The main argument of this article was about how storytelling has created openings for consumer participation. Corporations think that they can control participation, but consumers are asserting the right to participate when and where they wish. The “Potter Wars” and fan fiction are perfect representations of this. There is a challenge to read and a challenge to write, and censorship and property rights are trying to prevent the ability to fully engage in the central cultural fantasy that is Harry Potter. There is a struggle with literacy and with who has the right to participate, and questions on how media literacy should be taught. No one knows how to live in the era of convergence culture and collective knowledge; it is all a learning process for everyone. The chapter talked about Warner Bros. and how they have tried to rein in fan appropriation of the Harry Potter books and the grounds that infringe on the studio’s intellectual property. The main focus was on a fan-made website called The Daily Prophet. An online newspaper that focused around the world of Hogwarts and Harry Potter, where any child can construct a persona and participate in the magical world and write his or her own stories. This has made learning and writing fun for children, as well making them feel as though they have a special place in the world. This role-playing is used as means of exploring a fictional realm and developing a richer understanding of yourself and the culture around you. However, there has been a literacy struggle over such fan sites by Warner Bros. because of their claims of copyrights and trademarked phrases. The fans fought back, saying that if their sites were shut down it was an infringement of free speech, expression, ideas, and fun in this magical book. I agree with the author and the fans; I think places like The Daily Prophet are wonderful opportunities for all children. It is a learning experience that takes place outside the classroom and without adult control, where they can feel a bond with each other. They are experiencing convergence and media literacy by using the Internet as a tool, and express themselves and share it with others. They are able to pool knowledge and collaborate with others, and I think they have every right to do so. After all, it is just fan fiction.
The Potter Wars are the struggle of teachers, librarians, publishers, and civil liberty groups, who stood by the religious right to have the Harry Potter books removed and banned from libraries and bookstores alike. It also involved the likes of Warner Bros. trying to stop things such as fan fiction, claiming copyright laws. Fan fiction is exactly what is happening at The Daily Prophet; children are creating their own characters and personas and putting them into the world of Harry Potter. They create their own stories, which often involve characters or places that were written about in the books. They are using their imagination to actively participate in literacy and further their writing skills. Literacy is often controlled in schools or by outside groups that try to have certain books banned, or by parents. There are also some things that may be deemed socially unacceptable to read, according to others. I think this is wrong; I believe anyone has the freedom to experience literacy in any way that he or she likes at any time. It is not something that can be controlled. Harry Potter is fiction, and the fans of this are aware of this fact; they simply enjoy escaping into a book for a while.
The Daily Prophet was created by a young girl named Heather, and the writers are 102 children across the world who bring literature to life and explore books and open their minds. Being a writer for the Daily Prophet opens whole new worlds and allows children to bond, help with gender roles, develop cultural literacy, and actively analyze and engage more deeply with popular culture. They are able to mix real-world stories with fantasy, contribute to their learning, express themselves, and learn about themselves. They are learning, creating, and enjoying in a friendly utopian society. There is a sense of real connection, acceptance of everyone, and a sense of safety. Children create their own personas, some saying that are related to Harry Potter or Hermione Granger, two of the central characters. They use their creative knowledge to create back-stories and interact with other personas that have been created by other writers. There was a section which focused on how, although Hermione Granger is often stereotyped as the typical girl, but the children on the website can fantasize about things that were never talked about in the books, giving her more of a personality. This fan writing allows them to delve into a book that they love even when the series may have come to an end. They get to use their imagination, and this is very appealing to young people; there are no restrictions on your their imagination. When you are a passionate fan of something, it is a great opportunity to be able to add your own personal touch to it.
Convergence culture literacy is what is happening now; books have found ways to be expressed on the Internet, on TV, in movies and in many other forms. It is not just printed material that matters, but what we can do with media and what we consume. Learning is celebrated, and so is expressing oneself. There are certain skills involved in participating in this kind of literacy, like the ability to pool knowledge with others in a collaborative enterprise, as in the article of Spoiling Survivor. One also must have the ability to share and compare value systems by evaluating ethical dramas, such as the gossip surrounding reality TV. One has to be able to make connections across scattered pieces of information, and express interpretations and feelings toward popular fictions through your own folk culture. It is also good to have the ability to circulate what you create via the Internet, so that it can be shared with others.
The relationship between publishers and fan writers is difficult to define. Some are supportive because fan writing has educational purposes, and storytelling encourages children to expand their imaginations; it empowers them to find voices as writers. J.K. Rowling, although not a publisher, is completely supportive of the fan fiction surrounding her books; she encourages it. Others feel very differently, however; they dislike it because they feel it is copyright infringement. Warner Bros. tried to, and successfully shut down several fan websites, but their only concern is money, not the benefits that children could be gaining from them.
When groups attempted to take away the right of readers to experience Harry Potter, they did not take it lying down. Teachers risked their jobs trying to keep Harry Potter on the shelves, because they knew it excited kids about learning and reading. One teacher in particular, Mary Dana, organized an opposition to superintendents who were trying to ban Harry Potter. She organized a group called Muggles for Harry Potter, which was then joined by eight other organizations; 18,000 people ended up joining. This was all thanks to the help of the Internet, and the name was later changed to kidSpeak. Anyone can write online, and people banded together in support of keeping Harry Potter on the shelves. Many religious groups claimed the books were anti-Christian, but certain Christian groups made videos and wrote online in support of HP, and used new media technologies to do so. Groups such as the Christian Gamers Guild were created, which did not want people to feel alone. There are fan-friendly churches, which explore the moral options of books instead of just disregarding them. They are asserting their rights through participation. Children can teach each other and adults can learn from this. Heather, of The Daily Prophet, led the fan community against Warner Bros. when they tried to shut down fan sites, and the fan community came to include lawyers and activists, who fought for free speech. Were it not for the Internet, these things would not have nearly as much support or widespread knowledge.
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