Shed wronged each of them in various ways, torturing Hermione and robbing both Neville and Harry of the people who would have been their parental figures. Imagine if someone repeatedly called their cis co-worker by the wrong gender; theyd likely be fired for harassment. Remember that for later. In fact, shes probably a better example than Luna! J.K. Rowlings overarching story was constantly marred by her transparently episodic writing style. After researching for half a year about how Rita could possibly be getting her information despite being nowhere near, and an unintentionally helpful hint from Harry, Hermione deduced that she was an unregistered Anigmagus and blackmailed her into keeping quiet for a whole year under threat of being exposed, which would otherwise land her in severe trouble. That aside, Albus Dumbledore as portrayed in the books and films is a truly terrible human being. The woman who created Harry Potter treats trans people with nothing but cruelty and contempt, always insisting that the trans women have stolen something that is rightfully hers. Occupation Rita Skeeter (b. In the following two tweets, the creator of Harry Potter tries to justify her biological essentialism with what she seems to think is feminism. [7], Rita was an unregistered Animagus, wherein she took the form of a beetle and was able to slip around undetected and spy on unsuspecting company so she could obtain gossip for her articles which she later exaggerated and exploited to gain the attention of the masses. Rita Skeeter Character Analysis. She also stated regarding the Daily Prophet that it "exists to sell itself.". Unfortunately, somewhere down the line, J.K. Rowling decided Snape was a sympathetic hero. What if I were secretly famous, gifted with innate magical powers, and rich beyond my wildest dreams? Instead of focusing on the players, she spent the match spying on VIP Box Two in which the most prominent members of Dumbledore's Army were watching the game. Hes a rich, famous superhuman in a world where only he matters, and this struck a chord with peopleespecially children. Isnt that nice? Skeeter stole photographs from Bagshot as well, and the subsequent novel sensationalised everything, implying that Dumbledore had dabbled in the Dark Arts and contributed to the death of his sister. Skeeter preferred writing for the sake of publicity and wrote what she thought people would "like to read" and what was lies rather than what they "ought to read" and which was the truth. Mere pages after we first meet her, Bellatrix kills a supposedly-important character and then serves as just another Death Eater for the rest of the story. Because Hermione was able to blackmail Rita with the threat of reporting her unregistered Animagus status to the Ministry, Rita grudgingly complied and wrote the article. [12] Although Hermione was more disdainful than upset about the article, she unfortunately started receiving angry mail from people who believed Rita's lies. Non-corporeal[8][10] Sleep with any consenting adult wholl have you. When I was a small child, I read Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (Sorcerers Stone for you Americans out there). Magical characteristics Blonde[6] Kreacher, it turns out, was partly responsible for Sirius Blacks death, allowing Rowling to frame Harry as justified in how he treats his slave. In September 2020, the creator of Harry Potter published yet another long, transphobic manifesto. I am done playing nice with the Harry Potter series because people love it. Loyalty [9], The article's falseness painted Harry as a tragic hero who cried himself to sleep over his late parents and who had a romantic relationship with Hermione Granger. It was banned at Hogwarts by High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge, which seemed to only increase its popularity. As mentioned, both Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are built up as important characters only to die unceremonious deaths that do little to advance the plot. Discovered in chapter 18, The Weighing of the Wands " Rita Skeeter is talking to Ludo Bagman when Harry enters the classroom where the Wand Weighing ceremony is to take place. Predictably, neither contributes much in the end. Rita Skeeter is transphobic what a surprise! Rita Skeeter Dont just say you contrasted two characters; make an effort to actually do it. Unfortunately, Albus Dumbledore being gay is what we call paratext, as in not text. The text of the story is whats in Rowlings published works, and had Rowling made Dumbledore gay in Fantastic Beasts, it would be part of the text. [25] It was, perhaps, her being present at the funeral that prompted her to write a biography of Albus Dumbledore, as within four weeks, she wrote a 900-page biography about him, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, which also included authentic old photos of the famed Hogwarts headmaster. Harry is always framed as a good person who is all the better for having suffered. Species However, she could also be very vindictive and spiteful towards those she disliked. Its because, as weve already discussed, Hermionea black womanis wrong about slavery in the context of Rowlings moral framework. [18], Rita covered the International Confederation of Wizards' Conference during the summer of 1994, describing Albus Dumbledore as an "obsolete dingbat".