As popular as Harry Potter may be, some are against it.
Well, it’s a story about wizards.
And magic doesn’t fare too well with everyone.
Moreover, Harry Potter books are prohibited in most Arab countries…
And even in many Christian schools.
But what could be the reasons for banning this fictional series?
Read on to learn:
- How cancel culture affects Harry Potter.
- Why Hogwarts sets a bad example for schools.
- 13 scientific reasons why Harry Potter is banned.
- And many more…
Why is Harry Potter banned? 13 reasons
Part 1: The series and book material
#1: It promotes witchcraft
Harry Potter is full of magic, spells, charms, and fictional creatures.
While most see it as a great story with unique and exciting elements…
Arab countries and Christian schools see it as evil.
They say it teaches young kids the art of witchcraft. And even worse, others say that Harry Potter is a way for Satan to take control over people.
I mean, Hogwarts is a school that literally teaches you how to be a witch or wizard, after all.
But it’s difficult to translate that into the real world.
When did you last see someone use a spell that actually worked?
Or have you ever gotten a letter from Hogwarts? Delivered by an owl?
Since the story is based on magic and witchcraft, it’s categorized as a fiction genre.
It’s simply not real.
But, if you really dig into it, you can see how people may come to these conclusions.
When you think of it, there are some weird and outright creepy occurrences and creatures.
In the series, there are Dementors or soul-sucking ghosts.
Werewolves are also present. And some people can even speak Parseltongue, which is the ability to speak with snakes.
There’s also a heavy theme around death. Including soul fragments and other ‘easy-to-misinterpret’ storylines.
Perhaps the easiest to misinterpret is the story about house elves. These are seen as lowlife creatures. And they’re treated very similarly to how we used to treat enslaved people.
In the 5th book, Hermione even set up an organization against the enslavement of house elves.
Another would be the theme of resurrection. In a sense, Voldemort ‘resurrects’ himself.
In the bible, this is something only Jesus can do. But to have the evil antagonist of the series do this can be misinterpreted.
But does that justify banning a series of books and films?
We’ll leave that to you.
#2: The series includes racism
The racism often found in the Harry Potter series is easy to overlook.
In point because it’s brought fairly lighthearted. But also because there are so many exciting storylines active.
When you watch someone fight a Basilisk, you don’t really think of a one-off comment about Muggles. It’s just not as interesting.
But it’s definitely present.
Ever noticed how degrading Muggles are depicted?
Now, most wizards and witches don’t interact with someone who lacks magical ability.
And that’s fine.
But some of the more evil characters actively hate Muggles.
Draco Malfoy often comments on Hermione’s heritage. He calls her a mudblood because her parents are both Muggles.
The books show that mudblood is one of the worst things you can say to someone. So the fact that it’s derived from one’s ancestry shows it’s rooted in racism.
And we haven’t even mentioned Voldemort’s stance on Muggles.
He thinks that the latter exists to serve the wizards. Either that, or they should be killed.
Definitely reminiscent of historical figures that caused the world a lot of hurt.
Below is an excellent video of a Christian YouTuber. Which nicely explains racism in Harry Potter:
But even the good guys tend to look down upon muggles. It’s subtly shown.
When McGonagall said, ‘even the muggles have noticed something’s going on’…
It’s depicted that they’re seen as not-as-bright.
Even Arthur Weasley, an avid muggle-lover, looks to study them. Almost like they’re some sort of unique species.
And we can’t forget that the word ‘muggle’ sounds derogatory.
It’s based on the word ‘mug’. Or a term for a stupid person. The ‘le’ part is a suffix for animal and plant names.
So, in theory, the word Muggle means ‘stupid animal’.
#3: The story gets too dark
Harry Potter books were originally created for children. They were written so kids aged 7 and up can easily understand what’s happening.
Considering this fact, the story does get a little dark at times.
The first 2 books or films are pretty lighthearted. But starting from the 3rd part, the story takes a darker turn.
This is especially prevalent in the 4th book/movie, Harry Potter and the goblet of fire.
I still remember when I saw the movie as a kid.
The entire film was cool. But the graveyard scene with Harry and Cedric was super scary.
See, the setting was already creepy. But Cedric’s sudden death made it worse. Not to mention we saw Voldemort getting a physical body.
How did he do this?
He used Harry’s blood. And after, they dueled, as all Death Eaters rejoiced at Voldemort’s resurrection.
