Harry Potter: Controversy

Controversy has long been a standard in the entertainment industry.

J.K. Rowling is no Dan Brown; I don't think she wrote the Harry Potter series with the intent of offending, shocking, or surprising her audience. Nevertheless, she has been the target of numerous accusations.

Consider this tirade:



Another of Rowling's critics is Steve Wohlberg, bestselling author of Exposing Harry Potter and Witchcraft: The Menace Beneath the Magic. Wohlberg told the Canada Free Press, "There's plenty of real occultism embedded in Rowling's fantasy works, and in spite of naïve popular opinion, Pottermania is aiding Wicca's growth." He further warned, "Occultism has a dark side, and practitioners can easily become trapped like a fly in a spider web."

Wohlberg is currently setting up a new anti-Potter website, AvoidHarryPotter.com.

Of course, the irony of fighting controversial media is that, the more attention critics give them, the more they'll sell. Think of The DaVinci Code, If I Had Done It, The Passion of the Christ, Borat, and Fahrenheit 911.

Controversy may also take the form of rumors, many of which are ignited by over-eager gossip columnists. One of the latest rumors is that of a rivalry between actresses Katie Leung and Emma Watson; in one sentence, however, newspapers like Daily India squelched this Harry Potter hear-say:

"Harry Potter actress Katie Leung has dismissed rumours that there's a cold war going on between her and Emma Watson."

Sure, rumors can be amusing, even if they're untrue. Marketing-wise, they've ensured that Harry Potter stays in the press lights.

If used ethically, controversy can make a fine addition to any novel's marketing plan.

Harry Potter: Ambiguity

These past few days, I've been buried under pages of copy, redacting my novel for its printing run, so I've struggled finding time for the blog. But now I'm back.

July will be a big month for Harry Potter. The Order of the Phoenix, the fifth movie in the series, will hit the theatres on the 11th; and on the 21st, the much-anticipated seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will storm the shelves. Anxious for these next installments, Potter fans are asking, Will Harry die? Will he and Voldemort merge and bring balance to the Force? What happens to Harry and that one girl he kisses? What will become of Hermoine and Ron? Is their romance star-crossed? Will Emma Watson return for the sixth movie?

J.K. Rowling's American publisher, Scholastic, has additionally released a marketing campaign focusing on seven questions that, reportedly, will be answered in Deathly Hallows. Is Snape good or evil? Will Hogwartz reopen? Where are the Horcruxes? Etc.

Such is the ambiguity surrounding Harry Potter.

Fans are eager to know what happens next, even if they have to pay $7.00 per ticket or $17.99 per book.

If writers tell a good story and leave some questions unanswered, their series could definitely have some go-power. Once readers are sucked into a story, answers are a commodity they're willing to pay for.