Potter - when will it get the recognition it deserves? FFS

[The Creator]

What emotional impact has Star Wars had? When Anakin's mother died, I was like 'oh, that sucks'. You can't relate to the characters...There is no depth unlike Potter which is incredibly complex.

I'm not meaning to diss Potter cause I do love Potter and it is very emotional (especially the last 2 movies), but to be honest, it really isn't incredibly complex. Oh there's a good strong backstory to most of the characters, but it's still bottom line cliche fantasy (yes it is cliche, even though a lot is original as well) with a predictable ending (not that Star Wars isn't predictable, because it too is). It's actually rather linear compared to some fantasy (like A Song of Ice and Fire). There are moments that absolutely astound me and do get complex, and characters too that are very well fleshed out, but it gets boggled down with so many characters and it sometimes loses focus of important things that were in the books (like the Horcrux story being butchered in favor of corny romcom).So no, while Potter does have some deep and complex moments, it is certainly not "incredibly complex." That's more like Inception or something pretentious, but not Potter (and not that Inception is pretentious because I love it, and I do love a lot of pretentious movies also!).

[baumer]

What emotional impact has Star Wars had? When Anakin's mother died, I was like 'oh, that sucks'. You can't relate to the characters...There is no depth unlike Potter which is incredibly complex.

Dude, you were amoeba when SW came out in 1977. How could you possibly know what kind of impact SW had when it came out.SW is the most culturally impacting series of films ever. There is no argument. Period. End of story. And it is not my favourite series at all. But facts are facts.

[Heretic]

http-~~-//www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6sj89xgnl4

Eh, I don't find that scene emotional.

[Heretic]

Dude, you were amoeba when SW came out in 1977. How could you possibly know what kind of impact SW had when it came out.SW is the most culturally impacting series of films ever. There is no argument. Period. End of story. And it is not my favourite series at all. But facts are facts.

Baumer, I just said, i'm not talking about cultural impact.

[baumer]

When Luke is told by Vader that he is his dad, people lost their freakin minds. That scene alone, that whole last act of Empire has had more of a cultural impact than any film ever has.

[baumer]

Baumer, I just said, i'm not talking about cultural impact.

So in 1977, if SW made 500 mill WW, isn't that more tickets sold than any Potter film?

[Heretic]

I'm not meaning to diss Potter cause I do love Potter and it is very emotional (especially the last 2 movies), but to be honest, it really isn't incredibly complex. Oh there's a good strong backstory to most of the characters, but it's still bottom line cliche fantasy (yes it is cliche, even though a lot is original as well) with a predictable ending (not that Star Wars isn't predictable, because it too is). It's actually rather linear compared to some fantasy (like A Song of Ice and Fire). There are moments that absolutely astound me and do get complex, and characters too that are very well fleshed out, but it gets boggled down with so many characters and it sometimes loses focus of important things that were in the books (like the Horcrux story being butchered in favor of corny romcom).So no, while Potter does have some deep and complex moments, it is certainly not "incredibly complex." That's more like Inception or something pretentious, but not Potter (and not that Inception is pretentious because I love it, and I do love a lot of pretentious movies also!).

Well it's much more complex than Star Wars, that's for sure. Ok, maybe not 'incredibly' complex, but enough so that you can relate to the characters and gage the underlying factors of the story.

[Heretic]

So in 1977, if SW made 500 mill WW, isn't that more tickets sold than any Potter film?

I never denied ticket sales...

[baumer]

I never denied ticket sales...

Then if you are not talking culturally or in ticket sales, then what metrics are you using to justify your statement that Potter has had more of an impact? Dollars?

[Heretic]

Then if you are not talking culturally or in ticket sales, then what metrics are you using to justify your statement that Potter has had more of an impact? Dollars?

I've said...I'm talking in terms of emotional impact.

[baumer]

I've said...I'm talking in terms of emotional impact.

