This week’s post will examine Henry Jenkins’ article entitled, “Fan Activism as Participatory Politics: The Case of the Harry Potter Alliance.” Published in the book DIY Citizenship. This piece is an in-depth look at the concept of participatory politics and the ways in which popular and fan culture are allowing youth and other underrepresented groups to assume a greater role in the public sphere, thereby bridging the gap between cultural and political engagement.
An example of this new genre of DIY activism can be found in the fan club cum activist group HPA (Harry Potter Alliance). This community of young people united in their love of everything Harry Potter and JK Rowling also operates as a kind of quasi-political action network. Their reach and influence has been enormous; the 100 000 participants in the alliance run the over 70 active internationally based chapters of the organization. The group has mobilized members to participate in political and social issues that run the gamut from anti-bullying to Haitian disaster relief efforts.
What distinguishes a group such as HPA from other political action/citizenship groups? The distinction lies in the concept of cultural acupuncture. The term coined by Andrew Slack, creator and co-founder of the Harry Potter Alliance, refers to the practice of “ finding where the psychological energy is in the culture, and moving that energy towards creating a healthier world.” In other words, Slack has quite cleverly figured out how to harness the energy created by a pop cultural event such as a Harry Potter movie premier and re-direct it at an important real life cause such as the genocide in Darfur. By engaging legions of Harry Potter fans using the existing structures, culture and language already present in the Harry Potter universe, Slack has enabled a generation of young people to participate in various political arenas that have traditionally been hostile and exclusionary to youth.
Jenkins’ themes of engaged citizenship and political action resonate with me as I reflect on the upcoming federal elections that will soon take place both in Canada and in the United States respectively. Here in Canada, we have recently witnessed the advent of US style voter suppression tactics with the creation of the so-called Fair Elections Act. The Act, originally touted as the solution to the fraudulent robocalls scandal, actually disadvantages Aboriginal, low income and young voters by imposing stricter identification requirements and eliminating the practice of vouching (a practice whereby a qualified voter would be allowed to “vouch” for another potential voter who lacks the necessary ID). As for the U.S, one need only view one of the myriad Hollywood films dealing with the Civil Rights era in order to understand that country’s long and continued history of voter suppression and the role that it has played in disenfranchising generations of African-Americans, both politically and economically.
What if, like Andrew Slack and his Harry Potter Alliance we could harness the energy and buzz created by fan culture in order to mobilize and organize groups that have historically been left out, pushed out and forced out of the political process? How could a group of young people allied by their devotion to the television show Empire or their love of the music of A Tribe Called Red, change the political landscape? Like the plot of the next episode of Empire, I can hardly wait to find out.
An example of this new genre of DIY activism can be found in the fan club cum activist group HPA (Harry Potter Alliance). This community of young people united in their love of everything Harry Potter and JK Rowling also operates as a kind of quasi-political action network. Their reach and influence has been enormous; the 100 000 participants in the alliance run the over 70 active internationally based chapters of the organization. The group has mobilized members to participate in political and social issues that run the gamut from anti-bullying to Haitian disaster relief efforts.
What distinguishes a group such as HPA from other political action/citizenship groups? The distinction lies in the concept of cultural acupuncture. The term coined by Andrew Slack, creator and co-founder of the Harry Potter Alliance, refers to the practice of “ finding where the psychological energy is in the culture, and moving that energy towards creating a healthier world.” In other words, Slack has quite cleverly figured out how to harness the energy created by a pop cultural event such as a Harry Potter movie premier and re-direct it at an important real life cause such as the genocide in Darfur. By engaging legions of Harry Potter fans using the existing structures, culture and language already present in the Harry Potter universe, Slack has enabled a generation of young people to participate in various political arenas that have traditionally been hostile and exclusionary to youth.
Jenkins’ themes of engaged citizenship and political action resonate with me as I reflect on the upcoming federal elections that will soon take place both in Canada and in the United States respectively. Here in Canada, we have recently witnessed the advent of US style voter suppression tactics with the creation of the so-called Fair Elections Act. The Act, originally touted as the solution to the fraudulent robocalls scandal, actually disadvantages Aboriginal, low income and young voters by imposing stricter identification requirements and eliminating the practice of vouching (a practice whereby a qualified voter would be allowed to “vouch” for another potential voter who lacks the necessary ID). As for the U.S, one need only view one of the myriad Hollywood films dealing with the Civil Rights era in order to understand that country’s long and continued history of voter suppression and the role that it has played in disenfranchising generations of African-Americans, both politically and economically.
What if, like Andrew Slack and his Harry Potter Alliance we could harness the energy and buzz created by fan culture in order to mobilize and organize groups that have historically been left out, pushed out and forced out of the political process? How could a group of young people allied by their devotion to the television show Empire or their love of the music of A Tribe Called Red, change the political landscape? Like the plot of the next episode of Empire, I can hardly wait to find out.