The Power of Pottermania

A scrawny little boy with messy hair and special powers—she stumbled upon this idea on a train ride back home. It took her 6 years to complete the first book, followed by a relentless search for a publisher. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone finally released on 26th June, 1997 with an initial print of 500 copies. Today, the book has sold 107 million copies. The entire series has sold a whopping 450 million copies, making it the best-selling series of all time! Moreover, it has been translated into over 73 languages worldwide, including Ancient Greek. Through her books, Rowling managed to create something very special. Something more than a series, more than a collection of favourite characters. She created a phenomenon. Pottermania.

The Harry Potter series did not just gather a regular fan-following; it garnered an exceptional, extraordinary fan-base—intense, frenzied, obsessive, and ardent. ‘Potterheads’, as they are called, occupy every part of the planet, sweeping societies around the world with this craze for over a decade. One has to be a Potterhead to understand the strong emotions the series evokes.

But what makes the series so popular? Why do we love it so? The book that started off as being primarily a children’s series grew and continues to grow beyond its target audience to appeal to individuals across the ages. Lisa Damour asserts that the Potter appeal lies in its ability to speak to the dynamic and unconscious conflicts children encounter as they begin their journey into adulthood. The fears and insecurities depicted, along with a strong bond of companionship, make the stories particularly significant for children and preadolescents. It is this reminiscence of preadolescence that hooks adults as well.

The true power of the series, though, lies in the books’ ability to channelize an entire generation into book-readers. A study by Yankelovich and Scholastic found that a little over half (51%) of Harry Potter readers aged 5-17 did not read for fun prior to the series. 89% of the parents believed that reading Harry Potter helped their children enjoy reading more, while 76% asserted that it actually helped their child’s school performance.

Given the rise of Pottermania early in the century, the American Psychiatric Association had one session dedicated to Harry Potter in its 2001 annual meeting. It focused on using the stories to establish rapport with young clients and to elicit their responses to situations. It was soon revealed that almost all attendees (adults) had read at least two books!

Consequently, employing Harry Potter as a therapeutic tool was explored. Noctor investigated the books from a psychoanalytical perspective and explained the appeal it may hold to young people with mental health difficulties.  Through Harry (a character that had endured immense suffering through the loss of his parents at infancy, an abusive childhood, and the countless battles that he had to face), he pointed out the importance of seeking help and recognising one’s thoughts and feelings rather than suppressing them. Laura Oldford studied the manner in which Harry Potter was a valuable tool in promoting acceptance and change for various illnesses, finding that fictional environments like Hogwarts could provide a creative and socially applicable context for therapeutic learning.

Studies have also investigated how Harry Potter may be making the world safer for children. Stephen Gwilym found that on Harry Potter book release weekends, the Emergency Room admission for individuals aged 7-15 went down by almost half, suggesting that this population possibly refrained from engaging in risky behaviour during this time. 

Importantly, though, the series had a direct influence on its fans. Attracting people from all age groups across the world, the series built around itself a loyal, passionate fan-base that continues to flourish, placing the series third in the most-read books in the world. Fans grew up with Harry, seeing the world from his perspective. And this coming-of-age experience influenced their perception of the reality they lived. In perhaps the most important study about the series, Loris Vezzali found that reading Harry Potter instilled a sense of empathy among its readers and helped them view stigmatised minority groups (refugees, homosexuals, and immigrants) with reduced prejudice. Sensitivity portrayed in the series towards Muggles and ‘mud-bloods’ played a vital role.

The wizarding world of Harry Potter, in fact, has had a more direct impact – Potterheads are emulating wizardry in reality. The famous drink of the wizarding world, Butter Beer, now has a real world recipe, and is served at Harry Potter theme parks and bars around the world. A new genre of music named Wrock (Wizard Rock) has evolved – celebrating the series through rock music. Harry Potter symposiums and conventions are frequently held and bring forth in-depth research papers. In fact, the University of Durham offers a complete course called ‘Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion’. But one of the most exciting aspects of this process has to be the International Quidditch World Cup. It is a formal series and the sport is played by over 300 teams from 20 countries!