Emotional impact? So you were not alive in 1977 and yet you can judge the emotional impact of it? Well, I was 5 in 1977 and 8 in 1980 and 11 in 83 and emotionally the films were second to none. I'm not sure what emotions Potter elicits. I'm not trying to slag Potter but if you are going to say there is more of an emotional resonance with Potter than the OT, you at least need to have something to back it up. If you mean on a personal level, no problem, but if you mean overall then you are very much mistaken.

[Heretic]

Emotional impact? So you were not alive in 1977 and yet you can judge the emotional impact of it? Well, I was 5 in 1977 and 8 in 1980 and 11 in 83 and emotionally the films were second to none. I'm not sure what emotions Potter elicits. I'm not trying to slag Potter but if you are going to say there is more of an emotional resonance with Potter than the OT, you at least need to have something to back it up. If you mean on a personal level, no problem, but if you mean overall then you are very much mistaken.

In my personal opinion, I don't see how Star Wars can have that big of an emotional impact. Because...the films don't reach you on that level. I mean, today, I don't see people remembering SW for the emotional depth, but rather, for the nostalgia or pure entertainment it brought to millions of people's lives. I may be biased, but I think Potter will, in a decade of so, be remembered more because of how relatable the characters were, and the fact the story behind it was about love, friendship, good and evil etc, and not because it was about witches and Wizards and had cool special effects.

[baumer]

It's all about your opinion. That's how you feel about the films. And that's fine. But do you really think 35 years after ANH people are going to be discussing the emotions of the film? I don't think in 20 years people are going to be telling us how emotional Potter is, they will regale everyone with the other aspects of the film.

[Heretic]

Well no, because I will ALWAYS relate to Potter on an emotional scale as I connect to the characters so well. I just can't do that with Star Wars because there's nothing to actually relate to, for me.But I guess, you grew up with SW, I grew up with Potter, you have a much stronger connection to SW than I ever will.

[lab276]

You have to be objective about this. It might be your opinion that Potter is more emotional. It may even be that Potter is more emotional, but that's not what you're arguing about. You're talking about impact on the world and in that sense SW trumps Potter.

Edited March 5, 2012 by lab276

[baumer]

I will never deny what kind of an impact Potter has had and will have in the future. But SW is just on another level and I just don't think that's up for debate.

[Heretic]

If we put it in terms of what both series taught me, Potter taught me a lot about true friendship and love, and made me reflect on myself and my life... Star Wars taught me nothing.

[Plain Old Tele]

But Heretic, you are not the rest of the world.Even on just a technical level, STAR WARS literally changed the way movies were made, marketed, and released. That's not even getting into anything pop-culture related.

[Heretic]

Not denying that at all. On a technical level, nothing comes close to Star Wars. I'm tired. Goodnight folks.

[Noctis]

Oh, yes, I love these discussions.In the States, there is absolutely no comparison. Star Wars was always more popular than Harry Potter. Potter has definitely had a massive cultural impact in the States, but not quite to the extent of Star Wars. Star Wars will always remain the most impacting series in the States. These are with the films, of course. In terms of the books, you cannot really compare book sales to the ticket sales of Star Wars, but the impact of the Potter books are enormous. These books have turned millions of kids into reading. That in itself is a phenomenon unlike ANY other.But even in movies, the Potter films have had a larger cultural impact than Star Wars (particularly Germany, Japan, France, UK, Australia, China, Russia, etc). As massive as the movies are, do not dismiss the books. They will ALWAYS be bigger than the movies and the effects they have had are absolutely astounding. I mean, to sell 450 million copies of books in fourteen years is such a mind-boggling achievement. The Potter books have had such an immense impact on me I cannot even begin to say, and I'm not the only in this forum. For instance, Ueka's love for reading and writing started with Potter.Potter and Lord of the Rings are unparalleled phenomenons in Europe, Australia, Japan, etc. They have always had a larger impact than Star Wars.The Potter books, however, have already become classics and are still to this day the most read books in libraries. We'll see, but I completely believe that the personal effect the Potter books will have with people will trump anything from the SW films.