Has Harry Potter Lost His Magic?

Books. Movies. Toys. Video games. Pillows. Bedsheets. Toothbrushes. Christmas ornaments. Candy. The face of the famed wizard-turned-capitalist, Harry Potter, appears on just about anything that is and can be marketable for millions of idolizing fans across the globe.

The series created by J.K. Rowling has expanded from a set of imaginative and witty books for ravenous young readers to a cultural phenomenon. Armies of "Potterheads" march into theaters and bookstores everywhere when a new addition to the series is released and many more are sucked into the pitiless void of Potter on a daily basis by the franchise's friendly smile and ever-increasing popularity.

Joining the ranks of trademark characters such as Spider-Man, Captain Jack Sparrow, Darth Vader, and others, Harry Potter now sees himself grown to immense, gargantuan proportions. His likeness adorns nearly every marketable product imaginable, and one question must arise from this awareness. Has Harry Potter lost his magic?

The charm of many fantasy tales come from the idea that they more often than not take place in magical, mysterious realms and provide a comfortable and thrilling form of escapism for fans burdened with the constant highs and lows of everyday life. They also center around relatable characters audiences can identify with and deal with problems that, while very sensational in the worlds from which they stem, can transcend the bounds of fantasy and aid fans stricken with similar issues.

As best stated by Michael Levy, a professor in young-adult fantasy literature at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, in an article by TheStar-Ledger, "Harry Potter is every kid who's ever been picked on by a bully, who's ever had to deal with someone of the opposite sex. It helps them [young readers] feel that they're not alone, that they can find solutions. They can't find magical solutions, but they can find solutions."

Yet, with all the commercial hype of this hero, has he lost his edge? Has he become another friendly face masking the cold, emotionless whims of a franchise bent on profiting off of the youth?

Targeting children is an all too common practice exhibited by a variety of corporations. Eric Schlosser, journalist and author of the widely read book, Fast Food Nation, wrote of Walt Disney (founder of The Walt Disney Company) and Ray Kroc (founder of McDonald's Corporation) as being among the first two businessmen to pave the way for mass-marketing toward children.

"Walt Disney and Ray Kroc were masterful salesmen. They perfected the art of selling things to children. And their success led many others to aim marketing efforts at kids, turning America's youngest consumers into a demographic group that is now avidly studied, analyzed, and targeted by the world's largest corporations," Schlosser explained.

According to a 2003 study by "Kidshop", a marketing company built on researching child and teen trends and providing results to other corporations, the direct influence of children on consumer spending is somewhere in the ballpark of $300 billion and up. In total, the company claims that children hold the key to a trillion dollar market through personal spending, direct influence, and indirect influence on consumer spending.

In the case of Harry Potter, worldwide fame and popularity led him to fall into the trap of becoming a marketing tool for children. As stated before, his likeness dons many products, most of which are geared toward the younger fans. All the same though, he will be loved and cherished much like other cultural icons. Nothing can destroy the magic the books brought to the avid readers and fans all over the world, but it is arguable that some of his magic has been tainted and lost by mass commercialism.

Many fans tend to agree that the beauty of Harry Potter was the ability to be able to create his world, his appearance, and his surroundings in the minds of the readers. With the movies now out, some of that imagination and creativity has been eradicated. Harry now has a distinct face. His school has a set design. His friends, his world, and the beasts in it all have set appearances and likenesses that take away from the ability to mentally piece them together from the descriptions provided by J.K. Rowling.

Has Harry Potter lost his magic? Certainly. Is there still some magic left in his world? Absolutely. Mass consumerism only has the ability to diminish the powers of the fantasy world, not obliterate them completely.