If youre a Harry Potter fan, then you probably know that today is an important day.
To put it in Rowlings words: all is not, strictly speaking, well.
To put it in outdated Facebook jargon: Fandoms relationship with Harry Potter canon is complicated.
Collaborative and collective storytelling.
What do I mean when I talk about collaborative and collective storytelling?
The idea of someone solely owning a story is a relatively modern one.
Historically, storytelling has been a collaborative, collective effort.
In the oral storytelling tradition, people would share, recycle, and transform stories.
Harry Potter as intellectual property.
Harry Potter is no longer solely J.K. Rowlings story; its Warner Bros. intellectual property, too.
This turn away from a single-author mode is echoed byFantastic BeastsandThe Cursed Child.
When people criticizeThe Cursed Child, they tend to call it fanfiction.
For some, this is meant as an insult implying that the work is amateurish.
For others who are more familiar with fandom, it refers to certain tropes common in fanfiction.
When Harry Potter canon drifts away from Rowling, it is called fanfiction.
WhenGame of ThronesTV canon drifts away from George R.R.
Martin, it is called fanfiction.
Harry Potter belongs to all of us.
For many, Harry Potter has always been a highly-collective story.
Fan culture is inherently collaborative by its very nature.
Might I suggest not taking Harry Potter canon too seriously, if possible?
And thats great, but, culturally, the story of Harry Potter belongs to all of us.
That canon is just as valid as Warner Bros.
