I’m a 90’s kid. I grew up during the height of the Harry Potter obsession. I still own the books, the original movies, and I have a blanket a family member made me (who is dead now, and it has my name embroidered on it, which is why I kept it). As a young reader, I was obsessed with Hermione. I remember following the casting process intensely, even wishing to be part of it myself (I wasn’t British though).
The first fanfiction and fanart I made was for Potter.
I won a contest to see a screening of the first film at Disneyland’s Downtown Disney theater through a HiC contest my mom entered.
In the 2010s, I got interviewed by my local newspaper about going to the Disney College Program and talked about my love for Harry Potter and wanting to work on something like it also. Harry Potter influenced my love of writing, books, and is probably why I’m an English major.
However, when it was revealed that J.K. Rowling was a terf-someone who is anti-trans, and she started actively using her platform to campaign against trans people, I stopped being part of the fandom I’d grown up in. Sometimes it feels like there’s not a lot you can do politically, but fandom spaces is one of the few places we can control.
I don’t read Neil Gaiman anymore, either, and I can’t remember the last time I watched something Joss Whedon made.
I’m not perfect, it would be impossible to be. In fact, I’m pretty sure most people who met me would describe me as a bitch because I lack social skills.
Regardless, Potter is one of those things I’m very strict about. Potter is an entertainment empire. There isn’t a single thing that you can’t get something Harry Potter related anymore. There’s a theme park world at Universal; it’s a large part of the WB studio tour now, and there are plenty of millennials who don’t care where their money goes that have no problem buying a Harry Potter Lego set even if their money goes to hurt people.
The new Potter franchise was made specifically because the original cast of the film, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint all spoke out against Rowling’s views. Notably, they do not do events involving Potter. Even Miriam Margolyes, who played Professor Sprout and is in her eighties, has made a point of standing with the Trans community.
The only reason the new franchise exists is so J.K. Rowling can use it to fund her anti-trans propaganda. And I don’t think laws or money should be used to exclude people. There’s going to be a lot of young people excited about this. It’s important they’re educated on the subject, especially considering how far-right the world is right now.
There are plenty of other books people can support instead of Rowling, and might I suggest reading Percy Jackson instead to your children. Rick Riordan wrote the books with the intent of inclusivity and tries to do so in his work in the publishing world. Disney Plus even has a new series they’re adapting, and I can only imagine that was also part of why Warner Bros. decided to adapt Potter again, to compete with it.
With Love,
Diana
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