There are a few things that you can assume about Harry Potter fans. For one, we have great taste in literature. Secondly, we’re pretty damn loyal. Try and find fault in anything HP related and a Potterhead will stupefy your ass. What you might not have known though, is that Harry Potter fans are also less likely to vote for Donald Trump.
In a study brilliantly named ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Donald’, a professor from the University of Pennsylvania found that Harry Potter readers in the States have a lower opinion of Donald Trump than the general public.
If that’s not enough, the study also found that their opinions of Donald Trump only got worse as they read more books. And it looks like JK Rowling was pretty happy with the findings.
Professor Diana Mutz told Mashablethat the comparisons made between Trump and Lord Voldemort that followed Trump’s suggestion to ban all Muslims from America, was partial inspiration for the study.
Whether you’re a die-hard fan or not, you have to admit that Harry Potter is so, SO popular. It’s a bloody great series and kids and adults worldwide love it. And Mutz says that it’s Harry Potter’s success that makes it such a good subject. She said: ‘The sheer reach of these stories gave them the potential to have a political influence’
Between 2014 and 2016, Mutz polled 1,142 Americans. They were asked about their Harry Potter consumption, and their attitudes towards a wide variety of things including the treatment of Muslims and gay people, and their feelings about Donald Trump.
They had to answer questions using a scale from zero to 100 and the study found that with each Harry Potter book read the respondent’s view of the presidential candidate dropped by around two or three points.
‘Despite differing perceptions of the books’ prevailing ideology,’ Mutz explains in the report, ‘there is a consensus surrounding at least three themes.’
‘These include 1) the value of tolerance and respect for difference; 2) opposition to violence and punitiveness; and 3) the dangers of authoritarianism. These same three themes are prominent in coverage of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.’
If you think about it you can really draw similarities between the two, which is admittedly both really interesting and a little frightening (when you look at Trump that is).
The study is due to be published in the American Political Science Association (ASPA)’s Political Science and Politics journal later this year. For the record though, Mutz did also explain to Mashable that her results come with a few cautions.
She said: ‘most studies on [the impact of] fictional stories on political views have been done in controlled labs. You can be absolutely certain what’s causing them’, while because Harry Potter has been around and so popular for so long, it’s had time to develop such a significant impact.
Nevertheless, I for one can’t say that I’m not pretty content with Mutz' results. It all kind of makes sense, doesn’t it? My only question is though, if Donald Trump is Voldemort, who in the world of American politics is Dumbledore?
Like this? You might also be interested in:
Hello Dream Job: Pottermore Hire Writers If You Want To Write About Harry Potter All Day Long
Meet The Young American Women Who Actually Support Donald Trump
Follow Jazmin on Twitter @JazKopotsha
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.