Star Wars vs Harry Potter

[Anonymous]

I like both, so does my son. I think there may be some age ranges that love Harry Potter and not Star Wars because they were the right age for the Harry Potter books when they came out, but there weren’t really any Star Wars movies coming out.

As another poster said, we enjoy both but not obsessed with either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like both, though came to HP first (as a young adult) and then acquired a fondness for Star Wars in adulthood (I was not born/too young to see the movies when they first came out).

My DH was really into Star Wars as a kid and initially rolled his eyes at HP, but has come to appreciate it for what it is as our kid as started reading the books and watching the movies. I think he associated it with overzealous adult obsessives before, and now understands they are children's stories with a broad appeal.

I am a mix of you and your DH but also kind of opposite. I am the exact same age as Harry and loved those books growing up, then graduated to Star Wars in college and adulthood. I do find the writing in HP books kind of juvenile and immature now, and the lessons too pat. I actually think there is less moral gray area in HP vs. in Star Wars. Though granted, I haven’t kept up with the latest in HP while I have in SW, where some of the recent offerings (like Rogue One and Andor) have been more sophisticated.

One issue with SW is some of the rabid misogynistic incel fans. Not saying they represent the majority of the fan base, but they are extremely vocal and ruin my enjoyment when I just want to discuss and debate something casually on Reddit. I don’t know if HP has similar fans but I doubt it.

[Anonymous]

Love them both. And Marvel. And Mission Impossible. And Bourne. And lots of others. We are a big movie family.

Why do we have to choose?

[Anonymous]

This is a misguided premise. Most people I know like both. Those that don't are generally older Star Wars fans from when it first came out who never bothered to read Harry Potter OR people raised with Harry Potter who never bothered to get into Star Wars..

A ton of kids nowadays, however, are raised with both and like both. For elementary schoolers I work with, there is a lot of free play acting out both stories. Weirdly many kids seen to get into Star Wars earlier than Harry Potter.

[Anonymous]

I really like both. I grew up in the 90s with the “remastered” Star Wars and parents who were too old to have been fans when it originally came out. Harry Potter came out when I was in hs and got big (with the movies) when I was in college but I read them all and always enjoyed them.
I’ve since watched all the SW movies (my husband was a bigger fan as he’s a bit older) including the recent trilogy and stand alone films in theaters as they’ve come out.
During the pandemic we watched all SW in order (of release) as well as read and watched a lot of HP with our kids who were ages 5-10 when the pandemic began. All my kids have read all or most of HP and we recently went to universal studios in LA and enjoyed the Harry Potter world there. At some point we’d like to see the SW land at Disney as well. I do like that HP has original books that are somewhat their own world and that kids can read prior to the movies and make up their own visuals- I understand there are Star Wars books but those must be derived from the films right?

Perhaps the distinction op refers to is among rabid fans of either series rather than just someone like me who enjoys them both but they aren’t a major part of my life or identity.