Let me start by saying I agree 100% and more, especially with regards to the morality of the verse.
Leaving the massive insult these novels are to the English language for the moment, I think one of the most important things people forget about Harry Potter is what Rowling's derivative constructs say to her readers. The series indoctrinates the audience into accepting her twisted and conservative mores and encourage a discriminatory system.
If we consider, for example, the portrayals of those with natural gifts (wizards) and those without (non-wizards), we can see very clearly that Rowling champions a pseudo-apartheid society. The "cleverest" are segregated from the dross and dictate what they may and may not know. More importantly, the few non-wizard characters who make any appearance are invariably dull and/or evil. Hermione's parents are non-wizarding only to serve as a method for giving her a tortured conflict that the author can base sappy prose around. The caretaker, lacking talents of his own, is envious of others and seeks to do harm to children because of his petty, twisted soul. She might as well have called him Shylock. The message is simple; either you're special or you're not, and if you're not, tough titty.
It's the same with the portrayal of women, which I could discuss for hours, I have no doubt. Rowling's universe is not only infantile and therefore encourages adherence to infantile morality, but derivative, uncreative and largely stolen. When we consider Snape's Worst emory (I forget which book this is from), we see the kind of small-mindedness of her attitudes; the man was part of an evil, violent cult, yet his worst memory is being teased at school? What the hell!? Why doesn't she just bludgeon us with a big hammer with "angsty past" written on it in the blood of a teenage Gary Stu?
Anyway, I don't want to make this tl;dr, but I just wanted to say I whole-heartedly agree and it's a pleasure to see someone writing a well thought-out and critically focused commentary. Studying Harry Potter for A Level? I thought The Spire was bad!
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dancing_serpent
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-02 02:54 pm (UTC)Leaving the massive insult these novels are to the English language for the moment, I think one of the most important things people forget about Harry Potter is what Rowling's derivative constructs say to her readers. The series indoctrinates the audience into accepting her twisted and conservative mores and encourage a discriminatory system.
If we consider, for example, the portrayals of those with natural gifts (wizards) and those without (non-wizards), we can see very clearly that Rowling champions a pseudo-apartheid society. The "cleverest" are segregated from the dross and dictate what they may and may not know. More importantly, the few non-wizard characters who make any appearance are invariably dull and/or evil. Hermione's parents are non-wizarding only to serve as a method for giving her a tortured conflict that the author can base sappy prose around. The caretaker, lacking talents of his own, is envious of others and seeks to do harm to children because of his petty, twisted soul. She might as well have called him Shylock. The message is simple; either you're special or you're not, and if you're not, tough titty.
It's the same with the portrayal of women, which I could discuss for hours, I have no doubt. Rowling's universe is not only infantile and therefore encourages adherence to infantile morality, but derivative, uncreative and largely stolen. When we consider Snape's Worst emory (I forget which book this is from), we see the kind of small-mindedness of her attitudes; the man was part of an evil, violent cult, yet his worst memory is being teased at school? What the hell!? Why doesn't she just bludgeon us with a big hammer with "angsty past" written on it in the blood of a teenage Gary Stu?
Anyway, I don't want to make this tl;dr, but I just wanted to say I whole-heartedly agree and it's a pleasure to see someone writing a well thought-out and critically focused commentary. Studying Harry Potter for A Level? I thought The Spire was bad!