Harry Potter

dystopia

Why dystopia is in vogue

This past weekend the movie “The Hunger Games” opened to millions of adoring fans. Over 35 million books have been sold in “The Hunger Games” series and the books currently sit atop of Amazon’s best seller list. It seems that our culture is shifting to an interest in dystopia. Almost everyone I talk to who read “The Hunger Games” said they couldn’t put the book down.

Move over Harry Potter and Twilight. You have been replaced.

Dystopian novels and movies are all the rage. But, why now? Isn’t dystopia for sci-fi fans?

One of the major reasons why “The Hunger Games” is so en vogue, much like Harry Potter was, is because people love a good epic battle between the forces of good and evil. Especially, if there are young people involved. Erik Feig, president of production at Lionsgate, the studio behind “The Hunger Games” and “Twilight” sheds light on this type of entertainment:

Harry Potter

What Happened to the Christian Objection to Harry Potter?

When the Harry Potter books and movies came out a few years ago, you might remember the outcry from fundamental Christians, who claimed that reading the Harry Potter books was akin to sinful witchcraft. There many articles and websites devoted to steering Christians away from the dangers of the fantasy world invoking wizards, creatures, magic, and spells. Why is it that other fiction stories like Cinderella, Aladdin, Pokemon, etc… do not invoke such a response? Nobody seemed to cry out against Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings… oh yeah, those books were written by Christian authors, so that makes it okay. Even though, those books contain the same fantasy elements as Harry Potter. Now, where are all the Christian nay-sayers?

I think a lot of hyped died down because there is a sense within fundamental Christianity that is reactionary. They typically give a knee-jerk reaction to anything remotely questionable. These Christians really operate in fear of things that apparently threaten their faith. Also, the hype died down because Harry Potter became very mainstream and proved to be harmless. Once Christians saw that Harry Potter was really just a story and not an evil left-wing plan to subvert Christianity, I think most hard core conservative Christians said, “Oh, its okay now because my minister said it was not evil.” Author and Minister, John Killinger wrote in defense of Harry Potter that you should take a look at. As with most Christian reactionary movements, the people of the movements usually do not spend time reading, studying, or watching the material they object to.

The Christian reversal of Harry Potter was in part due to the very nature of power of the series. When I say “power”, I mean the ability for the story of Harry Potter to transcend age, race, class, economic status, and gender. The Hardy Boys series was interesting for a lot of boys growing up, but girls had Nancy Drew. The Potter story involves so much more then the typical children’s gender targeted books because both girls and boys enjoy them. In addition, Harry Potter’s story has become a cultural staple of children’s literature.

Here are the top 3 enduring powerful qualities of Harry Potter that over shadow the magical wizardly elements and led to Christian acceptance:

Why dystopia is in vogue

What Happened to the Christian Objection to Harry Potter?

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