12 Themes in Harry Potter Series- Review of Harry Potter Movies!

(This article contains some affiliate links. Buying you from these links will be helpful for us)

I recently watched the Harry Potter series after a long time. And to be honest, seeing it from a critical point of view makes this series more interesting. This series changed my life's perspectives and I hope that it will change yours too.

This series contains some life and social themes which I observed and wished to share with you. I must say JK Rowling has incorporated major life themes in this fantasy-based movie.

Let's discuss some themes of the Harry Potter movie and how they will change your life.

1. Love of Parents:

Harry survived the whole series just because of his parent's (most importantly his mother's) sacrifice. He was saved from Voldemort's attack because his mother put a protective cover around him. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry was able to escape from Voldemort because his parents' souls came to his rescue.

Molly Weasley, Ron Weasely's mother, also shows the theme of the love of parents. She was a motherly figure not just for her children but also for Harry. 

Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, also sacrificed his life to protect his child. This shows the love of a father for the children.

Throughout the series, we have seen that Harry yearns for his parent's love. In the magical mirror, he saw himself with them. He was an orphan and knew the value of parents. 

 This aspect gave us the message that we should cherish our parents' presence and never doubt their love. Behind the scenes, they are making a lot of sacrifices for us. We should love them and trust them.

2. Friendship:

Another major theme in the Harry Potter Series is Friendship. Harry can't accomplish anything in his life without the help of his friends, Ron and Hermione. They were with him through thick and thin and never leave him no matter what the situation is.

Though disputes did occur among them, they still were together and never made those disputes a matter of ego. 

Lily and James, Harry's Parents, also had a great friend, Sirius, who remained with them in every difficult phase of life, and saved their son after their death. His commitment to his friends was also unmatchable. 

Lily and James died because one of their friends betrayed them. He became a part of Voldemort's army and exposed them. 

In the seventh part, when Ron destroys the locket Hercules, evil forces said to him that he was a loser in front of Harry. But, he declined those evil forces and remained a loyal friend to Harry.

These events show that a good friend is a blessing, and a bad friend is a curse. If we have a loyal friend, we should cherish him and be with him through thick and thin.

3. Fear 

Throughout the series, we have seen Voldemort's introduction as "You-Know-Who" or "He who must not be named". So, why was Voldemort called "He who must not be named"?

It shows that everyone fears Voldemort and avoids taking his name. And, this fear was the food of Voldemort.

There were only two people who took his name bravely. One is Harry Potter and the other is Albus Dumbledore. They both took his name without any fear and they were the only two people Voldemort feared. He was determined to kill both of them. 

In the end, we have seen that everyone stops fearing him and his army. Minerva McGonagall said to Molly Weasley to take Voldemort's name freely when they attacked the school. This shows that they had overcome their fear and faced him bravely. This made Voldemort fearful and he ended the school's war.

Neville Longbottom feared everyone in the initial series of Harry Potter. He was bullied and mocked by everyone. But ultimately, he conquered his fear and faced the evil forces with full courage.

This shows that we shouldn't avoid those things which we are fearful of. We should face our fears and try to overcome them. Our fears are the food of evil forces and it makes them more strong and lets them lead our lives.

4. Love

The most beautiful theme of this series is Love. It was Harry's mother's love that made him a savior of wizarding society. It was Dumbledore's love that saved Harry from every harm. It was Severus Snape's love for Lily that he sacrificed a lot in his life, and in the end, died.

Harry had the power of love which Voldemort didn't have. Harry had people around him who loved him, and Voldemort was deprived of them. This element gave victory to Harry in the end.

We have seen in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that Voldemort wants Harry to be alone. And in the end, he failed to rule over Harry's mind because he was unable to understand the concept of Love and friendship. He escaped at the end of this movie because he was taken aback by Harry's concept of Love.

This shows that we should cherish love in our life, and give it a privilege.

5. Community:

Community or partnership is essential to achieve the goals. There was Dumbledore's army that fought against Voldemort. Harry was not a hero without the team. 

In the past, there was also a team who fought against evil forces. They were a team of great wizards who had the same destination and the same level of commitment. The teamwork enabled them to achieve their goals.

In the end, the whole school became one to fight with Voldemort. It frightened him and he ended the war soon.

6. Prejudice:

Prejudice, or genocide, is also a theme of Harry Potter. J.K Rowling shows that there are two groups in the wizarding world; one is "Pure-Blood" and the other is "Muggle Born".

Pure Blood thinks that Muggle Born is inferior to them, and they mock them. Hermione was Muggle Born and we have seen how Malfoy looked down upon her. No matter how much of a genius Hermoine was and how much of a complete human she was, some people considered her inferior because of her background. 

In the end, evil forces started killing Muggle Borns and the people who support Muggle Borns. This genocide took place because of prejudice.

