Given that my final project for this class was over 20 pages long (I told you; I love Harry Potter) I have included one of the projects that led up to my final. In this project, I created fake Harry Potter books to describe the franchises ups and downs.
Fake Harry Potter Books
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“Harry Potter and the Vigorous Creation”
Envelope- Significant because Rowling was receiving Welfare checks from the English government in order to survive before writing the series. Now that the books have been published, she has more money than the queen of England.
Nicholson’s Café- This is the café that Rowling would sneak away to once her daughter would fall asleep in their apartment. She often wrote on napkins in this restaurant.
Train- Rowling was left brainstorming on a four hour train ride without a pen or paper. She claimed in an interview that this train ride with so much time to develop the characters is how the books became so rich and intertwined.
Letters- These letters are the rejections that Rowling received before finding a company that would publish her stories.
These four pictures are symbols of how the creation process of Harry Potter was tedious and had many opportunities to fail. With a strong fire burning, Rowling never gave up on her dream. Without her courage to be rejected and continue on regardless, the books would have never become public. That’s why this book “Harry Potter and the Vigorous Creation” was created and added to this project.
“Harry Potter and the Emergence of Obsession”
Movie Ticket- The ticket is a symbol to recognize that fans would rather wait in line from 10pm-12am to watch a Harry Potter movie until 2:30 on opening night than miss the first showing of the movie. Many fans take this opportunity to dress up as their favorite characters and break out their wands.
Book Shelf- The shelves full of Harry Potter books are a symbol of the hundreds of spin-off books and collectables that have been welcomed by the Harry Potter franchise. There are fans that try to collect every piece of memorabilia.
Glass Case- The glass case is holding a replica of Dumbledore’s wand on a velvet pillow. There is a sign that says “do not touch glass” to show the severity of this persons fandom.
“I Heart Fluffy” T-shirt- Fans go as far as buying clothing that recognizes characters from past books and movies. Many dress up in Hogwarts school uniforms and pick houses to be in.
I created this book cover to emphasize how deeply rooted the fans are in connection to the franchise. Website creators are invited to photo shoots and premieres, there are over 200 bands named after the series, the list of collectable items has multiplied in recent years, and fans still cannot get enough of the Potter series.
“Harry Potter and the Contestant in Sales” Twilight- Twilight is a very popular series among teenage girls. This series is often compared to Harry Potter and has been considered as it’s greatest competition in sales.
The Chronicles of Narnia- Although the Chronicles of Narnia is a series written well before Harry Potter, the series is being made into movies currently. Because it is a fictional series based upon magic, it is also considered competition to Harry Potter’s franchise.
Customer Loyalty- Like all businesses, there is a need to create and build customer loyalty. Harry Potter succeeded in building a strong market and holding onto their consumers for a long period of time. Those who started off being Harry Potter fans will not suddenly stop liking the books for the most part. There is a sense of loyalty towards the series. This doesn’t mean that readers cannot enjoy other series or be fans of other fictional novels, but Harry Potter has established itself enough to remain a leading product.
This book was created to show the business side of Harry Potter. While it is a piece of literature that is held in libraries and taught in classes, the series has grown to become one of the world’s largest franchises in history. With the addition of this week’s past movie release (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pat 1), the franchise only has room to grow. Even the biggest and best companies have threats to beware though, and Harry Potter is not quick to avoid watching the competition.
"Harry Potter and the Center of Controversies" “Catholics Against Magic”- The largest controversy that surrounded the Harry Potter series was brought on by the catholic religion. The books are based upon a hidden magic society where the norm is to use your wand to cast spells and charms. This is against the catholic religion, because of their belief that magic is the work of the devil.
“Moral Fiber in Harry Potter?”- Many adults question whether or not there is any moral values written in the pages of the series. This was a leading controversy for parents whose children were being read these books in school. They questioned the validity of the series within school systems.
“Free the House Elvesà Free the Working Class”- Fans followed in Hermione’s footsteps on the stance to free the “house elves” from working as slaves. By applying this idea to the working class, there was a push for shorter workdays and better benefits.
“Ban and Burn the Potter Books”- Along the lines of the controversies, there were many times where critics and opponents of the series fought to have the books banned from schools where children would be able to read them. Many radicals even tried to have book burnings.
Hermione votes, “Women’s Equality!”- Essays, blogs, articles, and books have been written about the importance of Hermione Granger in the series. She is the smartest and cleverest among the three main characters and has a habit of rescuing the other two. Some argue that without Hermione, the two boys would not have survived. It is often agreed that the brainy character was made a female, because Rowling was an advocate of women’s rights.
