I do not think it healthy to consume content made by hateful people.
First, I question the very premise. That consuming otherwise benign content is somehow “not […] healthy” if the creater is themselves hateful, whether or not that hate is present in their content. A) by what do you mean it is unhealthy? For your mind? Your eternal soul? What? B) If the content does not display any of the specific hatred of their creator, by what means would that hatred effect me at all? Psychically?
Second, let’s assume the premise is true. Tell me then, how would you ever avoid this unhealthy situation in your life? Sure you could avoid the openly hateful creators, but how would you ever know who is secretly hateful? Many a creator of beloved works, has turned out to be an asshole or a bigot. And many of those were only revealed as such after those works became beloved. Surely, many more were also created by hateful people who were not and may never be publically revealed as such. Given you have concluded that the content and monetary support is not all that matters, but also the internal character of the creator, how do you know your health isn’t be constantly compromised by consuming work by people you don’t know are actually hateful in some way.
Third, it seems kind of a moot point anyway in this case. Rowling only started revealing her transphobia in 2019. By that point the entire novel series, the entire film adaptation series, a spin off play and companion book, the first two of three spinoff films, and any number of video games, toys, and other merchandise had all been released and consumed by billions. The vast majority of our generation has consumed a ton Harry Potter media in many forms before her bigotry was on full display. I personally read most of the books over and over as a kid. I gotta tell you, if my health was damaged because she was secretly a hateful bitch at heart, then that damage is done.
I get wanting to take a moral highground, being disgusted by the association, and just wanting to distance yourself from Rowling and leave it behind. I truly get that and think it is entirely justified and valid. But don’t project some sort of damage onto people who don’t do the same, or attribute some sort of complicit immorality to them because they don’t take the same stance as you. That’s where I strongly disagree.
Right but they were specifically making a point that it wasn’t (just) a financial question. That consumption of content with a hateful source is enough to be detrimental regardless of the benign nature and qualities of the content itself. I wasn’t arguing that you should financially support hateful creators. I was questioning their premise that the creator’s nature determined how the content affects you even if the content doesn’t reflect their nature.
It is a whole other thing to financially support it. And also another thing to consume new media that may or may not be me little more than a cash grab. It is also further complicated by the fact that this is an HBO property, meaning that financial support technically comes from subscriptions, whether or not you actually watch the content in question or other shows entirely. I wasn’t getting into any of that though.
Sure you could avoid the openly hateful creators, but how would you ever know who is secretly hateful?
You don’t know what you don’t know. Nobody should be blamed for liking HP while they were unaware of Rowling’s bigotry and how she funds hate groups.
But once you do know, you now have agency and responsibility. Absentminded consumption of content is not consequence-free, the information landscape you inhabit changes you. Do you ever catch yourself using a word more often after hearing your favorite YouTuber use it? That’s just one small perceptible example of what OP means.
This is why it’s important for articles like this to inform and remind people to be critical viewers, to be skeptical about what they watch, who they follow.
Educating people about the harm bigoted content brings with it is the right thing to do.
But I do not think HP is bigoted content, no matter how bigoted its author is. It certainly has some problematic aspects to it, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t think that it ultimately champions, supports, or frames in a good light any form of bigotry. It, in fact, often does the exact opposite. I think part of what is so jarring about Rowling’s bigotry is that it came out of nowhere for fans of her work. It is entirely unexpected because it is straight up antithetical to much of the messaging in her books. The irony is not lost on me, but I would rather use the anti-bigotry messaging in HP to inform my life and use it against the creator herself than to feel guilt or disgust over enjoying those stories, just because she is a cunt.
These stories that have been a part of my life since the time my first grade teacher read the first book to us until I drove myself to the midnight release of the 7th book 10 years later and even beyond that. The first book series that I ever willingly picked up and read myself after hating reading because of my ADD, that showed me I could actually love reading if I found the right story and stuck with it, even if I read slow. These stories will always hold a special place in my heart, and no one judging me on the internet nor that hateful bitch of an author will change that. I make no apologies for it.
As others have alluded, regardless of the content of the HP books or movies or games, JKR earns royalties and profits from HP as a brand. Keeping the brand in the collective zeitgeist - even if you didn’t buy anything - brings Rowling money through word-of-mouth marketing, money she uses for hateful ends. I know some folks in my life, I bet you know some in yours, who will spend money based on FOMO, or nostalgia bait, or rage bait, without knowing who or what their money goes to.
This same conversation happened when Hogwarts Legacy was released, folks who said “its just a video game, calm down,” were missing the point of the boycotts and protests. Funding HP funds JKR, which funds lobbyists to strip human rights away from human beings. The cause and effect here is well documented.
