Middle Earth—it is far away.

Westeros—it is far away.

Olympus—it is far away.

Even Troy is never near here.

But Hogwarts is just one train ride.

 

Harry lives as though next door.

 

Harry Potter: The Phenomenon

 

Sunday, February 2, 2014: CNN publishes an article that ignites readers in polarized contention.  The headline?  “JK Rowling says Hermione should have married Harry Potter, not Ron.”  More recently, Reddit has become the field of a heated debate regarding whether or not “no-maj” is a reasonable substitute for “muggle,” since Rowling revealed that this term American wizards apply to the non-magical population:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the impact of the Harry Potter franchise extends far beyond fanfiction and internet arguments: the economics of almost entertainment industries have been hugely affected by the socio-literary phenomenon.

 

When Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone premiered in the United States, it grossed thirty-two million three hundred thousand US dollars on its opening day, breaking the previous record of twenty-eight million set by The Phantom Menace – the fourth film in a series whose cult following remains strong to this day, almost forty years after the release of the original film.  A decade later, despite consistently negative reviews for most of the series, it took only three weeks for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 to surpass The Sorcerer’s Stone (although the latter did remain the second highest grossing film on the series).

 

The jump from novel to film is, perhaps, unsurprising – after all, Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings similarly met with substantial success, and currently Game of Thrones is about to outpace its source material in The Song of Fire and Ice.  But in 2007, Harry Potter found his way out of the passive entertainment industries when Universal Studios Florida announced its plan for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – a section of the theme park to be dedicated to creating an immersive, interactive version of the world that had already arrested the literary and cinematic industries.

 

How have these books about a teenager chosen from infancy able to overthrow the most powerful magician of modern times engrained themselves so completely into our cultural reality as to justify debates on the suitability – nay, the believability – of a slang term coined years after the publication of the final novel?  Moreover, how do the films and theme parks allow us to enrich our experience of this pseudo-reality in a way the novels do not?

 

Harry Potter Movies: The Mental Escape

 

In the world of Harry Potter, apparition appears as a quick and effortless form of wizardly transportation. Simply put, it is human teleportation at its finest. Imagine how convenient and useful apparition could be in our world. A college student could wake up at 8:59:59am and, presumably wearing school appropriate pajamas, arrive to a 9am class punctually and with flair.

 

Despite the marvelous nature of apparition/teleportation, we must remember that the reality presented in the films can be slightly different from reality that we know and live. To begin, we might ask: how does teleportation work? As per a paper published in 1993 called “Teleporting an Unknown Quantum State Via Dual Classical and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Channels”, teleportation is feasible in a quantum world, and relies on the idea that Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) particles exist and come in pairs. The process of teleportation is an interesting one, as it involves simple and instant relocation, as opposed to “traveling”:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1: Particle A has some unknown quantum state Φ. This is destroyed and “converted” into nonclassical and classical information, which are transmitted to particle B. Particle B takes in this transmitted information and uses it to rebuild Φ. The net result is the disappearance at point A and the appearance of point B.

 

Humans are made up of some 10^29 particles of matter. A successful human teleportation would require all 10^29 particles to map to their final location at the same time and with extreme precision, a process that would entail a tremendous amount of time and effort and probably an enormous amount of pain since the particles that make up who you must first self-destruct and then be reborn. From the looks of Fred and George Weasley, apparating does not seem to be a painful or draining task. Even more impressively, the Weasley twins are able to consistently apparate to their final position all in one piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other words, according to the world of Harry Potter and contrary to proven science, the limitations of EPR are not applicable on the macro level. But does this really matter? The audience could care less about whether such wholesome teleportation is even possible. The Weasleys are twin teenagers who simply wish to have some fun; they are no different from the young moviegoers who share with them the joys of mischief. For the time being, we put aside the scientific differences between the two worlds and simply relish in the thought of being able to teleport wherever and whenever we so desire. It is a reality that we experience by forgetting truth and the physical laws that govern everyday lives.

