Fury over Black Hermione Granger

[Kramodlog]

So what? Does it matter that a white character is now black? What if Harry Potter was made a woman? And homosexual? The Harry Potter series is plot driven. It only gets "racial" when it talks about the lot of elves. And even than white people are messianic figures that come to same elves.

When thing are character driven and race and gender is part of the story, say Martin Luther King's story, who plays it might be more important. Then again, playing with race and gender can also be used to say something, even with Martin Luther King. Intention is important. Or it could be done just for artisitic reasons. Cate Blanchette played Bob Dylon in the bio pic I'm not There and she nailed it.

Anyway, I just can't find anything to protest with the gender or race swap of characters, fictional or not.

 

[Yaarel]

It's magic. She cast a race change spell. That's no harder to believe than anything else in the Potterverse.

On a serious level, yes. A Wizard can change bodies, almost as easily as a Muggle can change lipstick color.

But I resent movies that replace white characters with minority characters for no other reason than groupthink political correctness.

The hate against males, against whites (Pan Europeans), and so on, is immoral and needs to stop.

Hating against whites is just as evil as hating against blacks. And so on.

I would rather see appealing black characters emerge in their own right, than swap in a black actor for a known white character. Making white characters arbitrarily black, makes it seem as if black cultures have nothing to contribute.

Create a new Wizard who is black. Leave Hermione, an already beloved character, white.

 

[Cody C. Lewis]

It IS that simple. Some people are just so attached to what was portrayed in the films that they think that's the way it was in the source material and that that's the way it has to be going forward.

Look man, if you want to discuss whether or not the change is a good one, cool, do that.

But seriously, we had 8 films, multiple books covers and 7 books to bring up racial tension a single time (a subject absolutely broached by Rowling with the mud-blood comments and the Malfoys' ironic obsession with pure bloods). If JK Rowling wrote her as a black character she would have said something, ANYTHING at least once before now, that Emma Watson was not a true representation of the character over the last 15 - 20 years.

This is a change of the character.

 

[MechaPilot]

And then there's also the fact that maybe the black actress in question was simply the best actress who auditioned for the role. In a situation where the source material doesn't specify a given race, and where race is not an integral part of the character, choosing the best actress from those who auditioned should be done without giving race a second thought.

 

[MechaPilot]

Look man, if you want to discuss whether or not the change is a good one, cool, do that.

But seriously, we had 8 films, multiple books covers and 7 books to bring up racial tension a single time (a subject absolutely broached by Rowling with the mud-blood comments and the Malfoys' ironic obsession with pure bloods). If JK Rowling wrote her as a black character she would have said something, ANYTHING at least once before now, that Emma Watson was not a true representation of the character over the last 15 - 20 years.

This is a change of the character.

I am not saying that Rowling wrote her as black. I am referring to Rowling herself stating that the race of the character was never specified. If you have a problem with that, take it up with Rowling since she said it.

Also, the eight films mean precisely jack squat. The films are NOT the source material, the books ARE; the films are merely adaptations that provably differ from the books, cutting scenes here and there, and outright changing things as well.

 

[Yaarel]

I am not saying that Rowling wrote her as black. I am referring to Rowling herself stating that the race of the character was never specified. If you have a problem with that, take it up with Rowling since she said it.

Also, the eight films mean precisely jack squat. The films are NOT the source material, the books ARE; the films are merely adaptations that provably differ from the books, cutting scenes here and there, and outright changing things as well.

Heh. For me, the Harry Potter films ARE the source material, because I saw (and will see) every Harry Potter movie. But I havent read any of the books (at least not yet).

If I remember correctly, Rowling was consulted extensively for the movies, and said the movies represent her books excellently. So this is a rare case where the movies share the same authorship as the novels.

The movies are pop culture icons.

Respect the continuity of the story.

Changing the ethnicity of a central character drastically changes the story.

It is a conspicuous retcon at best. But really, it is a reinvention of the original story to create a different story.

It is ok to have a white character who is smart. There is no good reason to erase her.

 

[MechaPilot]

It is ok to have a white character who is smart. There is no good reason to erase her.

You appear to be ascribing motives beyond those of simply casting the best actress who auditioned for the job. That is to say, I don't think anyone is saying that it's not okay to have a smart character who is white.

 

[Maxperson]

You appear to be ascribing motives beyond those of simply casting the best actress who auditioned for the job. That is to say, I don't think anyone is saying that it's not okay to have a smart character who is white.

Maybe I'm being cynical, but waaaaaaaay too often in the entertainment field, major characters get re-cast as minorities for PC reasons, not because the actors are the best for the part.

 

[Yaarel]

You appear to be ascribing motives beyond those of simply casting the best actress who auditioned for the job. That is to say, I don't think anyone is saying that it's not okay to have a smart character who is white.

If the best actor is a Japanese man who speaks no English, then let him get the role Hermione. A movie about a Wizard trio set in modern Japan sounds appealing. If a movie like this comes to a nearby cinema - or to the internet - I want to see it.

But these Japanese characters have little to do with the story about Harry Potter.

 

[MechaPilot]

Maybe I'm being cynical, but waaaaaaaay too often in the entertainment field, major characters get re-cast as minorities for PC reasons, not because the actors are the best for the part.

I can't say one way or the other on that. I usually never get to hear what the casting people have to say on the matter. All I usually end up hearing is "You can't make _____ black" (or female, or whatever their complaining about this week).

Although this isn't terribly relevant to the play at hand, because the author of the source material has issued WoG stating that the character's race was never specified, for me (as I've said before) unless a character's race, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation is an integral part of the character (which is not a situation that's terribly frequent) I have no issue with a new interpretation of a character that changes those things.

Now, if the play were intended to be the adult versions of the characters from the films, then I could see how there could be some confusion by changing a race because the races of the film adaptation have been established in the film adaptation. However, if the play is the adult versions of the characters from the books then that potential issue goes away.