Often, at times of national crisis, people can turn to literature for inspiration. In the past, they have sought out writers and poets who have described the national condition, or sought to remedy it — or simply written inspirationally of another world being possible.
It’s a little startling, however, that the writer, the work and the world that are most salient at the moment are J K Rowling’s Harry Potter books.
This is not because Ms Rowling has returned to the Potterverse with a screenplay set in the late 1920s, as fascism grew in power. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, running to packed houses everywhere, certainly does have a brooding, threatening quality about it, an atmosphere of gathering dread that sits well with the times. But that would not be enough for this revival of the Potter mystique.
No, the reason that Ms Rowling’s creation is again at the forefront of the public imagination, more than a decade after the last book was released, is different. And that is that an entire generation faced with the prospect of Donald Trump – and the other “strong”, nativist leaders who are popping up across the world – has turned to the most inspirational text they can find, and the one with the most consistent and rousing liberal politics.
It was remarked on, prior to the election in the United States, that Harry Potter readers were less likely to be Donald Trump voters. Perhaps there weren’t enough of them to turn back the “Make America Great Again” tide. But, in defeat, the books have become even more salient. People are turning to them to remind themselves of the necessity of resistance, the need to guard against “normalising” abnormal leaders, and of the persistence of liberal values at times when illiberal notions seem to be gaining in power.
It may sound absurd that a series of books that many still think of as children’s literature should serve this purpose, when there is a vast canon of “serious” literature that addresses these very questions more directly. But that both misunderstands the problem and does a disservice to Ms Rowling’s work. She had a deft touch with her politics, weaving effortlessly into her books the pervasive effect of illiberal leadership has on daily life, and valourising, without sentimentality, those who resist. Moreover, for many younger people, the books are both a source of comfort and the cultural touchstone of a generation. They return to them as to scriptures, seeking consolation and guidance in times of tribulation. Those under 40 are perhaps conscious of their responsibility to rebuild their countries’ politics in the post-Trump era, and this common inspiration both unites and provides a guide-map on how to proceed.
Naturally, there is criticism. Younger peoples’ obsessions with pop culture, many argue, is part of the reason they are detached from politics as it is actually conducted. It lends a touch of artificiality to their reality. Examples and parallels drawn from books like Harry Potter mean that the genuine problems of the world are ignored.
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But that is not quite true, either. I have written earlier in this column about the odd battle that was “Gamergate”, in which those who defended illiberal notions in video games – and, in fact, in graphic novels, science fiction and so on – went to war with those whom they sought to “police” their thinking. In many ways, the anger built up in that battle by the white men leading the anti-political correctness fight has spilled over to the support for Mr Trump online that was such a crucial contributor to his success. Let us not underestimate the power of pop culture. Indeed, we live today in a world where politics is becoming ever more a product of artifice. The barriers between worlds are crumbling, and inspiration and motivation has been sought and found in the unlikeliest of places.
And if the Harry Potter books are one of them, then that’s a relief. Perhaps one major strain in the books – on trusting the intelligent, clear-eyed woman as a leader – was betrayed in November 9, when the politician who is the closest to Hermione Granger in her approach found herself beaten by, essentially, Draco Malfoy. But that’s far from the limit of the books’ politics. Those who are looking for a reminder of the dangers of submission to creeping illiberalism just because it appears to be the tide of the moment could do far worse than to re-read Harry Potter.