The Ideology of Harry Potter

The Harry Potter series of books and movies spans over the last thirteen years.  From 1998 when the first book was published the 2011 when the last film came out, the Potter series has given us a parallel universe where anything is possible. A place with similar ideologies to ours, here in the real world. 

Harry’s character is honorable, truthful and has strong morals.  Dumbledore is a father figure to Harry. He is wise, powerful and kind.  Almost God like. On the other end you have Voldemort who is evil. He makes you think of death.  He is powerful too and his only thought is to kill Harry.  This conflict between the two characters is the good vs. evil and good always wins idea.

I think that there are a few strong social ideologies in the series that stand out.  One is racism.  There are many levels of classes in Harry Potter.  The upper class and much of the government are ”pure bloods”  (Both parents are magical). The middle class were the “half-bloods” and the lower class were the “mud bloods”.  Their parents were non-magical.  The lowest class were the house elves.  They were considered property like slaves.  The death eaters were followers of Voldemort.  They wore long black robes with pointed hoods and wore masks not unlike the KKK.

Most of the middle class in the series seem not to like the government, the Ministry of Magic.  The series depict the Ministry as pure blood, superior rulers. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister, was willing to look the other way , denying Voldemort’s existence to avoid a war.  This made you feel anti-government. 

These ideas have been coming across in the books and movies for many years and have been an influence on kids and adults everywhere.  More information on this series is at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter.