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| {{otheruses4|the Harry Potter series|the character|Harry Potter (character)}} | |||
| ]'' (British/Canadian/Australian/Irish/ Japanese/Taiwanese/African version)]] | |||
| The '''''Harry Potter''''' books are a series of ]s by ] writer ]. Since the release of the first novel, '']'' (retitled ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' in the ]) in ], the books have gained immense popularity and commercial success worldwide, spawning ]s, ], and a wealth of other items. | |||
| The six books to date have collectively sold more than 300 million copies<ref>. Accessed ] ]. </span></ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Forbes| url=http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/53/CRTT.html|title=J.K. Rowling}}</ref> and have been translated into more than 63 languages.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Sunday Tribune|title="Wizard Revisited"|date=June 19, 2005|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050619/spectrum/tv.htm}}</ref> The first volume has been translated into ] and even ],<ref><span class="plainlinks"> . Accessed ] ]. </span></ref> making it the longest work in that language since the novels of ] in the ] ].<ref><span class="plainlinks"> Accessed ] ]. </span></ref> Due to the tremendous success of the novels, Rowling has become the richest writer in literary history.<ref><span class="plainlinks"> Watson, Julie and Kellner, Tomas. . , ] ]. Accessed ] ].</span></ref> English language versions of the books are published by ] in the ] and internationally, and ] in the ], ] in ] and ] in ]. | |||
| A large portion of the narrative takes place in ], and focuses on Harry Potter's struggles against the dark wizard ]. At the same time, the books explore the themes of friendship, ambition, choice, prejudice, courage, growing up, love, moral responsibility, and the complexities of death, and are set against the expansive backdrop of a hidden ] with its own complex history, diverse inhabitants, unique culture, and parallel societies. | |||
| Six of the seven planned books have been published, and the seventh will be titled '']'' <ref>{{cite news |url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1977216,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1 | |||
| |publisher=The Guardian |title=Final 'Harry Potter' title revealed |date=December 21, 2006}}</ref> and will be released on ] ]<ref name="releasedate"></ref>. The previous (sixth) book, '']'', was issued in an English language version on ] ]. | |||
| The first four books have been made into very successful ] by ]. The fifth, '']'' began filming in February 2006, and is scheduled for release on ] ], eight days before the final book is due out. | |||
| == Origins and publishing history == | |||
| In 1990, J.K Rowling was on a crowded train from ] to ] when the idea for Harry simply "walked" into her head. She wrote the ideas down on a spare napkin to keep them fresh in her mind. Rowling gives an account of the experience on her website saying, "I had been writing almost continuously since the age of six but I had never been so excited about an idea before. I simply sat and thought, for four (delayed train) hours, and all the details bubbled up in my brain, and this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me".<ref name="Harry falls into author's head">{{cite web|publisher=JKRowling.com| url=http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/biography.cfm| title=Biography| first= J.K.| last=Rowling| accessdate=2006-05-21}}</ref> That evening, the author began the pre-writing for her first novel, ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', a semi-detailed plan that would include the plots of each of her seven envisioned books, in addition to an enormous amount of biographical and historical information on her ] and ].<ref name="J.K. Rowling interview transcript, The Connection">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/1999/1099-connectiontransc2.htm | |||
| |publisher=Quick Quote Quill | |||
| |title=J.K. Rowling interview transcript, The Connection | |||
| |date=October 12, 1999}}</ref> | |||
| Over the course of the next six years that included the birth of her first child, divorce from her first husband, and a move to ], Rowling continued her writing of ''Philosopher's Stone''.<ref name=Barnes&Noble></ref> Eventually settling in ], Rowling wrote much of the ''Philosopher's Stone'' in local ]. Unable to secure a place in a ], her daughter would be a constant companion to her as she worked. | |||
| In 1996, ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' was completed and the ] was sent off to prospective agents. The second agent she tried, Christopher Little, offered to represent her and sent the manuscript to Bloomsbury. After eight other publishers had rejected ''Philosopher's Stone'', Bloomsbury offered Rowling a £3,000 advance for the publication of ].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BusinessWeek Online| url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_22/b3935414.htm| title=Nigel Newton | first=John| last=Lawless| accessdate=2006-09-09}}</ref> | |||
| Despite Rowling's statement that she did not have any particular age group in mind when she began to write the ''Harry Potter'' books, the publishers initially targeted them at children age nine to eleven. On the eve of publishing, Joanne Rowling was asked by her publishers to adopt a more gender-neutral ], in order to appeal to the male members of this age group, fearing that they would not be interested in reading a novel they knew to be written by a woman. She elected to use J. K. Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling), omitting her first name and using her grandmother's as her second.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=The Daily Telegraph| url=http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2000/0700-savill-telegraph.html| title=Harry Potter and the mystery of J K's lost initial| first=Richard| last=Savill| accessdate=2006-09-09}}</ref> | |||
| The first ''Harry Potter'' book was published in the ] by Bloomsbury in July 1997 and in the ] by ] in September of 1998, but not before Rowling had received a six-figure sum for the American rights – an unprecedented amount for a children's book. Fearing that some of its intended readers would either not understand the word "philosopher" or not associate it with a magical theme (as a ] is alchemy-related), Scholastic insisted that the book be renamed ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' for the American market.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Quick Quotes Quill| url=http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2000/fall00-etoys.html| title=eToys interview transcript| first=| last=eToys interview transcript| accessdate=2006-09-09}}</ref> | |||
| Over nearly a decade Harry Potter has achieved much success due in part to positive reviews, Rowling's publisher's marketing strategy, but also due to word-of-mouth buzz among average readers, especially young males. The latter is notable because for years, interest in literature among this demographic had lagged behind other pursuits like video games and the Internet. Rowling's publishers were able to capitalise on this fervour by the rapid, successive releases of the first three books that allowed neither Rowling's audience's excitement nor interest to wane, along with quickly solidifying a loyal readership. <ref name="Books' Hero Wins Young Minds">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |publisher=New York Times | |||
| |title=Books' Hero Wins Young Minds | |||
| |date=Jul 12, 1999 | |||
| }}</ref> The series has also garnered adult fans, leading to two editions of each ''Harry Potter'' book being released, identical in text but with one edition's cover artwork aimed at children and the other aimed at adults.<ref name="OOTP is best seller in France - in English!">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/world/newsid_3036000/3036350.stm | |||
| |publisher=BBC | |||
| |title=OOTP is best seller in France - in English! | |||
| |date=July 1, 2003 | |||
| }}</ref> Moreover, the series is popular around the world in its many translations. Such was the global clamour to read the book that the ] edition of the series' fifth book, ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'', became the first English-language book ever to top the bookseller list in ].<ref name="OOTP is best seller in France - in English!">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/world/newsid_3036000/3036350.stm | |||