This theme shows that we should respect people around us, and shouldn't judge them due to their background. Everyone is respectable no matter how much different they are from us. 

And, this aspect also shows the main reason behind every genocide. In the world, genocide is taking place just because of prejudice.

7. Social Classes: 

There are social classes in the wizarding world too. The Weasley family was from the lower class but they were generous and loyal. Malfoy's family was from the upper class and he took pride in it.

We have seen that in the first scene in the school, Malfoy looked down upon Ron Weasely because of his social class and offered his friendship to Harry Potter. He was confident that Harry would befriend him because of his upper social class. But, Harry rejected his friendship and remained with Weasley because he valued love and friendship.

This aspect also shows that we shouldn't look down upon anyone based on his social class. We should admire the positive attributes of a person, and ignore his social status. Every person is respectable regardless of his class.

8. Good vs Evil:

There were two groups from the very beginning of the series; good and evil. There were a group of people who were striving to bring light to the world, and there were groups of people who had evil intentions. Throughout the series, they both fought, and ultimately goodness won.

This element shows that we should remain courageous in front of evilness and we will be able to overcome it.

9. Education system

Hogwarts school was the main setting of the Harry Potter series, and a lot of scenes were in the classroom. We had seen that there were practicals and studies at the same time. Practical learning was making students well-equipped to fight evil forces.

In Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, we have seen that Umbridge came and changed the whole syllabus of school. Her ultimate purpose was to make students incapable of fighting with Voldemort. She didn't want Dumbledore's army so she removed practicals, and focused only on books.

She mentioned that we should use old ways to teach the students. And, students only need schools and books to pass the exams. There is no other purpose of schools than to enable students to pass the exams. Minerva McGonagall said to Umbridge that we should leave old ways of teaching and adopt modern ways to make our students capable of fighting modern issues. But she declined.

Voldemort's aim in this movie was to make schools incapable of making students better wizards. He tried to weaken his enemy through a weak syllabus and an old-fashioned education system.

This theme is a wake-up call for educationist. Our school system is also incapable of making us well-equipped for life's issues. Students are unable to compete with their competitors because of their old-fashioned school system.

 

10. Death 

Death is another main theme in the Harry Potter series. In the starting scenes of the movie, we saw the death of Harry's parents. Voldemort's main aim was to conquer death. He was declining death and wanted to avoid it at every cost.

On the other hand, Harry Potter accepted death, and in the end, bravely faced it. We have seen that the death of his loved ones; Cedric, Dumbledore, Snape, and Fred; made him mature, and brave and he accepted the reality of death. 

In the end, when he accepted the death and went to face it, he saw the soul of his mother and Sirius on the way. They were assuring him that they were with him. And when Voldemort killed Harry, death became a sweet point for him. He met Dumbledore there and enjoyed the peace and holiness of the place. After it, Harry came back with more power and killed Voldemort.

All the casualties of the war; John, Lily, Snape, Sirius, Dumbledore, etc; embraced death with a smile and protected their loved ones. They accepted death and became heroes for living beings.

This portrays that we shouldn't fear death and accept it as true friends. This will only transition us from one world to another world, and nothing else.

11. Free Will 

Choice or free will is portrayed in the Harry Potter series. Harry and Voldemort had a lot of things common in them. They both had similarities in their personalities, but it was their free will and choice that made them two different persons.

In the beginning, Harry said to the sorting cap that he wanted to be in Gryffindor's house, and not in Slytherin. Throughout the series, he used his powers to bring righteousness and goodness to the world. 

Severus Snape was a part of the Slytherin group but he also used his free will and decided to sacrifice his life for the righteousness of the world. In the end, Malfoy also took the decision and went into Harry's team.

This shows us that no matter what our situation is, we can always have the choice to choose between goodness and evilness. We should positively use our free will to bring positivity to the world.

12. Greed and Power:

 Another major theme is greed. It was the greed of Voldemort's army that corrupted society and killed their fellows. Voldemort wanted the power that's why he was spreading evil in the world.

On the other hand, Harry and his team were humble and away from these negative traits. This makes them heroes of a lot of people. 

This shows that no matter what happens, you should remain humble and away from greed and evil.

Harry Potter Quotes:

These are some of my favorite quotes that different characters said throughout the whole series:

It's the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.

To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.

Greet Death as an old friend.

You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us?

Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all those who live without love.”

Though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.

We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.

I’m Rubeus Hagrid. And I’m gonna be yer friend whether yeh like it or not."

“Time will not slow down when something unpleasant lies ahead.”

“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

“Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”

Wrap Up:

Indeed, JK Rowling has done an amazing job in writing the Harry Potter series. It has given us valuable life lessons and the best memories of childhood.

Do watch it and share your thoughts about it in the comment section.