It's reason for such popularity runs deep
Glenn Beck made a good point the other day; he was doing a monologue about Potter-mania, and opined that these stories, like "Lord of the Rings" and the "Star Wars" saga (I personally would even include Indiana Jones and some superhero movies in the batch, too), are so popular because they portray a battle between true, easily-discerned Good and Evil (notice the capital letters).
They show good, decent people standing up and opposing Evil; fighting oppression and those who would do violence and bring death and mayhem in the name of power.
They show people doing the right thing, sacrificing their own comfort, best interests, and even their lives, for the greater, moral, Good.
Wow...defined Morals, standing up, doing the right thing....sacrificing. Imagine that.
He noted how, in the modern era, our liberalized culture has pretty much dismissed the notion of true Good and true Evil, instead opting for the concept of Moral Relativism.
According to the Moral Relativists, whatever a person thinks is right or wrong at a given time is what's right and wrong. There is no absolute morality or Right and Wrong, no true, overarching Good and Evil.
But....people know, in their hearts and souls, that ultimate Good and Evil really do exist; that there really is definite Right and absolute Wrong, and as a result, they respond to these kinds of stories on a gut-level, which is what makes them so popular.
He tied it in neatly with the War on Terror and the fight with Radical Islam. I won't go into further detail, as I'm sure all of you can draw the analogy for yourselves, but it really was an interesting take.
Harry Potter vs. Voldemort; Frodo and the Fellowship vs. Sauron and his minions; Indiana Jones vs. the Nazis; Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Vader, and the Rebels vs. The Galactic Empire. These are direct analogies for our true nature; Good and Evil, dark and light; the moral right, the desperate need, to stand against chaos and Evil.
You know, it's funny, though, that the people who write these movies and stories are usually overwhelmingly liberal; they're the ones who subscribe to the notion of Relativism, and as a result, they can't see, or perhaps understand, the greater emotional and psychological import---the moral impact---of their stories. They take no lesson from the popularity of their "Good vs. Evil" tales. They must think it's just all in good fun.
We cheer when the Bad Guys get blasted, and cuss when the Good Guys take a hit. We know what's right and wrong. We know the difference between Good and Evil. We like to see what we instinctively know portrayed on the screen; we like to watch played out what our internal moral compass dictates is the reality. We know.
Liberals don't.
This denial---this deliberate blindness---will be the death of our way of life, unless we're willing to sacrifice for a greater Good; to stand up and do the right thing....oppose it.