Harry Potter s Economic Effect: How the Series Rocked the Cinematic and Monetary Universe. Megan Fadely. Texas Tech University.

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1 1 Harry Potter s Economic Effect: How the Series Rocked the Cinematic and Monetary Universe Megan Fadely Texas Tech University November 20, 2014

2 2 The Harry Potter series, both books and movies, has no doubt been a huge part of this generation. Many ages and cultures have endured the wait for seven midnight premieres and the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando, Florida. Overall the Harry Potter phenomenon has rocked the economy and the definition of creative culture. But like all celebrity pieces the franchise is not without its critics in both content and marketing strategies. Throughout Stripha s article he argues that JK Rowling consistently contradicts herself in both controversial factions of class and consumption. In the beginning of both the books and the movies we are presented with a boy named Harry Potter who plays the role of the poor relation, cooking breakfast for a caricature of the hyper-consuming suburbanite (Stripha, 2009, p. 9). But as the story progresses we learn that Harry has been left a fortune in a hidden magical lifestyle which contradicts his lower class beginning. Even though Harry goes on to befriend a boy named Ron in the magical world who is considered lower class, Harry still is able to buy material objects placing him in the richer community. With Harry receiving a small fortune upon entering the wizarding world, she [JK Rowling] largely abandons her critique of materialism and hyperconsumption (Stripha, 2009, p.13-14). This is displayed by the large list of items Harry is expected to buy before attending his new school, as well as his new friend Ron who is unable to buy new things but instead owns mostly hand-me-down books, robes, and pets. In giving Harry such a large spending pool Rowling suggests that Dudley s muggle commodities bring him nothing but disappointment, but on the other side, the same cannot be said of Harry s magical commodities. Harry s magical possessions fulfill their promises, exactly as advertised (Stripha, 2009, p. 14).

3 3 These contradictions are pushed through the advertising for the film and book series itself. AOL Time Warner uses, Rowling s portrayal of Harry as a gadget-loving hero (Stripha, 2009, p. 5) to create action figures, brooms, glasses, and many other pieces of merchandise in order to profit from both the novel and films. So even though she strives to show that discrimination and amassing material items is negative, Rowling s vivid depictions of class inequality exist alongside a contradictory discourse of wealth and accumulation, one in which Harry s own (accidental) wealth leads to exciting forms of consumption that earn Harry the admiration of his peers (Stripha, 2009, p. 5). This contradiction is paralleled in the real world as well, as consumers purchase merchandise to affiliate themselves with the franchise. Stripha (2009) concludes that, Harry Potter s journey from text to commercial intertext demonstrates that the field of cultural production has thoroughly obliterated the distinctions between economy and culture, (p. 5). In Brown s article he argues that the mystery of Harry Potter s marketing success lies within the draw of the mystery itself. Brown (2002) states, the Harry Potter mega-fad suggests that the answer to this marketing mystery is mysterious in itself (p. 129). Throughout all brand marketing, companies agree that, mystery; enigma, intrigue, and puzzlement are important parts of their appeal, (Brown, 2002, p. 129). For example many companies hide their special ingredients to entice customers to buy their product because no one else can produce what they do. The Harry Potter franchise has provided multiple revenue possibilities ranging from iconic movie glasses to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando, Florida. According to Brown (2002) to date approximately 70 million copies of the first four books in a seven-book series have been sold (p. 126). This media influence has made a great impact on marketing strategies as well as the world s economy. Waetjen comes right out and argues that although a similar example of Harry Potter s characters and plot exists in Larry Potter and his Best Friend Lilly by Nancy Kathleen, due to the

4 4 public explosion of the series no one seems to care that it may be a simulacrum. According to Lessig (2001) what was once a culture industry is fast becoming a copyright industry (p. 252), meaning that who is sponsoring you or holding your trademark means more than creative protection. In seeing that, Stouffer contended that Rowling willfully had borrowed from her, with neither permission nor compensation, the word Muggle (Waetjen, 2007, p.301). Scholastic, J.K. Rowling s publisher, filed suit before Stouffer could. Using preemption such as this is not uncommon in the realm of the legal real, however, especially in contests over high-stakes financial concerns, (Waetjen, 2007, p. 301) In conclusion the Harry Potter world may be filled with magic and remarkable storytelling but the hoops the company had to jump through and contradictions do not go unnoticed. J.K. Rowling has made a small fortune off of her novels, films and merchandise making her a new idol in the marketing world as well as the writing world. Though there is a lot to learn and take away from the methods she used to promote her franchise and how it has changed the definition of creative culture, JK Rowling may have not been as creative as we thought, just another good sales woman.

5 5 Bibliography Brown, S. (2002). Harry Potter and the Marketing Mystery: A Review and Critical Assessment of the Harry Potter Books. Journal Of Marketing, 66(1), Lessig, L. (2001).The future of ideas: The fate of the commons in a connected world. New York: Random House, 252 Striphas, T. (2009). Harry Potter and the Simulacrum: Contested Copies in an Age of Intellectual Property. Critical Studies In Media Communication, 26(4), Waetjen, J., & Gibson, T. A. (2007). Harry Potter and the Commodity Fetish: Activating Corporate Readings in the Journey from Text to Commercial Intertext. Communication & Critical/Cultural Studies, 4(1), 3-26

The Harry Potter Phenomenon: A Marketing Masterpiece. Abigail L. Werner. Texas Tech University. 16 th Feb 15

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