[9]. [1], Skeeter spent time training to become an Animagus and, at some point prior to 1986, she was finally able to transform into a beetle at will. rita skeeter transphobia. After Voldemorts underwhelming death, Rowling adds insult to injury by skipping forward nineteen years. Troubled Blood Is The Latest Element In Rowling's Long History Of Transphobia The author, who has drawn criticism for her depictions of people of color and Native American religion and culture, has a long history of transphobic Twitter behavior. rita skeeter's first and last appearance was in harry potter and the goblet of fire, while in the books she had a huge presence. Her blonde curls were curiously rigid, suggesting it was styled with the magical equivalent of hairspray. In 1981, at the fall of Voldemort and end of the War, Skeeter reported on the Death Eater trials before the Council of Magical Law; people such as Igor Karkaroff and Ludovic Bagman. This book turned out to be a best-seller, with numerous copies sold. At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery& Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells& Harry Potter: Magic Awakened.As such, spoilers will be present within the article. She immediately tried to get an interview with Harry Potter, but did not get the chance until the the Weighing of the Wands, which she did inside a small broom cupboard. Rita's last defaming article stated that Harry was "disturbed and dangerous", and used comments from Draco and his fellow Slytherin best friends as its basis. Marital status Rarely does J.K. Rowling plant or sow any seeds in her story. [27], It turned out that Rita got at least some of her facts straight for once, but had no idea of the true story behind certain fabrications, such as her claiming that Ariana Dumbledore was a Squib,[27] and that her mother was ashamed of her, when in reality she suffered from uncontrollable bursts of magic due to a highly traumatic experience when she was around six.[28]. Every Slytherin in the text of the books has sided with Voldemort, with Horace Slughorn as the only possible exception. Harry and his friends grow more mature as the series progresses. Im writing this in June 2020 so please forgive me if there are any examples of Rowlings bigotry that I missed. He then allows Professor Snape to bully Harry in a similar manner. Nationality Cite. Killing off this many supposedly-important characters off-page is simply not a recipe for a strong narrative. Jacob's sibling and Tulip Karasu thought that in order to get rid of her so they could unblock Warbeck's blocked throat, they would spook her with frogs spawned with Frog Spawn Soap, as Tulip heard frogs made her uneasy. Before I discuss the subpar storytelling in her work, I want to make one thing absolutely clear: J.K. Rowling is a transphobic bigot who routinely spreads dehumanizing messages to her numerous fans. Pure-blood or half-blood (possibly)[2] By this point, J.K. Rowlings writing style has become almost indistinguishable from that of Russian-American author and cult leader Ayn Rand. The impact would have been greatly diminished otherwise. As someone currently living with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder due to abuse in schools, I can tell you that this all-important theme in Harry Potter is harmful to real people. Rita Skeeter as she appears in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Rita Skeeter as she appears in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, Rita Skeeter as seen in Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells, Concept art of Rita Skeeter from Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, The Harry Potter Wiki has 92 images related to, *Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, Fandom will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Born No one is saying that biological sex doesnt exist; what scientists are saying is that a trans person really isnt the gender they were assigned at birth. I lost count of how many magical concepts Rowling brings up in one book or other, only to introduce a contradictory idea in a later book. [5], That year, Rita was given the opportunity to interview the Triwizard Tournament contestants for an article in the Daily Prophet. Rita is a shape-shifter who uses her powers to violate the privacy of Rowling's cis heroes. As nice as that quote sounds, it is swiftly contradicted by almost everything from the following book onwards. [9], Apparently, unemployment did not serve Rita well, as when she showed up during the year she was blackmailed