@Robby:
So we all know and accept Rowling has.. problems… at this point when it comes to misogny and being anti LGBT and trying to retcon her characters being more diverse than they actually were.
And there's problems with the slave race that likes being slaves and the possible jewish stereotypes for the goblins....
but if you really go looking there is so so much more that we all just kind of overlooked. Tons of fat shaming and misogyny and piling on alchoholics and discrimination coming from the goodguys all over the place and just... it hurts so much to have hindsight on this stuff. It was all there andwe just took it in stride.
I know its a two hour video and no one got time for that but...
Hmm, I'm going to check out the video after work because I do want to keep an open-mind about these type of criticisms, but I honestly am pretty tired of this narrative that Rowling is a horrible, racist, homophobic piece of shit and thus obviously, the Harry Potter series must also be filled with all kinds of horrible stuff.
Maybe I was just a really slow kid, but I just never picked up on any of these racist or homophobic messages apparently littered throughout the books. You would think that if they were actually really that apparent and overbearing, kids would at least pick up on them subconsciously. But to me, the (very clear and obvious) messages of the series were "Fascism is bad" and "Treating others differently or worse because of their race, blood etc. is wrong". And I do assume that's what pretty much all kids who grew up with the books or read them take away from it. And since they are ultimately books aimed at kids and teenagers, I feel that's what counts in the end.
Now, maybe it's fair to argue that Rowling doesn't actually practice what she preaches, but that doesn't change that what she preaches in the HP books is overall pretty alright. I do think she sometimes tries to have her cake and eat it, too, the best example of that for me being the Hogwarts Houses. It's a fun idea (people today are still discussing which house they would like to be in if they were in Hogwarts, after all) and an easy way to create a set of ultimately good characters (the Gryffindors) and a set of ultimately evil characters (the Slytherins). But at the same time , the story also wants to make a point about how it shouldn't matter which House you belong to, that it doesn't say anything about your moral character (see Harry's words to his son when he sends him off to Hogwarts in the epilogue).
That whole thing about the slave race liking being slaves…I'm sorry, I just don't see the problem here. It seems to me that people complaining about that 1) want to interpret the enslaved houseelves as a direct analogy to our real-life historical enslavement of minorities, which it simply isn't (obviously, certain parallels are always there when you bring the topic of slavery into any kind of fictional work) and 2) want it to be presented as a completely black and white situation, because slavery is bad (which, of course, duh), so obviously all the characters who are ultimately morally good should fight to change things and of course, the enslaved minority should want nothing more than to be free, right? Because that's how things should be ideally…
But Rowling instead created a situation that is a bit more morally-grey and messy and complicated. You have overall good characters like Hagrid or Ron or even Harry himself who are indifferent about or don't even see any issues with the situation, because that's what they are accustomed to and also, isn't it kinda nice to have houseelves around that take care of all the hard work and cook giant feasts for you? And the character who is fighting to improve the situation, Hermione, can be pretty annoying about her cause, which I'm sorry, is soooo true to life. Haven't we all met people (or have friends) who are really overbearing about trying to win you for their cause to make the world a better place, and we know they are morally in the right, but we just want to enjoy our day and not be bothered?
And regarding the houseelves themselves, they've been so brainwashed and have gotten so used to their role as servants that gaining equal rights to wizards is something they can't even imagine, let alone want. It's played for laughs at times (because, again, the books are ultimately aimed at kids), but it's clearly a severely messed up situation that is not easy to solve. You can't simply start a revolution to free them, because that wouldn't even make them happy, they are happy the way things are because that is the only thing they know.
But I don't see how one can honestly think that the author wants you to think that's a good thing or that the message is that houseelves are meant to be servants to wizards, when especially the later books make it so clear that Hermione is ultimately in the right. She's overall the character with the best moral compass in the series, her cause is supported by the wisest character in the series (Dumbledore), and Harry also slowly starts to see her point later on. And you have a character like Dobby, who very clearly thrives on being free, and who's gravestone poignantly states "Here lies Dobby, a free elf". I always imagined Hermione to continue fighting for the rights of houseelves as an adult and slowly changing and improving things over the course of several decades. It's a scenario that isn't as gratifying/satisfying as just starting a huge, powerful revolution to change things at once, but it is a more realistic solution for a wizarding world that clealry has a lot of deeply ingrained problems with racial and social injustice.
I'm very curious what points will be made about misogyny in the HP books when imo some of the most badass and capable characters in the story are female (Hermione, McGonagall, Molly Weasly, Ginny, Lily, even Bellatrix kind of). Fat shaming though, yeah, I'll grant you that, particularly aimed at Dudley in the early books. It's a pretty easy and superficial way to get a laugh out of kids reading the books - and let's be honest here, we didn't "overlook" it like you stated when we read it at a younger age, we found it amusing, just like we all found the fat jokes aimed at Alvida hilarious when reading the East Blue saga as kids or teenagers. Maybe we all should try to be better than that, but it's a bit of a "glasshouse/stones" situation imo. Show me a tv show, book, movie, particularly aimed at kids, that doesn't have some kind of fat-shaming, fat jokes etc. in it. Even Gargoyles has a couple of scenes where the audience is meant to laugh at the fat guy who loves to eat (I know his name is Broadway, just making a point )
The fat-shaming of Dudley in particular is pretty severe because he is also an unlikable character and sort of an antagonist, but it's not nearly as bad with other, more likeable heavyset characters like Hagrid, Neville or Molly. And we do at least also have thin and pretty evil characters like the Malfoys or Tom Riddle as a teenager, so I dunno….it's obviously still there (and quite noticable as an adult) and it isn't pretty. But it is/was so omnipresent in all types of media that I can't blame the HP books too much for also indulging in it.
I'm probably coming across like a fanboy unwilling to see faults with something he loved from childhood, but I'm honestly totally willing to discuss faults of the series. But the messages the books ultimately truly convey to its readership just never struck me as harmful in any fashion. The books (and films) obviously mean a lot to many people who grew up with them (many of whom are now sharing those experiences with their own kids, who are discovering the story for the first time) or read them later on, and it just feels a bit unneccessary to try to drag that through the mud, so to speak. I just don't see what good is supposed to come from that. I guess the goal is to expose how horrible J. K. Rowling truly is and always was (see, everything she ever created was actually baaaaad!), but I'm not sure I would really call that a good cause, either.
But as I said, I will check out the video later and listen to the points with an open mind. Who knows, maybe it will change my stance.