| |publisher=BBC | |||
| |title=OOTP is best seller in France - in English! | |||
| |date=July 1, 2003 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| {{spoiler}} | |||
| ==Story== | |||
| ===Plot summary=== | |||
| The story opens with the unrestrained celebration of a normally-secretive ] which for many years had been terrorised by ]. The previous night, Voldemort had discovered the refuge of the hidden Potter family, and killed ]. However, when he turned his wand against their infant son, Harry, his killing curse rebounded upon him. His body destroyed, Voldemort became a powerless spirit, seeking refuge in the undisturbed places of the world; Harry, meanwhile, was left with a distinctive lightning bolt scar on his forehead, the only physical sign of Voldemort's curse. Harry's mysterious defeat of Voldemort results in him being dubbed "The Boy Who Lived" by the wizarding world. | |||
| The orphaned Harry Potter is subsequently raised by his cruel, non-magical relatives, the ], in ignorance of his magical heritage. However, as his eleventh birthday approaches, Harry has his first contact with the magical world when he receives letters from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which are stolen from him by his Aunt and Uncle before he has a chance to read them. On his eleventh birthday he is informed that he is in fact a wizard and has been invited to attend Hogwarts. He is told this by Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts. Each book chronicles one year in Harry's life at Hogwarts, where he learns to use ] and brew ]. Harry also learns to overcome many magical, social, and emotional obstacles as he struggles through his adolescence and Voldemort's rise to power. | |||
| For a detailed synopsis of the novels, see the relevant article for ]. | |||
| ===Universe=== | |||
| ] The ] in which Harry finds himself is both utterly separate from and yet intimately connected to our own world. While the fantasy world of ] functions as an alternate universe and the '']''’ ] as a mythic past, the wizarding world of ''Harry Potter'' exists alongside ours with many magical elements that are analogous to things in the non-magical world. Many of its institutions and locations are in towns, such as London, that are recognisable in the primary world. It is a fragmented collection of hidden streets, overlooked and ancient pubs, lonely country manors and secluded castles that remain utterly invisible to the non-magical population (known as "]s"). Wizard ability is inborn, rather than learned, although one must attend schools such as Hogwarts in order to master and control it. Since one is either born a wizard or not, most wizards are unfamiliar with the Muggle world, which appears odder to them than their world to us. Despite this, the magical world and its many fantastic elements are depicted very matter-of-factly. One of the principal themes in the novels is the juxtaposition of the magical and the mundane; the characters in the stories live normal lives with "normal" problems, for all their magical surroundings. | |||
| Fans who feel a personal connection to the characters often write ], which allows them to write their own events using the characters. Such a pasttime has become very popular with die-hard fans and there are hundreds of sites, in all languages, specifically dedicated to ] ]. | |||
| ===Recurrent elements=== | |||
| ''']s''': Owls are perhaps the most visible aspect of the Wizarding world. They appear at the start of the first novel, presaging what is to come, and play a very visible role in every novel following. They act as the principal form of communication among wizards (somewhat like ]s) and also as pets. Harry Potter has a pet snowy owl named ]. | |||
| '''The ]''': An old-fashioned train drawn by a scarlet steam locomotive that is the principal means by which a wizard in training can reach ]. It departs from ] at ], ]. | |||
| ''']''': Like many boarding schools, Hogwarts is divided into four separate ], and students are ] into their respective houses at the start of their first year. They are ] (which favours courage), ], (which favours cleverness), ], (which favours fairness and equality) and ] (which favours ambition). Upon arrival, Harry, along with his friends (Ron and later Hermione), are sorted into Gryffindor. | |||
| ''']''': a spectator sport in the Wizard world, played up in the air on brooms. Similar in style to ] and ]. Harry is a great player at Hogwarts and has helped Gryffindor win a number of games. Harry Potter is the ] for his team whose role is to try and catch the ]. | |||
| ''']''': Wizards tend to view ]s with a combination of condescension and suspicion, but for a few wizards this attitude, over the centuries, has descended into ]. Characters in the novels are classed either as "Muggle-born", (a wizard born to Muggles) "half-blood" (a wizard born to one wizard parent and one Muggle or Muggle-born parent) "pure-blood" (a wizard born to parents of purely wizarding lineage), or "Squib" (a person without magic born of two wizards). The maintenance of blood purity is a primary motivation for many of the series's darker characters. | |||
| === Characters === | |||
| {{seealso|List of characters in the Harry Potter books}} | |||
| *''']''': The only child of ], from whom he inherited distinct characteristics: He has a remarkable resemblance to James including his untidy black hair and shares occasional lack of regard for rules and has Lily's almond-shaped green eyes. He was born on ], ]. He achieved fame at the age of one when ], the most feared dark wizard in the world, attacked his home and murdered his parents but failed to kill him. Voldemort was left nearly dead and Harry was left with an instantly recognisable ]-shaped scar on his forehead. After his parent's murder, Harry is taken by the Wizard Professor Dumbledore and given to his Muggle aunt ( his mother's sister) and uncle who have an extreme distaste for all that is 'abnormal' to raise until ] comes to fetch Harry to attend Hogwarts. | |||
| *''']''': The dark wizard and chief ] of the series bent on securing unmatched power and ] through the practice of the ]. His given name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. Rearranged, the letters spell "I am Lord Voldemort." He is a half-blood, the son of a Muggle father and witch mother. He attended Hogwarts more than 50 years before Harry's time, beginning in ]. After years of slaughter in pursuit of his goals to become the greatest wizard of all time, Voldemort was ripped from his body and forced into hiding after his failed attempt on the life of the young Harry Potter. So feared was he at the height of his prodigious powers that even following his downfall most wizards feared to speak his name, referring to him instead as "You-Know-Who", "He Who Must Not Be Named", or "The Dark Lord", the latter of which is used primarily by his followers, the ]s. | |||
| *''']''': Harry's most trusted advisor and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is perhaps one of the most respected men in the wizarding world, holding high ranking positions in both national and international magical government, along with being an accomplished ] and master of an assortment of magical disciplines. Dumbledore was three times offered the position of ] but turned it down every time. He is also said to be the only known person whom Lord Voldemort ever feared, and also one of the few who does not fear Voldemort and openly speaks his name, often calling him by his given name of Tom (Riddle). Near the end of ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'', Dumbledore is murdered by ]. | |||
| *''']''': Harry's best friend and the sixth of seven children of the ]. Ron befriended Harry almost immediately upon meeting him during their first journey on the ]. However, a rift developed between them in their fourth year, due in part to Ron's frustration at being forced to live in Harry's shadow – no doubt magnified by his position as the youngest son in his large and talented family. Despite this, he and Harry have remained close through the years, with Ron being a constant companion through Harry's trials and adventures. '']'' shows a budding relationship between Ron and Hermione Granger. | |||
