I am an ardent and longtime Harry Potter fan. I’ve read all the books several times over and seen the movies way more times than I can count (thanks to ABC Family/ Freeform for Harry Potter weekend every month). I am a member of Pottermore and I’ve taken pretty much every Sorting Hat quiz I can find. I listen to a Harry Potter podcast (check out #wizardteam on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts- you won’t regret it). I went to the Harry Potter traveling exhibit when it came to my area a number of years ago. I have Harry Potter clothing, Legos, playing cards and books about the making of Harry Potter. Harry Potter is important to me. As such, I follow developments in the wizarding world closely, from the original opening of the theme park to J.K. Rowling’s tweets and, of course, the newest movie, “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them”.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie poster- expansion of Harry Potter into the 1920s and into the United States for the first time.
In the years since the release of the final book, and the final movie a few years later, the wizarding world has continued to grow near constantly. I will never forget opening the final Harry Potter book for the first time, knowing I would be saying goodbye to these books that had followed me from childhood or the feeling as the title came up on screen for the last Harry Potter movie. With each of these releases, there was a feeling of closing a chapter of my life, a bittersweet farewell to something that was a pivotal part of my reading life growing up. But the wizarding world has refused to say goodbye back. If you ask any Harry Potter fan, they will say that the characters will live on forever within the immense fandom. There’s fanfiction, Harry Potter conventions and books to reread, and an intense emotional attachment to these books and characters. In addition to that however, are J.K. Rowling’s continued contributions to the wizarding world.
The cover of the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- the book where we said goodbye for the first time.
On Thanksgiving, my family resurrected a childhood tradition of seeing a movie before dinner, specifically Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. We saw multiple Harry Potter movies on Thanksgiving growing up, and there was a certain element of nostalgia to seeing this one. I had read the screenplay the previous weekend, and was excited about the movie despite some mixed feelings about the continued expansion of the wizarding world. We have new pieces on Pottermore constantly growing the wizarding world, adding new schools and history behind our favorite characters. Between the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts, this has been a big year for the wizarding world, and like many fans, I am unsure how I feel about it. Do I accept new developments as part of the original canon? Do I expand my view of the universe to include Voldemort having a daughter and Native American legends being part of the world (cultural appropriation is a whole other can of worms)?
The cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child- the best thing to come out of this was black Hermione of course. This is an addition to canon that I can get behind.
My primary emotion is one of detached joy. I love the wizarding world created by Harry Potter, and I enjoy the opportunity to return to it. These new works feel like they exist in a world a step removed from the original works, but they still bring up intense nostalgia as we return to Platform 9 ¾ and see Newt Scamander wearing a Hufflepuff scarf. My heart swells with joy at these touches of the familiar, but I can’t quite reconcile newer additions to the wizarding world, be it tweets from J.K. Rowling saying that she thinks Harry and Hermione should have ended up together, the revelation that Dumbledore was gay or information from these new works. The fandom now has the conundrum of deciding where they play these new developments in their view of the series. We are at a crossroads, where there will undoubtedly be purists who insist that only the original works are canon and then those who broaden their view of the world with each new revelation. Personally, I lie in the middle. I will read each new work and see each new movie, and allow them to add to my view of the world. However, I won’t allow them to alter my view of the original works. My view of the canon will always be first and foremost based on the contents of the seven original novels. I will accept new additions, such as the existence of wizarding schools on different continents and beasts that we didn’t encounter in the series because these facts don’t contradict anything in the original series. Revelations that contradict the original works will stand separate from canon for me, such as Voldemort’s daughter and the idea of Harry and Hermione together. I reserve the right to decide what I accept as canon and what I don't.
The Pottermore homepage, including a link to a quiz to determine your Patronus- I decided I think the quiz isn't detailed enough for a true answer. In the top lefthand corner, you can see the #1 source of new information about the Harry Potter world- new writing by J.K. Rowling herself.
My Pottermore homepage- I am an ardent believer in the fact that Slytherin isn't a bad house, a fact that J.K. Rowling has canonically confirmed- a canon addition that I can get behind.
To a certain extent, I am troubled by the continued growth of the wizarding world because after a certain point, it feels like it comes down to continued merchandising and moneymaking opportunities. I love J.K. Rowling but I worry that she and Warner Bros have created a massive merchandising scheme that they’re keeping alive with new books and movies. Yesterday, at the bookstore where I work, I found myself distracted by our tables of Harry Potter merchandise. We have multiple different editions of the books, including the original covers, the new Scholastic box set (which is very cool- the spines combine to make Hogwarts), the scripts for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts and the beautiful illustrated editions of the first two books. We also have coloring books (I’m guilty of this one- I have several), wands for different characters, board games and Funko Pop dolls for characters from the original books and Fantastic Beasts. And I was struck by the full lineup of books about Fantastic beasts, books about different characters, a suitcase to emulate the case of beasts, the book edition of the screenplay and photo journals of the making of the film. Seeing these tables of merchandise together really struck home the point that the continued growth of the Harry Potter universe is a huge moneymaking opportunity. J.K. Rowling is one of the wealthiest authors in the world, and will continue to be with these new products. Fantastic Beasts topped the box office opening weekend, and I’m sure it will do so again. The Harry Potter fandom is so deeply invested that we will continue to feed money into the series as new products are released. And by now, new generations have fallen in love with the series and become consumers. I love the wizarding world, but I feel a little jaded in light of the capitalism of the series as it continues to grow. This colors my opinion of the new works and feeds my skepticism of them.
One fan's Harry Potter collection- one display of the ardent fandom and the consumerism that goes along with it.
As a Harry Potter fan, I will always continue to follow the series and I will enjoy returning to the universe with each new work. But I will continue to take additions to the canon with a grain of salt and a healthy degree of skepticism and decide what I accept as canon with a discerning eye. How do you feel about the continued growth of the wizarding world? Do you accept these new additions as canon? Let me know in the comments.