Pottermania has been and will continue to be an influential force in many ways. It is a culture, a passion, an identity. And for all those seemingly ludicrous adults and passionate children, this phase will never end, because whether it is by the page or the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home. 

Chinmayee Kantak

Posts, Likes and Comments in the Aftermath of Death

In the aftermath of the recent Paris terror attacks, Facebook introduced the feature of superimposing the French flag on one’s profile picture. Anyone wishing to display his or her solidarity and grief with the nation could choose this option. While many debates surrounding this feature have been political (such as why Facebook had not provided the same feature with the Lebanese flag symbolising the Beirut bombings), the thought that came to my mind was how social media had become, amongst other things (like displaying solidarity), an acceptable platform to grieve. 

            A study conducted in 2010, found that Facebook and MySpace users were more likely to visit the page of a recently deceased individual, immediately after learning of their death, than otherwise. More interestingly, the study also found that visitation continued much longer after death. Such behaviour highlights the cemetery-like feature that social media networks imbibe; users are given a memorial site for the dead, where they can go to pay their respects via writing posts or sharing pictures, and thereby mourn death within a cyber community setting. In fact, Facebook has even begun memorialising profiles of deceased individuals, thus creating a cyber grave.

            But does engaging in such an intimate and private behaviour on such a wide public platform help users? Research shows that one of the most striking findings in this area has been that while many friends view the profile of a deceased person or visit their memorial page, a very small percentage actually interact visibly with the deceased or others on such pages (either through posts, likes, comments or messages). However, all individuals in the study indicated finding support and peace by simply reading what others had written, regardless of their own level of interaction. For the same reason, very few expressed their desire to ‘de-friend’ the deceased individual, finding comfort in having a visible bond much after the death of their friend. Thus, the Facebook profile becomes a unique way of coping with the death of a friend or loved one.

            Social media is transforming the way that we mourn, both for the grievers as well as sympathisers. On a positive front, it allows a community to come together, and openly communicate their support and lend their shoulders; this has enabled individuals to both transform their capacities to comfort the grieving, and also set up an environment allowing the bereaved to express themselves completely. While it has been found that receiving social support does not necessarily aid in the recovery process in the aftermath of death, it does decrease the depressive symptoms that follow suit. Overall, this might help an individual in overcoming the death of their loved one.

            More interestingly, research is now focused on understanding the differences between online and offline grieving.  It is unsurprising to note that the online grieving process could follow the same path as traditional grief models. For instance, online grieving normalises the grief experience and allows individuals to work through the pain of losing their loved one. Another more important process is that it enables individuals to forge a continuing bond with the deceased, which traditional grief models suggest as being one of the most important steps of the grieving process. However, it may also lead to people to getting stuck in a virtual reality; the deceased may become immortal in the cyber world, which may then affect the living’s ability to accept the reality of their death.

            Some might argue that though online grieving helps, it remains largely impersonal and superficial due to the lack of personal interaction, thus defeating the purpose of providing support. Others argue that exposing yourself to the internet at such a vulnerable time might draw the flak of anonymous users, through trolls and abuses, thus creating an environment opposite to the one required to grieve. A specific problem related to memorialising Facebook profiles is that it might contain content that causes distress to family and loved ones; particularly in sensitive cases such as if the deceased individual has been the victim of violence. For example, the English media recently reported that a young woman’s memorialised Facebook profile contained pictures of her and her boyfriend (who had murdered her), which deeply disturbed her family members. However, when they requested Facebook executives to remove such content, they were refused on grounds that the individual’s profile had been frozen, and could no longer be amended. This made it difficult for the family to move on and gain closure. Such limitations remain a reality of the Internet world, but it is important to note that the benefits of online grieving might sometimes be more powerful than the negatives.

