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Original poster

Could Harry Potter do with a rest

35 replies

MeinKraft · 28/01/2024 09:09

I love Harry Potter and JKR as much as the next person, I was 11 when the first book was released so like many of us grew up with the books and films.

That was over 20 years ago and Harry Potter is still ubiquitous. Lots of shops (Primark etc) still have HP merchandise, there are adverts all the time for the studio tour, new books and computer games are still released every now and then, the films are regularly on TV and now there's going to be a remake of them.

I sometimes think they should give the marketing a rest for a year or two before the tv show is released to let us get excited about it again. Then again you have to make money while the sun shines I suppose. Will we ever reach full Harry Potter saturation?

OP posts:
Downinloco · 28/01/2024 09:13

Star wars, star trek, pokemon...

If it sells well they will never stop!

Snowdropsarecoming · 28/01/2024 09:15

No, but the people I know who are really in HP are 7 and 8 yrs olds so for them it hasn’t been a thing for very long. It’s aimed at children so they will continually have a new audience.

EffortlessDistraction · 28/01/2024 09:23

I'm not a big HP fan but think as a franchise they are incredible, one of my teen DCs thinks the world of them, they just keep introducing new generations to their world, long may it continue.

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TigerOnTour · 28/01/2024 09:27

It's just bloody capitalism.

ConsistentlyPeeved · 28/01/2024 09:29

I came slightly late to Harry Potter and didn't read it straight away at 11, I started reading at around 15, then got absolutely hooked and would preorder the books and wait outside. I think I read The Goblet of Fire in 9 or 10 hours the day I got it.
Now I have an almost 10 year old, I read her all the books a couple of years ago and she loved them. Now she's hooked! Harry Potter themed bedroom, Lego sets coming out of her ears, accessories, pictures, clothes, school bag- mostly Ravenclaw themed as that's her house. I am loving it and so excited for a series!

GrouchyKiwi · 28/01/2024 09:29

My eldest has not long finished the series, DD2 has two books to go, and DD3 has read the first three. For them the books are current and wonderful.

There are constant new generations of readers who love the books so of course they're going to keep on with the merchandising.

Spinet · 28/01/2024 09:32

I think Harry potter is fine, like you, but I do worry that Britain is basically turning into Harry Potter Land. Like, diagon alley was based off of some mediaeval street that has existed for centuries before HP, not the other way round??

SmashedPrawnsInAMilkyBasket · 28/01/2024 09:32

It’s like everything which is classic or has longevity - each time there’s a new generation they discover it for the first time at the right age, and then create new demand. It’s not a mystery. If people weren’t buying, then the stuff would soon disappear - sellers don’t offer goods which they can’t make a profit on.

OneCornetto · 28/01/2024 09:33

My best friends son is nine and he's obsessed with Harry Potter.

She is reading the books to him and they are both enjoying every moment. That's who the merchandise is for.

It's not for you, you can buy different things that you like. Same as me. I've no interest in anything to do with Harry Potter.

Primark etc would not make the merchandise if people were not buying it.

reluctantbrit · 28/01/2024 09:33

I think the books are well written and do encourage children to read (at least until you come up to Order of the Phoenix). So you have a new audience every 5-10 years and they want the merchandise and the tour.

I am not a big fan, neither is DH but DD was. So we went to the studio tour and I must admit it was great. Even the second time as they constantly change and add on.

There are a lot more franchises who survive like Star Trek and to an extend Star Wars. Go to any convention and you see how people still enjoy the fandom.
Harry Potter is just more mainstream.

Mrsjayy · 28/01/2024 09:34

Downinloco · 28/01/2024 09:13

Star wars, star trek, pokemon...

If it sells well they will never stop!

this, Harry Potter is just another franchise isn't it ? there is always going to be new fans.

Hijinks75 · 28/01/2024 09:34

Granddaughter is 7 and loves everything Harry Potter, it continually appeals to new audiences so it’s doubtful we will reach saturation

theduchessofspork · 28/01/2024 09:35

Well it’s new for children OP, which is where it’s mostly aimed. Not at you.

