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Harry Potter: Impact of a Legend.

The genius and impact of the Harry Potter series.

By Joe PattersonPublished 2 years ago 5 min read
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Expelliarmus. There's not a Harry Potter fan in the world who couldn't tell you what that term means, myself included. It's just another great reason why the lore of Harry Potter is so iconic.

One day in the fall of 1999 my older sister came home from school with a book in her hand called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Before this moment I had never heard of this book before and didn't know what it was, so when I asked her what was it she told me it was about a boy who goes to this school where he does magic. At the time I didn't really give it a lot of thought, I just thought it seemed like typical kid story stuff and didn't pay it any attention, but over the course of days, weeks, and months that would follow, this book called Harry Potter was starting to pop up everywhere I went. On May 19th 2001 I was over my dad's house for the weekend and he took me to see the highly anticipated Shrek. The last trailer I remember being shown before the movie started was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. In a tone of surprise I leaned over to my dad and said "daddy that's Harry Potter". I wasn't exactly sure whether he knew what exactly Harry Potter was, but I for one was surprised to see that a film had been made for it when I didn't even know there was even an idea for a film to be made for this book in the works.

Six months later in November of 2001 the film was released and became the biggest film in the world at the time. When I saw it later I hated to admit how surprised I was at how good it was, even though I still didn't consider myself a fan, but when the second film based on the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was released in November of 2002, I saw it when it came on HBO later like I did the first film and I was amazed at this spellbinding film. From there it was no denying it, I was definitely a Harry Potter fan like the hundreds of millions of other "Potterheads" as we are known around the world.

Created by the amazing JK Rowling, The story of Harry Potter chronicles the journey of a boy wizard as he grows into his destiny of becoming all he is meant to be with his close friends and extended family as the ghost of his past come back to haunt him. Along the way we are introduced to many people both good and bad who are inadvertently drawn together by their connection to Harry himself and his journey to confront his fate. The book series of Harry Potter started in 1998 and ended in 2007, though an extension of the universe would follow after and the original film series would start in 2001 and end one decade later in 2011 before eventually being spun off into the Fantastic Beast prequel series. With one of the most detailed and intelligent senses of storytelling and characters introduced to literature and film alike, it was no surprise that the Harry Potter series was as big as it would become.

If someone were to ask me made the Harry Potter series so lovable and relatable I personally would highlight the Roald Dahl influence over the story. JK Rowling has openly spoke about how stories from author Roald Dahl like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda were all some of the biggest influences for the Harry Potter saga as it paralleled a lot the themes of the aforementioned Roald Dahl stories above. When I was first introduced to the Harry Potter series it personally felt like to me I was watching an expanded universe from Roald Dahl and that was part of what I enjoyed so much about it.

Much like Star Wars before it, Harry Potter did not just become a lovable franchise of film, but a brand overall. Die hard Harry Potter fans are referred to as "Potterheads" and JK Rowling even created a whole social media website for Harry Potter fans called Pottermore, where you interact with other Potterheads and take online part in the film's activities like being sorted into a house team. In May of 2022 I had the privilege of visiting Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida and I was able to visit The World of Harry Potter which was the biggest and most captivating area of the entire theme park, with all the areas of the film like Gringotts bank, Diagon Alley, and Of course Hogwarts itself all being fully accessible. When I went theses areas they were the most packed areas of the entire park and I was overwhelmed with how realistic it all was. I actually felt like I was in the movie and I sure that's how the countless others who were there felt as well.

With the Fantastic Beast series now being a new hot ticket in the universe of Harry Potter, not only is the legacy of Harry Potter still around in the hearts of countless die hard fans, but it is also growing at a constant rate that not only shows how iconic its past history was, but also how iconic its future is destined to be.

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About the Creator

Joe Patterson

Hi I'm Joe Patterson. I am a writer at heart who is a big geek for film, music, and literature, which have all inspired me to be a writer. I rap, write stories both short and long, and I'm also aspiring to be an author and a filmmaker.

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