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Professor: Harry Potter an 'appealing fantasy for anyone'

Story touches on subliminal level, too, L-R’s Bailey says

By Ragan Robinson | Hickory Daily Record

Published: July 15, 2009

HICKORY - The folks at Carmike 14 had three theaters showing the newest Harry Potter movie in the wee hours this morning, plus another ready if those filled up. One was nearly sold out as early as Friday.

Today's release of the PG-rated "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" also created enough excitement to spill over into libraries.

The film is based on the sixth of the seven-book series by J.K. Rowling. Four shelves of the Harry Potter adventures are almost empty at Patrick Beaver Memorial Library, said Youth Services Librarian Hannah Owen.

Out of 15 Potter books in the Catawba County library system, one was available Friday, said April Green, a library services specialist.

There's no question the books are well written and the movies get better as they go along, said Dale Bailey, author and Lenoir-Rhyne University literature professor. But there's something in the story that appeals to readers and moviegoers on a subliminal level, too.

He points to its similarities with other wildly popular stories such as "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings." They are all stories about orphans who make good.

"It seems pretty likely most kids fantasize that, 'Gosh, these can't be my real parents. They're such awful people … Perhaps I'm the child of heroes. (Rowling) taps into that in a very fundamental way, the child's idea that his or her life is not just an exercise in mundane existence."

Bailey thinks the Harry Potter stories offer something to older kids, too. Part of adolescence is coming to terms with the idea you're really not that special, that you're an average person. The Harry Potter books and movies, he said, allow teens to indulge the idea that maybe you're not.

There's also the obvious. Harry's kind of a geek and even though he gains some celebrity, he is often alienated.

"Harry is able to triumph over that, which is a pretty appealing fantasy for anyone," Bailey said.

Beyond the way readers and viewers project themselves onto the character are less obvious reasons people respond to Harry Potter.

Fantasy or not, the books' later themes are in line with real-world issues. The questions that arise in the books deal with combating a non-conventional enemy and how to do so without crossing a moral line.

Bailey also cites authors who claim fairy tales enable children to grapple with their fears about losing parents, about growing up, even about sexuality.

"Harry Potter is a fantasy that acknowledges the real darkness in life," he said. "Kids don't go because they think it will help them deal with the fear of being orphaned but the books and movies engage that. They say, 'You'll survive that, too.'"