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A Study in Muggle Subculture
by Hermione Granger
July 25, 2004
As you might know, I dropped Muggle Studies after my third year. However, this summer I've decided to do a little muggle-studying on my own. Obviously I know more about muggles than the average witch because my parents are muggles, so why, you may ask, would I need to study them? On my time off from school and away from the Hogwarts library I have recently found myself in front of my parent's computer screen more and more often. Perhaps it was out of boredom and lack of interesting reading material about my favourite school subjects that I began searching the internet to get an idea of how you all view my friend Harry Potter, and the wizarding world in general. Expecting to find a few literary articles mentioning the books by JKR that document Harry's time at Hogwarts, I must say I was quite surprised at the sheer volume of information I found on the subject! But "information" is an understatement. What I found online were fans. Many, many fans. So many in fact, that it seemed as though I had stumbled upon a whole community; a culture, even. In this article I will attempt to describe my findings, though I doubt I can do this newly found subculture justice.
Since the internet is a huge and varied place, when investigating any fandom, one must first find large, well-visited websites dedicated to that fandom. From there, everything else follows, and HP fandom is no exception. Some HP sites are libraries of information, detailing all they can about the wizarding world, some provide news and updates regarding anything related to the subject. Some are devoted to works of art and fiction, theories, and even shrines to specific characters, but more on those later. And still others are a healthy mix of everything.
What's interesting is that those who make the sites are ordinary people. They could be anyone from your old teacher from grade eight, to one of your friends using an anonymous username. Yes, they have lives outside of their websites, and while obsessed with HP they may be, they're still regular people. A website will often differ depending on the person or people who created it. Their interests and abilities strongly affect the kind of page they will create. For example if a person who was knowledgeable in literary study will probably write essays analyzing themes, symbolism, and possible literary references within the books, and publish them on the net, because that is what they like and that is what they're good at. A dedicated fansite is not an unhealthy obsession: for most people it's an enjoyable hobby.
A popular pastime for HP readers while waiting for the next installment is theorising about everyone and everything. From the deepest, darkest questions regarding Voldemort's connection to Harry and his parents' deaths, to fussing over nitty gritty details such as which calendar year I was born in, all the fans love to speculate and hope that their ideas are right. Some fans can get a little carried away with their imaginations, accusing every character of being a secret and/or illegal animagus, a spy, the Half Blood Prince, or the owner of the Mystic Kettle of Knackledirk. However there are many intelligent theories out there, though some may be eventually proved incorrect, their logic is flawless except for a few variables. I was astounded at discovering theories about Professor Snape's role in the Order of the Phoenix, speculation on the true identity of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and the many (sadly and probably hopeless) ideas of how Sirius may not be dead. I've even come across a girl (I think her name might have been Mandy, Maddy, or something like that) who thought it possible that I use muggle memory-enhancing drugs! Some truly investigative people often come across tiny clues that they believe may play a larger role in future books. Some of the more famous ones are the slight mentionings of Mrs. Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher, and Mark Evans. Sometimes despite all logical evidence, theories can still be proved wrong, as they do not fit with what JKR intended. Mark Evans is perhaps the most infamous of these. I myself will admit that I believed it possible that we might have seen more of young Mark before Harry's time at Hogwarts comes to an end. That just goes to show that predicting the future is most often just lucky guesswork... but you already know my opinion on divination.
It's slightly surprising how devoted some fans are to particular characters, or certain relationship possibilities. There are many sites dedicated to some of my teachers such as Professors Snape and Lupin, some about friends and members of the Order such as Sirius and Tonks, ones focussing on classmates and friends of mine such as Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna, Ginny, and even a few about me, Hermione. I was at first a little embarrassed to find out the number of "ships" (a.k.a. possible couples/relationships) I am imagined to be in. It seems as though my friends and I have been paired up with just about everyone in the wizarding world, in the minds of enthusiastic readers. Yes, in these imaginative minds there are no restrictions, limitations, or prejudice with ships or romance: just about every possibility has been considered.
When frequently thinking about certain characters, events, or possible ships, it is only natural that fans may become either impatient for canon evidence to appear, or else inspired to take matters into their own creative hands. Thus, fanworks are born. The works of fans are most often found in the form of fictional stories within the realm of the HP books that include the characters and wizarding world in general (fanfiction), and visual art depicting characters and scenes (fanart). Sometimes these may include original characters that are made to belong in the fandom, as well those that have already been created by JKR. Fanworks allow a fan's ideas and hopes for characters to become a reality. Fanfiction explores the "what ifs", the impossible, the fun, the dark, the extremes, the excessively silly, and the romantic sides of HP. They take something from the books, run away with it and make it their own. When it comes to fanart, it always amazes me to come across a fan's depiction of characters I've known and be able to say "Yes! That's them!". They say that a picture says a thousand words, and when you come across a wonderful fanart, the phrase certainly rings true.
Even if you aren't skilled with a pencil or brush, computer art programs allow a person to play around with images from movies, creating a whole other category of fanart. User icons, desktop patterns, page backgrounds, and banners, are a kind of fan art that often serve a purpose at the same time. And if a fan doesn't have the patience for writing fanfiction, some can be found making inventive quizzes that can help you discover your inner HP character, favourite ship, or even which character you would be most suited to.
One of the most amazing things I've discovered in my study of HP online fandom is the diversity of the fans. People from all over the world come together on the internet for the love of and interest in all things HP. The series is one of the most widely read and translated of our times, and as such this common interest connects so many people from different backgrounds, places, age groups and levels of education. On your average message board or forum pertaining to HP you will undoubtedly get a variety of participants. They will vary from "You guyz I LUV Harree Potter, he is so hott! Does anyone else think Mrs. Figg is Crookshanks??!" and "Hello, I'm a professor at such and such university and am interested in the religious symbolism that exists in the books by J.K. Rowling...". From those that had a casual interest because of all the hype, to those who loved it the moment the first book came out, it seems like HP can appeal to just about everyone.
"Everyone?" I can hear some people saying, "I thought Harry Potter was for kids or teens only?" Well, perhaps that was the intention of Rowling's publishers, but I don't believe any book is "just for kids". JKR herself has said that she wrote the books because they were something she, an adult, would enjoy. So is it any wonder why so many adults read the books? I think why the books are so multigenerational is that once someone's child is interested in this "children's book series" the parents get interested as well. HP will probably go down in history as the books that broke down the barrier between adult and children's literature. HP helps our outer-grown-up remember our inner-child, and helps us remember to be creative and use our imaginations.
Most people think my nose is always stuck in a book. However, occasionally my nose and the rest of my face is staring at the same thing you're looking at right now: a computer screen. Since the "Storgé" incident, finding out the real title of the sixth book, and learning the truth about Mark Evans, I've realised how connected HP fans are to each other. It's an odd thing when you know there are many people sitting on the edges of their desk chairs, anxiously waiting for news/pictures/information, then receiving it, discussing it, and getting all excited over it, just like you. That's what it's like to be an active fan, and part of a fandom community, because that's just what it is: a community.
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