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| A street sign at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando Florida July 2011 |
For the past fourteen years, the lives of millions have been affected by one fictional boy wizard and his quest to save the fictional Wizarding World from evil.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was published on June 30th, 1997, almost a decade and a half ago. It told the story of a young boy who was treated poorly by his aunt and uncle, only to find out that he was a wizard, and a very famous one at that.
Since then, six more books have been released and everyone from young children, to teenagers, to even adults have gotten lost in the pages; fighting alongside Harry, Ron, and Hermione to defeat Lord Voldemort.
Along with the books, a series of films were created to bring the books and the characters in the books, to life. The first movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, was released on November 14th, 2001. This was the beginning of a phenomenon that would last for years to come.
From then on, whenever a new film was released, fans lined up for hours while waiting to get into the midnight premier. They even dressed in Hogwarts attire. Homemade wands and glasses that resembled the ones that Harry Potter himself wore, a fake lightning bolt scar drawn on their forehead, and sporting their house colors: red and gold for Gryffindor, silver and green for Slytherin, yellow and black for Hufflepuff, and blue and silver for Ravenclaw.
This fictional boy-wizard and his companions have changed the lives of many. Although almost fifteen years have passed since the first book was released and Harry Potter was introduced, the children that grew up reading about Harry and his struggles still keep him close to their hearts. To some, this is not just a series of books about some boy; this was an escape from the real world, a chance for them to be happy and carefree, a way for them to lose themselves for a little while and imagine themselves in Harry’s world.
“Harry Potter saved my life,” Oswego State sophomore Victoria Wild stated. “Those books, they made me, and still make me, very happy. I would have been lost without them.”
And not only were these books helpful for the readers, but Joanne “J.K.” Rowling herself were able to get through her depression simply by writing them.
“If it had been an escape for all these children, you can imagine what it had been for me,” Rowling says during an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
In honor of the book and movie series, Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida have built a Harry Potter theme park. The park includes an exact replica of Hogwarts School, the shops that Harry and his friends have visited, and even a few rides which take you along with Harry as he goes through certain places in the Wizarding World.
Now, the movies and books have come to an end. The film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was released on July 16th, 2011. It was the very last film in the series and it took quite the toll on fans.
“The movies and books are done; it feels like my childhood is really over now.” Oswego High School junior Hailey Thompson said.
But, although the majority of fans are upset about the series ending and they feel that their childhood is now over; others believe that Harry Potter will continue to be a success even in the future.
“It’s difficult seeing the series come to an end, because it was a big part of my life.” says Oswego State sophomore Brittany Sperino. “But, I honestly don’t think that it’s over. I think Harry Potter will be around for a very long time.”
Even J.K. Rowling herself believes that her series will continue to be around for many years to come.
“Do I think they'll last? Honestly, yes.” says Rowling during an interview with MSNBC.
Even though the movies and books are finished, there is one thing that is certain: Harry Potter will live on forever in the books, the movies, the theme park, but, most importantly, in the hearts of every single person, to quote J.K Rowling’s dedication in the final book, “who have stuck with Harry until the very end.”
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