#3 Weekly Written Assignment – Harry Potter

Weekly Written Assignment – Harry Potter
Blog URL: http://popularcultures-dlanning.blogspot.com

The Harry Potter series is made up of seven books written by J.K. Rowlings. After coming up with the idea of Harry Potter during a commute from Manchester to London J.K. begins to delight the young minds of the world with the series working in real-time. Beginning in 1998, the first book titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone hits the shores of the United States. It was released in the United Kingdom one year earlier.

Number two Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is released in 2002, bringing in $876 million worldwide. The third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, is so popular and J.K. Rowling now has the top spots of the day with three books on the New York Times list of best-sellers.

In 1999, the Harry Potter books make it to the top of the list off the most challenged books as reported by the American Library Association because of the occult theme.

The series continues with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (5 million copies, 2000), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (8.5 million copies, 2003), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005), and finally Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007).

Clothing, novelties, movies, and audio books have all come forward throughout the 10+ years since the release of the first novel. Record breaking revenues have happen with each book and this week the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is sure to continue with record breaking box office revenues.

To sum up the effect Harry Potter has had on popular cultures, two years before becoming Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger writes a letter suggesting that the Potter books are ''subtle seductions'' that could ''deeply distort Christianity in the soul'' of young people (Katz, 2007).

References

Brown, R. (2005). Profiles of Popular Cultures: A Reader. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.

Katz, P. (2007, July 27). Travels With Harry. Retrieved July 19, 2009, from Entertainment Weekly: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20048230,00.html

Sorapure, M. P. (2007). Common Culture: Reading and Writing about American Popular Culture. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.