Harry Potter and the Sultan of Boredom
I am so fucking tired of Harry Potter.
And, I’m not even a fan.
And, I swear, I heard the old Star Wars defense of the series earlier this week: that it’s okay for adults to geek out for the series because it’s the hero’s journey. It’s timeless. And, political.
Riiiiight.
I don’t care how timeless the themes are, there is no excuse for Hermione erotic fan fic.
Ever.
Ew.
One of my very favorite authors, Richard Adams, went off on the Harry Mania a few years back, stating that the books became so popular among adults because they are part of a larger conservative trend in Britain. Now, here in the States, that gets a bit muddled because of the religious folks that cry satanism, but he makes a decent argument of it.
To the delight of the Daily Telegraph, the Harry Potter series is a priceless advertisement for traditional English public schools. Hogwarts is little more than the Rugby of Tom Brown’s Schooldays with spells added. An indication of how closely it fits the archetype comes when Justin Finch-Fletchley tells Harry: “My name was down for Eton, you know, I can’t tell you how glad I am I came here instead. Of course, mother was slightly disappointed.”Hogwarts’ curriculum doesn’t include teaching foreign languages, geography or overseas trips, despite the ease of magical travel. Naturally, there are no wizard comprehensives.
However, the Harry Potter fanclub extends well beyond Tory supporters, in part because the books have a visible element of diversity. The problem is that it is little more than a veneer. While women make up many of the main characters, they receive little attention. Even Harry’s friend, Hermione Granger, is a well-worn stereotype: the middle-class “girly swot” who tries to talk Harry out of taking risks. It’s no surprise to learn that her parents are dentists. The only times Harry competes with women as equals – Cho Chang on the quidditch pitch and Fleur Delacour in the triwizard tournament – he defeats them both. All of the central evil characters and senior authority figures in the books are men.
A careful racial inclusiveness includes obviously Asian and black characters as students. But cultural identities are heavily connected to social background, and these have been scrubbed out by Rowling. Hogwarts celebrates Christmas and Halloween, but there are no feasts for Rosh Hashanah or Diwali. This is not so much multiculturalism as naive monoculturalism.
Rowling does attempt to make pointed racial commentary, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, with an attempt by Hermione to emancipate the “house elves” who serve wizards. In fact they appear to be slaves – and Rowling rams home the point by having them speak in a witless, sub-Gone With the Wind patois.
He leaves out a fairly obvious point that might bolster the argument. For all the lip-service to the “creativity” of the series, and it’s imagination teasing possibilities, it’s still a story about a school that’s obsessed with competitive sports and rewards jocks accordingly. Harry isn’t just some sort of genetically gifted magician—he’s a the big Quidditch hero.
Not exactly an alternate universe there.
But, at last, the whole mess peaks out tonight, right?
I hope she kills him off.
(Sits and waits for rabid fans with pitchforks to knock on my front door.)
tags: childhood
Hey nice to read an alternate view. My kids are all FANS, and I did the read-aloud thing with my son on the first 3 books, as he was younger then. I dealt with my mom’s email when the 2nd book came out, warning me that the books were nothing more than a recruiting tool for “Satanists”. Whatever.
I like the stories, but never thought the writing was ALL that.
What I really like about your post were the points about diversity, both in the article, and your observations. Spot on! My daughter and I have discussed that subject numerous times.
I like the stories, but get tired of all the hype, like they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread. And I certainly will not be grabbing a pitchfork.
— more cowbell Jul 20, 01:10 PM #
I think I’m partial to Lemony Snicket, myself.
I did read the first three Potter books. I can see why children would love them. I seriously cannot see why adults get so into it.
— Veronica Jul 20, 01:24 PM #
They do get more interesting and less boarding school; this last one leaves the school entirely.
what can i tell you. yeah to all that; yeah, there are many many fantay writers that are much much better and more interesting (yeah, i definitely include Neil Gaiman in that, or Susanna Clarke, if we’re talking about other relatively but still way behind in the dust “popular” authors); but, she’s got what Stephen King calls “the gotta.”
So I got got. So I’m a plebe. So what. Neener.
i really could’ve gone without even the phrase “Hermione erotic fan fiction,” however.
— belledame222 Jul 20, 09:02 PM #
I guess I am immune to “the gotta?”
— Veronica Jul 20, 11:33 PM #
Well, literary quality aside, Harry Potter has gotten alot of kids reading who weren’t before. Like mine.
— rootietoot Jul 21, 06:16 AM #
I loved the books as a kid, but have only read the last two books when they just came out, and so…the plots are a bit iffy!!!
I’m gonna eventually read the last book, but it’s no biggie…I can wait! I’d much rather finish reading the Beauty Myth.
Yeah, I always used to get annoyed at how often the verbs “says” was used, it was like, for fuck’s sake use a different verb woman!!!
Ah, I’m such an EngLang geek :)
— Amy Jul 21, 07:20 AM #
I’ve never read one, don’t get the whole thing. However, I am always happy to see kids reading these days, and I confess, I don’t even care what it is.
When I saw a little girl on TV saying she couldn’t sleep the night before, due to her excitement over the book, I thought that was a hearty vote for the continuation of the magisterial printed word.
