claim post

I am my paper on our generation’s obsession with popular culture that it has left us no more time for “serious” reading.

The books that we are reading have become a culture phenomenon. Harry Potter, for example, is not only a book series but also movies, video games, action figures, notebooks, costumes, board games, a theme park, even jelly beans inspired by the books. At the most recent Harry Potter book release, tens of thousands of fans waited at book stores just so they could be one the first to read the new book.

When the final book was released I was on a service trip. The nun who was in charge did not only keep us in the school and not allow us to go get the final Harry Potter book, but she also did not allow anyone’s family members drop the book off. She said she didn’t want anyone to be left out and it would be unfair if some girls were able to read and others would not. I was with some avid Harry Potter fans, and so we threw our own Harry Potter party with eye liner lightning bolt shaped scars and fake wands. This is crazy if you take it out of the context of the pop culture phenomenon that Harry Potter is.

Today in our consumer driven culture if you aren’t involved in reading these books you are not just missing out on the story from the book. You can no longer talk to others about what you thought about the book and the movie. If you are young, you cannot play wizard games with the other kids or even go to the book release parties.