You must log in or register to comment.
Rocky Horror is a bit better than Harry Potter. DON’T dream it, be it.
what about potter puppet pals. can we still watch that?
There’s a real dark irony in a book about a young boy quite literally coming out of the closet to discover his true self written by a woman who might as well be a Dursley.
The irony disappears slightly when the whole slave liberation arc was literally Confederate propaganda that was so distasteful and irrelevant to the plot, it was cut from the movies.
The house elves love being slaves. It’s the natural order of things.
The real dark irony is Jo saying they probably would have transitioned when they were younger if they were aware of gender expression.
Harry Potter has no true self to discover. From the first to the last page of this pile of rags he is a wizarding Mary Sue with near-infinite privilege and the personality of an oyster. The story opens with “yer a wizard” in the first 50 pages and that’s the end of his character arc. From then on he’s a mere vessel for the reader to experience the world and the author to move the plot along.
… As a matter of fact, what even is the biggest character arc in that story? I don’t remember much, but Neville and Hermione have a glowup and Harry’s uncle dies or something? And the weasleys open a shop? I certainly don’t recall anything that lends credence to the idea that Rowling even believes that either individual people or societies are capable of profound change. The story begins and ends basically in the exact same place except the characters are 10ish years older.
And then he grows up to become… a cop.
From the first to the last page of this pile of rags he is a wizarding Mary Sue with near-infinite privilege and the personality of an oyster.
I disagree.
As a matter of fact, what even is the biggest character arc in that story? I don’t remember much
:-/
that really doesn’t add much to the conversation. you’re just
-ing. why do you disagree, Jo?It’s a generic critique of any fantasy novel protagonist. Potter isn’t any more of a Mary Sue than Aragorn or Rand Al’Thor.
And “The plot was bad, I don’t even remember what happened”. Bro, what do I even say to that?
The story wasn’t so bad that it failed to sell tens of millions of copies in dozens of languages.
Aragorn…you had all of literature to pick from and you chose Aragorn as your first example?
And “The plot was bad, I don’t even remember what happened”. Bro, what do I even say to that?
The story wasn’t so bad that it failed to sell tens of millions of copies in dozens of languages.
Thanks, i can respond to that. It may have not had the best written story, but it was a story that resonated with people (even though we, on reflection, found a lot to pick apart in it) and that’s really, really hard to do. Tens of millions of copies each volume indeed.
From then on he’s a mere vessel for the reader to experience the world and the author to move the plot along.
I mean i’m exposing my writing naivete here but if we get rid of the word mere above, isn’t the primary job of the MC to be a vessel for the reader to experience the world and the author to move the plot? we kind of come back to the same idea. give a bland protag that the reader can feed their emotions and reasoning into and they connect a little more. the more they connect the better the book sells. it seems like a decent writing strategy if nothing else is working.
given that thought, maybe i should write a novel about me. i can’t think of anything blander. maybe that’s why they say everyone’s first novel is about themselves.
Aragorn is not a- hhrrrgh I’m gonna angry cry, I’m gonna barf right now how dare you
I’d argue Harry is way worse than both Aragorn and Rand Al’Thor. At least there’s several attributes added to both of those characters, though Aragorn is a lot more fleshed out. Aragorn is noble, loyal, carries a deep sadness, love towards someone special, etc., you can easily describe him with other words than just “adult man who becomes king”. Rand struggles with what he should do, who he is, what will he become, who should he love? all that, he too can be described with not only surface level things.
What qualities does Harry have? He hates people who are terrible? Feels sad when he loses people he cares about? He has no feelings outside of generic things he does in his life, it’s like he’s on autopilot and just reacts to things like some standard of a person would. How would you describe his traits, other than some generic “a kid that becomes a special wizard and grows up” or his physical appearance? And I don’t think Rand Al’Thor is a very good character mind you, but at least he is one. Harry is just an empty shell
I’d argue Harry is way worse than both Aragorn and Rand Al’Thor.
That’s fine. You’re entitled to your own opinion.
What qualities does Harry have?
Naivete, isolation, and confusion that gives way to optimism and comradrie in Book 1. If you ever read any Roald Dahl novels, he’s got much of the same youthful curiosity and compassionate cheerfulness of James from the Giant Peach and Charlie from the Chocolate Factory.
Much of Harry’s early personality is informed by his struggle to understand his parents and his parents’ friends, picking up and discarding their habits and traits in pursuit of self-actualization (Book 3/4/5, in particular, have him latching onto Remus Lupin and then Sirius Black as idols, only to lose them and himself in turn). Over the course of the series Harry’s initial optimism is poisoned by cynicism and hatred, frustration at the failure of his elder peers, and ultimately a depressive death spiral. He matures, discarding the childish qualities of the early books and adopts more mature (often toxic and reactionary) views and motivations by the end of the series. As a case in point, Book 1 Harry would have happily joined SPEW, while Book 5 Harry considers it an annoyance. I’d say Harry’s arc really peaks in Book 6, when he uses black magic on Draco Malfoy and Snape has to rush in to save him. He’s gone from a cheerful, generous, naive little kid to a battle-hardened child soldier.
Like, if I was to really describe Harry’s story progression, that’s it. Its a look inside a child that’s forced to fight a war for survival. You get a similar (abet much better written) character trajectory for the Animorphs. But to say nothing is going on with the central character? That’s blatantly rage-bait.
Also my suspicion that book 6 is the last book that Rowling had more than a few token notes on. By book 7, you can really feel the ghostwriters crowding in and WB taking a heavy hand in editing/finalizing (although it’s clear they’ve been around since book 4). Forcing a Disney-style happy ending on a wizard civil war betrayed so much of what Rowling had set up in the early novels.