| *''']''': The best friend of Harry and Ron who is generally held to be the top student in Harry's year at Hogwarts. She is very clever and extremely bookish and reads voraciously, far more than her studies call for. In times of challenge, Hermione is often likely to make a bee-line for the library. As Ronald Weasley put it in ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'', "that's what Hermione does. When in doubt, go to the library." Her high ] coupled with her ] and ] way of tackling challenges have often been a great asset to Harry and Ron throughout their Hogwarts careers and other adventures, though her sometimes bossy and interfering manner has at times been a source of contention between them. Hermione is Muggle-born, being the daughter of two ], neither of whom has a magical history. ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' shows a budding relationship between Hermione and Ron. | |||
| *''']''': A gifted wizard, Hogwarts staff member, and since his youth, a bitter enemy of ] and ]. As Hogwarts' ] master, he sought to exact his revenge on the deceased James Potter by verbally abusing his son Harry from the moment Harry arrived at the school. A former ], he was later taken on as a teacher by Professor Dumbledore. Snape's loyalty is constantly under question though Dumbledore maintains that he unequivocally trusts him for reasons partially revealed in ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince''. | |||
| *''']''': Best friend of James Potter and former rebellious youth who fled his ] supremacist parents' home at an early age. Following the murders of James and Lily, he was arrested for supposed involvement. He later escaped ] prison and was only officially declared innocent posthumously in the sixth book, ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'', though his innocence was already established to Harry, Ron, Hermione and certain members of the ]. Sirius is also Harry's godfather. | |||
| *''']''': A pure-blood supremacist and member of ] house, known for his sharp tongue that often targets Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. As Harry and Ron became fast friends, Harry and Malfoy quickly became enemies, with the two facing off in various confrontations, including ], on numerous occasions throughout the series. He is almost always accompanied by ] and ]. In ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' Malfoy joins the Death Eaters and is assigned to kill Albus Dumbledore, a task with which he does not follow through. | |||
| *''']''': Son of a wizard and a ], he is both surprisingly gentle and nurturing. One of Harry's biggest supporters and most steadfast friends, he is also the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, as well as ] and professor of ]. Hagrid was sent to fetch Harry after the Dursleys refused to give him his welcoming letter to Hogwarts and told him he was a wizard. Hagrid also went to school at Hogwarts, but was expelled in his third year for an offence he did not commit and is thus unable to legally perform magic. | |||
| * ''']''': The Dursleys are Harry's ] (non-magical) abusive relatives, and, along with another abusive aunt (whom Harry blows up into a balloon in retaliation for speaking ill of his father in '']'') the only remaining family he has. His uncle Vernon is the manager of Grunning's, a ] company, while his aunt Petunia is a housewife. His cousin Dudley is utterly spoiled by his parents, and in the fifth book, Dudley is transformed into a more menacing presence when he takes up ] and proves good at it. Throughout Harry's entire life they had mistreated him, but despite this, Harry must return to their home every summer, for a reason unknown to him until '']''. | |||
| *''']''': The only daughter and seventh child of the ]. She is a talented witch, especially noted for her skill with the ]. Ginny is the first female born into the Weasley line in several generations. Potions professor ] sees great potential in the youngest Weasley and respects her formidable magical abilities. She had a long-standing crush on Harry and a romance between them starts in ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince''. | |||
| ===Structure=== | |||
| The novels are very much in the ] genre; however, in many respects they are also a ], a novel of education, set in ], a British boarding school for wizards, where the curriculum includes the use of ]. In this sense they are "in a direct line of descent from ]'s '']'' and other Victorian and Edwardian novels of British public school life".<ref>"J. K. Rowling" by Leslie Ellen Jones, ''NoveList/EBSCO Publishing'', 2003, retrieved September 9, 2005</ref> They are also, in the words of ], a "shrewd mystery tale".<ref name="Wild About Harry">{{cite news|publisher=New York Times|title="Wild About Harry"|date=July 23, 2000}}</ref>, and each book is constructed in the manner of a ]-style ] adventure; the books leave a number of clues hidden in the narrative, while the characters pursue a number of suspects through various exotic locations, leading to a twist ending that often reverses what the characters had been led to believe. The stories are told from a ] point of view; with very few exceptions (such as the opening chapters of '']'' and '']'' and the first two chapters of '']''), the reader learns the secrets of the story when Harry does. The thoughts and plans of other characters, even central ones like Hermione and Ron, are kept hidden until revealed to Harry. | |||
| The books tend to follow a very strict formula. Set over the course of consecutive years, they each can be split into 6 general sections: | |||
| * Summer at the ] house: Harry spends most of the summer holiday from school with the Dursleys, in the ] world, enduring their ill treatment. This section ends with Harry going to a different location. | |||
| * End of summer: Just before school begins in the autumn: Harry goes to ], the ] or ]. It ends with the boarding of the ] at ]. | |||
| * New school session: New or redefined characters take shape, and Harry overcomes new everyday school issues, such as difficult essays, awkward crushes, and unsympathetic teachers; this usually ends around ]. | |||
| * Conflicts arise: Harry and his friends and classmates start to sense that something is going wrong, and begin to respond. | |||
| * Climax: Harry and his friends make an important discovery, and Harry makes a mad dash to a particular location for a major conflict, involving a battle against the villains. This tends to occur near or just after final exams. | |||
| * Aftermath: Harry begins recovering from the battle, and learns important lessons through exposition and discussions with ]. It ends with Harry boarding the ], and heading back home with the Dursleys. | |||
| ===Themes and motifs=== | |||
| {{main|Themes and motifs in Harry Potter}} | |||
| One of the most enduring themes throughout the series is that of love, portrayed as a powerful form of magic in and of itself. It is Dumbledore's belief that it was this power that allowed Harry to resist Voldemort's temptations of power during their second encounter, prevented Voldemort from being able to possess him during their fifth encounter, and will eventually lead to Voldemort's downfall.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rowling|first=J.K.|title=Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (US Hardback)| year=2003| pages=844}}</ref> <ref>{{cite book|last=Rowling|first=J.K.|title=Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (US Hardback)| year=2005| pages=511}}</ref> | |||
| In contrast, another major theme of the series is that of death. "My books are largely about death. They open with the death of Harry's parents. There is Voldemort's obsession with conquering death and his quest for immortality at any price, the goal of anyone with magic. I so understand why Voldemort wants to conquer death. We're all frightened of it," said Rowling. <ref><span class="plainlinks"> ''The Daily Telegraph.'' Accessed ] ].</span></ref> In fact, Voldemort's name contains several possible meanings - 'mort' means 'death' in French, Catalan and Latin, and the term 'vol' could be related to the French and Catalan word for 'flight' or the Catalan word for 'steal'; 'volde' also looks or sounds a bit like certain Germanic words such as 'Volk' ("people"), and "Wald" ("forest"). Most tempting is the notion that "vol" is somehow related to the word "Will" (as in the word ''volition'', "The capability of conscious choice and decision and intention"), which in Germanic languages is pronounced with a V; thus the word Voldemort could also contain the meaning "will to death", "death wish", or "being able to choose who lives and who dies". Note also that the Dark Lord deliberately renamed himself, replacing his birth name 'Tom Riddle'; choosing a name with so many possible meanings, all sinister, must have been just as satisfying for Rowling as it seems to have been for Voldemort himself. | |||