So it’s understandable why some may find it too dark.
Getting tied up in a graveyard is one thing. But seeing your friend get murdered in front of you is another.
And we haven’t even touched on the sacrificial ritual that’s taking place. Or how the Dark Lord is reborn, akin to a demon taking shape.
The 5th movie was more lighthearted for the first half of the storyline. But the second part stuck to the much darker theme.
How can we forget the huge battle inside the Ministry of Magic, resulting in Sirius’ death?
It’s also the main reason why all books have different age recommendations. And the same goes for the movies.
Title | The Philosopher’s Stone | The Chamber Of Secrets | The Prisoner of Azkaban | The Goblet of Fire | The Order of the Phoenix | The Half-Blood Prince | The Deathly Hallows |
Book age | 7-9 | 7-9 | 7-9 | 10-11 | 10-11 | 10-11 | 12+ |
Movie age | 7-9 | 7-9 | 10-11 | 12+ | 12+ | 12+ | 12+ |
But some simply opt to ban the books/movies outright.
This is particularly the case when it comes to Christian schools.
They do this for various reasons, and the story being too dark for children is one of them.
#4: It’s simply a popular series
It’s no secret that nowadays, things get canceled in the digital world for even the tiniest reason. Being ‘popular’ is reason enough for some to go out of their way and boycott something.
Harry Potter is undoubtedly one of the most popular series ever. The films were a massive success with box office sales exceeding 7 billion.
But they pale in comparison with the books.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the 3rd best-selling book ever. It sold over 100 million copies.
The worst-selling Harry Potter books sold over 65 million copies each. Making this one of the best-selling book series ever.
With success like that, hatred and disdain are bound to come with it.
For some, its success alone is reason enough to hate it. Other outlets pick up that hatred…
Leading to censorship or outright banning of the material.
This study actually shows us the impact of cancel culture. Not only can the entire series suddenly get canceled, but it’s the same for individuals.
#5: Harry and his friends set a bad example
Harry’s behavior at school isn’t the best.
In fact, it’s pretty terrible.
Harry constantly skips classes. He often lies to his superiors. And he commonly disobeys them as well.
In short, it’s almost as if he doesn’t particularly care about what his professors have to say to him.
And that’s not a good example to set for readers who are most likely students as well.
For some schools, it was enough reason to outright ban the books from their libraries
Once again, though, I need to mention that this is a fictional story.
It wouldn’t be nearly as exciting if Harry obediently went to class every day. And nothing out of the ordinary would happen.
The exciting plot points are a direct result of Harry skipping classes.
But it can’t be neglected that his misbehavior at school is a bad example. Especially for young and impressionable readers.
#6: Teachers can cross the line
it’s not just Harry that sets a bad school example.
The teachers at Hogwarts can also be pretty reckless.
Perhaps the best example of that is Hagrid.
He teaches Care of Magical Creatures. Which is a fascinating topic. But sometimes, he takes it a little too far.
Take Buckbeak, for example.
Buckbeak is a hippogriff. Half horse and half eagle.
It’s a beautiful and definitely magical creature. But also a dangerous one.
Hagrid teaches his 3rd-year class about hippogriffs. But he also takes Buckbeak with him.
This quickly led to Draco Malfoy getting injured. Granted, he had it coming. But getting your student injured during class is not a good example to set.
Hagrid knew a lot about magical creatures. But he knew little of teaching.
Another example would be Snape. He taught incredibly well, judging by his pass rate. But he strongly preferred Slytherin students and openly hated Ron and Harry.
However, the worst offender has to be Dolores Umbridge. Her form of punishment of students involved actual harm and mutilation.
So, you see…
While Hogwarts was known as a good school, it can’t be denied that the teachers showed ineptitude.
#7: Harry Potter doesn’t fare well with religion
Perhaps the biggest issue people have with Harry Potter is that it clashes with religion.
We discussed this earlier, but magic and religion do not go well together.
Religious texts claim the existence of magic, witches, wizards, and demons. And none of them are linked to pureness and goodness.
The involvement of magic and witchcraft is the primary reason Harry Potter is banned.
Religious communities want nothing to do with magic. In fact, they actively try to avoid it by banning the Harry Potter books entirely.
Well, this is a fictional series. However, the clash between religion and magic caused its ban.