Keeping the brand in the collective zeitgeist - even if you didn’t buy anything - brings Rowling money through word-of-mouth marketing
My personal consumption without giving her money does nothing to support the brand or market the product unless I go around advertising it for people. In which case it was the the purchase or the advertisement that are the problem, not the consumption itself. If I pirate a movie, a game, an audio book, etc. and don’t go around talking up the property, I would be giving nothing either directly or indirectly to Rowling or any other producer of the content. Matter of fact, I could share access to the pirated materials to make my direct associates less likely to go out and purchase them on their own behalf, arguably denying them purchases they may otherwise have received from more detached and careless people in my circle. But that wouldn’t stop people from hating on the consumption itself. I think that’s silly.
Again, I don’t disagree that providing financial benefit, vocal support, etc. to a hate monger is, at minimum callous negligence, if not complicity or active support of the hate mongering. But I do not think that separating the content from the creator(s) (particularly content that has deep personal and cultural roots for many, and has outgrown its creator in many ways), getting ahold of the content without financially supporting the creator(s), and consuming it without marketing it to others is to be in any way complicit with the creator’s/creators’ behavior and views.
Are you arguing just to argue at this point? Because it feels like you’re moving the goalpost every time somebody corrects you and not entirely in a malevolent way, but more like a stubborn just-don’t-want-to-be-wrong way
Funnily I feel the same way about everyone replying. The original comment in replied to was about how piracy didnt solve the problem because even consuming materials with a hateful creator was bad for your health. Then people keep coming back with stuff about financially supporting Rowling, which piracy does solve.
My goalpost hasn’t changed, people just keep pushing back from different angles. My thesis is the same: Don’t financially support Rowling, don’t market for her work, and don’t be complacent about hate mongering. But if you have access to the content for free and you wish to consume it, it doesn’t hurt anyone to do so and it’s nobody’s business to judge you for it.
Did you even read my comment? Like the very next sentence? I said that there is defintely problematic stuff. Very specifically I was alluding to the goblins, as well as house elves.
Those are completly valid problems with my statement, we might have different perspectives and wont find agreement, i accept that and still love you and anyone who chooses to consume the content. Ill also say that i was major harry potter fan in my youth, went to the book and movie releases, etc, etc. Harry potter had a special place in my heart.
1a: the distinction between mind and soul is one better discussed in person over hours and hours, ill let you choose whichever fits best within your model of reality. But as far as unhealthy i mean it in the same way as getting mcdonalds - even if you get a salad and water at mcdonalds, you are still reinforcing a pattern where mcdonalds is an acceptable place and source of food, even when we know the food isnt healthy and how they source the food isnt healthy (references to slavery, abuse, theft, environmental degredation, etc - if unfamiliar with these concerns from mcdonalds and other fast foods ill make it your homework as itd be a lot to type out and im no expert to speak authoritatively) - harry potter has a number of stereotypes and problematic areas baked into its universe - maybe eveb innocently from jkr’s perspective - but weve seen what shes manifested into - and further - because of the links and references to other issues it can soften your rejection of other harmful content (for example, theres a very specific representation of goblins in harry potter, and becoming familiar with that representation, innocently, can make you desensitized to other problematic sources that move that interpretation of goblins to antisemitism, just one example of unhealthiness i talk about)
1b: this is what i reference to as underlying patterns, by watching the new hp, is a knife going to jump out of the screen and stab you? No. But you might internalize some concepts from the universe and story that later forms the seed of hatred, or sends you on a path/rabbit hole that does do damage to you. in a certain perspective im sure someone would call that psychically. Just as one double cheeseburger dosent kill you on the spot and even tastes good, in aggregate and over time and repitition, it will decrease your quality of life and if unlucky, might actually kill you.
2: have i consumed unhealthy content before? Certainly and plenty of it, further its likely ive consumed unhealthy content even today unknowingly. But i am now aware and am actively trying to manage the content i consume and being more aware of how it can influence me because i want to think and act in a certain way, and that requires dilligence, just as im dilligent about weeding my garden, just as im dilligent about going to the market for groceries and not going to mcdonalds. I didnt know jkr was hateful as a kid, but now i do. I cant and wouldnt change the past, but i can and would change the present. Its what we do now.
I hope that answers your questions, i dont know how to make my answers shorter, and typing this on the phone is exhuasting, this is a conversation better had with voice and a back and forth dialog.
Ok, so, I have a few problems with this take.
First, I question the very premise. That consuming otherwise benign content is somehow “not […] healthy” if the creater is themselves hateful, whether or not that hate is present in their content. A) by what do you mean it is unhealthy? For your mind? Your eternal soul? What? B) If the content does not display any of the specific hatred of their creator, by what means would that hatred effect me at all? Psychically?