— Daisy Jul 21, 03:56 PM #
I liked the HP books, but you’re not wrong about their flaws. Also, you’re not the only one to think that Potter’s an overrated berk. http://www.slate.com/id/2073627/
— Moira Jul 21, 09:08 PM #
Moira, that is the best Harry Potter essay EVER. :)
— Veronica Jul 21, 09:49 PM #
Oh, good! I thought you’d enjoy it. :)
— Moira Jul 21, 10:10 PM #
It’s so good to finally arrive somewhere saying something about HP other than “It’s amazing, It did everything I wanted, I read 800 pages in 10 minutes.”
All that may be true, but it’s unbelievably irritating when posted repeatedly on almost every blog I visit.
I hate, hate, hate having anything shoved in my face, so this is really bringing out my evil side.
— Winter Jul 22, 05:03 AM #
Smooches. I can’t stand Harry Potter, and find myself with multiple friends who are fans. Perhaps they were all dropped on the head as infants. I can sort of get why kids like it, though there are other children’s fantasy authors who are much better (Phil Pullman would be the obvious one), but I REALLY don’t understand why adults love it.
Actually I do. I think it’s that “I am a unique and special snowflake” thing. Notice how they love the word “muggle”? I think it appeals to people who want to pretend that their lack of a social life is a result of their being special rather than their not having any social skills. “I’m not a geek, I’m a wizard!”, you know?
But what really bugs me is that forever England, nostalgia for the empire thing she has going on. I went to a British boarding school (Rowling didn’t), they’re not that great. It’s kind of the equivalent of those people over here who like to rhapsodise about the mythical 50s and how awesome everything was back then. She’s nostalgic for something she never even experienced (neither did anyone else – my Granny is the right age and she thinks the books are “profoundly stupid”), and she’s romanticising it in a way that’s just sort of twee and annoying.
To me those books read like and apologia for the Empire, honestly – “a small part of the world that is forever England” and all that crap.
The idea that she’s managed to sell the tourist board version of the UK to actual British people is kind of funny, though.
— CassandraSays Jul 22, 08:05 PM #
It’s interesting how nationalistic nostalgia plays out. By 2000, Russians already had a word for Soviet nostalgia. Not that I can remember what that word is. From what I’ve read, it’s even more pronounced among teenagers, who can’t even remember Gorbachev.
— Veronica Jul 22, 08:26 PM #
I suppose it’s the being dropped on my head that stops me from reading too much into the books. There’s still a part of me that likes the idea of being able to magically solve my troubles. Comes from living a childhood where entertaining stories saved me, saved my sanity, to not put too dramatic a point to it. So, I suppose the nolstagia argument is right but not for “simpler” times because, really, who believes in that BS but for moments when I could pick up a book and forget the nonsense and chaos that was my life. Forgive me then, if I can’t begrudge a child, or an adult for that matter, that small luxury.
— patricia Jul 22, 11:22 PM #
V – Not surprised. There seems to be a funny phenomenon where the much older and much younger generations agree that they miss “the old days” and the people in the middle stand around scratching their heads, confused.
— CassandraSays Jul 23, 12:31 AM #
So, I’m re-reading the fifth book (then, I will re-read the sixth, then amble off to buy the last, just to see what happens, y’know – since I have read ‘em all thus far).
Like I mentioned previously, J.K. uses “said” too much. But, what is more annoying is the fact that 99% of the time, after a character speaks, she always uses the same syntax: verb then subject. And, like I have already mentioned, it’s usually the same verb! It’s like…GAAAAAAAAH!
Also, she is overly fond of semi colons, and I noticed one glaringly obvious misuse of a semi colon, where a colon should have been!!!
:O
However, I think the characters are vivid, and often amusing. So far, my favourite quote of the book is this:
“Just because you’ve got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn’t mean we all have” said Hermione nastily [to Ron]...
See what I mean about the syntax?
Sorry – geeky and rambled comment! :)
— Amy Jul 25, 05:30 PM #
OH! And Harry is a right stroppy …grrfest in book 5…so annoying, it’s like, calm down boy!
— Amy Jul 25, 05:36 PM #
OMG. I’m so stealing “right stroppy …grrfest” from you. That’s just too perfect.
— Veronica Jul 25, 05:49 PM #
actually, well, again, in the last one the whole “muggle” shit really pays off: it’s actually about the rise of fascism, and the cutesy taken-for-granted privilege shit—well, a lot of it anyway—well, it gets interesting.
but, i don’t want to harsh your harshing-mellow mellow. (goes off to rub the ancient bump on her head, rueing that it isn’t a lightning-shaped scar)
I tried to read Phillip Pullman; didn’t grab me. I’m a Gaiman girl, though, bigtime.
— belledame222 Jul 26, 12:10 PM #
Of course he’s stroppy in book 5 – he’s a 15-year-old boy (who comes from a downright abusive upbringing, at that). That’s one thing I really like about the HP series – Rowling never tries to portray the kids as being wise beyond their years, the way so many books do, the the point where you lose believability. Yeah, Harry can be kind of a self-centered jerk. Well, he’s a teenager. It comes with the territory.
Anyway, I really like the HP series, so I don’t have much to add in the way of high-minded criticism or whatever. To me, they are damn entertaining books, with a lot of pretty overt political messages.
— Amber Aug 1, 11:46 AM #