Harry Potter - From Fantasy to Reality
Posted July 27th, 2007 by Neha
I never thought I could get so engrossed in the series, but I have, as have ten million others who bought J.K. Rowling’s seventh book within the first 24 hours. As hardbound copies of Deathly Hallows adorned the windows of Barnes & Nobles and Borders around the nation and crowds gathered to learn about the perils and dangers that lurk in wizard world for round 7 of the Harry Potter series, a group of people in the real world are taking on the challenge of reminding readers and fans of some more serious issues.
I learned about the Harry Potter Alliance recently – an organization started by two young guys, Andrew Slack and Justin Oberman, on MySpace who had two common interests – social causes and Harry Potter. Through the power of social networking, the group grew in numbers and is now dedicated to familiarizing young readers about the parallels of the Dark Arts to the goings –on outside of Hogwarts. Harry Potter and the Dark Lord Wal-de-Mart videos, posted by the HP Alliance, raged across YouTube so adolescents could understand the controversial ethics policies of the behemoth retailer.
So while I quickly scooted into the nearest corner bookshop to get my own closure with the series this past weekend, the HP Alliance is encouraging avid fans to throw house parties to generate awareness for the crisis in Darfur. Party attendees are invited to indulge in food and treats and also learn a bit more about Darfur through a Pottercast with Joe Wilson, former U.S. Ambassador; John Prendergast, Senior Advisor to the International Crisis Group; Dot Maver, Executive Director of the Peace Alliance; and John Passacantando, Executive Director of Greenpeace.
So as I plunge headfirst into the last of the series to see what happens to Harry this time around, HP Alliance will take on the bigger issues and perhaps I’ll have a little dinner party myself to help them out in their strides toward social awareness.