by Hermione not to write, Rita's nails were chipped, she was missing fake stones in her glasses, and her hair was lank and unkempt. The obvious twist would be if Neville turned out to be the real chosen one in the end. She also took advantage of elderly Bathilda Bagshot's possibly fragile state of mind (even giving her Veritaserum)[27] in order to dig up dirt on the late Albus Dumbledore for her extremely critical biography. In addition, she had pencilled-on eyebrows and three gold teeth, as well as large, masculine hands. Rita also appeared to be highly prejudiced against half-giants and wizards who spoke Parseltongue. Let me say that again: Harry Potter is a slaveowner. After the interview she dedicated a whole page of the Daily Prophet for his interview, which greatly annoyed Amos Diggory, the father of Cedric, another Hogwarts champion. Even in the Harry Potter series, Rowling included a character called Rita Skeeter, described as having man hands. Rita is a shape-shifter who uses her powers to violate the privacy of Rowlings cis heroes. When Frodo decides to spare Gollums life, Sam interprets this as blindness, as we see in this passage: It had always been a notion of his that the kindness of dear Mr. Frodo was of such a high degree that it must imply a fair measure of blindness. No. Rowlings excuses for consistently supporting transphobes ranged from I was holding my phone incorrectly to I accidentally pasted someone elses tweet into my own, despite the transphobia being sandwiched perfectly between the main part of her tweet and her Ickabog hashtag. Rita Skeeter wrote a gossip column in The Daily Prophet about the Quidditch World Cup on 8 July, 2014, in which she mentioned that she was about to publish a new book about Dumbledore's Army on 31 July called Dumbledore's Army: The Dark Side of the Demob. The lies, misinformation, threats of extreme violence, and the dehumanization of women who dare speak up against this misogynistic, racist . The book proceeds to tell us that Harrys scar hasnt hurt in many years, and the series ends on this line: To be honest, I cant think of a single sentence you could end on that would be more vacuous than this one. Ill tell you: a white author framing a black womans anti-slavery position as silly, nave, and wrong! One of her earliest works was an exaggerated autobiography written to gain fame and notoriety, in which she succeeded greatly as the book was a top seller. There was just something off about it. I could talk about how the werewolves and giants are established as the targets of bigotry only for them to join Voldemort in the end, but I dont think theres much more I can say. Only when Samwise himself has carried the One Ring for a day and felt the temptation of ultimate strength does he begin to understand why Frodo, Bilbo, and Gandalf all felt such compassion for the wretched creature. When we see muggles, whom we can assume oppose slavery, theyre nearly always portrayed negatively. J.K. Rowling is a transphobic bigot who tweets TERF rhetoric at children. This can be seen in her shock-jock style of writing and purposeful misrepresentation of people's character in order to garner readership that prove to be consistently untrue and slanderous, with her interview with Harry about Voldemort's return being the only verified and totally accurate publication of hers to date. Returning to the subject of Bellatrix Lestrange, Rowling has said that she always intended for Molly Weasley to kill Bellatrix Lestrange. Hermiones skin is actually described as brown at one point in the books: They were there, both of them, sitting outside Florean Fortescues Ice Cream Parlour Ron looking incredibly freckly, Hermione very brown, both waving frantically at him. In the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, when the Witch-King killed Thoden, theres a reason it was owyn and Merrynot Pippin and Beregondwho battled the Lord of the Nine, avenging the king. In her bizarre non-sequitur of a tweet, Rowling misgendered a trans woman called Tara Wolf who was fined for a crime. Lets get right down to it; Hermiones abolitionism suddenly makes a whole lot more sense. She clutches at her crocodile-skin handbag as she is introduced to Harry by Bagman. Following the Reappearance of the Dark Mark after the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, Skeeter penned a scathing report of the British Ministry of Magic's handling over the riots, accusing the Ministry of incompetence over their failure to catch any of the culprits. Biographical authorGossip Correspondent for the Daily Prophet[11] wydd radio pittsburgh; dumb military bases . The most obvious example is that of Thoden and Denethor, who are heavily contrasted even though they dont share a single scene. Hermione told her that the interview would be printed in The Quibbler, which Luna's father edited, and although Rita responded with disdain, she "eyed Hermione shrewdly" for a few moments and then agreed. Because