My Star Wars and Hary Potter lego is for grown ups actually.
Good piece - shame the publication went with a title that makes it seem like it’ll just be dragging people for enjoying kids’ stuff, when it doesn’t say anything of the sort.
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can’t wait to see the new hary potert
It’d be nice to think that people will boycott this but it’s still going to be a success, even if not an off-the-scale ‘TV series of a generation’ success. I mean, that Harry Potter studios place near London is still a massive draw and loads of kids are still doing the glasses, cape and magic wand thing for World Book Day every year. (Also, we’re in the darkest timeline where shit always rises to the top.)
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A fuck ton of people are going to watch the Michael Jackson movie too.
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That’s not a good analogy, as Michael Jackson isn’t still alive in the world causing harm using the proceeds from the movie.
(Edit to note that I don’t think that makes watching the Jackson movie a neutral act by any stretch)
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I’m sure that people know this already, but just so it’s been said; yes this series will be very popular no matter what, but that doesn’t make boycotting pointless or a failure, because the aim of a boycott is not to completely eliminate Harry Potter as a cultural force. Everyone knows that isn’t anywhere close to realistically achievable, but even a boycott that makes negligible difference to the viewing figures can be effective. We’re seeing this already in how there’s a lot of negative press around the show due to the transphobia, this is an effective outcome of the boycott because nobody wants negative press. It makes a headache for anyone involved in the show, and puts off other people from wanting to be a part of it. The fact that Nick Frost and whatsisname Dumbledore are having to field questions about how they can morally justify breaking the boycott is a success. This sends a signal to other people and organisations on what the social costs are with getting publicly involved in transphobia. Organised transphobia relies a lot on soft cultural power, this is why JKR getting involved was such a massive deal for them, and has had measurable impacts on trans people’s legal rights, medical care, and day-to-day social experiences. The boycott so far has been an effective way of communicating the damage that transphobia has caused to trans people, which is a message otherwise almost entirely absent from the press. Behind the scenes this will absolutely be making companies and people think twice about getting involved economically or politically associated with transphobia.
No boycott: your cousin Becky says “omg how good is the new Harry Potter show?” and the most pushback she gets is “not seen it Becky love, I’m a 34 year old woman”. Becky can go on thinking JKR has reasonable concerns and the transes do have it too good, she’s not engaged, she herself may unwittingly replicate transphobia in her own life despite having no ill will to trans people personally, she thinks she’s a feminist and concerned about vulnerable kids.
Some boycott: every time Becky brings up the show she likes it’s a possible vector for her to be challenged on it. Sure, she might not stop watching the show, but she’s learning what transphobia is and how it affects people and might be a bit more wise to unwittingly buying into it or doing it in future.
And btw the queer community has done this before. The owner of Stagecoach busses funded a campaign to keep Section 28 in the 2000s, queers led a boycott. Against the fucking bus. Do you think a lot of people were involved? No, people physically need to get the bus. The bus company seems even more monolithic and unstoppable than Harry Potter because people need the fucking bus more than they need little wizards. But it created headlines, other orgs probably saw it and were like “you know what, I’m not a bus company, I can’t afford to get smoke off the gays like they can” and watched their step around getting involved in homophobia or publically associating with people and orgs who did.
Oh and last edit, the Stagecoach bus dickhead is still funnelling loads of money into transphobia. LGB Alliance indeed
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Superb post. I wish I could quote this verbatim at my silly family and their wank choices.
Also want “I can’t afford to get smoke off the gays” on a t shirt
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I did not know this. what the fuck.
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id apply it to the responsible adults who are advocating for the kids, the kids should never have been put in this position
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The kids will have the chance to do something very, very funny if this is still going in a few years
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john lithgow takes an already funny script
and is riffing on a level that is frickin sublime
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JKR has already shown that she expects any and every actor working on her IP to share and endorse her views, regardless of their age. The adults involved are signing the kids up for a really rough time.
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While I sincerely hope that nobody goes after the kids in this, I’ll be reserving my concerns and sympathies for the many more kids who are being forced to go through the wrong puberty; being given what amounts to conversion therapy on the NHS instead of healthcare; and who can’t expect any support or confidentiality from their schools. Not to mention all the kids who can’t even be part of fucking Girlguiding any more thanks to the likes of JKR.
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yeah innit. love to live in an area where all the busses are stagecoach 
cool that in 2000 mr stagecoach was like the big swinging dick in the homophobia world, and now he’s been fully powercrept by all the US bozos who see us as a very promising little sandbox to do R&D for their own transphobia
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yeah i didn’t know about it til after id worked there. not that it counts for anything but he always came across as a dick in all staff calls
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In the original films Daniel Radcliffe took an already funny script and was riffing on a level that was frickin sublime
These new kids cant riff for A DOG’S SHIT
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It’s not an exact analogy, just an observation that most people are not engaged or don’t really care about things that don’t directly effect them.
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Even if there were no issues with JKR those kids would be in for hell with the degree of scrutiny, pressure and toxicity they are going to be exposed to, simply due to the size of the IP.
I fully expect at least one of the main three and some of the others to have to drop out due to mental health issues before it ends filming. And I don’t think they are necessarily going to complete fliming all seven books either.
I’m not optimistic that 80 year old John Lithgow will make it to the seventh season.
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