| The series pits good against evil, and love against death. Voldemort's pursuit to avoid death, seen by his drinking unicorn blood for a half-life and splitting his soul through the use of ], contrasts with ] sacrificial love for Harry and the extraordinary magic her act leaves to him, that Voldemort can never understand or appreciate. | |||
| ] and ] also feature prominently throughout the series. As Harry's education in the magical world continues he learns that there are wizards and witches who hate Muggles and view them as inferior because of their lack of magical ability. Furthermore, the magical world uses a system of designations, Muggle-born, half-blood, and pure-blood, to indicate a wizard's heritage. The more prejudiced within the magical community take these designations a step further, viewing them as a system of ranking to illustrate a wizard's worth, pure-bloods being the preferred wizards, and ]s (alternatively known by the slur "Mudblood") as the most despised. In addition to prejudices held for fellow humans, there is also discrimination against non-humans and even part-humans (commonly known by the offensive ], "half-breeds"). | |||
| Another significant recurring theme is that of choice. In ''Chamber of Secrets'', Dumbledore makes perhaps his most famous statement on this issue: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."<ref name="pg333">{{cite book|last=Rowling|first=J.K.|title=Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (US Hardback)| year=1999| pages=333}}</ref> He confronts the issue again in ''Goblet of Fire'', when he tells Cornelius Fudge that what one grows up to be is far more important than what one is born. <ref>{{cite book|last=Rowling|first=J.K.|title=Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (US Hardback)| year=2000| pages=708}}</ref> | |||
| As it has been for many characters throughout the series, what Dumbledore termed the "choice between what is right and what is easy" has been a staple of Harry Potter's career at Hogwarts and his choices are among his character's most distinguishing traits from Voldemort's. Both he and Voldemort were orphans raised in difficult environments, in addition to sharing characteristics including, as Dumbledore points out, Voldemort's "own very rare gift, ] — resourcefulness, determination" and "a certain disregard for rules".<ref name="pg333"/> However, Harry, unlike Voldemort, has consciously elected to embrace friendship, kindness, and love, where Voldemort knowingly chose to reject them. | |||
| While ideas such as love, prejudice, and choice are, as J.K. Rowling states, "deeply entrenched in the whole plot", the writer prefers to let themes "grow organically", rather than sitting down and consciously attempting to impart such ideas to her readers.<ref name="Mzimba, Lizo, moderator. Interview with Steve Kloves and J.K. Rowling">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2003/0302-newsround-mzimba.htm | |||
| |publisher= Quick Quotes Quill | |||
| |title=Mzimba, Lizo, moderator. Interview with Steve Kloves and J.K. Rowling | |||
| |date= February 2003}}</ref> Friendship and loyalty are perhaps the most "organic" of these, with their main conduit being the relationship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione, which allows these motifs to naturally develop as the three age, their relationship matures, and their accumulated experiences at Hogwarts test their trueness to each other. These ordeals become progressively difficult, keeping in line with the series' increasingly darker tone, and the general nature of adolescence. Along the same lines is the ever-present theme of adolescence, in whose depiction the author has been purposeful in her refusal to ignore her characters' sexualities and leave Harry, as she put it, "stuck in a state of permanent pre-pubescence".<ref name="Favorite chapter">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/1999/0299-guardian-carey.htm | |||
| |publisher=Scholastic.com | |||
| |title=About the Books: transcript of J.K. Rowling's live interview on Scholastic.com | |||
| |date=16 October 2000}}</ref> | |||
| Also recurring throughout ''Harry Potter'' are literary motifs, namely Rowling's frequent use of irony, satire, wordplay, and folklore. Discussing Rowling's use of names could occupy its own book. From the first page onward her writing has displayed an ingenuity in finding the absolutely right name for people, places, things, spells, etc., a strong grasp of irony. From the multilayered sobriquet "Voldemort" through the onomatopoetic "Grawp" (Hagrid's bestial giant half-brother) through the very knowing pun hidden in the killing spell ], Rowling creates names that usually contain several meanings. All the books are stuffed with these names and they provide some of the series' greatest pleasures for adult readers. | |||
| ==Criticism and praise== | |||
| Early in its history, ''Harry Potter'' received overwhelmingly positive reviews, which helped the series to quickly grow a large readership. Following the 2003 release of ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' however, the books received strong criticisms from a number of distinguished authors and academics. ] authored a ] editorial calling Rowling's universe a “], made up of intelligently patchworked derivative motifs from all sorts of children's literature written for people whose imaginative lives are confined to TV cartoons, and the exaggerated (more exciting, not threatening) mirror-worlds of soaps, reality TV and celebrity gossip". Byatt went on to analyse the series' widespread appeal and concluded that this "derivative manipulation of past motifs" is for adult readers driven by a desire to regress to their "own childish desires and hopes" and for younger readers, "the powerful working of the fantasy of escape and empowerment, combined with the fact that the stories are comfortable, funny, just frightening enough". The end result being the levelling "of cultural studies, which are as interested in hype and popularity as they are in literary merit".<ref name="Harry Potter and the Childish Adult">{{cite news|publisher=New York Times|title=Harry Potter and the Childish Adult|date=July 7, 2003}}</ref> Likewise, author ] took issue with the series saying that it was "not what the poets hoped for, but this is not poetry, it is readable, saleable, everyday, useful prose". <ref name="Rowling books 'for people with stunted imaginations'">{{cite news|url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/harrypotter/story/0,,996243,00.html|publisher=The Guardian|title=Rowling books 'for people with stunted imaginations' |date=July 11, 2003}}</ref> Literary critic ] also attacked the literary worth of Potter, saying “Rowling's mind is so governed by clichés and dead metaphors that she has no other style of writing." Moreover, Bloom disagreed with the common notion that ''Harry Potter'' has been good for literature by encouraging children to read, contending that "''Harry Potter'' will not lead our children on to ]'s '']'' or his '']''. It will not lead them to ]'s '']'' or ]'s '']'' or ]'s '']''."<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Boston.com| url=http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2003/09/24/dumbing_down_american_readers/| title=Dumbing down American readers| first= Harold| last=Bloom| accessdate=2006-06-20}}</ref> | |||