of J.K. Rowlings tweets, a lot of ordinary Harry Potter fans are going to type Is J.K. Rowling a TERF? into the YouTube search. Articles about his claims in the Daily Prophet portrayed him as either a delusional boy or an attention-seeking liar. Lord Voldemort[8] Does it matter what Wolf did? The hero of the story casually threatens a trans woman with prison rape, and were meant to side with him. Also sometime in her early career, Skeeter provided a quote for the critical acclaim for Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp, when she wrote "I've read worse." Rita then observed Potions, Transfiguration, Flying, and Charms classes, much to most of the instructors' annoyance. The Lord of the Rings Explained: What Moviegoers Missed. Female[5] My best advice when it comes to ending a story is this: dont end your book with All was well. As far as Im aware, its the worst line you could possibly end a book with. #Rita skeeter full. From their fealty ceremonies to their treatment of their respective heirs omer and Faramir, Tolkien draws our attention to how different Thoden and Denethor are from each other. Like many other children at the time, I was swept up in a wondrous world where magical children attend a boarding school filled with secrets and adventure. Viewing Frodos mercy as a sign of some weakness is, as I think we can all agree, a meaningful character flaw. But here's the thing: One cannot just dismiss everything Rita writes, because there are always kernels . seamus finnigan, the only irish character, who happens to turn everything into an explosive. They werent much different from many other childrens books in that regard. Notice the part where one of them has to die at the hand of the other there? This flies in the face of everything the books have established up to this point. Her ability to turn into a beetle also reflected how irritating and bothersome she was to other people, particularly Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, and it also displayed her dishonest and cunning characteristics. She exploited a terrified 14-year-old Harry for column inches, she let her bigoted opinions damn the likes of poor Hagrid, and to top it off she wrote a 900-page tell-all hatchet job on Albus Dumbledore after he died. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Dumbledores brother sends Dobby to rescue Harry and his friends from Bellatrix and the Malfoys. Wand The solution, according to Rowling, is for everyone to just treat their slaves well. Allowing house elves to be slaves is portrayed as a kindness, which is all the more disgusting when you consider that the legacy of slavery is still poisoning the real world. The Scoop on Rita Skeeter. Like Harry Potter (well, not Harry as he really is, but the things Rowling tells us about Harry), Samwise Gamgee is brave, loyal, and selfless. For added measure, she flogged this after the poor man's death. Rowlings unwillingness to tell a coherent story across more than a single book makes the whole Harry Potter saga feel like something of a disjointed mess. They wouldnt know what to do without slavery. In Chamber of Secrets, Harry shows little or no empathy for Dobby until he realizes the house elf belongs to the Malfoys. Albus Dumbledore in particular described her writing as "enchantingly nasty" after she wrote an unfavourable article about him.[9]. In Book Four, Harrys nemesis Voldemort succeeds in gaining a new body, heralding a new Wizarding War. Well, it was back then, at least. Instead, she said Dumbledore is gay in an interview, and then the author wrote a screenplay where Dumbledore is never shown to be gay. And yes, that does include our hero Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One. First of all, why has he not told anyone before? In 1997 Rita Skeeter travelled to Godric's Hollow to meet Bagshot and used Veritaserum to get vital information for her book on Albus Dumbledore, after her little interview she left a small note and her own copy of the Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. She's described as having a square jaw, wide shoulders, and large hands. Why is all well? She's. Sasuke just sort of gives up on his evil plans, hinting that he might turn evil again, but whatever. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #TheIckabog. The later books attempts at adult fantasy clash with the inherent childishness of the Wizarding World. In a previous article she once referred to Hermione Granger as being "stunningly pretty," only to then describe her in an article published just a few months later as "a plain, but ambitious girl." Ive always wondered as to the point of this bit. Rita's tendency to write sensationalised and untrue stories about high profile members of the wizarding community is similar to (and may be a direct parody of) tabloid magazines stirring up stories about celebrities, politicians, and the economic elite. She was known to carry with her a crocodile-skin handbag, inside of which she carried her acid green Quick-Quotes Quill. It doesnt. Bellatrix is introduced when she kills Sirius, signalling that she will be important, but shes not. