Culture Crash: The World of Harry Potter
Are you more of a Harry Potter book fan or film fan? We discuss this expansive wizarding world this week on Culture Crash.
The Larger Appeal of “Harry Potter”
The Harry Potter series is one of the most beloved stories of all time, unlocking a world of wizarding magic, adventure and intrigue to millions of young readers. We discuss how its unconventional storyline and character development can shift thinking and teach real life lessons to young and old readers alike.
Culture Crash: The Latest Release By Acclaimed Author John Green
Author John Green is best known for young adult novels like The Fault in Our Stars, but his latest release heads in a completely different direction. It’s called The Anthropocene Reviewed and it’s hooked our attention.
Culture Crash: Are You Team “Harry Potter” Books or Films?
It’s been almost 25 years since the first Harry Potter book was released. Today, the wizarding franchise is worth billions of dollars and has extended out to movie spinoffs, themed amusement parks, merchandise and more. We delve into the magical world and what sets the books apart from the films.
Young Adults & Animals: The Similarities They Share in Development
Being a teenager is tough these days – but being a parent to a teenager can be even be tougher sometimes. Over the last five years, two researchers, who are parents themselves, traveled across the world to observe several different animal species and their socialization out in the wild. The focus? To possibly better understand our own adolescence and …
Getting a Grip on Personal Finance in a One-Click World
It’s almost too easy to purchase items these days. Need dinner? A ride? Groceries? A last-minute outfit? All of these items are just a click away with a credit card that’s saved online or in a mobile app. We speak with money expert, Ashley Feinstein Gerstley from The Fiscal Femme to find out why most Americans - at any age - barely have any savings in the …
Teaching Youth About Consent and Abuse
In the 20 years since writing the young adult novel Speak, based on her own rape, author Laurie Halse Anderson has met with numerous audiences of adolescents. She has found a huge gap in the ways girls and boys perceive what constitutes sexual consent, abuse, and the consequences of assault.
Using YA Fiction to Help Young People Process Big Issues
For a few decades now, teens have flocked to YA novels like The Hunger Games or The Fault in Our Stars. Why are they so popular? We talk to two novelists who say young adult fiction can help teens consider big issues and life and ‘practice’ their responses to real-world problems like violence and drugs.
Harry Potter Therapy
The Harry Potter series is full of creatures and storylines that parallel real-life adversities like depression, PTSD and grief in a heightened reality. Dr. Janina Scarlet says these stories are so powerful that she uses them to help people cope in real-life therapy sessions.
Culture Crash: The Disappointing Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Last month, JK Rowling’s Wizarding World saw its latest installment, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald be met with a low score on Rotten Tomatoes and countless disappointed Harry Potter fans across the globe.
Culture Crash: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and the Difficulty of Classifying Art (2018)
Sometimes, classifying art in one specific genre can be tricky. Look at Star Wars. It’s a space opera, sure. But what does that mean? It was built to be a Western. And sci-fi. With some fantasy aspects? And who is the intended audience? Is it for kids? Teenagers? Adults? All of the above? That can be the difficulty in classification.
Culture Crash: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and John Green’s “Turtles All The Way Down”
John Green's latest book, Turtles All The Way Down chronicles the life of a teen with OCD. The book offers a great story and pulls back the curtain on a misunderstood mental disorder.
Pottermania: What we love in the Harry Potter series
On June 26, 1997, one boy changed the world. That young boy was named Harry Potter, the famous protagonist of the seven-book series by JK Rowling. If you are unfamiliar with either of those names, there is a large chance you are living with the confundus charm. With 160 million copies sold in the U.S. alone and over 400 million copies sold worldwide, Harry …
Potter Therapy: How the Harry Potter series is being used to help treat PTSD and depression (2017)
Elements of the Harry Potter series such as dementors and patronuses can be viewed symbolically as representative of the struggle of good versus evil. Many readers connect emotionally to Harry’s loss, struggle, and battle to fight his own demons. Clinical therapist Dr. Janina Scarlet builds on this connection by using superheroes, witches and wizards to help …
Culture Crash: Harry Potter’s Lasting Legacy
A generation of children grew up with Harry Potter. We look at the books and movies they grew up watching, how they differ and what will stay with them until the very end.
The Craft and Responsibility of Writing Books for Young Readers
Two authors, one for children and one for young adults, discuss juggling their desire to entertain with the necessity of teaching young people about tough topics.
Teens and Dystopian Literature
A great many books and films these days deal with a dark, forbidding world where young people are warring with the villainous adults to save civilization. Teens are drawn to these stories, but why? What is it about dystopian fiction that fascinates young people? We talk to two successful authors of these stories about how kids are working out some of the …
Astrotwins: An Astronaut Motivates Kids to Study Science, Math and Engineering
As a kid, did you ever dream of becoming an astronaut and flying a rocket ship into space, but figured you weren’t good enough in science and math to do it? Our guest, a former U.S. astronaut admits he wasn’t the best young student in school in those subjects, but later on he grew fascinated by them and turned his new-found interest into becoming a Navy …
