The alleged reason is that she wanted to create an aspirational character for her sons while she was struggling with poverty as a waitress in the early 90s. Harry is special because he's mommy's special little boy who finds out mommy was rich all along. Everyone likes him except for the people who are bad. He lives out some predefined trajectory, created by mommy's love, where he doesn't really do anything but exist and be a special little boy. He worries briefly that he may be a bad guy due to being so special and famous but then is reassured by everyone that he can't be a bad guy because he's special and famous. Then he lives happily ever after after not doing anything (except being special) to kill the bad guy. Once the bad guys are gone then nobody dislikes him anymore and his fame can reign unchecked.

At best she was a deeply misguided striver who was trying to turn her kids into the same hollow strivers most "pick me" poors are. At worst she was actually writing a MKULTRA program to create the next great tyrant.

The rags to riches story is also thst it just turned out he had a shitload of gold in a wizard bank the whole time.

You were probably too old for it when it came out. I'm in my 30s, probably right in the cohort that was at the older side of the targeted age as the books were releasing, and felt too old for it pretty quickly.

The books were mid and you missed nothing, but very few scifi/fantasy series got a complete set of movies at that level of quality, and that's a pretty novel concept even today. So many competing books with arguably superior aspects get canceled after season 2 or end up feeling like filler slop.

Many of us grew up with LotR and HP wondering why there are so few tv shows and movie adaptations of similar quality.

Same. I disliked the idea of them from day one. I have loudly refused to read them or participate in anything related although there's been plenty of people in my orbit trying to get me to read them or watch the movies.

Kid Wizard and the Tropes

I never read the books, just saw the movies, by I think JK still wanted him to be perceived as a nerd. He has glasses, he's the teachers pet (well some of the teachers anyway) he gets bullied, he befriends some of the school nerds. It is in tension with the fact he is an extremely rich sports champ who seems pretty popular with everyone outside of the evil house by the end of Goblet of Fire.

He had glasses.

Yeah. That’s skullboi

Real superfans don't read anything else, just write endless (and sometimes better than the og) fanfiction. Harry Potter isn't special, per se, it is just the first vehicle for them to explore their own creativity, with a large enough community that can share in that larger universe.

It is much the same for Tolkien fans, but Tolkien's sins are a bit more forgivable, as he was literally helping generate an entire genre.

The only person I know (mid 30s) who never really outgrew Harry Potter is also probably the most basic "normie" person I know. And the only person I know who could possibly watch this new HBO series.

i find it started really taking itself too seriously by the 5th or 6th book. i can excuse the goblet of fire for trying to appeal to an audience that grew up a little bit since the first three.

i think it could have worked if the writer was more competent as she transitioned it to a YA novel, but then again maybe i shouldn't have reread some of them as an adult and let it stay in nostalgia instead of reading too much into it.

at least pirate it

also maybe get her to watch shaun's video about harry potter? it's only from the text, none of rowling's side projects or general shittiness.