Harry Potter and the Millennials: The Boy-Who-Lived and the Politics of a Muggle Generation

Abstract

In this paper we report research on the political impact of the Harry Potter series on the politics of the Millennial Generation. The Harry Potter series is rich with lessons that are relevant to politics — acceptance of differences, support for political tolerance and equality, anti-authoritarianism, opposition to the use of violence and deadly force, and the corruptness and ineptitude of politicians. We tested whether exposure to the series was related to individuals’ perspectives on such issues using a survey of college students at a number of different colleges and universities. Our findings indicate that Millennials who became immersed in the story of the boy-who-lived are different from their fellow Millennials with regard to these politically relevant perspectives, and, furthermore, our findings suggest that the Harry Potter series had something to do with these differences.