Where do we stand on Harry Potter?

[billd91]

Last Saturday the 7 year old went to a classmates birthday party (transgender male), and when we got there, he was dressed as Harry Potter. Kinda broke my heart. I mean, you don't want to ruin a fandom for a 7 year old, but you know at some point they are going to have their heart broken after finding out what JK is all about.

My trans daughter is grappling with it now. She loves the Harry Potter series, plays the Lego games, and really wants to play Hogwarts Legacy. I'm not telling her not to buy it (her older sister is the one doing that), but she fell in love with the series when I would read it to my kids at bedtime.

 

[Riley]

Sigh. I miss enjoying Harry Potter. I do love the first three books.

It's hard to believe that the author's anti-trans crusading only dates back to mid-2020, and before that her shortcomings seemed mostly to be an overreliance on stereotypes, and an inability of her characters to grow much beyond where they started.

I was really enjoying buying and reading the first four "Illustrated Editions" released before this. Not sure we can allow ourselves to buy the rest.

 

[Gradine]

Not worth it

 

[Undrave]

My trans daughter is grappling with it now. She loves the Harry Potter series, plays the Lego games, and really wants to play Hogwarts Legacy. I'm not telling her not to buy it (her older sister is the one doing that), but she fell in love with the series when I would read it to my kids at bedtime.

‘the Worst Witch’ tv series and it’s college age sequel are on Tubi. The Worst Witch is an older story about a kid in a magical school that started back in 1974. The Worst Witch - Wikipedia

And Little Witch Academia is on Netflix. And it does have a video game Little Witch Academia - Wikipedia

 

[Gradine]

‘the Worst Witch’ tv series and it’s college age sequel are on Tubi. The Worst Witch is an older story about a kid in a magical school that started back in 1974. The Worst Witch - Wikipedia

And Little Witch Academia is on Netflix. And it does have a video game Little Witch Academia - Wikipedia

There's a newer version the Worst Witch on Netflix starring Bella Ramsey that I can attest is very excellent (see: Ramsey, Bella)

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

The goblins as presented in her books evoke anti-semitic tropes, absolutely.

I agree with you that she is not using her platform in the same way to broadcast anti-semitism as she is with her TERFness. And that Hogwarts Legacy appears to be amplifying it with some serious dog whistles.

Okay. But my point was we probably shouldn’t be accusing JK Rowling of being an anti-Semite because it dovetails nicely into criticism of her opinions on Trans issues. She didn’t write the video game.

The Owl House is pretty darn cool. And I'm a middle-aged man.

Oof that’s rough. Maybe touch on it with the parents and find some alternative they could subtly steer him towards with some gifts? Naturally ween him off that particular fandom into something else, ya know? I wish little boys had something like the Owl House… they can still watch it, but it’s not quite the same as having a role model.

Bust out Power Rangers Mystic Force?

I keep thinking about what happens to Harry Potter when the next Big Thing comes along for kids, the thing that captures their imagination and spreads across different mediums in the same way. Because that will happen one day. I don't think kids read Bomba the Jungle Boy that much these days.

So in terms of spending money, I will do that on my own behalf and I will advocate that others do it as well. Harry Potter is not a necessary good, and you should spend your money on other things. Eventually, if enough people act on it, then companies will stop giving her money to license Harry Potter and we might accomplish at least a little good.

 

[Undrave]

There's a newer version the Worst Witch on Netflix starring Bella Ramsey that I can attest is very excellent (see: Ramsey, Bella)

So I hear! It’s also technically a sequel, but I doubt it matters much?

 

[JAMUMU]

But the truth of the matter is that some of the people who have influenced gaminglit, including Gary Gygax, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and others engaged in behavior or held beliefs we find offensive and unacceptable today. If we have discussions on the history of D&D, there's a good chance any of those names might pop up, which would count as a microaggression with the potential to make some people feel less than welcome.

For me the fundamental difference is that these old dead guys, whatever their politics (and Howard was starting to turn as he aged, he thought Lovecraft was "too racist", and Gygax did loads of cocaine, the drug that turns angels into badwords) they don't have a legion of online followers currently brigading and harassing the family of a murdered teenage girl, and their fortunes aren't being used to fund hate and they arent active participants in the culture war deforming a nation state on behalf of the far right.

As the dude in my avatar used to say "Little bit of politics there", and I apologise but also sorry not sorry.

 

[MGibster]

I can only speak for myself, though others have voiced similar things in this thread: the biggest difference here is the immediate and direct threat to people's rights, healthcare, and even lives, that the property unequivocally represents through its sole creator.

I do agree that Rowling is a special case and for the reasons you give. But the OP specifically mentions just talking about Potter might constitute a microaggression and we have another post who belives that talking about HP Lovecraft is something that makes this message board unwelcoming for their trans son. As big and special as Rowling is, this issue is bigger than just her.

Not to put to fine a point on it, but Harry Potter is increasingly irrelevant to modern fantasy generally, and was never particularly relevant to D&D specifically.

This seems like wishful thinking to me. We're talking about a franchise worth billions, in the words of Forrest Gump, "It's a household name," and for many young people Potter not Tolkien was their introduction to fantasy. If anything, I think Potter's influence will be felt even more in the coming years.

 

[Parmandur]

Yeah, she's held up as a justification that anti-trans views are "mainstream." She's providing cover for people actively seeking to harm a group that already has a huge risk of being murdered or killing themselves -- much, much higher than the general public's odds in both cases.

It's hard for me to imagine us trying to separate art from living artist if they were espousing similar views about other groups.

Separating the art from the artist, for me, is exclusively for public domain art thar comes from another age and culture. I don't expect Beethover or Wagner to hold similar views to me, but when I consume their art they don't benefit.