an announcement was made last week that has sent soaring the hearts of some film and literature fans, while causing some critical media researchers to frantically begin ripping their hair out.Universal Studios announced that they are constructing The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, scheduled to open sometime in late 2009/early 2010. while i am admittedly a happy Potter fan (like millions of others i own all the books (most in hardcover) and have seen all the films), on one hand i'm crazy excited about having the possibility to visit Hogsmeade and Howgarts. can you even imagine Diagon Alley?! but on the other hand, what's the pricetag? (Universal Studio's didn't set a cost yet.)
that's the thing about marketing kid's culture: it always comes with a hefty pricetag. already you can get harry potter anything, for a price. Legos: Graveyard Duel $29.99. a Harry Potter collectible doll: $159.99. an artistic print of the enchanted car: $199.99. you know. cheap stuff. maybe i'm a fuddy-duddy, but this is where i get nervous. where's the boundary between "educational, imaginative goodness" and "let's exploit kids' desire to 'connect' with their literary buddy - for a fee"? hmm...
and that's not even touching on the stir around harry potter's portrayal of gender roles. (there's actually a chapter concerning just that in the 2nd edition of Kinderculture: The Corporate Construction of Childhood. dude, i'm a dork; this is what i study.) personally, i don't really have an issue with harry being harry and not harriette. besides, hermione's a brazen vixen; wouldn't ya say?
that said, come 2010, who's going to Orlando with me?
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