Q&A with a real Potter professor

At Durham University, Dr. Martin Richardson, who teaches a course about Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion, says Harry Potter is alive and well and living in the university. In fact, Richardson said several scenes from the first two Harry Potter films were shot in and around Durham Cathedral where children from local schools appeared as extras.

“If you look at the view of the peninsula, showing the juxtaposition of the Castle (University College) and the Cathedral, it is quintessentially Hogwartian,” Richardson said in an e-mail. “In many ways, Durham is as near to Hogwarts as you are likely to get in the Muggle world.”

WEEKEND had a chance to ask Richardson about the franchise, the fandom and the boy wizard’s cultural context.

WEEKEND: I know one of the aims of your class is to determine why the Harry Potter phenomenon is so popular and to place it in its cultural context — can you give me an overview of exactly why it is so popular and what that context is?

RICHARDSON: Of course, as you know, the texts, and to a lesser extent the films, are rich in detail and have a lot to say that is relevant to contemporary society.

For example, the opening lecture was held in the mediaeval Great Hall and the students were “sorted” into their houses. This naturally led to a further lecture on the importance of sorting in the real world — i.e., to what extent are we all sorted at birth?

What about the sorting that takes place at school; at university; in the workplace; in social contexts; and such like?

Other relevant topics naturally follow. Thus, how accurate is Dumbledore when he says, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”   

WEEKEND: When the movie series is finally finished, what are some of the lasting effects you foresee Harry Potter having? What does this “beginning of the end” mean, either for the franchise, for Rowling, Warner Bros., the academics who have written about the phenomenon, the fans, etc.?

RICHARDSON: In terms of this being the “beginning of the end,” this refers only to the films, but I take the point. However, if you mean what is the potential longevity of the Potterverse, one can only guess.

Though with book sales not far short of half a billion and with the huge sums of money invested by Warner Bros. in theme parks and merchandizing, I cannot see the appetite for all things Potter dying out soon.

In truth, the whole Potter phenomenon is without precedent. The books are so rich that there is enough in them to keep academics going for decades, not least because each interpretation spawns re-interpretations.

The films too are so wonderfully crafted that they stand up to many re-viewings. And, whilst one might argue about this scene or that, or what has been added or left out, the interpretation, both of actors and directors, allows for a great deal of discussion and meaningful analysis. And I haven’t even included fan fiction!

Harry Potter is not dying, and indeed he might have only just been born and his best years may lie ahead. Thus, to quote a famous war-time Prime Minister, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”