| Charles Taylor of ] took issue with Byatt's criticisms in particular. While he conceded that she may have "a valid cultural point — a teeny one — about the impulses that drive us to reassuring pop trash and away from the troubling complexities of art", he rejected her claims that the series is lacking in serious literary merit and that it owes its success merely to the childhood reassurances it offers; Taylor stressed the progressively darker tone of the books, shown by the murder of a classmate and close friend and the resulting psychological wounds and social isolation each causes. Taylor also pointed out that ''Philosopher's Stone'', said to be the most lighthearted of the six published books, disrupts the childhood reassurances that Byatt claims spurs the series' success: the book opens with news of a double murder, for example. Taylor specifically cites "the devastating scene where Harry encounters a mirror that reveals the heart's truest desire and, looking into it, sees himself happy and smiling with the parents he never knew, a vision that lasts only as long as he looks into the glass, and a metaphor for how fleeting our moments of real happiness are", then asks rhetorically if "this is Byatt's idea of reassurance?" Taylor concludes that Rowling's success among children and adults is "because J.K. Rowling is a master of narrative". <ref name="A.S. Byatt and the goblet of bile">{{cite news| title=www.purevolume.com/rendermn|url=http://archive.salon.com/books/feature/2003/07/08/byatt_rowling/index_np.html|publisher=Salon.com|title=A. S. Byatt and the goblet of bile|date=July 8, 2003}}</ref> | |||
| ] agreed with Taylor calling the series "a feat of which only a superior imagination is capable", along with declaring "Rowling's punning, one-eyebrow-cocked sense of humour" to be "remarkable". However, he does write that despite the story being "a good one", he is "a little tired of discovering Harry at home with his horrible aunt and uncle", the formulaic beginning of each of the six books published to date.<ref name="Wild About Harry">{{cite news|publisher=New York Times|title="Wild About Harry"|date=July 23, 2000}}</ref> King has also joked that "'s never met an ] she didn't like!" He does however predict that Harry Potter "will indeed stand time's test and wind up on a shelf where only the best are kept; I think ] will take his place with ], ], ], and ] and this is one series not just for the decade, but for the ages."{{Fact|date=January 2007}} | |||
| Yet another vein of criticism comes from some feminist circles, Christine Schoefer prominent among them, who contend that the novels are ] and ]. According to Schoefer the series presents a world filled with stereotypes and adherence to "the conventional assumption that men do and should run the world." Schoefer cites Harry's courage in dangerous situations in contrast to Hermione's apparent emotional frailty when confronting the same, along with her need for Harry and Ron's approval. Similarly, she contrasts the female ] and her similar frailty under stress compared to the composed and farsighted Dumbledore. In addition to this is the attachment of fraud to females (], ]), immaturity (constantly giggling, ] and catty school girls), and a general lack of daring, bold heroines. <ref>{{cite web|publisher=Salon.com| url=http://archive.salon.com/books/feature/2000/01/13/potter/index.html| title=Harry Potter's girl trouble| first= Christine| last=Schoeffer| accessdate=2006-06-20}}</ref> | |||
| ==Controversy== | |||
| === Allegations of copyright and trademark infringement=== | |||
| {{main|Works analogous to Harry Potter}} | |||
| In 1999 ] quietly began to allege ] and ] infringement by J.K. Rowling of her 1984 works '']'' and '']''.<ref name="Potter author zaps court rival">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/UK/09/19/rowling.court/index.html | |||
| |publisher=CNN | |||
| |title="Potter author zaps court rival" | |||
| |date= September 19, 2002 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| The primary basis for Stouffer's claims lie in her own invention of Muggles, non-magical elongated ] of sorts and the title character of the second work, Larry Potter, a bespectacled boy with dark, wavy hair (Rowling's Potter is characterised as having all of those, though with unruly instead of wavy hair). Stouffer contended (and still does to this day) that it is not just these examples and similar names but that it is "the cumulative effect of all of it combined" with the other comparisons she lists on her website.<ref name="Muggle Versus Wizard">{{ cite news | |||
| |url=http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/zforum/01/author_stouffer032801.htm | |||
| |publisher=Washington Post | |||
| |title="Muggle Versus Wizard" | |||
| |date= March 28, 2001 }}</ref> | |||
| Rowling, along with ] (her American publisher) and ] (holders of the series' film rights), pre-empted Stouffer with a suit of their own seeking a declaratory judgment that they had not infringed on any of Stouffer's works. Rowling, through the use of expert witnesses who brought into question the authenticity of Stouffer's evidence, won the case with Stouffer's claims being dismissed with prejudice and Stouffer herself being 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.<ref name="Stouffer v. Rowling">{{cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.eyrie.org/~robotech/stouffer.htm | |||
| |publisher=eyrie.org | |||
| |title="Stouffer v. Rowling" | |||
| |date=Accessed May 26, 2006}}</ref> Stouffer is currently appealing the ruling. <ref name="Stouffer v. Rowling appeal"></ref> | |||
| In 2002, an unauthorized ] "sequel" entitled ] appeared for sale in the ]. The work of a Chinese ghost writer, the book contains characters from the works of other authors, including Gandalf from ]'s ''Lord of the Rings'', and the title character from ]'s ''The Wizard of Oz''. Rowling's lawyers successfully took legal action against the publishers who were forced to pay damages. <ref></ref> | |||
| ===Religious opposition to witchcraft themes=== | |||
| ] produced a comic book tract called ''"The Nervous Witch"'' about two teenage girls who get seriously involved in occult witchcraft and become demonically possessed as a direct result of reading Harry Potter books.]] | |||
| Rowling has had to contend with considerable backlash over its themes of magic and witchcraft. Since 1999, the Harry Potter books have sat atop the ]’s list of most protested books, with some American churches banning the books altogether. | |||
| In response to the question, "Do you believe Harry Potter promotes Wicca," JKR replied in a 2001 interview with this: "That's not true. Not once has a child come up to me and said, 'Due to you I've decided to devote my life to the occult.' People underestimate children so hugely. They know it's fiction."<ref> - BBC Christmas Special, 2001 - accio-quote.org</ref> | |||
| ====From Protestants==== | |||
| One of the main sources of the backlash is ] groups who believe the series’ supposed pagan imagery is dangerous to their children. | |||
| "It contains some powerful and valuable lessons about love and courage and the ultimate victory of good over evil," said Paul Hetrick, spokesman for ], an ] ] Christian group based in ]. "However, the positive messages are packaged in a medium — witchcraft — that is directly denounced in Scripture." <ref name="Harry Potter expelled from school">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.cesnur.org/recens/potter_06.htm | |||
| |publisher=Denver Rocky Mountain News | |||
| |title="Harry Potter expelled from school" | |||
| |date=November 6, 1999 | |||
| }}</ref> Accordingly, Harry Potter has been the subject of at least one book burning.<ref name="'Satanic' Harry Potter books burnt">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/1735623.stm | |||
| |publisher=BBC | |||
| |title='Satanic' Harry Potter books burnt | |||
| |date=December 31, 2001 | |||
| }}</ref> Continuing with the same line of reasoning, in 2002, ] went so far as to produce a comic book tract titled "]" that claimed "the Potter books open a doorway that will put untold '''''millions''''' of kids into hell".<ref name="The Nervous Witch">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/5012/5012_01.asp | |||
| |publisher=Chick Publications | |||
| |title=The Nervous Witch | |||
| |date=2002 | |||
| }}</ref> Chick Publications also released a DVD entitled ''Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged'' <ref name="Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged">{{cite web | |||
| |url=http://www.chick.com/catalog/videos/0127.asp | |||
| |publisher=Chick Publications | |||
| |title=Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged | |||
| |date=2002 | |||
| }}</ref> which made claims 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." <ref name="What is Harry Potter all about?">{{cite web | |||
| |url=http://www.chick.com/catalog/videos/potter.asp | |||
| |publisher=Chick Publications | |||
| |title=What is Harry Potter all about? | |||
| |date=2002 | |||
| }}</ref> This religious fear was lampooned in an article in ]<ref>{{cite news | |||
