More grumbling about how the fans treat JKR...

[sweettalkeress.livejournal.com]

I recognize that this is several months after the fact, but as a Jew, I can't help but be a bit miffed by the fact that people felt the need to ask Rowling if there were Jewish students at Hogwarts. Surely that's something they could have inferred themselves, if they so chose? Yet, they were so thrilled to learn that Anthony Goldstein was Jewish straight from the author's mouth. Leaving aside for a moment the fact that Anthony Goldstein never says or does anything, ever, in the entire course of the series (and is a Ravenclaw, note, not a Gryffindor), to me that's a bit like a Jewish metalhead going up to the guys in Iron Maiden and asking permission, as a Jew, to be a fan. It is true that the members of Iron Maiden had said they'd welcome Jewish fans--which near as I can tell was without a prompt, and in any case didn't focus specifically on Jewish fans but was more a blanket "We're so accepting and welcoming that we take all types of fans!" thing. Either way I have never, ever, ever heard of anyone asking the members of Iron Maiden if they accept fans of their racial or cultural background, because that's simply not how it works--either you like Maiden's music and consider yourself a fan or you don't. Likewise, if you think there ought to be Jewish students at Hogwarts you're well within your rights to imagine there being, and the author's own ideas on the subject don't and shouldn't have to play into this at all.

And here's the thing: the UK is a fairly diverse, multicultural place already. Probably it has representatives of the majority of races, cultures, and creeds that have ever existed living there (granted, this is not to say that it's without discrimination or prejudice--but that's slightly off-topic). So...shouldn't it be reasonably expected, that if a group is represented by a cross-section of the UK's population (Hogwarts is the leading British wizard school, Iron Maiden are a British band and initially gained traction in the UK before going international...), that group will contain at least a few Jews by definition? Because there are plenty of Jews that live in the UK. I even met some of them when I studied abroad there.

I just think it's ridiculous that these fans can't come to their own conclusions about this, but instead have to ask the author about it. Can they not make their own decisions about anything related to the series at all?

Comments

[dungeonwriter.livejournal.com]

How horrible do you have to think of Hogwarts when you think they wouldn't allow Jews, unless it's confirmed by author?

[sunnyskywalker]

Hm, well, there could be more than one issue at work here. I recall that a few years back, the producer of the show Midsomer Murders replied to a similar question by saying that he WASN'T planning to cast any black actors in the show because it was about a quintessentially English place or something like that. (I guess he decided that black people can be really English since because there are like six black people in the county now.) So the question might not be "are there Jewish students even if we have not seen them?" But "given the old timey feel with all the treacle tarts and no curry ever, is it still the 13th century at Hogwarts with no Jews allowed? You wrote black and Asian students in so maybe you are not opposed to Jews in your English boarding school fantasy?"

Also I have read more than one aacount of kids who concluded from never seeing their own groups in fantasy that it could not happen. Might have been Pam Noles in her essay "Shame" who remembered telling her dad that black people could not be wizards. And my own cousin at age 4 popped up with the idea that girls could not be doctors despite literally no one in his life saying any such thing and thinking it a ridiculous idea, because he never saw any women doctors and possibly some cartoons made jokes about girliness. So the question might also originate there--"I have never seen a Jewish wizard and the kids at school said I could not be Harry because he isn't Jewish, but there could too be a Jewish wizard, could't there?" Sad that this has to be asked, but again, the Midsomer guy shows it does!

Or one might legitimately wonder if the 13th century ban on Jews in England is still in effect at this magic school run by an English ministry. The ww is awfully far behind sometimes...