The new Audible Harry Potter series is bad in uncomplicated, straightforward ways.
It is bad because it supports a woman who is actively funding groups that are seeking to deprive trans people of their rights in the UK and especially Scotland, where I live, where people inside the government are quietly remarking that they are struggling to fight against the groups she funds, as she has more money than God. Any money made from this new audio adaptation goes directly to funding these groups and these cases.
It is also bad because commissioning such an expansive series with such a well-known cast (Riz Ahmed?! Come on man) has eaten up the majority of Audible's commissioning budget. In the UK, the only people commissioning audio drama are the BBC (separate conversation) and Audible, and this new Harry Potter series has hoovered up resources that could have otherwise gone to new stories, new voices and money to creators that aren't actively trying to erase trans people.
I am angry at anyone who signed up to star in this, I am angry at the production companies that took on this commission, I am angry that this series continues to have a stranglehold on the UK media landscape despite all that its creator has done.
It is bad for trans people, it is bad for audio drama, it is bad for anyone working in media in the UK right now.
Do not listen to it
Yeah I think that the conversation about how bad this has been for audio drama in specific is something that people don't realise, and that *also* harms trans people and other marginalised people trying to make art. At the moment, it's difficult to make a career in the arts whatever medium you're trying to work in, especially if any parts of your identity are marginalised. Audio drama in its current iteration is such a young industry with so few funding streams that to see one almost completely disappear up the arse of a project it seems nobody was really asking for is really frustrating.
