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Harry’s last stand

How did I come to Like Harry Potter?

I have noticed on Facebook and just about everywhere else the constant talk of  the final Harry Potter film.

For a generation this is the end of an era and the movie will surely be one of the biggest box office successes of the summer.

Billions are being spent to not only go see the last film but also to get dressed as classic characters or preparing to by the seven year box set of Blue Ray and DVD’s that  are sure to come.

I admit to not only reading the books but also being a fan of the movies. I started reading the stories when I was overseas teaching. I got tired of students asking me what things like a Hufflepuff were and how to properly say Hermione’s name when i did not know what they meant. Once I got through the first book I admit the stories became a guilty pleasure that I looked forward to.

I even spent two straight days during a vacation to Thailand reading  the sixth year after it came out only days before I left. For some people the end of the series is being equated to the last thing they are holding on to from their childhood.

The books have become part of an identity for a generation and have led to movies that have been a consistent in the industry for the past ten years.

People who were into the stories were either waiting for a movie to come out or chatting away about the one they had just seen for the tenth time.

It always amazes  me how something as simple as a story can bring many people together. Thinking how the tale came into being is possible the most amazing part of the story. The idea that one good story could have such an effect on the world is mind blowing.

So now as the story is set to open in Golden and people line up for one last time to go find out what happens to Harry and the crew (even though if you have read the book you know already)  and I am sitting here after looking at the opening week totals for the movie. It takes me back to why I started reading them in the first place. It was because of a group of students half way around the world who wanted to try and understand a world that was being described to them in the pages of a book. That is the one thing about a book or film...they both have the power to take you away and learn new things.

Darryl Crane