I’m rather proud to be a Potter Head.
When I feel down or restless, I tend to grab for something I know, and most of the time, it’s either the Harry Potter books, the movie Pride & Prejudice, or the music of The War on Drugs.
Romance, fantasy and some indie rock.
Everybody has their ultimate (guilty) pleasures they keep returning to, and I was wondering why that is.
These are my two main reasons:
1. It’s the ultimate comfort zone.
I know the story of Harry Potter almost by heart; I know what will happen page after page after page. And yet, I never get tired of it. It still captivates me as much as when I was 11 years old.
It’s a tale for young and old, beautifully crafted and familiar since I’ve been re-living it for 20 years. It makes me disappear in a world I’ve known for so long, and I can detach from my current situation.
That’s why I keep coming back to it. It’s my ultimate safe space, my comfort zone.
2. The way they make me feel.
Harry Potter, Pride & Prejudice, and The War on Drugs all have one thing in common: they evoke emotions inside me. They touch me in a way other art is not always capable of.
I’m easily touched by emotional scenes on the screen (I cry during movies), lovely music, or books that captivate me.
But why do I keep grabbing back for the same pieces of art?
It’s because of the feelings I associate them with, the feelings they will evoke in me and the feelings I want to feel at that moment.
For Pride & Prejudice, it’s a feeling of sadness and love.
For The War On Drugs, it’s tranquillity, peacefulness, beauty and gratefulness.
For Harry Potter, it’s many feelings: happiness, laughter, sadness, heartbreak, the feeling of unity, pride, love, togetherness, etc.
What are the ultimate (guilty) pleasures you keep returning to?
Thank you for reading,
Marie
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I read the HP series in high school and was a big fan. Now I’m rereading them out loud to my son (he’s 11, we started a few years ago) and we’re on the last book. In a few years I’ll start up again with my daughter (she’s 6 so a bit too early for book 1).
Wow, I felt really identified. I read it for the first time when I was 11, and now I'm 29. Harry Potter is my literary equivalent to series like Friends or Frasier, always there... to relax