On Harry Potter(more)

So. . . Pottermore, eh? Or PotterWaitSomeMore by JK Trolling as said by breanna1992 in a comment on Alex Day’s latest video.

I did not set my alarm for 6:00 in the morning like so many of my Nerdfighter friends did, quite frankly because while I love Harry Potter, I do not love Harry Potter at 6:00am! I don’t love my own MOTHER at 6:00am.

But once I got up and got myself to work and settled into internet browsing I did check out the infamous Pottermore, only to be met with a very confusing message that I could either leave my email to be given instructions on how to register for the website in October, or that I should check back on July 31^st to find out how to register. . . was anyone else extremely confused by this?

Whatever, I watched JKR’s video and attempted to add my email address but it gave me this,

And honestly I just don’t care that much. Well, that’s not exactly correct. I do care, and in a strange way.

On the one hand I REALLY agree with Alex’s video which you should watch because he makes an excellent point that I strongly agree with:

On the other hand however I kind of don’t mine Pottermore as so many other fans seem to.

I have had so many problems with the Harry Potter fandom, and Rowling specifically for so many years, that at this point I’m a little disenchanted and cynical whenever I hear that there’s going to be some “exciting announcement.”

First there were the supplementary texts about Quidditch and Care of Magical Beasts. Then there was all the crap loads of merchandise, which included from clothes to candy. All of this was perfectly normal and acceptable.

But then came book seven, and that was. . . well, that’s a subject for another post, but the series was done.

Right?

No, apparently. Because after Deathly Hallows was released, Rowling had to go and make her announcement that Dumbledore was gay. Which was awesome and fantastic and I really do appreciate that she included a homosexual character who was strong and a good role model and who’s sexual orientation did not make them different from anyone else. That being said, what the crap was the point of making that announcement? Because Dumbledore’s being gay did not change who he was or how he behaved, it didn’t MATTER that he was gay. It never came up in the books in any significant way, and because the announcement was made AFTER the release of the final book it can really only be interpreted (in my eyes at least) as a ploy to stoke the fires of Harry Potter and ensure the franchise remains as profitable as possible.

Which, quite frankly, is pissing annoying.

So naturally when Pottermore became the great internet rumor of the past week I was less then excited. I figured it would be yet another media ploy to beat the dead horse of Harry Potter’s fame. Just another way to keep Rowling in business.

And then I watched the announcement video, and I altered my perception.

It’s not that I trust it’s not a media ploy, because it most certainly IS. Just as Alex said, it’s a textbook example of a media ploy to garner attention and keep you hooked when there isn’t actually anything to be hooked to. However from what was said in the announcement and the ways in which that can be interpreted, it seems like an addition to the franchise that is not entirely formatted to make Rowling more money.

Alex was correct that the announcement lacked substance, but what it hints at is a community where Potter fans can interact with the story (seems like you go through the story making your own choices about wands and houses etc. while you read or “read” the actual text of the book), interact with each other in what I would assume is some sort of forum or discussion board, and also explore previously unreleased content.

While the last of those is the most controversial for me, because it can seem at first like a pretty douche move to withhold information that you fans want to know until it’s the supposed end of your franchise and then release it in one last burst to keep it alive (which I recognize is a little harsh, I actually do not feel this harshly about the situation, but the language helps to get my point across I feel); for me it feels different. It feels like in this last stitch effort to cash in on Harry Potter, Rowling is being more respectful of the fandom then ever before. This is something that will make her money and will keep Harry Potter alive still longer*, but it also FEELS to me very much like a gift, and olive branch to the fans. An honest and earnest thank you.

That’s how it feels anyway.

This post is already ridiculously long so I’m going to end it here, but I’d love to know other people’s thoughts on the subject so feel free to comment and start a conversation with me.

*Not to say that Harry Potter will EVER die. I wrote a paper about this, but basically what I truly believe is that Harry Potter represents the zeitgeist of my generation and thus will NEVER, EVER truly die or be forgotten.

And if you don't know what zeitgeist means you need to Google it, this post is long enough already.

Cheers!