Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T07:17:17.245Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Harry Potter and the Deathly Donald

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2016

Diana C. Mutz
Diana C. Mutz*
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Few empirical studies suggest that fictional stories can influence political opinions. Nonetheless, in this study I demonstrate the relevance of Harry Potter consumption to oppositional attitudes toward Donald Trump and his worldview. Using multivariate observational models and panel data from 2014 to 2016, results suggest that the lessons of the Harry Potter series have influenced levels of opposition to punitive policies and support for tolerance of groups considered outside the American mainstream. Further, they predict public reactions to Donald Trump above and beyond their influence on policies consistent with his views.

Type
Articles
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 49 , Special Issue 4: Elections in Focus , October 2016 , pp. 722 - 729
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Adams, Richard. 18 June 2003. “Quidditch quaintness.” The Guardian (London). Accessed June 12, 2016 at https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/jun/18/harrypotter.jkjoannekathleenrowling Google Scholar
Altemeyer, Robert. 2006. The Authoritarians. Retrieved 20 March 2016.Google Scholar
Associated Press, 2007. Dumbledore’s Outing Gives Text New Meaning. http://www.today.com/id/21407911#.V2GpiJvD-C0 Google Scholar
Chaffee, Steven H. and Frank, Stacey. 1996. “How Americans Get Political Information: Print Versus Broadcast News.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 546: 48–58.Google Scholar
Chaffee, Steven H. and Kanihan, Stacey Frank. 1997. “Learning Politics from the Mass Media.” Political Communication 14 (4): 421–430.Google Scholar
Chotiner, Isaac. 10 February 2016. “Is Donald Trump a Fascist? A Historian of Fascism Weights In.” Accessed June 10, 2016 at http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/interrogation/2016/02/is_donald_trump_a_fascist_an_expert_on_fascism_weighs_in.html.Google Scholar
Culbertson, Hugh and Stempel, Guido H. III. 1986. “How Media Use And Reliance Affect Knowledge Level.” Communication Research 13 (4): 579–602.Google Scholar
Dan Quayle vs. Murphy Brown. 1 June 1992. Time. Accessed October 11, 2006, from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,975627,00.html.Google Scholar
Donahue, Deirdre. 16 November 2001. “Potter inspires academic analysis.” USA Today. Accessed June 14, 2016 at http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/books/potter/2001-11-16-analysis.htm.Google Scholar
Farah, Safy-Hallan. 2016 (June 2). Trump Supporters Duped By Motivational Voldemort Posters. Accessed 6/17/2016 at http://www.papermag.com/trump-supports-duped-by-1837460900.html.Google Scholar
Feldman, Stanley and Sigelman, Lee. 1985. “The Political Impact Of Prime-Time Television: ‘The Day After.’” The Journal of Politics 47 (2): 556–578.Google Scholar
Fierman, Daniel. 31 August 2005. “The Harry Potter Craze.” Entertainment Weekly. Accessed June 16, 2016 at http://www.ew.com/article/2000/07/21/harry-potter-craze.Google Scholar
Frank, T. A. 14 June 2016. Is Donald Trump An Actual Fascist? In The Wake Of The Mass Shooting In Orlando, How Dangerous Could A Trump Presidency Be? Vanity Fair. Accessed http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/06/is-donald-trump-an-actual-fascist.Google Scholar
Franklin, Daniel P. 2006. Politics and Film: The Political Culture of Film in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.Google Scholar
French, Perrin L. and van Hoorn, Judith. 1986. “Half A Nation Saw Nuclear War And Nobody Blinked? A Reassessment Of The Impact Of ‘The Day After’ In Terms of A Theoretical Chain Of Causality.” International Journal of Mental Health 15 (1–3): 276–297.Google Scholar
Gass, Nick. 18 December 2015. Trump On Putin’s Alleged Killing Of Journalists: ‘At Least He’s A Leader’. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/12/trump-praises-putin-216929#ixzz4Bg7lltPL.Google Scholar
Gerson, Michael. 26 October 2007. “Harry Potter’s Secret”. The Washington Post. Accessed June 15, 2016 at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/25/AR2007102502233.html.Google Scholar
Gibbs, Nancy. 2007. “Person of the Year 2007 Runners-up: J. K. Rowling.” Time, December 23. Accessed June 14, 2016 at http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/personoftheyear/article/0,28804,1690753_1695388_1695436,00.html.Google Scholar
Gierzynski, Anthony, with Eddy, Kathryn. 2013. Harry Potter and the Millennials: Research Methods and the Politics of the Muggle Generation. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Hartmann, Margaret. 2016. Is Donald Trump Voldemort or King Joffrey? http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/02/donald-trump-voldemort-or-king-joffrey.html#. February 22.Google Scholar
Hillyard, Vaughn. 2015. Donald Trump’s Plan for a Muslim Database Draws Comparison to Nazi Germany. NBC News. November 20.Google Scholar
