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Post by BettyNewbie on Nov 1, 2020 15:05:26 GMT -5
In hindsight, there's one major, but easily-missed, detail from the HP series that indicated early on that JKR probably didn't have the most progressive views in regards to gender -- the fact that male sorcerers were called "wizards" and female sorcerers were called "witches."
"Wizard" and "witch" have never been opposite-gender synonyms, and they never will be. They've always referred to different forms of magic. The terms are nominally gender-neutral, but have historically carried gendered associations (wizardry = science/powerful/masculine/positive, witchcraft = nature/weaker/feminine/negative), and using the terms as opposite-gender synonyms doesn't do anything but reinforce that bullshit gender binary of magic.
In this regard, HP was less progressive than Bewitched and the Sabrina comics from the 60s! Those series referred to male witches as "warlocks," which is a much more equal term to "witch" in connotations. And, sure enough, the magical societies of Bewitched and OG Sabrina also happened to be more female-dominated than HP, despite having been written 30-40 years earlier.
And, of course, it's no contest when you compare HP to actual contemporaries like 90s Sabrina, Buffy, and Charmed, where "witch" was a gender-neutral term, and female witches were front and center as the main players. HP literally comes across as something written 100 years earlier, in comparison.
In short, JKR was always pretty regressive in regards to gender. It was literally baked right into HP mythology from the get-go.
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Post by Tim on Nov 1, 2020 17:07:16 GMT -5
You know, Betty, I never noticed this. Mind you, I've never been an HP fan, so I can see why this went over my head.
However, you're right in that Buffy and Charmed, despite being written a decade prior, are more progressive. And even Bewitched was light years ahead of HP in this regard.
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Post by BettyNewbie on Nov 1, 2020 17:55:34 GMT -5
You know, Betty, I never noticed this. Mind you, I've never been an HP fan, so I can see why this went over my head.
However, you're right in that Buffy and Charmed, despite being written a decade prior, are more progressive. And even Bewitched was light years ahead of HP in this regard.
HP's portrayal of female characters is actually pretty weak even compared to something like Bewitched. Hermione may have been the "brightest witch of her day," but she still wasn't the hero of the story, and much of her character seemed defined by how much she "wasn't like the other girls." The "strong" female characters in HP all ultimately play secondary roles in the narrative and don't stray far from traditional gender boundaries at all. On the flipside, Bewitched portrayed Darrin's attempts to mold Sam into the "perfect housewife" as futile and unnatural, and Sam's female relatives were more powerful and prominent than her male relatives. Even Tabitha was portrayed as stronger and more important than Adam. Not bad for something that aired in the 60s. Also, when it comes to all-white fantasy narratives that try to use magic as an allegory for racism, Bewitched did that far more effectively than HP. Prejudice is not something that only the Bad Guys have, and it can't be instantly "cured" by the Good Guys winning a war. RL bigotry is more likely to come from an Endora or a Darrin than a Voldemort.
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Post by Dark Avenger on Nov 1, 2020 21:25:55 GMT -5
Make this woman go away. J.K. needs to just go away, and never return, she has enough money, that she can retire and never be heard from again. LOL
Betty your so right about HP not being so progressive, as much as I love HP, I'm starting to see these. I guess, you notice this when you get older, since most of us first saw HP or read it as a child.
Buffy, Bewitched, and Charmed are more progressive, even if they had bad writing at times and they were not perfect, but they are still way better than HP, which has little or no progression at all.
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Post by BettyNewbie on Nov 1, 2020 22:28:29 GMT -5
Assemble this team together, and Voldemort would've been dead midway through Book 1:
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Post by Tim on Nov 2, 2020 0:34:26 GMT -5
If she had kept her gob shut and stayed off Twitter, she would still be regarded as a great author. She shot herself in the foot.
And yeah, Betty, I love that team!
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Post by Squad 51 on Nov 2, 2020 10:41:05 GMT -5
Totally agreed. She should stay away from anything now!
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Post by Tim on Nov 2, 2020 12:05:23 GMT -5
But she won't.
She'll keep tweeting her poison, not caring who it hurts. Why should she care? She's set for life.
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Post by Tim on Dec 23, 2020 1:00:18 GMT -5
CTV Sci-Fi continues to show its support for this intolerant bigot with a two day HP movie marathon
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Post by BettyNewbie on Dec 23, 2020 2:22:11 GMT -5
CTV Sci-Fi continues to show its support for this intolerant bigot with a two day HP movie marathon SyFy's been spamming those movies down here, too. How do I know? Because, my mom continues to watch them! Like, these movies aren't even that good. These books aren't even that good. They don't have the literary or cinematic merit to make up for JKR's awfulness. Why can't we let this stupid franchise go?!?
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Post by Squad 51 on Dec 23, 2020 10:35:11 GMT -5
Here they are not shown, I think but they were earlier. Thankfully, I'm not a fan of HP.
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Post by Tim on Dec 23, 2020 12:20:10 GMT -5
Of course, every time those movies air, Jo gets royalty payments. Therefore, any channel that airs these movies are supporting her. Not directly, but they are.
ABC did it right when they dropped Rosanne Barr after her racist post.
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Post by BettyNewbie on Dec 23, 2020 14:27:52 GMT -5
I hate that the "Read Another Book" meme has been hijacked by alt-right douchebags, because that's what I feel like yelling whenever I see people referencing those books or networks spamming those movies. It's downright embarrassing to see so many fully-grown adults still clinging to a mediocre YA book series and mass-produced franchise, while handwaving away legitimate criticism of JKR and her work. Is that crap really worth lining her pockets and helping promote her hateful platform? Do trans lives mean anything to people?
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on Dec 23, 2020 15:36:55 GMT -5
I was a long time Harry Potter fan since high school, but after all the stuff Rowling said and keeps saying, I am sick of her and Harry Potter. That sucks because I loved the books in high school and I identified as a Slytherin for a long time and bought a lot of Slytherin swag, it was a great icebreaker when someone would see my Slytherin beanie and tell me they belonged to a Hogwarts house. Now I can’t bring myself to wear my Slytherin hat or use my Slytherin backpack because of her dumbass statements. I wish she could have kept her mouth shut, she’s ruined Harry Potter for so many people.
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Post by Tim on Dec 23, 2020 17:36:13 GMT -5
Baffles me why they still air those movies. As I said, by doing that, they are supporting that bigot.
Besides Pottermania is long over. It ain't 2004 anymore!
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