Stunning and brave opinion. I unironically like Harry Potter

i hate harry potter for what it represents - that success is never truly proportional to quality.

HP deserves success, it was and is still above average and for books coming out as a series and young fantasy.

But there comes a point where success goes beyond what is within reason , relative to competition and outliers in a medium.

HP isn't the only media work guilty or vulnerable to this. How many things are successful BECAUSE they are successful, like a snowball effect, running downhill from the rumor mill

HP was one of the 1st viral sensations, as internet and mass communication, and social media proliferated degrees into a society beyond anything ever could pre-internet era.

The radio and TV era would over-hype and sensationalize also, but it's in terms of degrees.

Back when barbieheimer came out, many any peeps would overhype the quality of the movies, and associate the criticism of the movies with their experience. For may peeps this was the 1st post COVID movie sensation, and the actual debate and quality could not distanced from the horde's IRL experience, from the experience of the movie.

It was like a grassroots movement of Vidya game companies giving free tickets to Reviewers to disneyland or something, and giving them the 5Star hotel treatment, even when peeps are honest, they could not disassociate the experience of going to a hype movie event, from the actual quality of the product itself/

People would act like lunatics, like standing in front of Bookstores through midnight, so that they might for the 6th and 7th books of Potter.

https://www.wizardingworld.com/news/remembering-harry-potter-midnight-book-launches

I find this to be unironically to be disgusting behaviour. The apex of consoooming media. As if the experience of experiencing the media is more important than the media itself.

Can any of you guys truly honestly tell me that the story of the Death Hollows was enhanced by standing in line in fricking bookstores, waiting like impatient fools for even the best book to come out?! The is something eerie and repulsive of such behaviour

My safrican mother loves the Harry Potter books independantly from the hype, she followed the newstrain independent from the insanity - and had enjoyed the book, even when the very 1st Philosopher stone was released - she even commented to me and my sister that we would enjoy it because it was "almost aimed at children" in her own mind, not realizing that was the young adult intent we now know in hindsight.

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I thought the books were decent. I read them when I was the same age as Harry Potter was in them and kind of lost interest in the later ones but maintain that they were entertaining and well written books.

I was never much interested in the films, but I like the fact that JK Rowling only let them make them if they cast actual Brits instead of Americans doing r-slurred imitation accents.

It's kind of sad when millennials get stuck on media from their youth, but that doesn't make the media bad exactly.

I liked it as a kid. I just think it's overhyped for what it is and it's diehard fans are annoying (same as other nerd shit fans but overwhelmingly more numerous)

!kino

I love Harry Potter and anyone who hates it while stanning other nerd IPs in literature, gaming, anime, etc. is disgusting. Either take a consistent line or accept that the most popular work of our generation has merit.

That Barty Crouch backstory in the books was such stupid nonsense

I only liked the first three books and movies

Erm but have you considered that a children's series doesn't stand up to neurodivergent levels of plot examination and cross referencing which means that JK Rowling is a talentless shack??????

The movies are all fun but I may only feel this way because I've been culturally stockholmed into it by virtue of being a millennial. But I do enjoy them.

The first four books were the shit when I was little, then they started becoming increasingly melodramatic and but were still voraciously consoomed at launch all the same. Reread them all over a few days about a year ago and yeah they're not great as an adult. The first few are top tier children's books though.

Goblet of fire was my fav book. Series goes to shit after that. I still cant stand HP as im older tho. I read it all when I was 8, then when I was 13 or so the first fantastic beasts movie came out. Tried go reread the series and was bored to tears, and the movie just cemented i didn't enjoy this world anymore. Its funny how like 8 years ago being an HP critic like Harold Bloom or Alan Moore got you labeled a mysgonisyt old fart

First book I read

It's certainly not the best written but it is enjoyable

Harry Potter is entertaining and there's nothing wrong with liking it.

But like any popular franchise, it's fans are insufferable and that's why most people hate it.

Why do I hate Disney, Marvel and Star Wars instead of just passively disliking them? Because of the obnoxious adult super fans.

Same thing with Harry Potter, except it uniquely suffers from having super fans and, more recently, super anti-fans.

It literally has a character called Cho Chang. Couldn't be more racist.

And the only Irish character blows things up!

Don't forget Goblins are a metaphor for Jews!

Wait, seriously? And doesn't she literally shill for slavery with the elves?

And called the only Black character Kingsley Shacklebolt!

This is every Reddit thread on Harry Potter and JK Rowling. I am stuck between legacy hatred due to obnoxious fans and liking it because of obnoxious, and really fricking dumb, anti-fans.

I always liked them well enough. I was never super crazy about them but I did binge-read each one as they came out and I remember enjoying them.

Should I re-read them as an adult? They hold up?

Same actually. I read them so often as a kid I pretty much remember everything.

I've only watched most of the movies once, when they came out

>Also, I liked the Goblet of Fire film adaptation

I remember hating this one a lot as a kid because it felt like they cut half the story. That was the turning point for me where I stopped caring about the movies as much. I should probably rewatch all the films at some point to get a better perspective on them

in general it's not a classic or anything but it's comfy and does its job pretty well

Never read the books. The premise (children's wizard school) was just boring to me at that time. I wanted more "serious" topics like war & death.

I was never big in movies and thus also never watched a movie completely. Saw parts of them here and there and they don't seem bad. My mother recently watched all movies. She said the earlier ones are better than the later ones.

If you like it, whatever. Enjoy yourself?

i havent revisisted the series since childhood and i dont plan to since i read much higher brow literature now (visual novels and light novels). i remember thinking it was peak fiction as a kid, but not as peak as percy jackson and the sequel series.

More like Hairy Pothead.

Get it?

The worldbuilding is terrible like the critics claim, but the story is fun and entertaining, Would reccomend Harry Potter to anyone under the age of 16 and The Order Of The Phoenix to any international relations major. After that I find it cringe to be a mega HP fan.

I loved the books as a kid. Starting when the fifth book was coming out I would reread the entire series before the new book was available so it would all be fresh. For some reason though, when I finished that last book I was just done with the series. I don't hate it now, I just don't care anymore. Thanks to my good memory I'm in this odd position where I don't care but I can recall all sorts of details.

Harry Potter is decent YA pulp, like a Spiderman

I never read the books, but I liked the first 4 films. Chamber of Secrets being my favourite, it had great atmosphere, mystery and sets (also that crying chick). Goblet of fire was more teenage drama oriented than others, but I thought it was handled well, and Cedric's death was very effective (unlike Sirius death which was weird and confusing).

Haven't seen them in a while though.

Also, some of the old tie-in games I remember fondly, before they turned into glorified shooters (the same way films did to a degree when it came to magic).

I loved the books, but I read them when I was like 13.

I can't imagine being an adult and picking up a Harry Potter book to read.

I like the movies only because they look really good I don't know why but special effects started falling off hard recently.

I remember not liking the early books as a kid but picking them up again when half blood prince came out and the later ones were pretty good

It's the only movie I fell asleep to in the movie theatres. It's that bad.

WAZZZZZZUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPP