By Benjamin Custer
Texarkana Gazette (Published July 2011)
Luke Skywalker met his equal a little more than a decade ago, and it wasn’t Darth Vader—it was a boy wizard with a lightning-bolt-shaped scar.
The boys in my third-grade class would sooner have contemplated real-life Wookies than believe a book about a school of witchcraft and wizardry could prove as fascinating as the original “Star Wars” trilogy.
Friendships were forged through mutual obsession with the classic films, and lunchtimes were spent trading “Star Wars” cards and discussing our favorite Jedi. Posters of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia adorned my walls, action figures lined my shelves and “The Empire Strikes Back” practically lived in my VCR.
Though the movies had premiered years before my classmates and I existed, we enjoyed the cultural phenomenon the same way our parents had in the 1970s. “Star Wars” was timeless, and we thought about it all the time.
J.K. Rowling introduced Harry Potter to the United States when I was in fourth grade. My mother came home from work one day and handed me a strange book called “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” I wasn’t the most voracious of readers, but she made an intriguing case.
“Ben, a lady at the bookstore said this book is perfect for boys who don’t ordinarily enjoy reading. Just give it a try. You might be surprised.”
Unlike most books I’d read, I was spellbound by the first chapter.
To make matters more interesting, Harry Potter really reminded me of Luke Skywalker: Luke didn’t realize he was a Jedi, Harry didn’t realize he was a wizard. Luke had C-3P0, Harry had Hedwig. Skywalker waved a lightsaber, Potter waved a wand. The similarities were endless.
For the first time in my life, reading a book thoroughly aided my suspension of disbelief. Rowling accomplished something I hadn’t thought possible. She had produced the literary equivalent of “Star Wars.”
I devoured page after addicting page and finished the book in a matter of days. I practically fell into depression when there were no more chapters to read. Several of my peers empathized with me.
Of course, not all parents felt the same way about the novel as my mother. When Harry Potter landed stateside, a number of concerned parents opposed the idea of their children reading a book about witchcraft. Interestingly, droves of parents who demanded to read the books before permitting their children to read them became devoted fans themselves.
Before long, there were more copies of Harry Potter around school than Stormtroopers on a Star Destroyer.
Ravenous Harry Potter fans were also intrigued by Rowling’s intention to write six sequels, one for each remaining year Harry attended Hogwarts.
The fan base swelled nationwide, and endless lines formed in front of bookstores across the country whenever there was a midnight release of another sequel. Harry Potter book releases soon garnered more hype than premieres of blockbuster movies. Shortly thereafter, the franchise had its own blockbuster movies.
Harry Potter triggered a boon for children’s literature similar to the way “Star Wars” popularized science fiction in the 1970s. The series enthralled children and adults alike.
It didn’t take long for Harry Potter to transcend the pages inside a cover and cement its status as a cultural phenomenon.
The film adaptations proved even more successful than the novels, and soon the amount of Harry Potter paraphernalia carried by stores rivaled that of “Star Wars.”
If book sales, box-office results and the number of people dressed on Halloween as their favorite Hogwarts character proved remotely insufficient to merit “Star Wars” comparisons, the release of Harry Potter action figures removed all doubt.
In fact, the lackluster “Star Wars” prequels released around the beginning of the new millennium further fueled the astronomical rise of Harry Potter. Fans of both franchises viewed it as an epic competition, but Harry’s wand continued to produce far brighter sparks than Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber could muster.
For Harry Potter fans, intense anticipation has lasted over the course of the past decade. When one finished a book, he not only had the next sequel to look forward to but also the imminent film adaptation. Also, unlike the “Star Wars” films, the Harry Potter movies sustained—if not improved—their quality over time.
After seven books, seven movies and more than a decade of cultural magic, the final segment of the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” hit theaters earlier this month in record fashion.
While the final page of the spellbinding series has been turned, Harry’s story is far from over.
Luke will be joined by pretty good company in the hearts and imaginations of posterity.