Second, let’s assume the premise is true. Tell me then, how would you ever avoid this unhealthy situation in your life? Sure you could avoid the openly hateful creators, but how would you ever know who is secretly hateful? Many a creator of beloved works, has turned out to be an asshole or a bigot. And many of those were only revealed as such after those works became beloved. Surely, many more were also created by hateful people who were not and may never be publically revealed as such. Given you have concluded that the content and monetary support is not all that matters, but also the internal character of the creator, how do you know your health isn’t be constantly compromised by consuming work by people you don’t know are actually hateful in some way.
Third, it seems kind of a moot point anyway in this case. Rowling only started revealing her transphobia in 2019. By that point the entire novel series, the entire film adaptation series, a spin off play and companion book, the first two of three spinoff films, and any number of video games, toys, and other merchandise had all been released and consumed by billions. The vast majority of our generation has consumed a ton Harry Potter media in many forms before her bigotry was on full display. I personally read most of the books over and over as a kid. I gotta tell you, if my health was damaged because she was secretly a hateful bitch at heart, then that damage is done.
I get wanting to take a moral highground, being disgusted by the association, and just wanting to distance yourself from Rowling and leave it behind. I truly get that and think it is entirely justified and valid. But don’t project some sort of damage onto people who don’t do the same, or attribute some sort of complicit immorality to them because they don’t take the same stance as you. That’s where I strongly disagree.
valid points on the books/movies but this new series will directly fund transphobia and bigotry.
It’s a cash grab and an attempt to distance the original cast, all of whom viciously disagree with Rowlings bigotry.
Joyless, souless propaganda and funds drive. If you were such a dedicated potter fan, why would want to see its corpse puppeted to pay for hate?
Right but they were specifically making a point that it wasn’t (just) a financial question. That consumption of content with a hateful source is enough to be detrimental regardless of the benign nature and qualities of the content itself. I wasn’t arguing that you should financially support hateful creators. I was questioning their premise that the creator’s nature determined how the content affects you even if the content doesn’t reflect their nature.
It is a whole other thing to financially support it. And also another thing to consume new media that may or may not be me little more than a cash grab. It is also further complicated by the fact that this is an HBO property, meaning that financial support technically comes from subscriptions, whether or not you actually watch the content in question or other shows entirely. I wasn’t getting into any of that though.
You don’t know what you don’t know. Nobody should be blamed for liking HP while they were unaware of Rowling’s bigotry and how she funds hate groups.
But once you do know, you now have agency and responsibility. Absentminded consumption of content is not consequence-free, the information landscape you inhabit changes you. Do you ever catch yourself using a word more often after hearing your favorite YouTuber use it? That’s just one small perceptible example of what OP means.
This is why it’s important for articles like this to inform and remind people to be critical viewers, to be skeptical about what they watch, who they follow.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1AXQ36kG258
So a better educated / more critical thinking audience is able to consume content from a malicious or hateful creator with better shielding?
I think this entirely misses the point.
The point of bringing critical thinking to bear is to discern the garbage and choose not to consume it.
Educating people about the harm bigoted content brings with it is the right thing to do.
But I do not think HP is bigoted content, no matter how bigoted its author is. It certainly has some problematic aspects to it, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t think that it ultimately champions, supports, or frames in a good light any form of bigotry. It, in fact, often does the exact opposite. I think part of what is so jarring about Rowling’s bigotry is that it came out of nowhere for fans of her work. It is entirely unexpected because it is straight up antithetical to much of the messaging in her books. The irony is not lost on me, but I would rather use the anti-bigotry messaging in HP to inform my life and use it against the creator herself than to feel guilt or disgust over enjoying those stories, just because she is a cunt.
These stories that have been a part of my life since the time my first grade teacher read the first book to us until I drove myself to the midnight release of the 7th book 10 years later and even beyond that. The first book series that I ever willingly picked up and read myself after hating reading because of my ADD, that showed me I could actually love reading if I found the right story and stuck with it, even if I read slow. These stories will always hold a special place in my heart, and no one judging me on the internet nor that hateful bitch of an author will change that. I make no apologies for it.
As others have alluded, regardless of the content of the HP books or movies or games, JKR earns royalties and profits from HP as a brand. Keeping the brand in the collective zeitgeist - even if you didn’t buy anything - brings Rowling money through word-of-mouth marketing, money she uses for hateful ends. I know some folks in my life, I bet you know some in yours, who will spend money based on FOMO, or nostalgia bait, or rage bait, without knowing who or what their money goes to.