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers And hes not alone; apart from Hermione, every character either owns slaves or aspires to own slaves. Daily Prophet[9]Witch Weekly[12]The Quibbler[13]Order of the Phoenix (indirectly)[13] If they misbehave, they are compelled to inflict self-harm, such as when Dobby burns his own hands with a hot iron. A former journalist for the Daily Prophet. Under the guise of interviewing all four champions, she confronted Harry Potter in a broom cupboard where she took his "um"s and "er"s and used them as material to make her own quotes where Harry had said them. This all sends the explicit message that child abuse builds character. She uses a Quick-Quotes Quill to write in flowery prose filled with innuendos and veiled accusations ().Rita was a reporter at the Death Eater trials after the first fall of the Dark Lord and has filled the pages of the Daily Prophet with her snide and nasty words; she once called . Rita was interviewed by Betty Braithwaite, a fellow Daily Prophet reporter in her home, whom she treated very warmly, serving her tea and Pound cake and informing her of much gossip surrounding the book's release. Following Voldemort's death, Skeeter wrote a biography of Harry Potter that was known for being only about one-quarter true, as well as one about Severus Snape titled Snape: Scoundrel or Saint?. The character of Rita Skeeter, a "poison pen" journalist seen throughout the series, is curiously described. Where the deaths of characters like Thoden in The Lord of the Rings were the result of Gandalfs understandable inability to be in two places at once, Dumbledore plans seemingly every detail of the later books, including the deaths of almost every halfway-interesting character in Harry Potter. Throughout the Harry Potter series, characters and concepts are routinely introduced just before they become important. I was certainly too young to see some of the more toxic themes of the story, but I began to lose my taste for Rowlings work all the same. Rita Skeeter used a long, acid green Quick-Quotes Quill when interviewing people for the Daily Prophet. Also, the goblins are greedy bankers with large noses who only care about money, and they have a different concept of ownership than we do. Rita Skeeter (b. Ginny Potter, with Rita at the journalists' enclosure, repeatedly made corrections to her reports, until, shortly after the match ended, Rita remarked that her husband Harry Potter was "publicity-hungry" just as Ginny was approaching, Rita was taken "unaccountably ill" with what some called "a jinx to the solar plexus".[34]. If all this wont convince you of how ethically, morally, and structurally broken the Harry Potter series is, I dont know what will. Community content is available under. Rita Skeeter first met Harry Potter in 1994 when Hogwarts was housing the Triwizard Tournament, which Harry's name shot surprising from the Goblet of Fire. One book has little to connect it to previous volumes in the series; even the genre just changes without warning between the fourth and fifth book! This resulted in Hermione receiving hate mail, but she eventually got her revenge and blackmailed Rita into refraining from writing for a year. It's a problem all too familiar to us in the Muggle world: You can't trust everything you read in the news. In court, Wolf claimed the Facebook post in which hed said he wanted to f**** up some TERFs was just bravado. Rowling presents us with nearly all the arguments put forward by slaveowners in the American South and then asks us to agree with perhaps the worst institution in human history. Starting in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, so many more interesting characters die to protect him that I ended up hating Harry for it. A younger Rita Skeeter as a court reporter at the trial of Igor Karkaroff, Skeeter was a journalist at the time of the First Wizarding War when Lord Voldemort was in power. [17], Skeeter travelled to Hogwarts again in the 19881989 school year to interview Celestina Warbeck about why she had returned to Hogwarts. Believing that Frodo is dead, Sams first impulse is to hunt down Gollum and take revengebefore even considering taking up the Ringbearers quest. Remember that Harry Potter is supposed to be the hero. Her hair is set in elaborate and curiously rigid curls, and she wears jewelled spectacles. Far worse is her inability to provide proper buildup or payoff across multiple books, which likely stems from an inability (or unwillingness) to adequately plan her series overall. Theres a lot more to most of the characters and plot elements in the book, and even a twelve-hour masterpiece of a movie just cant compare. Giants really were vicious and brutal, but Hagrid obviously wasn't, so Professor Dumbledore insisted Hagrid deny any insults and return to work, as Harry and his friends didn't care about Hagrid's family due to their knowledge of him as a person.