Harry+Potter+Theme+Park

= Harry Potter Theme Park = by BISOLA AKINDURO  New York Times reporter Brooks Barnes unveils the opening season of the //Harry Potter // theme park. The theme park which would be located in NBC’s Universal Orlando would give Harry Potter fans the chance to fully experience and explore the world of the famous wizard. Interactive shopping and rides such as the “Flight of the Hippogriff” which makes reference to the third book- “ //Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban” // would help fans relive the moments in the movies (Barnes, 2009, para. 11). The reporter asserts that with the creation of this new “theme park within a theme park,” (Barnes 2009, para. 3) Universal Orlando could increase the number of tourists who visit the park, which had been declining over time due to recession and tourists complaining of the lack of new attractions (Barnes, 2009, para. 7).

The purpose of this article is to inform and attract the attention of a younger audience who can identify with the article because of their love for //Harry Potter // books and movies. The article could also be used as a medium of advertisement by Universal Orlando to hype the public about the new theme park while getting sponsors for the theme park. This can be inferred from Barnes quotation of Alan Gilmore, an art director for the films “We had free range to be as grand as can be; It’s only money that holds us back in the end” (Barnes, 2009, para. 4). By including the name- // Harry Potter // in his article, Barnes catches the attention of several young people who have come to love the story of the young wizard. The text book refers to this kind of article as a “youth-targeted strategy- altering other more serious parts of the paper to cater to the infrequent and non-newspaper reader” (Baran, 2010, p.110).

Furthermore, The //New York Times // could use this article to increase its popularity among teenagers, who have shown their willingness to read anything for the love of the //Harry Potter // series. The lifestyle and point of view of the average tourist is represented in this article. Anyone can visit the theme park with family and friends and have a good time. Young people especially fans of //Harry Potter //, would love this article because of its content about the //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">Harry Potter //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;"> theme park, while older people would refer to the article as “not worth reading and a waste of space.”

Barnes article could also be seen by older people as a result of the “pressure on (writers) to increase the profit margin of the paper” (Baran, 2010, p.104) by writing for a targeted audience. Though a good article, the author should have given a little more insight to the competition between Universal Orlando and Disney which he mentions a few times. Older members of the public might have been aware of this dispute between two of America’s largest media and entertainment conglomerate; and might have been relying on the newspapers to give a detailed account of the dispute which Barnes fails to do in his article. This relates back to the text book in which Baran quotes William Faulk, the editor in chief of //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;">The Week //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 130%;"> magazine. Faulk asserts that “newspapers have responded to the new competitive challenge (of digital technologies)… by cutting quality” (Baran, 2010, p. 105). And I think the older members of the society will quite agree with Faulk on the issue.

References. Baran, S. J (2010). //Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture//. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Barnes, B. (2009, Sep 15). Harry Potter Theme Park to Open in Spring. The New York Times. Retrieved September 15, 2009 from http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/universal-unveils-details-about-new-harry-potter- theme-park/