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i-got-a-bad-idea · 3 years

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What she says: I’m fine.

What she means: Harry says in The Philosopher’s Stone that the Dursleys hadn’t exactly starved him, but earlier, after the incident at the zoo, Vernon sends him to his cupboard while yelling “no meals!” And then in the Chamber of Secrets, Petunia makes him do hard work in the heat all day and then feeds him only some old bread and a bit of cheese that she only gave him because she wouldn’t give it to the rest of her family because it was about to go bad. And then later, they lock him in his room with only two small cans of cold soup a day, knowing FULL WELL that he also has an owl that he’s going to feed, so he’s basically wasting away. And he ALSO says in the philosophers stone that he’d never been allowed to eat as much as he wanted, so essentially the poor kid doesn’t remember what it’s like to feel full and the word exactly in the phrase “hadn’t exactly starved him” is very significant because the abuse and neglect has essentially fucked with his perception of what is normal and okay so much that his idea of starving him is nothing short of actually letting him die and my poor baby just deserved so much better.

#harry potter #harry potter thoughts #harry potter rant

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i-got-a-bad-idea · 3 years

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Separate the art from the artist is getting harder and harder when the artists are being ignorant, stubborn, disgusting people who don’t change when given the chance

How do i separate art from the artist when every time I think about my childhood and a life defining series I think about her hate?

Harry Potter changed my life. It did, that’s never going to change. I want more diversity and representation and I didnt get it - and I was content with Harry being blinkered and unobservant so I could fill in the blanks myself (and there were enough blanks).

Now I read the books and it’s the authors hate I see on the pages and I try to separate art from the artist because she may have always been ignorant and hateful but this is a series that shaped me growing up - shaped me in a way a book can by the context only on the page and nothing else. I fail at separating art from the artist because there was nothing to suggest dumbledore was gay without JKRs tweets or that Michael Goldstein was Jewish without JKRs “revelation”. She took my blanks and she filled them in herself without any preemption or research or intention.

So I put up a big mental fuck you - and fill in the representation the way it matters to me and purposefully against what JKRs beliefs are. Hermione is indian, harry from James’ side is black, Charlie is aro/ace, Sirius is pan and Remus is bi, things like that and more. And as I read, I recognize her stereotypes and say fuck you jkr and make it a point to read ahead with a permanent mental note.

I take away from Harry Potter what I always have - lessons on friends, family, loyalty, grief, death, anger, on politics and hate and on magic and wonder. Most importantly, I take away the lesson on love as infinite and unbiased, even though the artist has forgotten that herself. I say fuck you JKR on every page and take ownership of her world because it belongs to me now. It has belonged to me from the first sentence of the first book, since I was 7 years old, and it will always belong to me. She can spew her hate outside of it and I will always translate it back and recognize it in the work but I am under no obligation to experience her work as she intends. She lost that right years ago and her world is now mine. There is no hate welcome there and I can and WILL change Harry’s world for myself, and every little thing I change is a fuck you to you. My world should have been your world, but your disgusting philosophies are not welcome there so all I can hope is one day you watch hatefully as your work is represented with the inclusion it deserves.

#harry potter #potterhead #j k rowling #hogwarts #harry potter rant #wizarding world

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