            More research is still required to completely understand the ways in which grieving through social media helps people. In the same way that people share their happiness through social networks, so also are they beginning to express their grief. With Twitter announcing their intention to improve their policies with regards to handling death and tragic situations, the onus now lies on social networking sites to adapt their services to facilitate the psychologically healthy expression and experience of grief. Needless to say, thanks to social media, the way that society mourns the loss of the dead, continues and will continue to evolve. 

Ahuti Das

How Chocolate Understands

The story began with it serving as a staple drink to the people of Mesoamerica, centuries ago. Today, it is one of the most loved and widely consumed foods in the world. Theobroma cacao, commonly known as chocolate, has enchanted and mystified us for years. After all, its name hails it as the ‘food of the Gods.’

And we treat it so. Our most exquisite preparations contain chocolate. It is crafted to perfection, to satisfy the irresistible love we harbour for it. It is a part of our celebration and our despair. And for good reason.

Chocolate has proven to produce a positive influence on mood (Macht & Dettmer, 2006). Through its various components, this highly complex compound produces biological effects that are nearly impossible to replicate. One of chocolate’s major components is phenylethylamine (PEA), commonly known as the “love drug.” PEA stimulates the release of endorphins, dopamine and norepinephrine—neurotransmitters that are involved in the feelings of euphoria and love.

In fact, the association between chocolate and love is so strong that language often takes on this characteristic in describing the emotion. ‘Love is sweet’, ‘sour grapes’, ‘jealousy is bitter’ are commonly used phrases in English, ones that draw parallel between our emotions and tastes. Chang, Tong, Tan and Koh (2006) found that love is, indeed, associated with sweetness and jealousy with bitterness. Further, individuals experiencing love perceived chocolate as sweeter than those experiencing jealousy. This perceptual judgement suggests a possible tendency towards consuming sweet things such as chocolate when in love!

Given such mood enhancing and powerful effects of chocolate, it is frequently consumed as a comfort food, and is a highly craved dessert. Women show a great liking and craving for chocolate, particularly during the premenstrual period (Rozin, Levine, & Stoess, 1991). One probable explanation for this is the differences in the brain’s reactivity to chocolate. Smeets et al. (2006) found sex differences in the effect of chocolate satiation on brain activation, particularly in the hypothalamus, ventral striatum, and medial prefrontal cortex. This could play a vital role in making chocolate more appealing to women.

And while many of us resort to chocolate during times of need and despair, its long-term effectiveness is far from established. Several studies have been conducted to explore how chocolate helps relieve stress. One particular study by Wirtz et al. (2014) found dark chocolate to be an effective means of buffering stress reactivity in human beings. As an anti-depressant, chocolate serves the purpose of hedonistic pleasure but is more likely to prolong the dysphoric mood. Irrespective, its consumption does offer mood elevation, even if these benefits are ephemeral (Parker, Parker, & Brotchie, 2006).

Importantly, these perceived feelings of comfort and warmth depend on the type of chocolate. Gámbaro et al. (2012) found that milk chocolate is most strongly associated with warmth, positive feelings, and is generally most loved. Dark chocolate is perceived as healthy, but there is a tendency to view white chocolate as overly sweet and greasy.

Chocolate’s ability to influence our moods and emotions does not lie simply in its taste. Chocolate appeals to all our senses, one of the strongest being to the olfactory sense. A study by Doucé et al. (2013) pointed towards the scent of chocolate influencing consumer behaviour. More specifically, the aroma encouraged general approach behaviour while negatively influencing goal-directed behaviour in a bookstore. The aroma of chocolate can thus play an influential role in consumer attention. It is evident in the rise of advertising of chocolate-scented deodorants. After all, who can miss a chocolate man walking down the street, turning all women’s heads?

Thus, chocolate, in all its divinity, does a lot more than satisfying our taste. It can influence, uplift and alter experiences in myriad ways researchers are yet to completely decode. Individual chemistry, too, plays an important role and thus there will always be a few quirky individuals who remain completely indifferent to this creation.

For the rest of us, follow the words of Remus Lupin and, ‘Eat. You’ll feel better.’

Chinmayee Kantak