Harry Potter and the Annoying Fanbase
I’m totally capable of geeking out about things. Hell, I just got back from Lebowski Fest. As a grown man, I’ll even geek out about “kids’ stuff”, but only when it’s stuff from my childhood. So I can geek out about Star Wars. I can geek out about Lord of the Rings. And I can geek out about superhero movies like Spider-Man or X Men. They’re a part of my childhood, and nostalgia is a powerful force.
However, I’m proud to say that I’m blissfully ignorant about Harry Potter. I’ve never read one of the books, and I’ve never seen one of the movies.
Why is that?
Because it’s a children’s book series, and (this is the important part here, pay close attention) I’m not a child.
I’d no sooner pick up a copy of Harry Potter and the Marketing Vehicle I Wish I’d Thought Of, than I would a Babysitter’s Club or the latest Elmo story, as enchanting as I’m sure they are. If you’ve got kids, and you read them because your kids are into them, at least you have an excuse.
But I just don’t get the grown-up fascination with this book series. And the main reason is that I can’t imagine how a book targeted at children would be at all relevant to me and my sensibilities. I’m not trying to be mean, I’m not trying to make fun of people, but a little bit of me dies whenever I hear an adult refer to someone as a “muggle”. And when I read stories of adults standing in line to get the book, or being indignant at the thought that the NYT doesn’t count children’s books in their best seller list *, I’m flummoxed.
When someone asks me if I’ve read the books, I’m not sure what to say. I’m 36 years old! Of course I haven’t read it. I’ve never assumed that the adults around me are up to speed on That’s So Raven or Clarissa Explains it All — why on earth should this be any different?
I don’t know the answer, of course.
But I happily remain blissfully ignorant of Harry Potter. And I’m pretty happy the last book is out. Now we just need to sit through a few more movies and it’ll be done. Until then, I’ll be curmudgeonly about this topic about every 1.5 years. You’ve been warned.
* Seriously — if you’re going to be pissed at the NYT about something, have it be their parroting of the Bush administration’s justifications for war with Iraq (and soon, Iran), without ever holding them accountable. Priorities, people — they’re not just for breakfast anymore.
You’re setting up a false dichotomy here. Just because something is designed to appeal to children does not mean that it cannot also appeal to adults. In fact, it can be designed to appeal to both. The Simpsons fits into this category, as do the various animated films from Pixar. There are plenty of examples of books (particularly, but not limited to Science Fiction and Fantasy books) that are somewhat arbitrarily published and marketed in one but not both market segment, but have found large “crossover” audiences. I’d cite “Ender’s Game” as an example of a book published “for adults” and “The Golden Compass” as an example of a book published “for children” that fit in this category.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand the urge for a backlash against the Harry Potter phenomenon, as the hype is unavoidable. And Harry Potter may not be your cup of tea–there’s no reason that it needs to be. But in refusing to read “children’s books” you are ignoring a heck of a lot of quality writing (along with, of course, plenty of dreck, just as in “adult books”) just because someone else decided that children would enjoy them.