Harry Potter - the aftershock

Nietzsches Aprentice RSS / 20.10.2007. u 22:25

I am afraid I will be stealing the flame (briefly) from the locally appointed gay issues officers, therefore I should think that an up-front apology is in order :) I considered not saying anything at all, but the hilarity of the commotion caused by Miss Rowlings' statement that one of her main characters in the insanely popular Harry Potter series is gay practically begs for attention. As is the case with many news from showbiz, they only reach me if Yahoo manages to sneak them in on my mail homepage in an attempt to convert me into an average desperate-housewives-and-popcorn obsessed drone (no offence intended :)). God bless Yahoo, they epitomize perseverance. Again, for those who have not had the chance to hear this, Dumbledore, apparently somewhat of a big shot in the Harry Potter books, is gay:

After reading briefly from the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," she took questions from audience members.

She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds "true love."

"Dumbledore is gay," the author responded to gasps and applause.

You can read the rest of the article on Yahoo!.

What initially struck me as odd was the "gasps and applause" part since much of the audience were parents of Miss Rowlings' main target market. I didn't see the acceptance coming, not by a long shot. What I saw as a more likely reaction was an awkward silence broken by a tiny child voice asking "Mom, what is gay?". The explanation ensued briefly after when I realized that the book-reading session took place in New York, which is known for being rather relaxed about such trivialities as the sexual orientation of its denizens. However, it was only to be expected that there were those whose attitude followed a more common pattern:

"I am shocked and appalled. After hearing this news, my 7 year old son (whose favorite character was Dumbledore) has decided he wants to be gay. Thanks alot JK."

Now, as stupid-funny as this message appears to me, it did prompt me to see what other sentiments are being expressed about the issue. Most of my attention I probably dedicated to those who saw it fit to develop another conspiracy theory, namely, a theory how the introduction of a gay character in what is essentially considered a kiddy book series is a political attempt of liberals (those evil people that lurk in dark corners of your cities and towns asking for preposterous things such as extended freedom of expression and similar stuff) to promote their unholy agenda.

I know that most people inhabiting this fair planet of ours are not too bright. I also know that many of them are jobless enough to spend their time talking crap. Nothing I can do about that, I suppose. Yet, I cannot help but marvel at their imagination.

I fell asleep 15 and 30 minutes respectively into two Harry Potter movies I was forced to see, which, I guess, makes me a not so die-hard of a fan. Still I ask, why can't a children book remain what it is, a children book? Why do people need to read more into things than what is really there? I guess one could argue how politics has penetrated almost every aspect of our life but the level of paranoia that people exhibit (or, alterantively, the level of malice they harbor) never fails to stun me. I guess the acceptance of these things comes with age, but I'm not sure that I ever wish to be content with the fact that people would rather hate than use their brain and understand...

I should also say 'thanks' to the moderators of B92 Blog for extending me an invitation to write around here (lest I should appear entirely impolite :))

 

 

 

 

 

 



Komentari (28)

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nsarski nsarski 22:31 20.10.2007

Is there any reason

why this blog is written in English, or is this going to remain another Harry Potter mystery for the kids? If I remember well, your Serbian is as good as anybody's here.
Nietzsches Aprentice Nietzsches Aprentice 22:41 20.10.2007

Re: Is there any reason

Lakse mi je bilo da sve bacim na engleskom jer sam jutros na istu temu spremio slican tekst za jedan predmet na faksu. Inace bice ih i na srpskom.
angie angie 22:47 20.10.2007

makes me a not so die-hard of a fan.

Pa da znash! meni je cela serija nabudzena i bez neke prave smisaone priche, poruke, sve nadrobljeno, pa na mishice.

inache dobrodoshao!
Queeria Queeria 22:52 20.10.2007

Re: makes me a not so die-hard of a fan.

Kao Harry Potter fan moram da ulozim svoj pismeni protest!!!
Angie nemoj da se zameramo!!!

Pedja
Nietzsches Aprentice Nietzsches Aprentice 22:56 20.10.2007

Re: makes me a not so die-hard of a fan.

Hvala :) Sto se serijala tice, iz razloga licne bezbednosti ne smem nesto puno da pljujem posto u blizoj okolini imam fanove istog. Iz te literarne kategorije neko postovanje imam za Tolkina zbog vise nego prelepog engleskog kojim se koristio, i jos eventualno za Dzordza Martina (serijal Song of Ice and Fire).
nsarski nsarski 23:01 20.10.2007

Re: makes me a not so die-hard of a fan.

angie
Pa da znash! meni je cela serija nabudzena i bez neke prave smisaone priche, poruke, sve nadrobljeno, pa na mishice.

inache dobrodoshao!


Fala bogu da se neko ohrabrio da kaze "car je go!". Delim tvoj mishljenje angie. Na dva dela: na prvi, i na drugi:))))
angie angie 00:52 21.10.2007

Re: makes me a not so die-hard of a fan.

Pedjice dear, stvarno sam se trudila-al nikako da mi se dopadne, pa sad ako ce to da nas posvadja- i nije neshto narochito:)))
angie angie 00:54 21.10.2007

Re: makes me a not so die-hard of a fan.

