Health & Fitness
Why Harry Potter Still Matters
As the final Harry Potter film flies into theatres this Friday we'll take a look back at how and why Harry Potter has been successful both in print and on film.
The final film in the Harry Potter franchise makes it debut this Friday, July 15. It seems as good a time as any to see why Harry Potter still matters? The books were first published in the United States in 1998, and their popularity has only increased with time.
It is rare to find a book that the entire family can enjoy. The Harry Potter series can be read on multiple levels. Children can enjoy all the fun of Hogwarts and its cast of characters, while adults can recognize a world that resembles our own with a magical twist. It’s a great family “read aloud” and the recorded version is brilliant with one actor providing different voices for each of the characters. It’s a good choice for long summer car trips.
Young readers, like the characters, literally grew up with the series. The books become more complex as the characters come closer to adulthood. The fun magical adventures of the early books with their clear divisions between black and white, good and evil, become more ambiguous with time. Characters like Professor Snape, cast as the villain in the early books, become more fully realized characters with their own motives. Part of growing up is learning to see the many shades of grey.
Find out what's happening in Port Jeffersonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Nothing quite beats the fun of watching the cast play quidditch. It remains one of my personal favorites from the films.
Harry, Herminone, and Ron were young unknown actors whom audiences have had the pleasure of watching grow-up. The adult cast was full of superb British actors and actresses such as Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kenneth Brannagh, Robbie Coltrane, Julie Waters, and many more.
Find out what's happening in Port Jeffersonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The next generation of Harry Potter readers will miss out on something. They won’t have that sense of anticipation as the next book or the next movie comes out. For those who have been reading the series through the years this is your last chance to savor that feeling, and I, for one, plan on enjoying it!
So raise your butterbeers and savor one last Bertie’s Bott Bean (watch out for the earwax ones) and give Harry a proper send off from Platform 9¾!
