The hit social media app “TikTok” has completely shifted in the past month. People’s “For You” pages are seeing less dances, challenges, and singing videos, but instead are flooded by the face of a movie character from a popular franchise that came out almost 20 years ago: Draco Malfoy. #Dracotok has completely wiped the app as a whole, bringing back people’s love for the “Harry Potter” books, and welcoming new fans into the universe. Instead of seeing popular TikToker’s, such as Charli D’Amelio or Addison Rae, dance to a new hit song, people are seeing fan-created point-of-view, POV, videos, where they insert themselves into the storyline. People are hosting Harry Potter movie marathons with their families, going online shopping at the Wizarding World store, rereading the books, and sorting their friends into each of the four Hogwarts houses, all as a result of this new trend on TikTok. But while the character Draco Malfoy sparked this trend, now the Harry Potter universe as a whole has had a comeback. People are making video edits of Hermione, Ron, even Snape – all well known and popular characters from the books and movies. 

But as this trend continues to stay strong, the question remains: Why? Why, all of a sudden, did a nearly 20 year old movie series start trending again? What sparked the flame? Harry Potter has always been popular, with eight successful movies, merchandise all over the country, and even a theme park. It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t heard of it. But people are acting like it just came out a week ago. My personal theory on this has to relate to this big, bad pandemic. At the start of quarantine, people were finding new hobbies. They were exercising, going on walks, baking bread, learning to knit. But once that phase got boring, I think people needed to search for refuge among all of the negativity in the world. Our country especially has been heavily bombarded with politics, hate, and false hope. So going back to a fictional world filled with magic, dragons, and even mermaids brings people away from the real world and gives them hope and happiness. I’m willing to admit I have been totally sucked into this rising trend, and I myself have fallen under the spell and have gone online shopping for some merchandise more than once (it’s ok, my bank account will forgive me one day). But all in all, this trend isn’t for everyone, and some people might not even notice it affecting their “For You” pages, but let’s hope the love for fantasy stays a little bit longer, because what’s wrong with a little bit of magic? 

Evelyn Morrison, Staff Writer

Senior Evelyn Morrison is a staff writer for the 2020-2021 Colonel. She is a member of five choirs in the school, and is president of the senior class. In her free time, she enjoys obsessing over Frozen 2, playing with her cats, and reading the Harry Potter books. When she isn’t talking about how her doppelganger is Rapunzel, she is bragging about how she is a Gryffindor.