The "Harry Potter" series can only be understood as creating a cultural phenomenon all on its own. With 80 million books in print by the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, as well as the continuing success of each Warner Brothers film adaptation, Rowling's writing will demand its own account in future history books. But the novels do reflect some of the cultural atmosphere of the early twenty-first century. While the majority of the "Harry Potter" series was published during the years of western economic prosperity, the fifth novel follows the September 11, 2001 attacks and the subsequent global war on terror. Some of the darker tone of the fifth novel echoes the more negative global atmosphere present after September 11th. Additionally, religious protests continue.....
