This Essay examines what the Harry Potter series (and particularly the most recent book, The Half-Blood Prince) tells us about government and bureaucracy. However, it also assesses how less obvious sources, such as the films of George Formby, the novels of Agatha Christie, the Just William stories and situation comedies like Steptoe and Son, have reflected on representative democracy.Ī State of Play is an invaluable, distinctive and engaging guide to a new way of thinking about Britain's political past and present. Wells, the comedy series Yes, Minister and the plays of David Hare. The book examines the work of overtly political writers have treated the subject, discussing the novels of H.G. He shows that dramas and fictions have also performed a significant role in the battle of ideas, in a way undreamt of by those who draft party manifestos.
In an account that mixes historical with political analysis, Steven Fielding argues that fictional depictions of politics have played an important but insidious part in shaping how the British think about their democracy and have helped ventilate their many frustrations with Westminster. It sheds light on the role of the Ministry of Magic in the novel and its relation to the governments’ policies to misguide the public about the terrorist threats to world powers, prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.Ī State of Play explores how the British have imagined their politics, from the parliament worship of Anthony Trollope to the cynicism of The Thick of It. This study is a political reading of Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
For instance, the American and British readers have been unable to resist identification with the events which mirror the international campaign on terrorism. It is possible to draw political parallels with contemporary issues. Still, the texts are still open for other readings. The critics and readers found connections between the events of the early parts of the novel and the historical havoc in world politics, like Hitler and World War II, a thing which Rowling attested in many of her interviews. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and many other fantasies, Rowling’s Harry Potter is rich with allegorical implications that reflect the political anxiety of the era in which it was written.
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