The World of Harry Potter

We didn't get to the chapter about Harry Potter in our English for New Media class discussions, but the Harry Potter universe is the fictional world that I am most familiar with. In class, we looked at the ways stories like Star Wars, Star Trek, and the Matrix expanded beyond their original medium into huge trans-media stories built by fans or the stories' producers. Since we didn't get a change to look at the Harry Potter word, I want to examine some of the different stories and mediums I know of as a fan of the book series.

• The Harry Potter world starts with J.K. Rowling, and everyone is aware of the overwhelmingly popular seven-novel series. In addition, Rowling has written three short companion books and one short story prequel, all for charity.
• Based on the seven books, Warner Brothers created an eight film adaption of the series, with significant input from Rowling.
• At Universal Studio's Island of Adventure, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter recreates settings based on the novels and films. Both the film producers and Rowling were involved in creating a world that was consistant with the books and movies.
• Fans have created a music genre called Wizard Rock where artists preform only songs based on the Harry Potter universe. At one point, I owned CDs by the bands "Harry and the Potters" and "Draco and the Malfoys."

I realize this list only skims the surface of what is available to Harry Potter fans and what has been created by them. I only included things that I had personal experience with as a Harry Potter fan. I know there are countless websites devoted to Harry Potter fandom and fanfiction. When I was growing up, I wasn't very aware or interested in any of that, but I did love dressing up for the book and movie premiers, and I was able to go to Harry Potter world durring my senior spring break.