Attending a midnight premiere is not for the faint of heart.
By 11 p.m. last Thursday, the parking lot of Charlottesville's Regal Cinemas was packed with people of all ages attempting to claim their seats for the midnight premiere of the first cinematic installment of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." The theater was so crowded that a sign in the box office window advertised tickets for a 3:05 a.m. showing to accommodate audience overflow.
But perhaps even more overwhelming than the massive throngs was that the crowd in line near the box office and in the lobby was mostly comprised of Death Eaters, Albus Dumbledores, Severus Snapes, house elves and even a few owls. By and large, it seemed that Muggles - people of the non-Wizarding World - were in the minority.
To some individuals, dressing up in costumes and braving the early-morning November cold may seem extreme, but not to University students who had prepared for this premiere for months. Many of today's college-age generation, including those at the University, have grown up with Harry Potter midnight release culture, first with each book and later with each movie. Such students understand the kind of dedication and active participation - for example, dressing in Wizarding attire - that premiere attendance entails.
Rowling's fantasy novel series first debuted in 1997, with the final book coming in 2007 - the year that the majority of the current fourth-year class graduated from high school. Moreover, the actors that portray the characters in the film adaptations are very close in age to their fans. Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry, was born July 23, 1989, while Rupert Grint as Ron was born Aug. 24, 1988. Emma Watson, who plays Hermione, was born April 15, 1990. Consequently, as Rowling's characters grew up and matured, so did Rowling's readers.
Given that the series is now coming to a close with the release the first installment of the seventh and final film, University students who spent their childhoods with Harry and Co. have naturally felt the significance of the end of an era. During the week leading up to the Nov. 19 premiere, the sidewalks from Clemons Library to Observatory Hill Dining Hall were marked with the symbol of the Deathly Hallows and quotes from the book. Meanwhile, Facebook walls were filled with references to the series and countdowns to the premiere in the early Friday morning hours.
Still, third-year College student Brian Wigmore - who gauged his dedication to the Harry Potter cult somewhere between 7.5 and 8.5 on a scale of 1-10 - said it takes a special level of devotion beyond that of a typical fan to attend a midnight showing. Verifying his own credentials, "I read the last one ["The Deathly Hollows"] by 7:30 a.m. the morning it came out," he said.
In anticipation of the crowds, many premiere-goers bought their tickets online weeks in advance. Second-year College student Alison McRae gets e-mail alerts from the ticket sales website, Fandango, and ordered hers as soon as they became available. She was not the only one to act so quickly.
"I bought mine in early October, definitely before Halloween," third-year College student Lauren Cohen said.
Securing an early ticket was just one of the many ways students prepared themselves for the film. McRae watched ABC Family's "Harry Potter" movie marathon for weeks prior to the release. Meanwhile, second-year College student Ellen Connell listened to the audio books on the way to class and before falling asleep each night.
For other students, this obsession with Harry Potter has gone beyond filling in the gaps of the schedules. During his trip to England this summer, second-year College student Matt Powell made a point of seeing some of the key locations used for filming scenes in the movies, such as the graveyard where Harry's parents are buried and Malfoy Manor.
"I'm really excited to see those in the movie and see what they did to alter them," he said before going into the theater.
Like many of his peers, Powell arrived in costume. Wearing a University-themed Snuggie for a cape and the trademark Harry Potter-style glasses, he explained that he had to "go all out" for this movie.
Second-year College student Richard Tyson decided to dress up as his favorite character, Dean Thomas. "I just associate myself a lot with him, with his personality traits. He redeems himself in the seventh book," he said.
Tyson also noted that with the division of "The Deathly Hollows" into two films - deemed necessary because the action-packed novel ends at a whopping 759 pages in the U.S. edition - he will have the opportunity to dress up for two different premieres.
Connell also expressed satisfaction with the directorial decision but for slightly different reasons. "I feel like giving it double the time allows for them to cover all the magical moments," she said.\n"I'm not ready to say goodbye to Harry Potter yet"
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