Makeovers, Individualism, and Vanishing Community in the Harry Potter Series

This essay examines the makeovers and narratives of identity formation that preoccupy the Harry Potter series. These makeovers ostensibly produce autonomous, self-aware individuals, but they often lead to conformity. The series’ valorization of self-determination brings it surprisingly in tune with the neoliberal politics of its post-Thatcher setting. Though the novels make gestures toward social justice, they largely accept self-improvement as an acceptable substitute for collective politics.