| |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20000815214418/http://www.theonion.com/onion3625/harry_potter.html | |||
| |publisher=The Onion | |||
| |title=Harry Potter Sparks Rise in Satanism in Children | |||
| |date=2000 | |||
| }}</ref>, that claimed the High Priest of Satanism had said, "Harry is an absolute godsend to our cause." The spoof was copied and pasted into a chain e-mail (with all references to "The Onion" or parody conspicuously excised, but with a hawkish commentary added claiming that it was proof that ''Harry Potter'' turned children to Satanism) which garnered many believers, apparently oblivious to the irony of a Satanist using the word "godsend." <ref>{{cite web | |||
| |url=http://www.snopes.com/humor/iftrue/potter.htm | |||
| |publisher= Snopes.com | |||
| |title=Claim: Harry Potter books are sparking a rise in Satanism among children. Status: False. | |||
| |date=2001 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| An episode of ] made reference to the witchcraft themes of Harry Potter. ] is reading a Harry Potter novel and ends it with "''...and then Harry Potter and all his friends went straight to ] for practicing witchcraft!''" whereby his sons ] cheer as Ned throws the book into a ]. | |||
| ====From Catholics==== | |||
| The Vatican has presented a mixed view on the books. In 2003, Monsignor Peter Fleetwood, a Vatican priest, claimed during a press conference on inter-religious dialogue that, "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," and that Rowling is "Christian by conviction, is Christian in her mode of living, even in her way of writing." <ref>{{cite news | |||
| |url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,888638,00.html | |||
| |publisher= Guardian Unlimited | |||
| |title= Catholic church stands up for Harry Potter | |||
| |date=2003 | |||
| }}</ref> This comment was seized on by the media as an endorsement of the novels from the Catholic Church, and by extension, the then Pope, ]. <ref>{{cite news | |||
| |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/world/newsid_2722000/2722445.stmm | |||
| |publisher= BBC Newsround | |||
| |title= Pope sticks up for Potter books | |||
| |date=2003 | |||
| }}</ref> However, there is no evidence that the Pope, or the Vatican hierarchy, officially approved of the novels.<ref>{{cite web | |||
| |url=http://www.familylifecenter.net/article.asp?artId=146 | |||
| |publisher= LifeSite News | |||
| |title=Harry Potter Gets Vatican's Blessing? | |||
| |date=2003 | |||
| }}</ref> When ] was ] of the ], he condemned the books in a letter expressing gratitude for the receipt of a book on the subject, stating they are "a subtle seduction, which has deeply unnoticed and direct effects in undermining the soul of Christianity before it can really grow properly". <ref name="Pope Opposes Harry Potter Novels">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/jul/05071301.html | |||
| |publisher=Life Site | |||
| |title=Pope Opposes Harry Potter Novels | |||
| |date=July 13, 2005 | |||
| }}</ref> Fleetwood wrote in response that these remarks were misinterpreted, and that the letter was likely to have been written by an assistant of the then-cardinal.<ref name="Speak Of The Devil...">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://catholicinsider.com/scripts/hp_transcript.php | |||
| |publisher=Catholic Insider | |||
| |title=Speak Of The Devil... | |||
| |date=July 14, 2005 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| Harsh criticism against the books also comes from the official ] ] of ], ], who believes that, "Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the ]."<ref></ref> He further told the ] that the Harry Potter books make a false distinction between black and white magic, when 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 ]. | |||
| See also: ] | |||
| ===Book challenges=== | |||
| The series has been frequently challenged for alleged inappropriate content. In the ], the series was seventh on the list of books that were most challenged in American libraries between 1990 and 2000 despite having been first published in the United States in 1997.<ref name="The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000">{{cite news|url=http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm|publisher=American Library Association |title=The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000|date=2000}}</ref> However, it is not clear how often libraries actually do restrict access to the books, and there have been several high-profile failures to do so.<ref></ref> | |||
| Laura Mallory, a mother of four children in ], rose to fame throughout 2006 by constantly trying to have the Harry Potter books banned from her children's school library. Mallory claims the books carry “evil themes, witchcraft, demonic activity, murder, evil blood sacrifice, spells and teaching children all of this.” She admitted that she has not read the book series partially 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=32&url_subchannel_id=&url_article_id=14074&change_well_id=2|title=Hearing to determine fate of ‘Harry Potter’ books in GCPS|accessdate=2007-01-21|date=2006-04-19|work=Gwinnett Daily Post}}</ref> She went to the Gwinnett County Board of Education with her concerns, but her request was struck down. Board of Education attorney Victoria Sweeny said that if schools were to remove all books containing reference to witches, they would have to ban "]" and "]." Mallory was named the ]'s 2006 Idiot of the Year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/offbeat/2006/12/idiot_of_the_year_awards_1.html |title=Idiot Of The Year Awards |accessdate=2006-12-28 |date=2006-12-22 |format= |work=Washington Post}}</ref> Later, she lost an appeal with the Georgia State Board of Education. Mallory claims that she will try and appeal the Georgia state's decision to allow the books in the schools.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/politics/16483116.htm|title=Suburban mother to appeal decision to keep Harry Potter on shelves|accessdate=2007-01-17 |date=2007-01-17 |format= |work=Macon.com}}</ref> | |||
| ===Legal injunction=== | |||
| The series garnered more controversy with its most recent release, '']'', when a grocery store in Canada accidentally sold several copies of the sixth Harry Potter book before the authorised release date. The Canadian publisher, ], obtained an ] <!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: ] --> from the ] prohibiting the purchasers from reading the books in their possession. This sparked a number of news articles questioning the injunction's restriction on fundamental rights. Canadian law professor ] has posted commentary on his ]. <ref name="The Harry Potter Injunction">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://michaelgeist.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=889 | |||
| |publisher=Michael Geist | |||
| |title=The Harry Potter Injunction | |||
| |date=2005 | |||
| }}</ref> ] has posted commentary on his weblog calling for a boycott until the publisher issues an apology.<ref name="Don't Buy Harry Potter Books">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://stallman.org/harry-potter.html | |||
| |title=Don't Buy Harry Potter Books | |||
| |date=On July 13, 2005 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| ==Films== | |||
| In 1999, Rowling sold the film rights to the first four Harry Potter books to ] for a reported £1 million ($1.9 million US, or ca. 1.4 million €). <ref name="WiGBPd About Harry">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2000/0700-austfinrev-bagwell.html | |||
| |publisher=Australian Financial Review | |||
| |title=WiGBPd About Harry | |||
| |date= 19 July 2000 | |||
| }}</ref> Her major demand was that the principal cast be kept strictly British, though with the inclusion of many Irish actors such as the late ], and the inclusion of French and Eastern European actors in '']'', the cast is not entirely British. <ref name="Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone">{{cite news | |||
| |url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_Film_of_the_week/0,,595317,00.html | |||
| |publisher=Guardian Unlimited | |||
| |title=Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | |||
| |date= November 16, 2001 | |||