This same conversation happened when Hogwarts Legacy was released, folks who said “its just a video game, calm down,” were missing the point of the boycotts and protests. Funding HP funds JKR, which funds lobbyists to strip human rights away from human beings. The cause and effect here is well documented.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/02/jk-rowling-donates-big-money-to-anti-trans-group/
https://www.them.us/story/jk-rowling-fund-anti-trans-lawsuits
https://www.advocate.com/news/jk-rowling-anti-trans-organization
https://www.buzzfeed.com/natashajokic1/jk-rowling-harry-potter-anti-trans
My personal consumption without giving her money does nothing to support the brand or market the product unless I go around advertising it for people. In which case it was the the purchase or the advertisement that are the problem, not the consumption itself. If I pirate a movie, a game, an audio book, etc. and don’t go around talking up the property, I would be giving nothing either directly or indirectly to Rowling or any other producer of the content. Matter of fact, I could share access to the pirated materials to make my direct associates less likely to go out and purchase them on their own behalf, arguably denying them purchases they may otherwise have received from more detached and careless people in my circle. But that wouldn’t stop people from hating on the consumption itself. I think that’s silly.
Again, I don’t disagree that providing financial benefit, vocal support, etc. to a hate monger is, at minimum callous negligence, if not complicity or active support of the hate mongering. But I do not think that separating the content from the creator(s) (particularly content that has deep personal and cultural roots for many, and has outgrown its creator in many ways), getting ahold of the content without financially supporting the creator(s), and consuming it without marketing it to others is to be in any way complicit with the creator’s/creators’ behavior and views.
Are you arguing just to argue at this point? Because it feels like you’re moving the goalpost every time somebody corrects you and not entirely in a malevolent way, but more like a stubborn just-don’t-want-to-be-wrong way
Funnily I feel the same way about everyone replying. The original comment in replied to was about how piracy didnt solve the problem because even consuming materials with a hateful creator was bad for your health. Then people keep coming back with stuff about financially supporting Rowling, which piracy does solve.
My goalpost hasn’t changed, people just keep pushing back from different angles. My thesis is the same: Don’t financially support Rowling, don’t market for her work, and don’t be complacent about hate mongering. But if you have access to the content for free and you wish to consume it, it doesn’t hurt anyone to do so and it’s nobody’s business to judge you for it.
you don’t, uh, find anything problematic with the goblin-like depiction of their bankers?
wow.
well you do you bud, there’s no informing some folks no matter how obvious it is I guess.
Did you even read my comment? Like the very next sentence? I said that there is defintely problematic stuff. Very specifically I was alluding to the goblins, as well as house elves.
You said there was problematic stuff and it didn’t bother you enough to quit the garbage. Says so much about YOU.
“1 percent of the series is problematic, so you are morally required to throw away the whole thing.” Cool opinion.
Those are completly valid problems with my statement, we might have different perspectives and wont find agreement, i accept that and still love you and anyone who chooses to consume the content. Ill also say that i was major harry potter fan in my youth, went to the book and movie releases, etc, etc. Harry potter had a special place in my heart.
1a: the distinction between mind and soul is one better discussed in person over hours and hours, ill let you choose whichever fits best within your model of reality. But as far as unhealthy i mean it in the same way as getting mcdonalds - even if you get a salad and water at mcdonalds, you are still reinforcing a pattern where mcdonalds is an acceptable place and source of food, even when we know the food isnt healthy and how they source the food isnt healthy (references to slavery, abuse, theft, environmental degredation, etc - if unfamiliar with these concerns from mcdonalds and other fast foods ill make it your homework as itd be a lot to type out and im no expert to speak authoritatively) - harry potter has a number of stereotypes and problematic areas baked into its universe - maybe eveb innocently from jkr’s perspective - but weve seen what shes manifested into - and further - because of the links and references to other issues it can soften your rejection of other harmful content (for example, theres a very specific representation of goblins in harry potter, and becoming familiar with that representation, innocently, can make you desensitized to other problematic sources that move that interpretation of goblins to antisemitism, just one example of unhealthiness i talk about)
1b: this is what i reference to as underlying patterns, by watching the new hp, is a knife going to jump out of the screen and stab you? No. But you might internalize some concepts from the universe and story that later forms the seed of hatred, or sends you on a path/rabbit hole that does do damage to you. in a certain perspective im sure someone would call that psychically. Just as one double cheeseburger dosent kill you on the spot and even tastes good, in aggregate and over time and repitition, it will decrease your quality of life and if unlucky, might actually kill you.
2: have i consumed unhealthy content before? Certainly and plenty of it, further its likely ive consumed unhealthy content even today unknowingly. But i am now aware and am actively trying to manage the content i consume and being more aware of how it can influence me because i want to think and act in a certain way, and that requires dilligence, just as im dilligent about weeding my garden, just as im dilligent about going to the market for groceries and not going to mcdonalds. I didnt know jkr was hateful as a kid, but now i do. I cant and wouldnt change the past, but i can and would change the present. Its what we do now.
I hope that answers your questions, i dont know how to make my answers shorter, and typing this on the phone is exhuasting, this is a conversation better had with voice and a back and forth dialog.