Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today we're taking a trip all the way back to the late 90s / early 2000s and uncovering WHY ON EARTH Harry Potter became (for a time) one of the most banned media franchises in the world. Over the past few decades the Harry Potter books have helped shape the imagination of millions of children worldwide. Millions lined up at midnight release parties, dressed up as Harry, Ron and Hermione for Halloween, and proudly shouted out their Hogwarts house for all to hear. But for some, these things were never an option. What's the deal?

If you asked most people to describe Harry Potter, they'd consider it to be fairly innocuous.-The books and films follow the life of a young boy who figures out that he's a wizard, steps foot in to a magical world, and shortly thereafter begins attending a magical school. It's here that he builds new friendships, faces a variety of hardships / challenges, and ultimately finds himself facing off against a tyrannical dark wizard by the name of Voldemort.

And my point is this: Harry Potter is, on the surface, about as unobjectionable as works of fiction come.

Or.....is it?

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