I'm sure if you're around in the book community then you know the drama that's been surrounding J.K. Rowling recently. Basically, she has said that Dumbledore is canonically gay, and yet refuses to acknowledge that in any of her works or the million fantastic beasts movies that are coming out. Now this is harmful and useless in the grand scheme of diversity, and most definitely paints JKR as a person who is just trying to seem diverse without putting in the effort. But I'm not here to ridicule this topic, there's plenty of #ownvoices people who can steer you towards that, instead, I'm going to talk about how JKR has ruined a childhood series I once loved:
Now a lot of people after this drama and JKR's decision to keep Johnny Depp in the film said that they will be boycotting the new Fantastic Beasts movie set to come out. But the truth is, I was planning on boycotting this film before any of this drama even happened, and that is simply because I do not want to give my money to the HP franchise anymore, as they are exploiting what was once a good thing.
I miss the good old days. When there were seven books, eight movies, the conclusion wrapped up into a tiny little bow and we all moved on. That was fine for me. But this constant "eighth book," "prequel dealing with Newt Schamander," "Grindelwald finally revealed," does not interest me in the slightest!! MY series, the original, seven-book series, to me are the only books pertaining to Harry Potter's world and I could so do without this other shit.
I'm calling it like it is, these new forms of media are not here because JKR wants to expand the story and give new insights; she, and others, have realized how much money they can make when they slap "Harry Potter world" onto something and are just trying to milk this franchise to no end. And the truth is, these new additions have ruined the series for me, because so much focus now is being put on them and not on the original story I truly love.
So J.K. Rowling, you need to stop. You need to stop exploiting your series, you need to stop queer-baiting people, and you need to stop ruining what was once a good thing. I know a lot of people buy into the hype surrounding these new features, but for me, count me out.
What do you think about all this business?
Emily @ Paperback Princess