[20]. As I said earlier, hes literally the most important person in the magical world. Harry thought that Hermione and Rita were "the unlikeliest pair of drinking mates he could ever have imagined". [19] Her subsequent article described Hagrid as a ferocious-looking man who used his authority to terrify his students, but this interview's quote information was otherwise mostly true and unchanged. All is well, supposedly, because most slaveowners are good slaveowners.. She also wrote biographies of Armando Dippet, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, and Harry Potter. To use it, Skeeter sucked on the end and then placed it upright on parchment.. One notable use of the Quick-Quotes Quill was when Skeeter interviewed Harry Potter after he had been chosen to compete in the 1994-1995 Triwizard Tournament. In this series of short articles, I talk about the various ways Tolkiens books differ from the film adaptations. Yeah Voldemort ties by his own curse, so thats out the window. Speaking for myself, this quickly robbed me of my ability to care about what befell the surviving characters at the end. Okay, so Rita Skeeter was the worst kind of tabloid hack. The goblins are the bad guys. Were told and shown numerous times that the house elves like being enslaved, as Ron Weasley so callously put it. Lets examine why, in making Hermione black, J.K. Rowling has actually managed to make her theme of benevolent slavery in Harry Potter even worse. so in this video i'll. In Goblet of Fire, Hermione sees a house elf named Winky being abused. I'm not saying Skeeter was necessarily meant to be a trans woman, but it's a distinct possibility. Threesome Polyamory Summary Hermione and Ron are happily married to quidditch captain extraordinaire Viktor Krum, and all is well. [23] Editor Xenophilius Lovegood sold the article to the Prophet after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, when Voldemort's return became public, and he and his daughter Luna used the money to travel to Sweden in search of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. [13], Rita was initially taken aback that Hermione wanted her to interview Harry, and then resentful, since Hermione demanded that she only write exactly what Harry said and not portray him and all he said in a negative way as the rest of the press was. She did this despite the use of such a powerful truth serum being heavily controlled by the Ministry. When I first read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, I loved it. Also, why is it relevant that hes never told anyone? Dobby, we learn, was just a weirdo.. [7] Hermione used this as leverage to get Rita to do an interview with Harry for The Quibbler without any charge. Harry certainly never shows any desire for systemic change, let alone the abolition of slavery. After the defeat of Voldemort, Hermione goes on to work for the Ministry of Magic, having abandoned her past abolitionism. Thus, he doesnt have to overcome any personal flaws to fulfill his destiny. Basically, once you sort through all the evasive language, the gist of it is that J.K. Rowling thinks trans people existing is a threat to her identity as a cis woman and thus misogynistic. End of story. Welcome to TransLogic! J.K. Rowling, whether she realizes it or not, has caused some portion of her fanbase to drift into the alt-right. She called Hermione "Miss Prissy" and "Little Miss Perfect" due to her dislike of her. Viewed through this lens, it echoes the popularity of books like Atlas Shrugged. But as hes now experienced some tiny fraction of the power that drove Gollum mad, Sam can no longer bring himself to kill Gollum. These articles particularly angered Arthur Weasley for her obviously biased reporting, and he along with his son and fellow Ministry employee Percy Weasley had to head to the Ministry to help sort out the controversy, as she had mentioned Arthur in her article. Ones gender is not a privilege to be revoked. Skeeter was described as having blonde hair set in elaborate curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. Just as they teleport out of Malfoy Manor, Bellatrix throws a knife that mortally wounds Dobby. While much is said of her scarlet fingernails, her penciled on eyebrows, and her blond curly hair, she is also described as having large, masculine hands the same as Pippa, perhaps and an "an oddly square-jawed face." Both Snape and Dumbledore are deplorable; Pottermore cant change that. [1], Rita standing with her camera man preparing for an interview. If you want to contrast two characters without having them interact, I recommend you read The Lord of the Ringsand pay attention this time. If someone starts out with all the right opinions and remains irresolute in them, that's not character development.
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