Hitchens, Christopher. 2007. “The Boy Who Lived.” The New York Times Sunday Book Review. August 12. Accessed June 15, 2016 at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/books/review/Hitchens-t.html.Google Scholar
Holbert, R. Lance, Pillion, Owen, Tschida, David A., Armfield, Greg G., Kinder, Kelly, Cherry, Kristin L., and Daulton, Amy R.. 2003. “The West Wing As Endorsement of the US Presidency: Expanding The Bounds of Priming in Political Communication.” Journal of Communication 53 (3): 427–43.Google Scholar
Holbert, R. Lance, Shah, Dhavan V., and Kwak, Nojin. 2003. “Political Implications of Prime-Time Drama and Sitcom Use: Genres Of Representation and Opinions Concerning Women’s Rights.” Journal of Communication 53 (1): 45–60.Google Scholar
Holbert, R. Lance, Shah, Dhavan V., and Kwak, Nojin. 2004. “Fear, Authority, and Justice: Crime-Related TV Viewing and Endorsements of Capital Punishment and Gun Ownership.” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 81 (2): 343–363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Isaac, Bronwyn. 2016. “Trump Supporters Really Love These Motivational Posters With Voldemort Quotes.” June 3. Accessed 6/17/2016 at http://www.thefrisky.com/2016-06-03/trump-supporters-really-love-these-motivational-posters-with-voldemort-quotes/.Google Scholar
Kagan, Robert. 2016. This is How Fascism Comes to America. Washington Post. May 18. Accessed June 15, 2016 at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-is-how-fascism-comes-to-america/2016/05/17/c4e32c58-1c47-11e6-8c7b-6931e66333e7_story.html.Google Scholar
Kessler, Glenn. 2015. Trump’s Outrageous Claim that ‘Thousands’ of New Jersey Muslims Celebrated the 9/11 Attacks. Washington Post. November 22.Google Scholar
Lee, Jasmine C. and Quealy, Kevin. 2016. The 224 People, Places and Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter: A Complete List. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/28/upshot/donald-trump-twitter-insults.html.Google Scholar
Lenart, Silvo and McGraw, Kathleen M.. 1989. “America Watches “Amerika”: Television Docudrama and Political Attitudes.” Journal of Politics 51 (3): 697–712.Google Scholar
Lichfield, John. 2004. “French Go Potty over Harry’s Politics.” The Star. July 5.Google Scholar
McCaffrey, Meg. 2003. “‘Muggle’ Redux in the Oxford English Dictionary”. School Library Journal. May 1.Google Scholar
Mondak, Jeffrey J. 1995. “Newspapers and Political Awareness.” American Journal of Political Science 39 (2): 513–27.Google Scholar
Mutz, Diana C. and Nir, Lilach. 2010. “Not Necessarily the News: Does Fictional Television Influence Real-World Policy Preferences?” Mass Communication and Society 13 (2): 196–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neuman, W. Russell. 1974. “Political Knowledge - Comparison of Impact of Print and Broadcast News Media.” Public Opinion Quarterly 38 (3): 444–5.Google Scholar
New York Times. 2007. ‘Harry Potter’ tale is fastest-selling book in history. July 23. Accessed June 16 at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/business/worldbusiness/23iht-potter.4.6789605.html.Google Scholar
Nyhan, Brendan. 2016. “A Checklist Manifesto for Peer Review.” The Political Methodologist 23 (1): 4–6.Google Scholar
Pratto, Felicia, et al. 2012. Social Dominance in Context and in Individuals: Contextual Moderation of Robust Effects of Social Dominance Orientation in 15 Languages and 20 Countries. Social Psychological and Personality Science 4 (5): 587–599.Google Scholar
Rowling, J. K. 1997. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Schneck, Ken. 2016. “What If Donald Trump Really Is Voldemort?” Huffington Post, March 8. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-schneck-phd/what-if-donald-trump-real_b_9400054.html.Google Scholar
Schoefer, Christine. 2000. “Harry Potter’s Girl Trouble.” Salon.com, January 12. Accessed June 10, 2016 at http://www.salon.com/2000/01/13/potter/.Google Scholar
Shabad, Rebecca. 2016. Mike Pence In 1999 Op-Ed: Disney’s “Mulan” is Liberal Propaganda. CBS News, July 18. Accessed July 19, 2016 at http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mike-pence-mulan-disney-is-liberal-propaganda-1999-op-ed/.Google Scholar
Sigelman, L., & Sigelman, C. K. 1974. “The Politics Of Popular Culture: Campaign Cynicism And ‘The Candidate.’” Sociology of Social Research 58: 272–77.Google Scholar
Strange, Jeffrey J. 2002. “How Fictional Tales Wag Real-World Beliefs” in Narrative impact: Social and cognitive foundations, eds. Green, Melanie C., Strange, Jeffrey J., and Brock, Timothy C., 263–86. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Watson, Julie. 2004. “J. K. Rowling and the Billion-Dollar Empire.” Forbes, February 26. Accessed June 16, 2016 at https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=J.+K.+Rowling+and+the+Billion-Dollar+Empire.Google Scholar
Yokaris, Ilias. 2004. “Harry Potter, Market Wiz.” New York Times, July 18. Accessed June 15, 2016 at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/18/opinion/harry-potter-market-wiz.html.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Mutz supplementary material

Appendix

Download Mutz supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 58.2 KB

A correction has been issued for this article:

Errata