I have not heard of the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA) until reading Henry Jenkins chapter Fan Activism as Participatory Politics: The Case of the Harry Potter Alliance (2014, p. 65-73). The fact that there is an organized group that focuses on spreading awareness of social justice issues and advocating for social change is truly amazing, especially because the majority of members are youth and young adults. I find it fascinating that these members rally together because they share similar interests, stemming from being fans of Harry Potter. There is no doubt that this fan activism will lead to creating a generation of contributing members of society.
This tech savvy demographic has the use of technology at their fingertips. With the use of social media including Twitter and Facebook, members of the HPA are able to use hashtags that connects people together and promote awareness to issues that are important to them. Also, members can create videos from the comfort of their own bedrooms (Jenkins, 2014) and post them directly to YouTube thereby getting their voice into the world to be heard. The young members of the HPA are keen at fighting for causes they believe in and hope to ignite social change.
Many organizations or focus groups often only target one concern. The HPA does not have a specific cause they wish to target as they, “embrace a flexible framework… enabling it to respond quickly to any crisis and to mobilize its dispersed members” (Jenkins, 2014, p. 67). I think that this model creates even more engagement amongst members as members can truly feel that their issues and concerns are being heard.
Many reports today show that there is limited civil engagement among today’s youth. One can look at Rick Mercer’s rant promoting the 2011 Federal election to see that this is a concern.
Many political parties and leaders do not accept or seek out youth engagement in political issues and policy. I think that one reason could be because youth under the age of 18 are not voting members and therefore do not directly affect the results of an election.
Jenkins (2014) discusses how the more engaged young people are in civil and political activism, the more likely they will be to vote in the future and participate in activities within their community. The HPA is an outlet for this demographic to begin to participate culturally and politically in an engaging way that interests them and allows them to feel like their voice is being heard. It is a great way for young people to raise awareness for the concerns that they have with society and in their communities.
Henry Jenkins. “Fan Activism as Participatory Politics: The Case of the Harry Potter Alliance.” DIY Citizenship. Eds. Matt Ratto and Megan Boler. Cambridge: MIT, 2015. pp. 65-73.
Jenkins (2014) discusses how the more engaged young people are in civil and political activism, the more likely they will be to vote in the future and participate in activities within their community. The HPA is an outlet for this demographic to begin to participate culturally and politically in an engaging way that interests them and allows them to feel like their voice is being heard. It is a great way for young people to raise awareness for the concerns that they have with society and in their communities.
Henry Jenkins. “Fan Activism as Participatory Politics: The Case of the Harry Potter Alliance.” DIY Citizenship. Eds. Matt Ratto and Megan Boler. Cambridge: MIT, 2015. pp. 65-73.