Dressed in a wizard robe, East Lansing resident Emma McIlhagga, 10, watches Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part one, Wednesday at the East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbot Road. Part two of the final Harry Potter installment premiers in theaters at midnight tonight.
At midnight on Friday, movie theaters in East Lansing and across the nation will dim their lights and flick on their projectors, beginning the end of an era for the Harry Potter series.
Fans have been anticipating the release of the final installment of the Harry Potter film series, “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” since part one was released in November 2010.
The film series is currently the highest grossing of all time, surpassing popular franchises such as the James Bond and Star Wars series.
Through the success of both the films and the novels on which they are based, a culture surrounding the magical world of Harry Potter has grown worldwide.
In wizard’s clothing
Theatre and media arts and technology sophomore Liz Riesterer has embraced that culture fully during her escapade to raise money for the Tourette Syndrome Association. As part of her pledge, Riesterer committed to wearing Harry Potter-style wizard robes daily until the final movie is released.
Riesterer’s journey began on New Year’s Day 2011, when she first donned her robes in what would become a 195-day experience. Since then, she has raised more than $2,500 for the organization, but she looks forward to wearing street clothes for the first time all year.
“It is going to be very weird,” she said in an email from England. “(But) I can’t wait to be able to wear blue jeans again.”
Riesterer’s first time seeing the film will be in the land where Harry Potter was born. She said she always wanted to travel to London for the premiere, and this was her last chance. While overseas, she visited a number of locations where the movies were filmed.
“I went to Gloucester Cathedral and Oxford College, where they filmed a lot of scenes,” she said. “I (also) went to a few random places in London where they did short bits, such as King’s Cross Station.”
Above all, Riesterer said although she is excited to see the final film, the series ending represents the end of an era.
“At least we are all ending this together, and the fans all still have each other,” she said. “That is where the true magic of the series lies.”
Keeping Harry Potter alive
For Emerson Spartz, founder of the Harry Potter fan website mugglenet.com, the end of Harry Potter’s story does not mean the culture will fade.
“Harry Potter was never about a book,” he said. “J.K. Rowling didn’t write a book, she didn’t film a movie. She created a world, and she created characters. And those characters live on.”
Spartz said although the idea of Harry Potter came from Rowling and her novels, the fan base is responsible for keeping the characters and world of Harry Potter alive.
“The world has been created and is not going anywhere,” he said.
Spartz added, Rowling’s recent project, an interactive online experience titled Pottermore, will continue generating interest in the series.
Gary Hoppenstand, an MSU English professor and editor of The Journal of Popular Culture, said there has never been a pop culture following quite like Harry Potter’s.
“Harry Potter started out simply as a series of novels,” he said. “And in terms of young adult literature, there has been nothing to equal the impact and importance of that series.”
Spartz said the popularity of the series comes from the audience being able to relate to the characters in the movies and novels.
“He’s the reluctant hero, and being able to grow up alongside him has certainly made it easier for a generation to identify with Harry and his struggles,” he said.
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Hoppenstand said although Rowling created a world that was relatable to such a wide variety of people, she also hit home with a large number of younger readers.
“She really helped to save reading for young people in an era of digital media,” he said.
Not just a game
International relations and political theory and constitutional democracy junior Will Hack said he will be seeing the film in the IMAX theater at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. Hack is a player on and head coach of the MSU Quidditch team, a student organization founded in 2009 to play the sport depicted in Rowling’s books.
Hack said about 13 MSU Quidditch members will be participating in a tournament hosted by the museum and scheduled to coincide with the film’s premiere. Members of the team will participate in two clinics where they will teach children how to play the sport and then square off against two other Quidditch squads.
“I’m hopeful that Quidditch will get a lot of added interest from people looking for more Potter things to do after the end of the films,” he said.
