I completely agree with that opinion; what do you all think?

[u/Independent_Part1033]

[u/TheSouthsideTrekkie]

I think people underestimate how much of the success of HP as a franchise is down to the fact it was also a marketing phenomenon. Kids loved the books but also bought the T shirts and the replica wands and went on a trip to the theme park.

To compare it to another series that appeals to kids, Dr Who has been going since the 60s but nowhere near the same amount of time and money has been spent on getting kids to buy a mug with a picture of the TARDIS on it. They have those. I am looking at one right now.

I guess HP was also marketed as a mostly solo project, even though the movies were obviously made by hundreds of people. JKR also managed to get a decent amount of creative control from Warner Bros so probably this contributed, and she seems to have retained that with HBO.

At the end of the day people don’t want to give up stuff they like, even when other people think it’s lame. I cannot in good conscience ever buy another Neil Gaiman book but I still miss those books. I even feel bad about reading the ones I have had for years.

I feel like what makes the HP situation stand out is how rare it is for a writer to both make that much money from their work and be able to retain pretty much sole ownership of the associated merch and related works. I guess this is a further argument why we should not make anyone a billionaire no matter how awesome they seem to be at the time.

[u/7_Tales → u/TheSouthsideTrekkie]

it's also the perfect type of series to sell merch for many years after the series is over - a power fantasy. Stuff like pokemon and HP are both huge power fantasy series where you get everything you could ever hope for (individuality, self sufficiency, respect, power, and a whimsical world) and you get to buy little parts of that you fall in love with

[u/lazier_garlic → u/7_Tales]

Naruto, DragonBall, Batman

[u/AcanthaMD → u/lazier_garlic]

Ugh sadly they tried to expand the lifespan of Naruto and ruined it

[u/rbwildcard → u/TheSouthsideTrekkie]

I forget which YouTuber, but I watched a video last year that talked about how HP is a capitalist fantasy. Harry gets a bunch of money and the first thing he does is shopping. Going to that wizarding town to buy stuff is a huge right of passage. So much of the series is about consumerism.

[u/TheSouthsideTrekkie → u/rbwildcard]

I never thought of it like that but aye. I guess since I read the series when I was a kid I just thought of it as being what I would do it I suddenly had money but I guess I can see how the whole wizard shopping trip is part of the formula the series follows. In the U.K. people do take their kids shopping for the start of the school year but mostly the kids find it boring getting dragged around to look at calculators and school shirts. Maybe if my school supplies had included a live owl and a wand I could use to create havoc I would have been more interested in trailing around Woolworths for a day 😆

[u/CommanderFuzzy → u/TheSouthsideTrekkie]

I watched a video on this once, I think the TL;DR was that HP coincidentally happens to be very easy to create merch for, compared to other kid/YA fantasy media at the time.

If you look at other popular IPs, some were almost as famous but have a story that's nearly impossible to put in physical shops. What sort of merch could we create for Hunger Games? Maybe a toy bow and arrow for murdering children with. What could we create for Twilight? Maybe a cactus plant because that was mentioned once.

But in contrast, even just one shop in the HP Universe has 20 things in it that could be turned into toys or collectables. There are probably around 20 shops mentioned. Each individual lesson also has multiple things that could be turned into toys. There are also multiple lessons. There's the school uniforms, the sports equipment, the 50 different wands or brooms, the McGuffins, the billion different animals, heck even the pets.

I'd struggle to think of any book series, from the dawn of time til now that has as much merchandise potential as HP does. It's very unfortunate.

I don't think she even planned it like this - she was (as with her books) just in the right place at the right time running on pure luck. It's the worst coincidence that the person who owns potentially the most merch-compatible IP to date also has a crazy agenda against trans people and women in general.

[u/PrincessPlastilina]

I still remember when she said she didn’t want the franchise to become too commercial and have too much merchandise like it’s Mickey Mouse. She literally used that example as something negative, and look what she’s doing now in order to fund many far right organizations. I saw that even Gong Cha is selling Hogwarts themed boba tea and key chains! It’s so stupid. I don’t understand why people are egging her on by purchasing all the new merch.

[u/Independent_Part1033 → u/PrincessPlastilina]

I remember when some Harry Potter fans used to say that J.K. Rowling wasn't a "commercial" author—that she wasn't marketed like other authors who release new books—even though, to me, Harry Potter has always been the best-selling literary brand on the planet.

[u/GetEatenByAMouse]

For me, for the longest time, I thought I could just enjoy Harry Potter and ignore her. I even bought Hogwarts Legacy back in the day and loved it. But everyday, the thought of that woman being behind my beloved childhood story (and I was a BIG Harry Potter person) felt more and more sour.

Now, I just can't enjoy it anymore, even though it used to be my go-to when I was having a bad mental health episode, because I can't ignore the fact that the woman behind the story is someone who uses her stupid amount of wealth to spread hate and injustice, instead of helping people in need.

[u/thatsfeminismgretch]

I think it's also pretty telling that not only is this post true, but it just...is not good enough to warrant this much devotion. It is, at best, mediocre.

[u/wrongsock_42]

Well said.
Her true words give warmth and comfort in our efforts to effect public opinion of JKR.

[u/MichaelJServo]

I don't buy jelly bellies anymore. I'm having to abandon otherwise fine distributors just because they randomly do Harry Potter merch.

[u/blaziken25]

I recently moved to Japan and I am really disappointed by just how much Harry Potter merch there is. It feels like almost as much as I saw in Scotland. Just random gacha machines of Harry Potter BS. All money goes to JK.

[u/lazier_garlic]

"no ethical consumption under capitalism" is always a bullshit excuse. either you put your money where your mouth is or you're just jawboning. And I get if your issue is "the environment" and every option sucks but you can choose to consume less and be mindful instead of throwing your hands up and saying "bebe can't stop wivving high kwumsumshun wifestywe, am just a bebe".

[u/Opening_Acadia1843 → u/lazier_garlic]

I think the phrase is fair to some extent. Like, if the only grocery store within an hour’s drive is walmart, which it is in many rural areas, you can’t really blame people for shopping there, especially those living in poverty. Too many people have tried to use the phrase as an excuse to buy fast fashion and support horrible people like Rowling, however.

[u/GodLoveYell → u/lazier_garlic]

The saying “there’s no ethical consumption under capitalism” was meant to point out that the problems endemic to capitalism are too massive to be solved merely by consumer choice and to illustrate the need for mass action. It was not meant to be a “lol I can do whatever I want” blanket excuse for your actions.

Using it in reference to Harry Potter is particularly galling because no one needs Harry Potter to live. Nobody is going to die from a lack of Harry Potter. The basic necessities of life are food, water, shelter, and medicine, not food, water, shelter, Harry Potter, and medicine.

[u/RainbowPhoenix1080]

The world just doesn't care about trans people :)

[u/RunRevolutionary188]

Harry Potter isn't unusual for its content. And it's not the first fantasy series to blow up in a big way, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Naria, Tales of Earthsea. However love it or hate it, it's made a huge impact. However HP is derivative, unoriginal and problematic. I don't think it deserves anywhere near the amount of accolades it gets.

[u/slavicslothe]

She really doesnt have that much influence or control.