Potter Ponderments, two: On the Fandom

Most people feel comfortable in a large group of like-minded people. It's got a solidarity, like. You know the next person over is entertaining the same feelings -- in this case, feelings of indomitable excitement -- as you are.

Now that I type it out, same here, except not always. In the case of Harry Potter, for some reason, I feel threatened.

I don't know why, either. Maybe it's some complex I've got and should get rid of. I used to love it, after all: few people still remember this, but for two years of middle school I upkept a pretty extensive, mildly popular Harry Potter fansite. It was a Hogwarts simulation (and the Internet was full of 'em even then), complete with a Sorting Hat and accomodations for time-wasters galore. A good part of my childhood was spent online in those days, if not tending to the website or answering emails then writing in Harry Potter message boards and talking to their participants on AIM. It was quite, er, my life, back then.

Perhaps because of my once-great fandom involvement, perhaps entirely independently from it, I've found that my affection for Harry Potter has become more private than ever. (Not creepy.) Someone once told me that reading the books when they come out is only half the fun; she then equally enjoyed chewing them over with other fans, reading reviews and theories (will there be theories, now that it's over? ...what am I thinking, of course there will) for days afterwards. Not the case, for me. I love reading the books -- absolutely adore the experience -- but pretty much despise the aftermath. Most of my acquaintances know I like Harry Potter, and most of them do as well. And so an inevitable consequence during the month or so following a book (or movie) release is that there's no lack of conversation starters. And by no means do I speak generally! There are loads of people with whom I would gladly discuss the books for hours without getting bored.

For the most part, though, it seems that people don't understand the sport of it anymore. People talk about the books as if they just want to prove that they've read it, to share their opinions to prove that they're capable of making them. Those conversations -- the ones that stay within the confines of Small Talk, without delving into anything deeper -- often give me the feeling that I'm just hearing things be repeated, from other people's thoughts and online analyses. It's something that happens a lot -- with any insanely popular new movie, or book, or band. Maybe it's because Harry Potter hits home so hard that I'm particularly irritated by it. But it's no longer "cool" to say you're a fan of Harry Potter -- to some people, it never was -- no, now it's just proof of the fact that you're a sane, well-functioning human being.

That was far more rambley than I intended. :x Apologies.