted-tastiness of everything J.K. had to offer.
Just as Lucky Charms lures kids in with crack--I mean, "sugar"--Harry Potter contains some naturally addictive substance that gets people all hyper and giddy. Being a true fan as I am, after viewing the final theatrical installment of the series and trying desperately to prolong the experience, I decided to ponder this thought at length. There are obvious reasons why people find this story enchanting. There's not a person alive who has looked at a broom and not thought "If only this thing could fly." The lure of myth and magic has been around for centuries. The same themes have kept from as far back as Egyptian times with it's Anubises and magic spells and all manner of animal-human hybrids. It's all the more addicting because of the sheer amount of detail Rowling was able to cram into the books and still have them make sense. The Wizarding World is a new and vastly different plain for human's to survey and we have taken to it like a gold rush.
Looks attract, morals retain. We may have been dragged into this series by how awesome it must be to have magic powers or ride a hippogriff, but I believe that the retention factor of the books was based off of a deeper, more emotional connection. Beneath the uber-geeky magic exterior of Hogwart's is the universal story of purpose. An otherwise unremarkable boy living under a staircase was chosen for the greatest purpose known to wizarding kind. There's a reason this jives so well with 99% of Earth's population. We all share that same thirst for purpose and ultimately fulfillment and success. We all agree that power corrupts and that those most deserving of power and decision are actively trying to avoid it. We all agree that love is a force greater than hate and thusly that good will always triumph over evil in the end. Human kind wants an adventure with all of the moral trappings, and the Harry Potter series delivers this adventure 7 remarkable times culminating into 1 brilliant story line.
The movie ended and it was too soon. I will admit that even coming up on the 21st birthday that I'm not quite ready to let it all go. I have grown up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione year by year and have gone through all of the same changes and experiences, only my experiences didn't involve a guy with a wonky eye or an eagle-horse thingy. I feel as though some of my friends just moved and forgot to give me their address. It's easy to want to shove my head into a book or a movie in order to cope with real world troubles and dissatisfaction, but if there's anything I've learned from the series it's that as much as purpose is a calling it is something you have to fight for. This is everyone's adventure. One day you have to pick yourself up out of dreamland and fight for your own dreams. Only struggle produces heroes. So it is with considerable trouble that I bid the beloved series, "peace-out."
At least until I find my Chamber of Secrets copy. Then I'm reading through them again.
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