“Dumbledore is a Homosexual”- This sign is quite blunt in its message. Many readers and analyzers of the books have reached the conclusion that Rowling believed in the right for all to marry. By making the most critical outside character gay, she empowered the idea upon her readers is the claim of some critics.
These are critical controversies that controlled a lot of the public outlook upon the series. Some believe that these were a waste of time; others believe that they have an honest cause to fight. Regardless, the books have not been banned or burned because of these stand offs. They are just another way that book analysis has lead to Harry Potter becoming more famous.
“Harry Potter and the Application of the Everyday” The Harry Potter Alliance- The HPA is a group of fans that have banned together to change the world. They run many campaigns to raise awareness around the globe on many critical issues. From global warming to workers rights, these fans have used the bond of Harry Potter to attempt to change the world.
This is not the only group that has bonded over Harry Potter to make a difference in the world, but it is a well-represented leader.
I have made this a book cover because it is critical that people know just how much Harry Potter has changed the world that we live in. Everyday, there is a new band or club meeting about issues that don’t necessarily have to do with Harry Potter, but the members share a bond of being fans. This is enough to make a force that will stand up for what is right.
“Harry Potter and the Arbitrary Bureaucracy” This is a list of standards that J.K. Rowling developed for the Ministry of Magic. If someone were to look at these regulations and guess what sort of country lived by this they would probably assume a communist country. Many analyzers of the Potter books have made claims that because Rowling climbed out of poverty, this is her belief of government.
I found this to be an important issue, because there are fans, students, professors, out there who analyze Rowling’s writing far more than she planned. She wrote the books as children’s stories, yet hundreds of people “find” deeper meanings in everything that she writes.
“Harry Potter and the Immaculate Franchise” International Box Office Revenue- The box of numbers merely shows how much money each film made internationally while in theaters (HP 7:1 has only been in for two weekends). Together the gross is over 6 billion dollars making this the highest paying series of movies in history around the globe.
I made this a cover because of the substantial amount of money that was made solely off of the movies. This does not count money made from the books and other merchandise that surround the movies which also adds up to billions of dollars. Who said we were in a recession?
Websites Used:
http://www.utk.edu/tntoday/2007/07/09/law-professor-harry-potter-has-hidden-message/
http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/series/HarryPotter.php
http://thehpalliance.org/
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=830765
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/DN-loehicks_08edi.ART1.State.Edition1.4377497.html
Envelope- Significant because Rowling was receiving Welfare checks from the English government in order to survive before writing the series. Now that the books have been published, she has more money than the queen of England.
Nicholson’s Café- This is the café that Rowling would sneak away to once her daughter would fall asleep in their apartment. She often wrote on napkins in this restaurant.
Train- Rowling was left brainstorming on a four hour train ride without a pen or paper. She claimed in an interview that this train ride with so much time to develop the characters is how the books became so rich and intertwined.
Letters- These letters are the rejections that Rowling received before finding a company that would publish her stories.
These four pictures are symbols of how the creation process of Harry Potter was tedious and had many opportunities to fail. With a strong fire burning, Rowling never gave up on her dream. Without her courage to be rejected and continue on regardless, the books would have never become public. That’s why this book “Harry Potter and the Vigorous Creation” was created and added to this project.
“Harry Potter and the Emergence of Obsession”
Movie Ticket- The ticket is a symbol to recognize that fans would rather wait in line from 10pm-12am to watch a Harry Potter movie until 2:30 on opening night than miss the first showing of the movie. Many fans take this opportunity to dress up as their favorite characters and break out their wands.
Book Shelf- The shelves full of Harry Potter books are a symbol of the hundreds of spin-off books and collectables that have been welcomed by the Harry Potter franchise. There are fans that try to collect every piece of memorabilia.
Glass Case- The glass case is holding a replica of Dumbledore’s wand on a velvet pillow. There is a sign that says “do not touch glass” to show the severity of this persons fandom.
“I Heart Fluffy” T-shirt- Fans go as far as buying clothing that recognizes characters from past books and movies. Many dress up in Hogwarts school uniforms and pick houses to be in.
I created this book cover to emphasize how deeply rooted the fans are in connection to the franchise. Website creators are invited to photo shoots and premieres, there are over 200 bands named after the series, the list of collectable items has multiplied in recent years, and fans still cannot get enough of the Potter series.
“Harry Potter and the Contestant in Sales” Twilight- Twilight is a very popular series among teenage girls. This series is often compared to Harry Potter and has been considered as it’s greatest competition in sales.
