Week 6 - Generational Voice- Harry Potter

I believe that the Harry Potter novels embody my generation’s voice.  It is predominantly about functioning inside a school environment, choosing the right friends, and the corruption of government.  The Harry Potter generation is still mostly inside of some kind of educational system, and so Rowling’s books have acted as a point of reference for us.  They have sort of become a parable for the ideals I think most of us pretend that we uphold everyday, in honor of Jo, our fairy godmother. 

The idea of being “chosen” or special is also an idea that has become apparent in our millennial generation.  Most of us feel that we are the One to change the world, and bare the imaginary burden that Harry himself bears as the CHOSEN ONE.   At least in the case of people that I know, we appear as the stars of our own films or series of adventures.  I don’t know if this creates negative actions, but it certainly creates a lot of stress on you if you are always thinking of how the fate of the world and the happiness of others depends upon you.

Kindness to the outcasts and social “freaks”  I also feel is something that our generation is reckoning with.  Being a geek or nerd about something has become a badge of  honor instead of a title to avoid at all costs.  Harry has to deal with standing up for the less socially advantaged in the books, such as Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood.  I think that this empathetic trait is apparent in our generation, but still struggling to grow and take root.

I would like to emphasize that what I think older generations find as faults in us are merely the faults of being youthful in an ever-changing world.  I do not think that my generation is broken or feels overly entitled; I think that we are growing up and it is wrong to point at our group and blame it on inherent evilness.   If we are so vastly different than the older generations in the work force, then once these people leave the work force and our generation comes into place, than we will remake the system to suit how we work.  And then WE will start complaining about the generations after us.  And then the cycle will continue on.