Good ole J.K. Rowling is one of the most influential literary figures of our generation. She has formed such a wide array of fans, not only from her seven books, but from 8 movies that have swept our nation. And, though many of us picture the “Potter-crazy” geeky, nerdy, fan base, she has acquired so many diverse fans of all ages and countries that it seems almost impossible to have done so without the help of the internet and media. I, of course, follow her on Twitter, like her on Facebook, and loosely follow other websites and blogs concerning the author. That’s the beauty of J.K. Rowling, she has so many loyal followers that they have made websites concerning her and the Harry Potter fandom. She is also helpful with the website www.pottermore.com, where you can actually get exclusive content concerning each book while you virtually journey through the storyline and the Wizarding world, chat with other users, and create and online profile based on your favorite characters, spells, etc. I just recently joined this site to see what all the hype was about, and it’s a really interesting atmosphere that can further your reading experience that much more. Harry Potter fans will never be disappointed or run out of activities or things to talk about. Harry Potter has many other fan sites, fan fiction, literature assessing the novels so deeply that other fans find the need to purchase these readings on Kindle and such, YouTube videos, video games, even characters from Harry Potter have parody twitters that are widely followed by users. I just think that Harry Potter is something that would be much less widely-known without the internet and social networking, and the hype may have died or been stifled without the use of these networks.
As far as J.K. goes, she doesn’t even really have to create her own public persona, as her fans are so avidly doing it for her, and in a sense worshipping her as some literary goddess. Now, I don’t think that Harry Potter books are the best written books I’ve ever read, but they are my favorite, and they are appealing to children, teens, and adults internationally, so she’s obviously onto something here. Nonetheless, I think it’s important to follow the actual author on social networks to get her personal thoughts and tweets, rather than be completely biased by how the fans and social media have constructed her. J.K. Rowling has only tweeted 12 times, simply to indicate that it is in fact the REAL her on this twitter page, and that people have been tweeting on her behalf. She says that “pen and paper are still (her) priority” several times. Even with this, she has over 1 million followers. She refers fans to the Pottermore site and her own personal author website jkrowling.com. She really seems like a humble individual with little concern for the happenings of today and being in others business, or at least doesn’t voice her opinion much. I have great respect for her in this sense, as she is diverting attention away from tweeting and constructing an internet persona, and shines through mostly based on her writing and relies on her fans to keep her popular and strong in the social world. And boy, do they do an amazing job at that. Without the internet, Harry Potter may not still be such a worldwide obsession.
So, is the internet helping or hindering the literary world? If both, in what ways does is do so? And do you think that it is a safe or smart move for an author such as J.K. Rowling to put her persona in the hands of her fans rather than her own self?
The internet is definitely helping literature expand faster than ever before. It's possible now to look through hundreds of titles that are similar to books we already like and before we were limited to whatever nearby libraries had on their shelves. And I definitely agree that books like Harry Potter wouldn't be nearly as popular without the help of the internet to continuously keep people interested and wanting to know more.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the internet most definitely helps the literary world, let alone all types of culture and art forms. Everything is so highly accessible and spread that people can see everything they want, as well as be a part of anything they want. Because of this, it is so important for artsits to utilize such a tool and build an internet persona. What better way to have a crazy-loyal fan base like Rowling than to be available to millions(?) of people at the same time? Everybody knows the fanatics got their idol's back, so it's smart to have these blogs and sites basically work your specific product into an undying, world wide trend. Meanwhile, she can kick back and enjoy her success.
ReplyDeleteRowling's work is certainly made more popular by social networking, but I think it really comes down to her original ideas that sparked everything. She created an entire world for children (at first) to get lost in. But as the story went on, she knew her readers would grow up. She wrote a series that would grow with our generation, changing the vernacular of her characters among other things. Of course, our generation would create an internet phenomenon for the Harry Potter world, thats what we do best! I don't think the internet will necessarily help the literary world as far as other novels are concerned.
ReplyDelete