A Tolkina ne bih meshala sa Harijem- to mi bash bogohulno.
angie angie 00:56 21.10.2007

Re: makes me a not so die-hard of a fan.

Sharski slatka-onda smo podeljenog mishljenja, kako ja shvatam:)))
nsarski nsarski 01:03 21.10.2007

Re: makes me a not so die-hard of a fan.

Ma ne, rekao bih da mislimo slicno o Potteru. Nego sam se, prilikom pisanja, setio jednog mog druga koji je tako delio misljenje na dva dela - prvi i drugi - pa nisam mogao da odolim. Malasala:)))))
angie angie 01:05 21.10.2007

Re: makes me a not so die-hard of a fan.

shvatila-no sam morala i po logichki:)
Queeria Queeria 22:51 20.10.2007

Sve je oprosteno zgodnom mladicu

I am afraid I will be stealing the flame (briefly) from the locally appointed gay issues officers, therefore I should think that an up-front apology is in order


We do not have monopoly on gay issues :) We are not gay Delta

I zasto se uopste zanosim engleskim jezikom. Elem.

Mondo portal je takodje objavio ovu vest KLIK

Still I ask, why can't a children book remain what it is, a children book?


Hm, hm, hm. Mozda ova recenica treba da se prepravi u "zasto decije knjige ne bi ostale heteroseksualne knjige?"

Nietzsches Aprentice Nietzsches Aprentice 23:03 20.10.2007

Re: Sve je oprosteno zgodnom mladicu

Moja greska, nisam bio dovoljno precizan - pitanje je trebalo da zvuci kao "zasto decja knjiga mora da se pretvara u nesto drugo van okvira decje knjige od strane onih koji je kritikuju, ne od strane pisca". Apsolutno verujem da Dzoan Rouling niti je imala niti ima nameru da uvodjenjem gej lika knjigu menja u nesto novo. Ideja je da seksualna orijentacija lika iz knjige ne bi trebala da bude faktor koji menja knjigu iz "decje" u "za odrasle". Ponovicu, moja greska je sto se pitanje moze dvosmisleno protumaciti.
Queeria Queeria 23:13 20.10.2007

Re: Sve je oprosteno zgodnom mladicu

Oket. Posto mi je to vrlo bitno.
Gej likova skoro da nema u decijim knjigama. A sto se tice Dzoan Rouling, kasno se setila, posto je Dambldor ubijen na kraju prethodnog dela.

Mada ja moram opet da reagujem na tvoju recenicu.

Ideja je da seksualna orijentacija lika iz knjige ne bi trebala da bude faktor koji menja knjigu iz "decje" u "za odrasle".


Ne seksualna orijentacije, vec HOMOSEKSUALNOST lika iz knjige je faktor promene. Svi znamo da je Pepeljuga heteroseksualna, da je Uspavana lepotica heteroseksualna, da je Snezana heteroseksualna, princevi takodje, za patuljke ne znam - ali mislim da su neki perverznjaci.

Da li ima mesta za homoseksualnost u decijim knjigama?
Da li deca mogu biti homoseksualna?
Nietzsches Aprentice Nietzsches Aprentice 23:19 20.10.2007

Re: Sve je oprosteno zgodnom mladicu

Mora da bude, ali, kapiram, da bi decji pisci poceli da uvode gej likove, prvo moraju roditelji poput onog gore da raskrste sa sobom i svojim stavom prema homoseksualnosti da bi, in turn, mogli i detetu da iz pozicije vaspitaca objasne kako su homoseksualnost i heteroseksualnost na istom nivou.
Queeria Queeria 23:43 20.10.2007

Re: Sve je oprosteno zgodnom mladicu

Roditelji su za sve krivi :))

Nego dobrodošao na blog :))

Ovom blogu je potrebna mlađa krv, da ne kažem meso :))

Preporuka za tekst.
anonimni anonimni 02:32 22.10.2007

Re: Sve je oprosteno zgodnom mladicu

Da li ima mesta za homoseksualnost u decijim knjigama?
Da li deca mogu biti homoseksualna?



sta se covek pita .....
Unfuckable Unfuckable 23:09 20.10.2007

Kao prvo :

dobrodošao !
..što se teme tiče ..Ananas je rasturio - just like that - letos ...sjajan txt koji može pomoći dopuni i razumevanju postojećeg...maybe
vucko vucko 00:20 21.10.2007

Marketinške metode

He... i Miss Rowlings je rešila da oljušti svoj luk... mora da su naštampali previše primeraka Deathly Hallows, a prodaja opala...

Andrija, dobrodošao (u ulozi autora)!
Nietzsches Aprentice Nietzsches Aprentice 02:24 21.10.2007

Re: Marketinške metode

Zahvaljujem svima na dobrodoslici :)
snezana mihajlovic snezana mihajlovic 07:36 21.10.2007

...