 

The floating candles in the Great Hall are another physics-defying phenomenon depicted in the Harry Potter films that often leaves the audience temporarily muddled by what is and isn’t real. A vacuum-like environment could allow the candles to float, but would also end up snuffing out the flame and causing everyone in the Great Hall to rise from the dining tables like wand-waving astronauts struggling to breathe. However, because such dismal side effects do not exist in movies, one can conclude that the Great Hall is not and has never been a vacuum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An alternate explanation for the floating candles would be the existence of an invisible envelope-like containment surrounding the candle. In order for the candle to float, the density of the air contained around the candle must be less than that of the cooler air so there is a net force upwards. Through a series of calculations, one would find that, without an envelope around the candle flame to contain the hot air, the difference in air densities is negligible and the candle should not rise. In other words, there is no net buoyant force generated in the upward direction; a candle obeying the laws of physics should remain on the surface of the Earth.

 

But no one really cares that the physics is wrong. No one cares that teleportation shouldn’t look easy, or that candles shouldn’t defy gravity. In fact, one would hope that flying candles and instant teleportation are the norm in a magical world. After all, is this not what magic is for, to make the impossible possible? By making the magic convincing and allowing us to witness these magical events unfold before our very eyes, the Harry Potter movies encourage us to leave behind our judgment and the science. The magic gives people something to believe in; the movies provide a place to escape to. The opportunities and possibilities are boundless, and it is this absence of predefined boundaries that brings life and creativity to our imaginations and gives us a sense of freedom, light, and hope that contrasts with the world we often try to escape from.

 

Movies relieve us from the stresses and limits of everyday life. Magic bequeaths hope and pulls us away from the standard, less imaginative world. But magic wouldn’t be anything without believability -- it needs a source of realism in order to have the desired emotional effect. This realism comes from not only a subconscious awareness to the laws of physics, but also the emotional journey that we take with the actors and actresses. It is a journey that has taken 10 years, but it is a worthwhile one that cannot be forgotten. The memories of Harry receiving his Hogwarts letter and overcoming his disbelief that he is indeed a wizard are driven even further through the movie’s musical scores, which become the primary means of travelling back in time to revisit the moments throughout the journey. In this sense, the realistic familiarly of the common themes embedded throughout the movie score extends far beyond being “magical”. As the movies progress and become increasingly darker, the music shifts from representing a fantastical world where reality and fantasy coexist to a realm of reality where only dark magic is portrayed as senseless and evil. At the end of the day, magic becomes our sanctuary; music becomes the instrument that helps us return to that sanctuary to re-experience the wistful moments of truth.

 

Harry Potter Theme Park: The Immersive Experience

 

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter addition to Universal Orlando opened in June 2010, after 265 million dollars of construction and renovations had transformed segments of Universal Islands of Adventure into the wizardly college town of Hogsmeade.  In June of 2013, Universal Studios Florida, another segment of the Universal Orlando Resort Complex, opened its sister-world: a recreation of Diagon Alley, complete with a “Hogwarts Express” to expedite travel between Universal and Islands of Adventure and eliminate the need to walk in the hot, midday Orlando sun. Now, Universal LA is has also announced plans for its own Harry Potter world to be opened in the spring of 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are such continued investments by Universal Studios justified?  Evidently, yes – according to tourist website Best of Orlando, attendance of Universal Studios during the first three months of 2011 increased 68% over the same three months in 2010, a jump evidently incited by the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and the subsequent interest in all things Harry Potter related, including the still relatively new theme park.  The second quarter of 2011 demonstrated a similarly incredible increase in revenue from 2.8 million USD in the second quarter of 2010 to 97.8 million USD in 2012.

          

What lies behind this incredible financial success?  Certainly the Harry Potter novels and to a lesser extent the films have captured the imagination not only of a nation but also of the entire world. Yet, this literary and cinematic success alone cannot explain the extent to which Harry Potter world has benefited Universal Studios.  To understand this, we must turn to the theme park itself and ask what it offers that the books and films do not.  The novels create a fairly complete world within our own imaginations; the films appeal to out visual and auditory senses to further our belief in this imaginary world as a viable reality. Although this alternative world may be created through film, we ourselves remain thoroughly outside of it, locked in our own reality of theaters and popcorn – ultimately left still craving more.

