McNutt Against the Music

With all the media attention that the 40th anniversary of the “Summer of Love” has gotten, I’ve been thinking a lot about the lack of genuine collective experience in our society today. With a highly demassified media and the increasing trend towards political and personal individualization, the areas of common cultural ground between each of us are becoming few and far between.

Thank goodness, then, for Harry Potter. While I was a bit late to the party – I had seen the first three movies but hadn’t read the books until a marathon session two or three years ago – it didn’t take me long to realize the series’ immense appeal. They may not be truly “great” prose, but there is something truly enchanting about the intricate mythology that J.K. Rowling has weaved together over ten years and seven novels. Not only does it build on well-established archetypal stories about magic and academia, but the books have smartly grown and matured alongside their readers. To call them “engaging” is a vast understatement.

Still, considering that I’m only a casual Potter fan, what was it that drove me to join my friend Shawn and his sister Shannon at Chapters for the midnight release of the series’ final chapter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? Was it done in the interest of getting the book before it could be spoiled for me? That’s part of it. But really, I think part of me was looking to be part of the event, to get caught up in the enthusiasm and energy of it all.

The entire Chapters store had been redecorated for the occasion with exquisite detail and a great deal of care. The staff’s costumes of various Potter characters were equaled or bettered by the kids whose parents let them stay up way past their bedtime, be they Death Eaters or Professor Moodys. SuperNova, Dal’s SuperNova day camp instructors, were there performing real-life magic. And the rest of us, the older folk, grabbed our Starbucks coffees and held our spot in line for when the witching (or wizarding) hour hit.

Just before the overly-enthusiastic announcer hit the final countdown, a Chapters employee led every one of the hundreds and hundreds of patrons in line in a pledge not to spoil the book for anyone who hadn’t read it yet. They had little to worry about, methinks – everyone I talked to just wanted to get their hands on their copy and find out Harry’s final fate for themselves. Things remained orderly and efficient as the boxes were opened, the countdown was completed, and the line quickly weaved through the stacks to the end, where each person was handed their own copy of Harry’s final journey.

So now that I’ve gotten to share the occasion with a few hundred of my closest friends, I get to the other fun part of the whole equation…finding out Harry’s fate, one page at a time…