Well that is a good analysis! You honestly got me more convinced of Harry’s personhood than the books ever did. I guess I just really, really hate Harry as a protagonist, which blinds me to the other points. I’ll blame Rowlings writing style for that one though.
And yes, I fully agree about the later books; after the fifth one, I can barely remember anything that happens in them, outside some biggest plot points. Compared to how I can still fairly well recall what happens in books 1-4, and mostly 5 as well despite there being more time passed after reading them, the contrast is huge.
👎
At least it’s not more explicit. It’s not like there’s some potion that lets you change your physical appearance at will that is even capable of turning you into a furry. Or a type of witch/wizard whose special ability is to change their appearance at will, as shown by a slightly androgynous woman who regularly changes her appearance based on how she’s feeling in the moment.
Write what you know.
As much as the author sucks, I enjoy the series too much to throw it away :/
YAaaarrr, we be enjoying content from slimey, bilge-bucket creators without spending a single doubloon on their barnacle-covered arses. 🏴☠️
Whenever you spend any money on anything Harry Potter related, offset it by giving at least that much to a charity for LGBTQ+.
MFers will invent carbon credits before reading a different book
pirate the media and dont give it exposure then :) any dollar given to that franchise is a dollar spent to harm trans people
It harms much more than just trans people. Firstly transphobes think even the slightest form of gender-noncomformity is transgenderism, secondly many of those TERF orgs also oppose other things (wondering if Collective Shout got any money from her, but probably she already blames porn for trans people).
transgenderism
Forgive me if I’ve been mislead, but from what I understand “transgenderism” is a term used by transphobes to diminish a legitimate phenomenon, implying it is a belief or fad.
Still upvoted for contributing to the discussion and for supporting an alien in his search for the universe’s best cup of coffee.
I always hear “transgender ideology” from transphobes, to make it more of a thought exercise and fad than a physical state of being. “Transgenderism” is a word I’ve been familiar with for decades but it may have been coopted or is being eschewed now, not sure.
I consume it purely through fanfiction and AO3.
as a transfem academic who enjoyed HPMoR, I dislike JKR’s Harry Potter series because it’s poorly written and is not critical enough of the ethical problems it contains
It isn’t critical of its ethical problems at all. It mostly doesn’t even acknowledge them.
Oh you mean the fascistic nightmare world where it turns out the only problem is bad actors, not the fact that it’s systemically rotten to the core?
Motherfucker becomes a cop ffs
I mean, both worlds are rotten to the core, it’s just that HPMoR is properly critical of the problems therein. Only one of the two worlds has the main character working hard to dismantle the institutional racism he was presented with.
Oh fuck me, sorry I read that as MMO. No, methods of rationality was good.
outside of nostalgia which is hard to quantify what is the appeal compared to thousands of better series in the genre? Its not just written by a bigoted monster who uses her platform for harming others its filled with lackluster world building and empty characters.
Now we’re talking!
I’m first:
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, by Fritz Leiber.
Very 1980-ish fantasy for adults.
Your turn!
Do you have any trans people in your life?
Are you assuming that there aren’t trans people that like Harry Potter? Do YOU have any trans people in your life?
I didn’t assume anything, I just asked a question.
I do have a handful of trans people in my life, yes.
Yes I do too. To answer your question
Unless you’re an alt, I wasn’t originally asking you. I don’t know your stance on the Harry Potter IP.
deleted by creator
Is there something about stuffed animals in the Harry Potter books I am missing?
The lion, snake, badger, and raven are the animals of the Hogwarts houses.
Thanks, I couldn’t tell that was a bird at first and then the badger was confusing me. Now I know and get it.
Yeah, the beak kind of looks like a horn.
No. The context is the houses.
Here’s an honest question. Are we allowed to buy Harry Potter stuff after JKR is dead, since she won’t get paychecks from it anymore?
I don’t but it now, think I missed the hype train by being too old when it hit it’s hype.
But the biggest issue is JKR getting the money not the franchise? Or am I missing something where the franchise and license owners are also anti-trans?
I can’t keep up with everything, but I know Harry Potter is getting a lot of hate and I’m out of the loop besides JKR just being a cunt on social media.
Yeah, pretty much. No one is gonna give you shit for reading H.P. Lovecraft.
The deep sees are calling.
If she owns the rights she could theoretically put something in her will that states x% of proceeds from her intellectual properties will go to [insert TERF organization here]. Considering she’s made it her life goal to make society as inaccessible to trans people as possible, I assume she’ll make sure she can do so in death as well.
So she’s well beyond just commenting and is funding things that hurt the trans community?
I should Google more.
She was also involved in the bullshit Cass report. She’s a monster.
Yup. Just one of her purchases put about 70,000 pounds Stirling in the hands of the lawyers that got gender recognition certificates rendered moot in the UK supreme court. Thats the landmark ruling that has since allowed bathroom, locker room , gym and sport single sex policing completely legitimate by UK authorities and forced “transgender row” in prisons to send trans prisoners to institutions of their birth sex.
She does a lot more with her money than that but that was her single biggest win so far.
Wouldn’t it be better, sir, to make seven wills?
Funny you mention it, because I was thinking of going back and reading all the Dilbert strips I missed out on after Scott Adams went mask-off racist. Am I allowed?
(edit: LOL, looks like a moot point, I tried going there just now and the server doesn’t seem to be running)
Nobody is stopping you but be warned 90% of Dilbert is utter crap, might be entertaining to a child, some weird child who works in a cubicle or something.
Steal it instead!
I mean… You’re allowed to buy it now, whether or not you choose to do so
