(no subject)

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one a little bothered by Dumbledore? Not only with the fact he could end up in the Guinness Book Of World Records for "Most Incompetent Headmaster of All Time" (though I'm sure there's worse. :P), but also because...he just bugs me. I know JKR was trying to write him as the "flawed Yoda", so to speak (and to be fair, he's nowhere near Yoda. XD), but it's also how...preachy he gets. Towards Fudge, for example. You know, in Goblet of Fire, with, "You place too much importance on purity of blood, yadda yadda et cetera et cetera" -- which considering how he treated Tom Riddle and the Slytherins is...slightly hypocritical isn't it? Probably bad writing on JKR's part, though. :/

Anyways, sorry 'bout the rambling. Thoughts?

Comments

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

Yes. Thank you for being sane about it and recognizing that nuances exist. I don't think that all of the author's points were valid, though certainly there are some worthy of consideration. What upsets me more about the essay is that the author behaves towards real living fans in precisely the way she criticizes fans for supposedly behaving towards Lily: making ugly assumptions based on stereotypes or the behavior of a small number of individuals. That makes it difficult to approach the essay objectively.

And criticizing Lily on specific points of behavior is I agree in no way necessarily sexist. In fact, putting women on pedestals and saying they are perfect (and by implication expecting them to be perfect) is IMHO just a subtler form of misogyny. It's still denying the fact that women are real, living individuals with their own strengths and weaknesses, equal with men. To me Lily may not be more likeable as a character with such definite flaws, but she is far more human and therefore easier to relate to than the perfect idol we were given before. And more interesting.

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

@condwiramurs:

*Claps*

Well-said, my friend. Well-said. :)

[sunnyskywalker]

I could see how that could make sense. And given the source material and the casual nature of internet conversations, it could be hard to tell apart someone criticizing how Lily is written because they think JKR actually wrote the women worse and someone criticizing Lily for things they let the guys slide on because of their own issues. Both could happen.

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

Maybe. *Shrugs* Either way, I don't like it...