The coming “Harry Potter” television series is the latest divisive issue among fans.
By Lila Penenberg
It seems like “Harry Potter” fans can’t agree on anything nowadays, and the coming television series is another topic to add to the list.
A books-accurate television show of the “Harry Potter” series is in development, HBO Max announced on April 12. While some fans rejoiced, others, who have begged for years for a prequel about the Marauders, dubbed the new adaptation unnecessary, and the series became one more issue that the “Harry Potter” fandom can’t agree on.
A lot has changed since the peak of my “Harry Potter” phase. Not only have general opinions about the series shifted in light of J.K. Rowling’s comments on trans women, but negative attitudes toward the “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” play and the “Fantastic Beasts” movies have caused the “Harry Potter” fandom to shrink significantly.
A main complaint about the new series is that we don’t need another retelling. As “Marvel” and “Star Wars” are churning out multiple projects every year, it’s hard not to notice that the “Harry Potter” franchise is falling behind.
There are many “Harry Potter” spin-offs that I would love to see, but Rowling has proven again and again that additions to the canon often break the rules laid out in the books.
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and the “Fantastic Beasts” prequels weren’t just badly written with weak stories; they also contradicted previous canon, changing the function of key elements and placing characters in scenes that take place years before they were born. A books-accurate series at least offers the potential to be more canonically correct.
Rowling’s involvement in the project is another divisive issue among the fandom. While some have denounced her, other fans are finding it harder to move on from the stories that informed their childhood. It’s now nearly impossible to broadcast yourself as a fan without receiving comments that you’re a transphobe, as those that denounced her have concluded that we can’t separate the stories from the author.
Separating the art from the artist isn’t new; consumers of art and literature have done it for years, as many famous painters, authors and philosophers were not exactly politically correct.
It’s okay if Rowling has ruined “Harry Potter” for you, and it’s okay if you’re still able to enjoy the original stories and are looking forward to the coming television show.
When I first heard about the series, I was excited to see all of the scenes from the books that didn’t make it into the movies.
I think that this retelling is exactly what the fandom needs: a reminder of the original stories that we all once loved.
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