           

The Harry Potter theme parks, on the other hand, finally allow us to place ourselves inside the world the films have created for us. This is achieved firstly through the creation of an immersive environment, and secondly through the utilization of 4D technology to create seemingly personal interactions with the characters of the films.  However, the parks’ attempts to fabricate a complete alternative reality face one major limitation: it remains, in the end, a theme park and cannot fully rid itself of reminders of what it truly is.

           

The physical appearance of the various Universal Harry Potter theme parks is certainly thorough.  Once you cross the wooden plank bridge ubiquitous throughout Islands of Adventure and step through the small stone arch over which hangs a metal plaque depicting a city sky-line and announcing your arrival at “Hogsmeade,” you find yourself in the middle of a quaint British town with old, family run shops lining the streets and snow just clinging to those parts of the roof most protected from direct sunlight.  Of course, it is not a standard British town, as you realize once you begin to survey the shops and inhabitants.  The park employees are all clad in black robes of the English wizardry as told by J. K. Rowling and then depicted in the films.  Certainly, there are still street-venders, but these venders sell butter-beer rather than Coca-Cola, and the shop windows are filled with owls, wands, and other various necessities of any magical college town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

But for those visitors who crave a more movie-centric experience, the immersive atmosphere is still achievable through the use of 4D technology to create rides such as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, the flagship ride for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure, Orlando.  In this ride, guests sit on a bench that Hermione Granger, portrayed as in the films by Emma Watson, enchants, enabling the guests to fly throughout the castle of Hogwarts on a magical tour.  Naturally, things do not go as planned. The guests end up in the midst of a Quidditch match, ambushed by dementors, and fleeing for their very souls through a cave behind Harry himself (portrayed by Daniel Radcliff), who speaks one on one with the guests, directing them to safety during the flight and congratulating them on their survival at the end.  The ride has received so much praise since its opening that the new Harry Potter World in Universal Studios LA, scheduled to open in the spring of 2016, will contain an almost identical ride, according to the LA Times.  After all, such rides do add a second layer to the new reality created by a Harry Potter theme park: the first is the reality of the world itself, established by the architecture, the shops, and the park employees; the second is the reality of the actual stories of J. K. Rowling. For this the parks require direct, one-on-one interaction between the ticket-holders and the characters of the world they have come to visit.

       

However, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter does face a serious dilemma: as a theme park and a section of Universal Studios, its only aim cannot be the fabrication of a fictitious reality for its guests: it must have rides and modern amenities that belie the pseudo-reality it attempts to create.  These difficulties arise in both aspects of the immersive experience described above.  In no place in either the novels or the films do we hear of street performances in the middle of Hogsmeade; yet, such performances are integral to our conception of a theme park and cannot be ignored. Universal Orlando attempts to disguise the performers as much as possible by dressing them as students from Beauxbatons Academy and Durmstrang Institute, but the attempt is only marginally successful.  Similarly, the park must retain the roller coasters for which it is famous; yet whether you call it the Flying Unicorn, as it was known before becoming part of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, or the Flight of the Hippogriff, the appearance of a roller coaster track above an otherwise ostensibly old-fashioned British village immediately jolts the viewer out of his or her immersion in the otherwise carefully crafted atmosphere of the park.  Even the “immersive” rides, such as The Forbidden Journey, face a similar issue since the construction of a complete and interactive reality can only begin after you have stood in line for two hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter attempts – and often succeeds – in embedding its visitors in its own entirely new reality based on the novels and films from which the theme park draws.  However, the completeness of this pseudo-reality is threatened by the parks very classification as a theme park. Since our current reality demands certain requirements of what a theme park offers, these preconceptions come into conflict with the new reality the park attempts to create.  And so we ourselves are left with a dilemma: the theme park may seek to create its own reality, yet to what extent does this fabricated reality partake of the real world in which Harry Potter world exists, the amusement park it is a part of, and the fictional world from which it arises?