Also capitalism..

Mrsjayy · 28/01/2024 09:38

My DC are your age or there about Op and are still fans of Harry Potter and pokemon etc it's a part of childhood that they still treasure.and remember fondly so you also have that aspect of Fandom.

Original poster
MeinKraft · 28/01/2024 09:52

theduchessofspork · 28/01/2024 09:35

Well it’s new for children OP, which is where it’s mostly aimed. Not at you.

Also capitalism..

Oh yeah I do understand that but you'd think at some point modern kids would find it a bit old fashioned. Although maybe that's part of the appeal, a place where they can escape WhatsApp and modern technology. I watch Downton Abbey I suppose!

OP posts:
TheHennaHairedHarridan · 28/01/2024 10:06

My 8 year old is just getting into ( it and I have never read the books before - I was too old for them when they first came out), so they are new to us. Ds asked for lots of Harry Potter things for Christmas and is desperate to see the stage show.

I think it has aged well so why not?

Bobbotgegrinch · 28/01/2024 10:11

MeinKraft · 28/01/2024 09:52

Oh yeah I do understand that but you'd think at some point modern kids would find it a bit old fashioned. Although maybe that's part of the appeal, a place where they can escape WhatsApp and modern technology. I watch Downton Abbey I suppose!

Show quote history

I don't think fantasy books really get "old fashioned".

Very little of HP is set in the real world, so you don't tend to notice that none of the characters have mobile phones, because 99% of them would use owls instead even if mobiles were available.

The setting is anachronistic by design, so the fact we're 30 years on doesn't really affect it.

IClaudine · 28/01/2024 10:13

JKR apparently paid £40 million in tax last year, so we all benefit a tiny bit from HP!

It is amazing how children continue to love HP, I also would have thought the books were a little too old fashioned now. It just shows what an amazing talent JKR has.

LlynTegid · 28/01/2024 10:13

I don't see it as a problem, other than people going to Primark.

DappledThings · 28/01/2024 10:15

Why would old-fashioned be a problem? I was happily reading books written in the 1920s as a child in the 1980s. I don't think children expect their literature to only be contemporary any more than adults do.

TeenDivided · 28/01/2024 10:16

I don't see it as old fashioned.
Setting it in a world that doesn't use technology and has weird currency means it doesn't get out of date in the same way that books set in the real world do.
My 19yo is currently building a lego Hogwarts Castle.

I think it will only get out of date when language has evolved such that it seems hard to children (like Ballet Shoes for example).

SoDoffYourHat · 28/01/2024 10:16

While people are buying it, they will keep selling it.

At some future point HP probably will move to niche or cult status, like, say, Star Trek. Something else will come along that everyone raves about - that's how the world is.

ProfessorPeppy · 28/01/2024 10:19

I’m really pleased HP exists because it makes Christmas and birthdays easier Grin

I agree with the PP above who pointed out that JKR paid £40 million in tax last year. Not to mention the millions of children enjoying reading because of her books.

C8H10N4O2 · 28/01/2024 10:21

Bobbotgegrinch · 28/01/2024 10:11

I don't think fantasy books really get "old fashioned".

Very little of HP is set in the real world, so you don't tend to notice that none of the characters have mobile phones, because 99% of them would use owls instead even if mobiles were available.

The setting is anachronistic by design, so the fact we're 30 years on doesn't really affect it.

Show quote history

They do date over time - it just doesn't show for a generation or so. You can look back at fantasy and SF written in previous eras and clearly see the social and cultural attitudes of the writer's time and culture.

Its pretty rare for writers to avoid this - we are all products of our time. But if I was JKR I think I'd be fine with a century or so of revenue before being consigned to the "Elizabethan writing" category.

Bigtom · 28/01/2024 10:21

My 10 year old loves Ballet Shoes and doesn’t find it hard … she also loves books like Little House on the Prairie as well as Harry Potter of course and more modern authors