Hello and welcome to In Too Deep Harry Potter vs Star Wars, where I finally decide which one of these franchise is better.
Now a year or so ago James Daniel Walsh wrote this infamous statement: “Star Wars is the cultural mythos of our generationâ€, to which I argued that while it was true for his generation, my generation’s cultural mythos was Harry Potter. Now, a year of putting it off, I’m finally going to sit down and analyse both of these franchise. So without further ado…
So lets put the obvious out of the way first: Yes, I am incredibly biased. Either consciously or subconsciously, I am obviously going to distort the facts to favour my argument. Even the smallest things, like how I structure my sentences, is going to show this bias. Which is okay. I’ve always stood firm by the fact that these blogs are written from a personal point of view (hence the personal pronoun used in my catchphrase), so there is always going to be bias. Feel free to point out any of my faults in the comments. Though, fair warning in advance: This is part one of a yet undecided multi-part series. While I’ve scheduled eight, it could easily extend as I think about it more. So bear in mind that if it looks like I haven’t addressed anything, I’ve probably addressed it later on. Likewise I do have other people contributing, to bring balance to the force, so to speak. So, with this lengthy disclaimer out of the way, let me utter the words that will rock this site:
Harry Potter is more important than Star Wars.
Now it’s that middle word we need to fixate on: “Importantâ€. What do I mean when I say “importantâ€? Well there are few ways of dissecting it, which I plan to do in this series.
Firstly, important in a narrative sense. Both stories share very similar origins and motifs, so the question of which narrative is stronger is an important one indeed.
Secondly, important in the franchise sense. Which one of these franchises is bigger, better and has more to offer the cultural landscape? There are more than just some films, after all.
Thirdly, important in a cultural sense. Which one of these franchises has had a greater impact on terms of the culture around us. Now this one is a bit tricky, since Star Wars has been around longer and has had more of a time to impact the culture. But, Harry Potter has made strides as well in a cultural sense, so it’s only fair we look at how both properties have changed the world.
Fourthly, important in a film-making sense. Which one of these franchises had a greater impact on the world of film-making. And while this has a clear winner, I do plan to observe and analyse both sides to see the advancements made with each. So join me and Les as we both look at the strides the films made (among other things).
Fifthly, important in a generational sense. Since the comment that started this all off was that Star Wars is the defining mythology of ‘our’ time, is this true across three generations (aka the older generation, my generation, and the generation that comes after us)? Or do different generations have different conceptions of what is and isn’t their mythology? Now rather than write this myself, I’ll have two different generations (James and Fusionater) to give their views on the issue.
Sixthly, important in a futuristic sense. In other words, what’s in store for these franchises in the future, and what speculations can be speculated based on them. Granted this is probably going to be the hardest to argue, since there’s a chance I predict it horribly wrong, but nevertheless it is worth considering where these franchises end up going.
And finally, and perhaps most importantly, why Harry Potter is personally more important to me than Star Wars. Now while this is probably better to put first, I’d rather do it at the end when I’ve done the fully comprehensive look at both franchises. After taking all of the evidence into account, I plan to give my final biased say on my feelings after all this writing.
So join me, as I (and a few others) spend the next few weeks pulling apart this problem and getting right to the heart of the matter. If you disagree with anything, or have anything to add, feel free to leave a comment. Till next time.
About Author