 

Set Building

 

Imagine every pivotal movie scene, every iconic, heart-wrenching sequence – from Darth Vader speaking to his son as a battle wages on behind them: “Luke, I am your father”, to the shadowed, opening monologue in the Godfather. Now imagine these scenes again – except against a plain white backdrop. No background noise, no dramatic lighting, only a plain stretch of white canvas. It’s not quite the same. The set is what gives a movie ambiance, aura, what gives it those characteristics that sear certain scenes into our memories. 

           

Sets do more than just simply create a backdrop – they allow narration without actually having a narrator. The mood and aura that the filmmakers want to portray conveys more meaning than the booming, quintessential voice of Morgan Freeman’s narration could ever communicate. Things like composition, color palettes, chiaroscuro, and orientation all work together to create a convincing backdrop.

           

Set building begins with the production designer. He or she will read the screenwriter’s scene description and estimate the budget for the film set creation. From there it is handed off to concept artists. These artists are given the task of sketching out the backdrop based on the description of the screenwriter. Often this includes extensive research – especially for historical backdrops where every detail matters. Even with futuristic or mythical scenes, concept artists need to converse with experts in the field in order to make the set as convincing as possible. It is also essential for the art directors to pick up the mood of the given scene in context of the movie itself. Does it call for a mysterious, shadowed corridor or a brightly lit open room? What kind of interaction does the actor need with the set? All of these factors must be taken into account in order to create the most convincing sketch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These sketches provide a decent blueprint of possible layouts and ideas for the film set design, but the art director and draftsmen are the ones who mold it from the two dimensional into three-dimensional. Utilizing computer aided design techniques (CAD) they are able to create very specific and precise blueprints for the set. Throughout this process the art director is also working on how to make certain props come to life on the set – by collaborating with sculptors, designers, and the special effects specialists.When the vision has been thoroughly edited, vetted, andapproved the construction manager and his workers work on bringing it from the computer screen to the set that we see in movies. They combine the interior designing and architecture of the art director’s vision with the tangible materials of wood, paint, and nails. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creating film sets is what allows us to bring the fantasy of a magical world, such as Harry Potter, or any other setting, to life. It sets up a very particular and contrived sense of place and space that is made believable by the amalgamation of its actors, props, and special effects. For example, the creation of the Hogwarts castle itself is a combination of a giant three-dimensional model of the castle, CGI effects to make the believable backdrop of mountains and lakes, and actors interacting with the environment and projected onto a green screen.

 

Harry Potter: The Escape from All Realities

 

Humans by nature desire some freedom of imagination. The Harry Potter franchise provides the perfect environment for seeking out and indulging in such forms of imagination. From novels to movies to theme parks, fans proceed from reading about one reality to forgetting about their own to creating a new reality that reflects the one described in the novels. While the actual product may differ greatly from what was initially created in the mind, it is the realization that one is standing in a physical manifestation of what once was a fictional 2D world that ultimately matters.

 

Unsurprisingly, there exists an inverse relationship between the amount of creative freedom permitted and the amount of direct physical experience offered:

 

 

 

 

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books offer the greatest range of creative freedom. With only words and dialogue, the novels leave the pictorial atmosphere and mood up to the reader to frame into what he or she deems to be the perfect Harry Potter world. However, novels are limiting because there is no way to interact directly with the characters’ world or experience what they are experiencing. Movies are slightly more restrictive in imaginative freedom in that they unravel the world bit by bit. While there is less to put together, the immersive world of sound and moving images allows one to experience more emotionally, albeit not as much as one would in a theme park. The theme park, despite the limits in self-creativity, serves as a bridge between the real world and a fabricated reality. But how far does this connection reach, and can it go further? Moreover, when will this pseudo-reality become so engrained in our world today that it is no longer a pseudo but real? Theme parks are limited though by what is present. Would the creation of a Hogwarts University, where one would be able to devote a few years of one’s life to studying and doing magic, finally eliminate this divide?

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Written by Victoria Fan, Georgia Murray, and Preethi Raghavan
Poem by Tyler Dougan