By G.R. Nanda
The Harry Potter franchise has had much of the same cultural effect as did the original Star Wars trilogy. Both have introduced stories to two different generations of kids, embedding themselves in the respective generations’ psyches and imaginations. Both made a fuck ton of money. Both pulled from the traditions of fantasy and mythology. Both caused an an avalanche of soulless copycats in their mediums and industry.
Star Wars (1977) resulted in many space opera knockoffs and brought back Star Trek to the big screen. Harry Potter’s impact reaches Hollywood and the book publishing industry. Middle grade fantasy became a huge craze for booksellers, publishers and authors. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a notable example. The author who penned that series about a boy on the cusp on adolescence making his way through adolescence went on to write more middle grade books about ancient mythologies brought into the 21st century American context. He even connected the separate stories into one universe about American teenagers who meet ancient mythological gods and creatures.
Riordan filled in a demand for middle grade fantasy, penning more of the same stories about American teenagers meeting ancient mythological gods and dealing with the romances that adolescent hero stories entail. There was more space given to middle grade books in bookstores. Young adult books flourished with other authors like Brandon Mull, Suzanne Collins and Cassandra Clare. The Hunger Games spawned more young adult dystopian works, like the Divergent series. You had Twilight. You had Christopher Paolini jumping into the game with Eragon and the rest of his Inheritance Cycle series.
A crazy example of young adult permeating into the publishing industry was the classic high fantasy series Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan being sold in copies with young adult cover art and design.
Harry Potter paved the way for more young adult books, some for better and some for worse. There were plenty of hits and plenty of missed trying to cash in on the YA craze.
The book tuber Daniel Greene has a wonderful two video series explaining in depth the evolution of Young Adult fiction in modern times, beginning with Harry Potter. It has a lot of depth, it’s very nuanced and his goofy personality makes it a fun watch.
Following the success of the Harry Potter films, Hollywood went through a phase where they cranked out many film adaptions of middle grade fantasy books like Percy Jackson and the Olympians and the Chronicles of Narnia.
I look no further for elaboration than this clip from the YouTube channel RedLetterMedia:
Now here comes the real point of this blog post and the idea I want to explore:
It’s always interesting to think about and notice how fantasy and speculative fiction in general manifests in the mainstream culture as well as the sub-culture of science fiction and fantasy nerds. It’s clear that “genre” culture and nerd culture as a whole had become more mainstream. The more mainstream it is, the more likely new fictions and new mythologies embed themselves into our culture and out perceptions of science fiction, fantasy and morality.
I was recently speaking with someone who is very educated and well read. He is very well versed in the history of science fiction. I was elaborating on the world-building for 2200 Blues and he told me that it reminded of The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, which I had never read. I was telling this person that I had begun to write chapters for 2200 Blues as if it was a serial, with each installment or chapter holding its own weight and leaving off with loose ends or a revelation to explore with the next chapter. I was told that The Martian Chronicles was written as a book with each chapter holding its own weight as an independent scenario or story.
I asked another person, a friend who’d read The Martian Chronicles and my chapters if he saw the similarities in Bradbury’s work and my novel. He said, “Yeah! Actually.” He elaborated on the similar open hostile environments for settings and the idea of independent cities interspersed in the open harsh landscape, forming their own independent bubbles. That’s the kind of city that Hedonim, my AR-infused pleasure city is.
While The Martian Chronicles was already on my list of books to read, it’s been bumped up to the number one priority. I hope I can learn how to write independent stories within a world to be sold of as short stories. However, the point is that themes and ideas can be passed down through genres and cultures subconsciously just in the way that those themes and ideas are continued to be explored in certain genres.
Going back to the rise of YA fiction, I think it’s possible that the prevalence of youth activism (for better and for worse) might even have come about because of a generation being raised on stories about angsty teens who often have to take matters into their own hands and bypass adult authorities who are either too clueless, ignorant or malicious to allow for positive change.
That is what brings me back to my original opening topic, which the parallels between Star Wars and Harry Potter. Both are fantasy works that continue in the tradition of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Dark Lord of the Sith and the Dark Lord Voldemort both continue to depict the villain narratives of The Dark Lord Sauron from The Lord of the Rings. Of course classic archetypal narratives such as the “wise old man” persist in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Dumbledore, two old bearded and wizened old men. Of course archetypal narratives extend to the villains, manifesting in the disfigurement and less than human forms of Darth Vader, Voldermort and Sauron. The morality of innocent goodness persists in Luke and Harry while the evil corruption resulting from a hunger for power exists in antagonists who embrace dark colors in what they wear and how they decorate.
Not only do Harry Potter and Star Wars have three main characters who consist of two guys and one gal, but personalities match up as well. Harry and Luke are both, as stated before, innocent, impressionable and idealistic. Their idealism shows up in their heroic undertakings. Han Solo and Ron aren’t as similar. However, they’re both the more sarcastic ones of their trios. What’s really interesting is that Princess Leia and Hermione Granger are both female accomplices to the male protagonists who are more competent and at many times more knowledgeable than the two guys. Leia and Hermione are both spunky and assertive, often times complaining about what they perceive to be incompetent qualities in the two other guys.
What’s also interesting is that in both Star Wars and Harry Potter, the two heroines end up getting with the guy who seemed to be the exact opposite kind of person and with whom they bickered with often; the heroines get with the sarcastic ones who lack the seriousness exuded by the no-nonsense females.
The coming age context about young males, the familiar character tropes and the inheritance of Tolkien’s fantasy tropes connect Star Wars and Harry Potter through a very strong link in the way fantasy affected culture and the future of its genre.
It is almost inevitable that J.K. Rowling has seen Star Wars before writing the Harry Potter books and it is very plausible that she was influenced, consciously or unconsciously by the Star Wars mythos.
I encourage comments to see if anybody can expand upon these ideas or add on by writing about science fiction, fantasy or other fiction works.
G.R. Nanda 