hi, i was a harry potter fan from the ages of 6-28, if anyone understands how hard it is to emotionally move on from this specific beloved childhood franchise and cultural phenomenon it would be me.
it's been 6 years since j.k rowling started doubling down on her transphobia. (if we mark her mask off moment as her 2020 posting)
people have had six years to come to terms with it and find alternatives, there have been multiple video essays podcasts and written journalism about all of this, there are so many lists of alternatives including contemporary to the series and current fiction. even as early as 2022 people were renaming real world social groups/sport formed around their hp fandom to distance themselves from her work.
i wasn't even particularly negative, i said "stop spending money here" that's neither critical to the source material nor the fans. and not spending money isn't even an active action it's passive inaction, very easy to do.
also as someone who grew up with the book phenomenon and the films, you cannot reproduce the phenomenon that it used to be. you can find other things that give you joy but that was a very specific pop cultural time and event. the new show not only funds the cultural relevance of and bigoted political actions of rowling, it's also just inherently flawed in conception as a work of nostalgia that will always fall short in both quality, phenomena, and fandom culture.
I'm not coddling adults or teens who are tempted to engage with hp because i respect that they have the capacity to change their minds and expand their own tastes. it's not my responsibility to spoon-feed people alternatives.
I'm saying stop giving her money
i'm saying stop giving the franchise cultural currency via streaming attention
i'm saying the real people who are being made unsafe due to the transphobia and racism of j.k rowling are and always will be more important than nostalgia and fandom
I sound harsh because i was being blunt, if that comes off as negativity that puts some people off then that's okay.
there are much more hand holding options out there, (i myself watched a few video essays years ago deconstructing the bigotry of the novels and the messy relationship between fandom on identity and fiction versus personal ethics. because i needed discussions to process my own personal emotional response to letting the franchise go)
but with my own post I would hope that at least some people go "actually yeah this isn't worth my time and money" about the new show.
because it's okay to feel some negative emotions if it reminds you not to do something you actually feel is wrong.
ultimately @thewickedbohemian it's okay that you don't like my two sentence post as an approach to addressing the entire harry potter fandom. I would encourage you to visit/revisit any works that make you feel the same kind of magic that people are looking for and compile a list yourself to share, it's a good exercise and does help give people a place to start. it's not something i did with this post, it can be something you do with your own post, feel free to tag me in it and i'll reblog.
"STOP GIVING THE WORKS OF JK ROWLING TIME AND MONEY"
"DO NOT HATEWATCH"
here's some places for people to donate
https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/?form=donate
https://transactual.org.uk/change-actions/ https://www.peoplesfundraising.com/donation/support-transactual
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/scottishtransalliance
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