Harry Potter thoughts

[Rakala]

Okay, the subject of Dumbledore being gay as a publicity stunt came up in the Cute, but... game and I have other things I wish to share without getting the game off topic.

1. Something that would make more sense than Dumbledore being gay is Lupin and Sirius. Being a werewolf or an animagus is sort of a metaphor for an alternative lifestyle. When Lupin was fired, he never said it was for being a werewolf, he said people wouldn't want "somebody like me" teaching their kids. Not to mention Sirius and Lupin went shopping together, nothing metaphorical but how many straight men go shopping together?

2. After much thought and consideration, the Malfoys are a parody of the English royal family. Trying to keep the bloodline pure, how do they do it? They inbreed. This also explains Draco's.... shall we say "diminished" capabilities?

More to come....

[Kipiru]

  Well, the whole idea of Lupin and Sirius seems off to me. Sirius alone has exhibited what some may see as signs of being homosexual(no girlfriend ever mentioned, only a very close relationship with other men), Sirius seems like a straight guy(Tonks people).
  As for the inbreeding, well sure it could happen with such a policy about purity of blood, though not with Draco- he is an offspring of a marriage between two different blood lines!
  What really bothers me is the story of Hagrid's parents! I mean he describes his father as a midget or at least not one of great stature, yet he managed to have a productive sexual intercourse with a giantess! And how did he get her to bed in the first place, giants are described as overly brutal!

[Rakala]

I don't really want to go into the mating habits of giants, although it is a good point. I honestly thought that Hagrid might kill himself in the last book since he can't be hurt by magic. I mean he feels bad about everything that's happened, wants to die, so on.
Now the Malfoys, just because he's brought from two bloodlines doesn't mean the two aren't related. It's been proven that all it takes is third cousins for inbreeding to take effect.

[Eibborn]

I think that you're taking some pretty big leaps of logic for these. Lupin is definitely either straight or bisexual (Tonks), and we know that Sirius had an eye for the girls when he attended Hogwarts. He hasn't had a lot of time in the recent past thanks to being in prison, being on the run, and then being holed up in a safe-house.

The whole 'pureblood' thing is definitely not restricted to the English. It's an international phenomenon that has happened for a really, really long time. Even today there are people who disapprove of interracial couples, which I think is a better comparison, anyway.

[Kipiru]

Hmmm, that is true, it was mentined that Sirius was popular with the ladies back in his school days, but there was nothing said about him returning the attention I think. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for Sirius being a straight out macho, but we are assessing other angles to this, even if for fun!

[gh0st]

i think your all looking too far into this to realize that it's a book... i'm not even going to ask how serious you can get over a book so i just have one question to ask, do you really think the author thinks about all of this?!?!

[Kipiru]

i think your all looking too far into this to realize that it's a book... i'm not even going to ask how serious you can get over a book so i just have one question to ask, do you really think the author thinks about all of this?!?!

Listen gh0st, we are not dumb, we know it's a book! But for some reason we have read it and liked it enough to become curious of its details. I for one don't care of the author, actually I kind of dislike her. But making assumptions on a posibility for the mere fun of it is nothing wrong. It's just fun!

[Eibborn]

i just have one question to ask, do you really think the author thinks about all of this?!?!

About what, essential aspects of her characters? The implications of using the concept of keeping bloodlines pure? Of course she did! Any author worth reading thinks about what he or she is writing. Ms. Rowling doesn't have to as much as some other authors do because her target audience is a less mature group, but that doesn't mean that she just throws words down and makes millions.

[Tezkat]

i think your all looking too far into this to realize that it's a book... i'm not even going to ask how serious you can get over a book so i just have one question to ask, do you really think the author thinks about all of this?!?!

Of course.

What appears in a novel is usually just the tip of the iceberg, as it were. Most authors know their world and characters (at least their main characters) quite intimately, but 90% of the backstory will never appear in print simply because it wouldn't advance the story.

Take Dumbledore being gay, for instance. It wasn't directly relevant to the series--not the way Harry's love life was. But you can go back and see how it influenced his character and decisions, even if it wasn't up at the fore. He's an interesting and sympathetic character because Rowling did take the time to figure out what makes him tick. I'm quite confident that she knows which of her characters prefer girls and which prefer guys. She probably also knows birthdays, favourite foods, and a whole host of other stuff that never made its way into the books.

That's not to say that writers know everything about their world or characters. They all have pet interests and specialties. Tolkien, for instance, could conjugate verbs in Elvish but obviously had no interest in how the economy of his world functioned. Amber has given serious thought to race relations in Furrae but isn't interested in how they get the fizzy drinks to vending machines at SAIA. That opens the door for fans to unleash their creativity and pick up where the writers left off.

In any event, puzzling over the things left unsaid in fiction represents one of the most popular pastimes in fandom. It's not going to go away anytime soon.

[Rakala]

Thank you, that is an excellent point. It's not to be taken seriously, it's just some fun interpreting.

[Kipiru]

Awesome summery Tezkat! My thoughts exactly

[Rakala]

My question: Is JK Rowling going to move on to write a different series or just sit her lazy butt down and live off of Harry Potter for the rest of her life? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it, but it is a bit over-hyped.

[Kipiru]

I love Harry Potter, but dislike Rowling(strange huh), so I kind of don't care whether she writes anything at all! But it's hard to keep a writer down! I just hope she writes something connected to the world she created, but with a story, not another book on creatures or magic history!

[thegayhare]

I'm annoyed about how so many people seem to think the dumbledore thing is a publicity stunt.

she didn't sit down and issue a press release she was asked a question, and she answered it,  the fact that in answering it she had to relate the fact that Dumbledor was gay does not mean it was something planned for publicity.  in fact you can pick up  hints of there relationship in the secns dealing with dumbledors relationship to grimwald.  I did my first time through but I put it down to me reading to much into it only to be proven right.


the thing I've always wondered about is how the Wizarding world veiws homosexuality.  What with humans, part humans, non humans, altered humans, pure bloods and muggle born, aand so on.  with all those possible prejudices would something like sexual orientation be seen as a minor issue or would it be yet anouther thing that makes you as other, strange and weird

[Kipiru]

That's just it! In a society as conservative as the wizarding world, such conduct would be seen as most inappropriate! Dumbledore would never have been allowed to rise to such power if he was considered different. That is why I think that statement was prepared in advance and she just waited for the right time to say it! That is of course my theory on things.