Part 2: Controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling and her work
#8: She made questionable comments about transgender people
Over the last couple of years, J.K. Rowling hasn’t made the best impression.
She made many controversial statements about transgender issues.
It started with a series of posts on the social media application Twitter.
Original tweets are now deleted. But they stated her opinion on what we should call a ‘woman’.
It was a reply to another Tweet about ‘people who menstruate’.
J.K. Rowling disagreed with that and said something along the lines of “Wubman? Wooman? Didn’t we have a word for that?”.
She meant the word ‘woman’. But this caused her to get a lot of backlash from the LGBTQ community.
She also tweeted other controversial opinions about her.
One example is how she said it’s unfair for a woman to lose in a sports game to a man who thinks he’s a woman.
Obviously, this has gotten a lot of backlash as well, putting her and her work in a bad light.
#9: She wrote an entire essay
Speaking of the backlash, how did J.K. Rowling handle it?
She wrote an entire essay on her site where she doubled down on her ideas.
She starts lighthearted, but as the essay goes on, it’s clear where she stands.
There’s also a list of her 5 reasons why she’s worried about the current trans activism movements.
How you interpret her essay is up to you. But for some trans people, the article left a bitter in their mouths.
#10: Johnny Depp’s role in the films
Taking a short break from J.K. Rowling and her series of controversies, let’s look at Johnny Depp.
Johnny and his ex-wife Amber Heard have been in the news a lot. That’s due to the fact that they had a messy breakup in 2016 and an even dirtier lawsuit in 2022.
Before even waiting for the court to decide…
Johnny Depp was dropped from all his Harry Potter-related roles.
While he wasn’t present in the original series…
He played Gellert Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts movies.
This story takes place in the same universe as the original series. And Gellert plays an important part.
Johnny Depp is also just a generally beloved actor.
Many fans lost a lot of respect for the series when Johnny was dropped. The least the producers could do was wait for the courts to make their decisions.
Worst part? The court ruled in Johnny’s favor. In the end, this beloved actor did nothing wrong but was punished as harshly as can be.
Many fans lost their respect for the series and the producers. This put the Harry Potter universe in a bad light.
#11: Even more controversial tweets and connections
While we’ve talked about J.K. Rowling’s rough tweeting history, there wasn’t just one instance of this happening.
In June 2020, J.K. Rowling let out another controversial opinion.
This time, on hormone treatment.
She thinks it’s the new version of conversion therapy from back in the day.
Conversion therapy is horrible, and many trans people find this connection outrageous.
Naturally, even more backlash followed.
#12: Dumbledore is gay?
It seems like all J.K. Rowling controversies are linked to sexuality in one way or another.
This time, she confirmed a fan theory that Albus Dumbledore is, in fact, gay.
While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this…
The LGBTQ community was appalled that this was not shown in the series.
The author confirmed this in an interview. She said that Dumbledore was gay and had something with Gellert Grindelwald.
But this was never actually shown on the screen or in the books.
The LGBTQ community was not happy with this. Given how important inclusivity is nowadays.
#13: A controversial 4-part series
Finally, a non-sexual related issue!
Granted, it’s still a controversy, but a different one this time.
J.K. Rowling is the author of Harry Potter, but she also wrote many other books.
One is the 4-part series ‘The History of Magic in North America’.
Simple enough, right?
Well, this didn’t sit right with Native Americans.
See, in an interview, J.K. Rowling said that her magic world did not have skinwalkers.
Some Native Americans took offense to that. They find that J.K. Rowling speaks on behalf of Native Americans without being one herself.
Native American folklore also states that skinwalkers are indeed real.
As a response, they told her that this is not her world. It’s theirs. And what she makes out to be fantasy, they see as real.
And it’s easy to see why they felt offended. This study shows the importance of cultural heritage.
And J.K. Rowling disregarded that.
Yet another controversy surrounds this author and her work.
Conclusion: Why is Harry Potter canceled?
There are several reasons why Harry Potter is canceled.
It clashes with religion as it appropriates magic.
And wizardry is a no-go in religious texts, often linked to evil.
Other reasons are based on our current views of the world.
With cancel culture running rampant…
Every piece of popular media will be dissected sooner or later.
J.K. Rowling found herself in a ton of controversy, but she stood by her claims. Many expected her to take back what she said, but she doubled down.
This left a sour taste in many fans’ mouths, canceling Harry Potter and the author.