I guess one could argue how politics has penetrated almost every aspect of our life but the level of paranoia that people exhibit (or, alternatively, the level of malice they harbor) never fails to stun me.

aftershock - shell shock - aftermath

Humanity i love you
because you would rather black the boots of
success than enquire whose soul dangles from his
watch-chain which would be embarrassing for both
parties and because you
unflinchingly applaud all
songs containing the words country home and
mother when sung at the old howard

Nietzsches Aprentice Nietzsches Aprentice 08:46 21.10.2007

Re: ...

Right on... Na zalost... Ljudi slabo kapiraju da im je ovo jedina prilika,,,
Dejan Stanković Dejan Stanković 12:35 21.10.2007

Ima tome

Some years ago I was forced to read aloud HP. I even saw the movie.
I must confess I started reading the book with a certain curiosity and expectations but it turned into a nightmare.

Based on what I read and on the part of the movie I saw before I fell asleep in cinema, I suppose that the poor thing (JKR) has no idea of what she is doing. Never have I encountered such a weird compilation of anything strange, bizarre, odd, magic, paranormal etc. Everything that had ever crossed the authors mind in a single pile. How nice!

As JKR's utterly annoying books managed to gather all the living and imaginary creatures one can think of, the only missing detail seemed to be an elderly gay. She took care of that.
andjelija andjelija 18:29 21.10.2007

Well, well, well :)))

I am so glad that we’ll have opportunity to read your written thoughts. The way you approach things is different. I am sure it will help some people to better recognize and accept world around us.
I read yesterday on yahoo news about JK statement, and I’d ask myself same question as you. Why those books can’t be just children books? Kids don’t know yet what gay means; their definition of sexuality is still under big question.
I can’t say that JK said that because of money, cause she already has plenty; maybe she said that because of the attention. Vanity I guess. She has kids on her own, and I’m pretty sure she didn’t explain her 9 year old kid that elton john is gay, or gorge michael was naughty in men’s public bathroom.
What really pisses me off is defining someone’s sexuality at all. It should be our private business, I do not want people to define me as heterosexual cause that’s at least what I am. I don’t want to define you or anybody else as gay or even definitions based on religion, racial, nationality…..it just makes my life more complicated, when the only thing that really matters is do you have a qualities of a good person; someone who is conscious about our environment, and are you capable to love, cause love is the most overrated word today. not many people I met that are capable to truly love other people.

Anyway, I am really glad that you have opportunity to write here, and I hope you will be successful. It made my morning sunnier :)
Nietzsches Aprentice Nietzsches Aprentice 18:58 21.10.2007

Re: Well, well, well :)))

I guess, then, that my New Year's resolution about making one persons day brighter has been accomplished. Thanks :)
Vlada T Vlada T 16:43 02.11.2007

Re: Well, well, well :)))

andjelija

What really pisses me off is defining someone’s sexuality at all. It should be our private business, I do not want people to define me as heterosexual cause that’s at least what I am. I don’t want to define you or anybody else as gay or even definitions based on religion, racial, nationality…..it just makes my life more complicated, when the only thing that really matters is do you have a qualities of a good person; someone who is conscious about our environment, and are you capable to love, cause love is the most overrated word today. not many people I met that are capable to truly love other people.



Sorry, sis, but I guess that's not the way things work around here. We, as individuals, are very much defined by our sexuality, gender, race, social status and everything that comes with it - being "a good person" doesn't mean a whole lot. Our capacity to love or to be loved is merely a social construct - just as the other things, so enthusiastically called "emotional life", are determined by this intricate inter-play of symbolic forces of social practice. So, this "being good" is always accompanied by "being good in a way your gender role requires you to", or "being good in a way usually practiced within your socio-economic class", etc.

So, Dambledore is gay? Good. Maybe at some point we should have suspected that one of those professors was even into BDSM. Well, why not?
Laika Laika 14:21 22.10.2007

Who the f*** is Harry Potter?

...was what was written on T-shirts I once saw in London. Exactly!

I admit, I've seen the movies (not all of them though) and I don't see why people are so obsessed by this whole thing. The movies are definitely for kids. HP books? I don't know because I haven't read a single one of them. And I won't! JKR might have had some ideas of her own, but all of this about HP is soooo copied from different books and authors on similar themes.

What is facinating is that a lot of adults around me have read all of the HP books and seen all films and are absolute fanatics (must correct myself - I've noticed it mostly with women/girls. Men do not seem to be affected. Or not so widely :)). Is it because this brings them back to their childhoods (to the peaceful part of their lives)? Or because it has the same effect as Mexican soap operas?

Anyway, why do we still talk about it? Thank goodness it's the LAST book.
BebaOdLonchara BebaOdLonchara 03:44 24.10.2007

:-/

ja sam totali fan harija potera. u berlinu aprila ove godine sam upoznala vremesni par nemac-engleskinja koji imaju sve nastavke harija na preko 50 jezika! da cujes kako analiziraju junake, pricu...
cekam da se poslednji pojavi na srpskom pa da citam na miru (na engleskom imam u compu ali mi ne ide sa skrina, nece da se stampa...).

Arhiva

   

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