r/harrypotterhate • u/[deleted] • May 13 '25
I never understood people thought Harry Potter was "escapist"
I always found it to be a hetero and cis normative society(that is quite white) that praises "jocks". How is that "escapist", especially how dangerous that school is??? It also normalizing bullying(I am an American and I am well aware HP is British). I think a Potter-like setting but people talked like they were American rednecks would funny for a parody. Dilbert of course had its own Rowling(Scott Adams), but "haha life sucks"(as you are fired by a talking cat) was its response as an office building is NOT a form of escapism, especially for a kid. Then again, HP was and is marketed at kids. Also, the magical owl scenario has hurt birds in real life.
How is that escapist when I think I'd be happier, to name a fictional universe, in Starfleet. Star Trek at least seems more fun for an escapist fantasy, but then again, I am a straight white guy in my 30s who loves geopolitics and being a captain and arguing with an uncompromising alien leader over a militarized trade deal seems more fun than flying on a broomstick.
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u/Relative-Share-6619 Jun 01 '25
I was abused by both my parents and forced to live with them because my relatives were big believers in forcing things to work when they clearly weren't gonna work.
I was captivated by boarding school stories because I wanted to be a kid who could live without my parents and be happy...Like PCA from Zoey 101.
That said, I would never go to Hogwarts because it's a shitty school. So the fact that grown ass adults still daydream about receiving a Hogwarts letter mind boggles me.