For second babyboomers-- you know, the bubble of babies from 1989 through 1992-- today marks a big day. It is, as some have said, the day our childhood ends. Today brings the conclusion of the hit Harry Potter movie franchise with the second of the two-part finale, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Theaters at midnight were bustling with young-twenty-somethings, there to celebrate Harry's final run-in with the dark Lord Voldemort. It has been four years since the final book was released in stores, selling more than 11 million copies in the first 24 hours.
Harry Potter began as a story. The buzz about Harry swarmed halls in elementary schools, as our eight and nine-year-old selves passed around the books and encouraged each other to read the exciting tale of an orphan boy who grew up hated by his only remaining family, only to learn that he is a wizard. In the coming years, we debated about the pronunciation of Hermione's name, and attempted to disarm our friends on the playground by shouting, "Expelliarmus!"
It quickly became much, much more than just an entertaining story, however. It was our common ground as we entered middle school; something to which everyone could relate. In those rocky years, as identities began to form and friendships began and failed, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were our rock. They were not just a trio, but friends to any early adolescent child lost in the waves of emotional upheaval. With the movie series, the actors became our friends-- both as actors and characters. Emma Watson was your friend, but so was Emma Watson as Hermione. They put faces to the characters we loved and admired. They were our peers, but also our models. And as they grew, we grew. Our relationships toward them changed. As times and tides changed, they remained steady and peripheral. They were still your friends, and you would be reminded of this by casual mentions of the actors in the news, or the next film's release.
As our age group went off to college, the relationship further evolved. When University of Michigan's 2009 hit YouTube production of a Very Potter Musical went viral, Harry took on a new dimension in our lives. The humor we then sought in our dearly beloved tales was our way of realizing that although it no longer served us to fantasize about being swept away to Hogwarts, Harry was still relevant as ever in our lives. He still mattered, and we still wanted a way to enjoy him with others of our generation. We were no longer interested in chasing each other with sticks as we shouted spells, so instead we could joke about lines such as Dumbledore's blunt, "What the HELL is a Hufflepuff?" and sing that we "gotta get back to Hogwarts, where everything is magicoooool."
It was the release of the final movie-- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II-- that I would say took our generation by surprise. While much anticipated, I feel it's safe to say we did not expect the emotional reaction felt by many of us in saying goodbye to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and all of their supporters-- not to mention the world of Hogwarts. It was not simply the last movie, but the end of an era. It marked the end of midnight releases; there would be no more waiting up in line at the bookstore for the next book, no more midnight premieres of the movies. We would no longer gather with our friends and hundreds of our peers who had been there with us through the long haul. It was time to say goodbye not just to our favorite characters and actors, but to our best friends.
I was surprised at the midnight showing by how few people dressed up. Sure, there were a few die-hard fans-- most of whom were part of a younger crowd of Harry fans-- who went all out with hats, red and yellow ties, round glasses, and wands, but the resounding tone of the audience was one of reverence. Walking out of the final film, there was a solemn hush beneath the chatter that followed. It was a nod to the series that had been, and will always be, the icon of our generation.
Alongside Harry, Ron, and Hermione, we had taken on evil; the evil of Voldemort, the evil of navigating our middle school and high school years, and we combated our fears side-by-side with these characters. We had found the meaning of friendship, the importance of bravery, and the valiance in trust. J.K. Rowling inspired this brilliant story, but our generation created what it really was: an epoch.
And as we move forward, "let us step out into the night, and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."
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