| }}</ref> Although ] was initially in negotiations to direct the ], he would later decline. He wanted the movie to be an animated film, with ] to do the voice of Harry Potter. For a while, it was speculated that this was due to Rowling's heavy involvement and Spielberg's dislike of an all-British cast. However, Spielberg contended that, in his opinion, it would be like "shooting ducks in a barrel... It's just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank accounts. There's no challenge."<ref>{{cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/id/1091358 | |||
| |publisher=Hollywood.com | |||
| |title= For Spielberg, making a Harry Potter movie would have been no challenge | |||
| |date= September 05, 2001 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| The ] have since gone on to even eclipse such giants as the '']'' trilogy in worldwide box office gross receipts, finishing as the number one movie franchise in history with $3.5 billion. Lord of the Rings follows with $2.9 billion.<ref></ref> | |||
| In the Rubbish Bin section of her website, Rowling maintains that she personally had no role in Spielberg's choice saying, "Anyone who thinks I could (or would) have 'veto-ed' him needs their ] serviced." <ref>{{cite web|publisher=J.K. Rowling.com| url=http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/rubbishbin_view.cfm?id=8| title=Rubbish Bin: J K Rowling 'veto-ed Steven Spielberg| first=J.K.| last=Rowling| accessdate=2006-06-20}}</ref> | |||
| In the end, ] directed the first two films, '']'' and '']'', ] directed the ], and ] directed the ]. The fifth, '']'', is finished and was directed by ].<ref name=timewarner-yates>{{cite news | |||
| | url=http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1018758,00.html | |||
| | publisher=Time Warner | |||
| | title =David Yates to Direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for Warner Bros. Pictures | |||
| | date=]-] | |||
| }}</ref> Columbus also worked as producer on the first three films. | |||
| Rowling's first choice director was originally ], but Columbus' involvement as screenwriter on the 1985 film '']'' encouraged Warner Bros. to select him in preference. Reminiscent of the Harry Potter series, Young Sherlock Holmes includes three leads who bear a strong resemblance to the Harry, Ron and Hermione of Rowling's description (as does a character named Dudley to Draco Malfoy). They investigate a supernatural mystery in a Gothic boarding school, where staff include the ]-like Waxflatter, and sinister Rathe. Scenes from the film were used to cast the first Harry Potter film.<ref>{{cite web | |||
| |publisher=ign.com | |||
| |url=http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/034/034108p1.html | |||
| |title=IGN: Trouble Brewing with Potter Casting? | |||
| |accessdate=2006-07-01 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| In 2000, the virtually unknown British actors ], ], and ] were selected from thousands of auditioning children to play the roles of ], ], and ], respectively. <ref>{{cite news | |||
| |url=http://movies.warnerbros.com/pub/movie/releases/harrycast.html | |||
| |publisher=Warner Brothers | |||
| |title=Press Release: Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson Selected | |||
| |date= August 21, 2000 | |||
| }}</ref> They are scheduled to return in the fifth film. <ref name=>{{cite news | |||
| | url=http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/web/hogwarts/dailyprophet/article.jsp?id=hp_orderofthephoenix | |||
| | publisher=Warner Brothers: Daily Prophet | |||
| | title=''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' commences production | |||
| | date=Feb 2, 2006 | |||
| }}</ref> | |||
| Other notable Potter character portrayals include ]'s ], ]'s ], ]'s ], ]'s ], and ] and ]'s Albus Dumbledore (Gambon took over for the third film following Harris's death in 2002). Each will reprise their characters for ''Order of the Phoenix'', along with ] as ], ] as ], and ] as ]. <ref>{{cite web|publisher=IMDB.com|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373889/|title=Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix}}</ref> | |||
| The first four films were scripted by ] with the direct assistance of Rowling, though she allowed Kloves what he described as "tremendous elbow room".<ref> {{cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2003/0302-newsround-mzimba.htm | |||
| |publisher=Quick Quotes Quill | |||
| |title= Mzimba, Lizo, moderator. Interview with Steve Kloves and J.K. Rowling, February 2003. | |||
| |date=February 3, 2003}} | |||
| </ref> Thus the plot and tone of each film and its corresponding book are virtually the same with some changes and omissions for purposes of cinematic style and time constraints. Despite these changes, Rowling has characterised Kloves and his adaptations as being "faithful to the books."<ref name="Mzimba, Lizo, moderator. Interview with Steve Kloves and J.K. Rowling">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2003/0302-newsround-mzimba.htm | |||
| |publisher= Quick Quotes Quill | |||
| |title=Mzimba, Lizo, moderator. Interview with Steve Kloves and J.K. Rowling | |||
| |date= February 2003}}</ref> | |||
| The fifth Harry Potter film, ''Order of the Phoenix'' is scheduled by ] for release on Friday ] ], and the sixth, ''Half-Blood Prince'' is scheduled for ], ].<ref name=release-date-hbp-film>{{cite web|url=http://mugglenet.com/app/news/full_story/251|title=Confirmed: HBP movie release date|publisher=]|date=]-]|accessdate=2006-12-17}}</ref> | |||
| Differences between book and film versions of: | |||
| *], 2001 | |||
| *], 2002 | |||
| *], 2004 | |||
| *], 2005 | |||
| *], 2007 | |||
| *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2008 | |||
| *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, TBA | |||
| ==Awards and honours== | |||
| J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series have been the recipients of a host of awards since the initial publication of ''Philosopher's Stone'' including four Whitaker Platinum Book Awards (all of which were awarded in 2001), three ]s (1997-1999), two ] (1999 and 2001), and the ] (2006), among others. In 2000 ] was nominated for Best Novel in the ] while in 2001 ] won said award. Honours include a commendation for the ] (1997), a shortlisting for the Guardian Children's Award (1998), and numerous listings on the notable books, editors' Choices, and best books lists of the ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Arthur A. Levine Books| url=http://www.arthuralevinebooks.com/awards.asp| title=Awards| first= Levine| last=Arthur| accessdate=2006-05-21}}</ref> | |||
| ==Commercial success== | |||
| ], used as a promotion at ]'s ].]] | |||
| The popularity of the Harry Potter series has translated into substantial financial success for Rowling, her publishers, and other Harry Potter related licence holders. The books have sold over 300 million copies worldwide and have also given rise to the popular film adaptations produced by ], all of which have been successful in their own right with the first, ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', ranking number four on the ] and the other three each ranking in the top 25. | |||
| <ref name="million">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4300000/newsid_4308500/4308540.stm | |||
| |publisher=BBC | |||
| |title= Potter book sales top 300 million | |||
| |date=October, 4 2005 | |||
| }}</ref> The films have in turn spawned five video games and have in conjunction with them led to the licensing of over 400 additional Harry Potter products (including an ]) that have, as of July 2005, made the Harry Potter brand worth an estimated 4 billion dollars and J.K. Rowling a ] ], making her, by some reports, richer than ].<ref name="J.K. Rowling Richer than the Queen">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2979033.stm | |||
| |publisher=BBC | |||
| |title=J.K. Rowling Richer than the Queen | |||
| |date=April 27, 2003 | |||
| }}</ref> <ref name="Harry Potter Brand Wizard">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jul2005/di20050721_060250.htm | |||
| |publisher= Business Week | |||
| |title=Harry Potter Brand Wizard | |||
| |date= July 21, 2005}}</ref> | |||
| ==Cultural impact== | |||
| Since the publishing of ''Philosopher's Stone'' a number of societal trends have been attributed to the series. In 2005, doctors at the John Radcliffe Hospital in ] reported that their research of the weekends of Saturday ]] and Saturday ] ] (the dates of the two most recent book releases of the series) found that only 36 children needed emergency medical assistance for injuries sustained in accidents, as opposed to other weekends' average of 67.<ref name="Reading 'cuts childhood injuries'">{{cite news | |||