The Chronicles of Narnia- Although the Chronicles of Narnia is a series written well before Harry Potter, the series is being made into movies currently. Because it is a fictional series based upon magic, it is also considered competition to Harry Potter’s franchise.
Customer Loyalty- Like all businesses, there is a need to create and build customer loyalty. Harry Potter succeeded in building a strong market and holding onto their consumers for a long period of time. Those who started off being Harry Potter fans will not suddenly stop liking the books for the most part. There is a sense of loyalty towards the series. This doesn’t mean that readers cannot enjoy other series or be fans of other fictional novels, but Harry Potter has established itself enough to remain a leading product.
This book was created to show the business side of Harry Potter. While it is a piece of literature that is held in libraries and taught in classes, the series has grown to become one of the world’s largest franchises in history. With the addition of this week’s past movie release (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pat 1), the franchise only has room to grow. Even the biggest and best companies have threats to beware though, and Harry Potter is not quick to avoid watching the competition.
"Harry Potter and the Center of Controversies" “Catholics Against Magic”- The largest controversy that surrounded the Harry Potter series was brought on by the catholic religion. The books are based upon a hidden magic society where the norm is to use your wand to cast spells and charms. This is against the catholic religion, because of their belief that magic is the work of the devil.
“Moral Fiber in Harry Potter?”- Many adults question whether or not there is any moral values written in the pages of the series. This was a leading controversy for parents whose children were being read these books in school. They questioned the validity of the series within school systems.
“Free the House Elvesà Free the Working Class”- Fans followed in Hermione’s footsteps on the stance to free the “house elves” from working as slaves. By applying this idea to the working class, there was a push for shorter workdays and better benefits.
“Ban and Burn the Potter Books”- Along the lines of the controversies, there were many times where critics and opponents of the series fought to have the books banned from schools where children would be able to read them. Many radicals even tried to have book burnings.
Hermione votes, “Women’s Equality!”- Essays, blogs, articles, and books have been written about the importance of Hermione Granger in the series. She is the smartest and cleverest among the three main characters and has a habit of rescuing the other two. Some argue that without Hermione, the two boys would not have survived. It is often agreed that the brainy character was made a female, because Rowling was an advocate of women’s rights.
“Dumbledore is a Homosexual”- This sign is quite blunt in its message. Many readers and analyzers of the books have reached the conclusion that Rowling believed in the right for all to marry. By making the most critical outside character gay, she empowered the idea upon her readers is the claim of some critics.
These are critical controversies that controlled a lot of the public outlook upon the series. Some believe that these were a waste of time; others believe that they have an honest cause to fight. Regardless, the books have not been banned or burned because of these stand offs. They are just another way that book analysis has lead to Harry Potter becoming more famous.
“Harry Potter and the Application of the Everyday” The Harry Potter Alliance- The HPA is a group of fans that have banned together to change the world. They run many campaigns to raise awareness around the globe on many critical issues. From global warming to workers rights, these fans have used the bond of Harry Potter to attempt to change the world.
This is not the only group that has bonded over Harry Potter to make a difference in the world, but it is a well-represented leader.
I have made this a book cover because it is critical that people know just how much Harry Potter has changed the world that we live in. Everyday, there is a new band or club meeting about issues that don’t necessarily have to do with Harry Potter, but the members share a bond of being fans. This is enough to make a force that will stand up for what is right.
“Harry Potter and the Arbitrary Bureaucracy” This is a list of standards that J.K. Rowling developed for the Ministry of Magic. If someone were to look at these regulations and guess what sort of country lived by this they would probably assume a communist country. Many analyzers of the Potter books have made claims that because Rowling climbed out of poverty, this is her belief of government.
I found this to be an important issue, because there are fans, students, professors, out there who analyze Rowling’s writing far more than she planned. She wrote the books as children’s stories, yet hundreds of people “find” deeper meanings in everything that she writes.
“Harry Potter and the Immaculate Franchise” International Box Office Revenue- The box of numbers merely shows how much money each film made internationally while in theaters (HP 7:1 has only been in for two weekends). Together the gross is over 6 billion dollars making this the highest paying series of movies in history around the globe.
I made this a cover because of the substantial amount of money that was made solely off of the movies. This does not count money made from the books and other merchandise that surround the movies which also adds up to billions of dollars. Who said we were in a recession?
Websites Used:
http://www.utk.edu/tntoday/2007/07/09/law-professor-harry-potter-has-hidden-message/
http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/series/HarryPotter.php
http://thehpalliance.org/
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=830765
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/DN-loehicks_08edi.ART1.State.Edition1.4377497.html