It's hard to remember a time when words like "cauldron," "flying broomstick" and "witch" invoked thoughts of the Dark Ages, Halloween or a Shakespeare play; a time without words like "muggle" or pre-teen heartthrobs in blue jeans fighting evil with magic wands. That's because for over a decade, the "Harry Potter" phenomenon has swallowed up our imaginations when it comes to magical things.
The franchise (seven books, soon to be eight movies, eleventy-bajillion fans) first entered the world in 1997 with the publication of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone." The first part of the final film adaptation, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," has entered theaters. But here's the thing I wish more people asked about "Harry Potter" -- is it a fantasy, or is it a 1990s period piece?
The franchise, both in print and on film, has always managed to maintain a relatively timeless quality. However, by dates established throughout the book series, Harry was born in the year 1980, and first attends Hogwarts after his 11th birthday, in 1991. The events of the final book occur over the 1996-1997 school year; if he were a real person, Harry would have turned 30 years old last summer.
This is only a big deal when you compare the magical world depicted to that particular era in the real world. For what "Harry Potter" showcases is that the 1990s can be defined not by what it had but what it didn't. No anachronistic attitudes towards race or gender, no outlandish fashions (besides a slight flannel addiction). With the exception of Monica Lewinsky, the first Iraq war and the dawn of the Internet age, the 1990s were pretty damn dull.
It's that Internet thing which proves key, and showcases just how much technology has changed the world we live in today. Take, for example, Harry Potter's owl Hedwig. Hedwig is a pet and faithful companion, but Hedwig is also Harry's primary means of communication, as she transports messages and packages between Harry and other wizards.
From an early '90s viewpoint, having a personally dedicated communication device at one's disposal as an alternative to the postal service is pretty impressive (even if sometimes it brings you the occasional half-dead rodent). Hedwig is even technically a mobile device, as she travels with Harry from place to place and has little trouble tracking his location.
But this all seems a lot less magic when you have a small plastic box that fits in a pocket, sends and receives messages and doesn't require feeding. A small plastic box that makes communication instant, wing-less.
Telephones in general are absent from the wizarding world, as are films, television, computers and the Internet -- there's a radio network, but no modern technology beyond World War II has made much of an impact on their society. Synthetic materials are largely absent: Protective gloves are made from dragon's skin, cauldrons from iron, quills from real feathers -- quills which they dip in bottled ink in order to write on parchment.