| |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/4553110.stm | |||
| |publisher= BBC News | |||
| |title=Reading 'cuts childhood injuries' | |||
| |date= 23 December 2005}}</ref> Also, ] suggesting an increase in literacy among children due to ''Harry Potter'' was seemingly confirmed in 2006 when the Kids and Family Reading Report (in conjunction with Scholastic) released a survey finding that 51% of ''Harry Potter'' readers ages 5-17 said that while they did not read books for fun before they started reading ''Harry Potter'', they now did. The study further reported that according to 65% of children and 76% of parents, they or their children's performance in school improved since they started reading the series.<ref name="New Study Finds That the Harry Potter Series Has a Positive Impact on Kids' Reading and Their School Work">{{cite news | |||
| |url=http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060725/nytu040.html?.v=62 | |||
| |publisher= Yahoo News | |||
| |title=New Study Finds That the Harry Potter Series Has a Positive Impact on Kids' Reading and Their School Work | |||
| |date= 25 July 2006}}</ref> | |||
| ] in ] for the midnight release of the book]] | |||
| Notable also is the development of a massive following of fans. So eager were these fans for the latest series release that book stores around the world began holding events to coincide with the midnight release of the books, beginning with the 2000 publication of ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire''. The events, commonly featuring mock sorting, games, face painting, and other live entertainment have achieved popularity with Potter fans and have been incredibly successful at attracting fans and selling books with nearly nine million of the 10.8 million initial print copies of ''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' sold in the first 24 hours.<ref name="Harry Potter casts spell at checkouts">{{cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,927-1698839,00.html | |||
| |publisher=Times Online | |||
| |title=Harry Potter casts spell at checkouts | |||
| |date=July 18, 2005 | |||
| }}</ref><ref name="Potter book smashes sales records">{{cite news | |||
| |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4692093.stm | |||
| |publisher=BBC | |||
| |title=Potter book smashes sales records | |||
| |date=July 18, 2005 | |||
| }}</ref> Among this large base of fans are a minority of "super-fans" (or ] and ]), similar to the ]s of the ] ]. Besides meeting online through ] and ], ''Harry Potter'' super-fans can also meet at ''Harry Potter'' ]s. These events draw people from around the world to attend lectures, discussions and a host of other Potter themed activities. See '']'' for further details. | |||
| The Harry Potter books have inspired the "Wizard Rock" movement, where a number of bands were formed whose names, image and song lyrics relate to the Harry Potter world. Examples include, ''']''', ''']''', ''']''' and ''']'''. See '']'' for further details. | |||
| ''Harry Potter'' has also wrought changes in the publishing world, one of the most noted being the reformation of the ]. The change came immediately preceding the release of ''Goblet of Fire'' in 2000 when publishers complained of the number of slots on the list being held by Harry Potter and other children's books. The Times subsequently created a separate children's list for Harry Potter and other children's literature.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=CNN| url=http://archives.cnn.com/2000/books/news/07/21/potter7_21.a.tm/|title=Why 'Harry Potter' did a Harry Houdini|date=July 21, 2000}}</ref> | |||
| ==Future== | |||
| {{future}} | |||
| There are currently three more Harry Potter films yet to be released. On ], ], Warner Brothers announced that the fifth film, '']'', will be released in cinemas on ], ],<ref name="Order of the Phoenix film due out on November 13, 2007">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.mugglenet.com/newsfusion/fullnews.php?id=1903 | |||
| |publisher=Mugglenet | |||
| |title=Order of the Phoenix film due out on November 13, 2007 | |||
| |date=March 1, 2006}}</ref> later announcing the sixth movie, '']'', would be released November 2008.<ref name=release-date-film6>{{cite news|url=http://mugglenet.com/app/news/full_story/251|title=Confirmed: HBP movie release date|publisher=]|date=]-]}}</ref> | |||
| In December 2005, Rowling declared on her web site that "2006 will be the year when I write the final book in the Harry Potter series." Updates have since followed in her online diary chronicling the progress of '']'', with the release date of July 21, 2007. | |||
| Rowling herself has stated that the last chapter of the seventh book was completed some time ago, before writing the third book. According to her, the last word in the book is "scar".<ref name="Talking With JK Rowling">{{cite news|url=http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/1999/0799-booklinks-omalley.html|publisher=Book Links|title="Talking With JK Rowling"|date=July 1999}}</ref> | |||
| In June 2006, Rowling, on an appearance on the British talk show '']'', announced that the chapter had been modified as one character "got a reprieve" and two others who previously survived the story had in fact been killed. She also said she could see the logic in killing off Harry in order to stop other writers from writing books about Harry's life after Hogwarts.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Mugglenet.com| url=http://mugglenet.com/mnnews/06262006/transcriptrandjudy.shtml| title=JKR On Richard & Judy – Transcript| accessdate=2006-06-29}}</ref> | |||
| Regarding the existence of ''Harry Potter'' novels beyond the seventh, Rowling has said that she might write an eighth book some day, but it will not continue the life of Harry and his friends. If she does, she intends it to be a sort of encyclopedia of the ], containing concepts and snippets of information that were not relevant enough to the novels' plots to be included in them.<ref name="TLC/ MN Interview">{{ | |||
| cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2005/0705-tlc_mugglenet-anelli-1.htm | |||
| |publisher=Quick Quotes Quill | |||
| |title="The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling: Part One" | |||
| |date=July 16, 2005 | |||
| }}</ref> She has also said that she will not write any sort of ] to the novels, since by the time the series ends all the necessary back story will have been revealed.<ref name="Edinburgh Book Festival">{{cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/news_view.cfm?id=80 | |||
| |publisher=JK Rowling.com | |||
| |title=Edinburgh Book Festival | |||
| |date=August 15, 2004 }}</ref> | |||
| Another question for the future is whether Emma Watson who plays "Hermione Granger" will appear in the next film in the series. She said, "I love to perform, but there are so many things I love doing."<ref name="Harry Potter and the Wavering Costar">{{cite news | |||
| |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14966267/site/newsweek/ | |||
| |publisher=Newsweek | |||
| |title="Harry Potter and the Wavering Costar" | |||
| |date=October 2, 2006}}</ref> | |||
| ==Harry Potter series== | |||
| #'']'' (] ]) (titled ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' in the ]) | |||
| #'']'' (] ]) | |||
| #'']'' (] ]) | |||
| #'']'' (] ]) | |||
| #'']'' (] ]) | |||
| #'']'' (], ]) | |||
| #'']'' (], ]) | |||
| ]]] | |||
| ====Supplementary books==== | |||
| *'']'' (2001) | |||
| *'']'' (2001) | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | |||
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| == References == | |||
| <!-- How to add a footnote: NOTE: There is a new reference system on Misplaced Pages, which should be easier to use. For details, please see "Misplaced Pages:Footnotes" and http://meta.wikimedia.org/Cite.php--> | |||
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| ==External links== | |||
| <!-- Please add fan websites to the list on the ] article and not here --> | |||
| {{portal}} | |||
| {{wikiquote}} | |||
| {{commons|Harry Potter}} | |||
| ===Official sites=== | |||
| * | |||
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| ===Other resources=== | |||
| *] | |||
| * - A wiki about the ''Harry Potter Universe'' | |||
| {{Harrypotter}} | |||
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Revision as of 10:26, 2 February 2007
harry potter is gay and so is any 1 who reads it