:::: One Part FANDOM RETROSPECTIVE, One Part ANALYSIS ::::
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play that premiered in London, 2016. It was met with praise by theatergoers and disdain, even hatred, by those who read the script. Today, there is a...
There is a fundamental misunderstanding in JKR's response that, I believe, privately informed her decisions when it came to either adhering to canon during the writing process or taking her own road. The larger issue is that JKR is only considering herself in this scenario because she alone can decide Harry's fate. Which, on the surface, makes total sense.
So...does Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling? I'm not about to argue a case of authorship versus author. But we can agree that she no longer has sole ownership. Harry also belongs to a conglomerate of creative minds and corporations like Warner Bros, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Hasbro, Mattel, Universal Studios, Johnson and Johnson, Coca-Cola, Funko, Fossil, Parker Brothers, Electronic Arts, and Lego...just to name a few. These companies all have a stake in the franchise, some far more significant than others.
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The relationship between Harry Potter and the consumer extends beyond collectibles and DVDs. It is a fictional story in a commercialized world, and yet it is we, the fans, who elevated the franchise, turned it into the phenomenon we know it to be today. With our feverish loyalty, we made Harry Potter a sensation and even a lifestyle. So, the phenomenon itself does not belong to JKR or its commercial entities. No, that belongs to the fans. However, this isn't about commercialism, intellectual property, and rights holders. This is about our shared cultural heritage. Let me explain.
Psychologists have agreed that the mechanics of fandoms are similar to that of cults or established religions. This rabid devotion is personal and grows exponentially based on the size of the fandom and our interconnectivity. Harry Potter is one of the biggest fandoms, drawing an international association. And every alteration that is made to the foundations of that cultural entity, especially for the purposes of profit, risks a disturbance in the collective memory and can impact or negatively influence our cultural experience.
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This feeling of ownership stems from the fact that Harry Potter has grown to define a generation of the history of the planet, which makes it so much more than a book and film series. It has become a "cultural artifact". This isn't the case with every franchise, but there is certainly a point at which an entity like Harry Potter moves from commercialism to cultural heritage, where JKR is less the creator god, and more the steward of her creation. But, no matter what our emotional or cultural attachment tells us, the Harry Potter brand will always be a property, fully owned and controlled by J.K. Rowling.
