The Black Sheep

The Black Sheep

Harry Potter Would Hate You

We're becoming a culture that praises villains, not heroes.

Salomé Sibonex's avatar
Salomé Sibonex
Jan 29, 2024
∙ Paid

I’ve been seeking a reprieve from the ugly sides of our world lately and I found it in Hogwarts Wizarding School of Magic.

Even though Harry Potter’s world isn’t utopian, the whimsy of magic and the drama of a battle between good and evil helped wash away the ugly banality of the real world’s problems. There was one problem I couldn’t find a reprieve from, though. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry encounters a problem I’m all too familiar with and that lives at the core of many societal issues. At this point in the series, Harry’s known for his infamous past as a child who survived a direct attack from the embodiment of evil, Voldemort, and his battles against evil and chaos conquering Hogwarts. And yet, even Harry Potter in a world of elves and flying brooms can’t escape the ever-present human problem of conformity.

Watching Harry Potter struggle to overcome other people’s desire for conformity and disdain for anyone who threatens it made me realize: many people che…

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 The Black Sheep · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture