Choc.. and more choc, wow...

[carolynwhite2]

--- In HPFGU-Catalogue at yahoogroups.com, Sean Dwyer <ewe2 at a...> wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 21, 2005 at 10:18:05PM -0000, Jen Reese wrote:
>  
Carolyn:
PS. Is Lupinlore really representing a serious POV? I look in on the 
more
or less continuous row that has been going on since before Xmas with
almost complete disbelief now.

Jen:
Don't get me started. I can't believe I willingly walked into
that deathtrap debate AGAIN! There's no way to shut it off either,
as you said, because there are always people willing to take a new
crack at the debate. So it goes on and on and on.....It will never
end because JKR will never, ever, sastisfy people who feel the way
LL does. Maybe said people will do us all a favor and chuck the
books in the dustbin NOW instead of waiting until JKR 'fails' in
their eyes.

Sean:
Oddly enough I'm coming across much the same controversy over the FGB 
thread
I'm currently coding (Fred and George are Bas^H^H Bullies). 


Carolyn:
Yes, I did some coding yesterday evening and picked up the end of 
that thread, and thought the same thing. [For those of you who have 
not seen it, it's continuing the Elkins' SYCOPHANTS-type concern 
about the victims of practical jokesters].

First, is there anything wrong with JKR showing her characters 
engaging in the various crimes against humanity which she is 
regularly accused of? What I can't understand is that the logical 
extension of all these arguments is that all books should only be 
written from a particular POV [fill in the one you approve of]. In 
particular, children's lit, or any books involving children should 
only be filled with squeaky clean role models, sanitised to a point 
of absurdity, in order to cause no global cultural offence.

On the nature of these fan debates, it seemed to me that the F&G 
argument, though heated, generated some interesting discussion [eg 
the TOON definitions], which the current LL stream of invective does 
not. Different people involved, different list era. Ironically (given 
the subject of discussion), what is going on now, IMO, is 
intimidation by one or two posters, hijacking every thread to their 
own agenda. It takes time and energy to counteract this and those 
capable of it can no longer be bothered, leaving the unpleasant 
impression that the views of LL et al represent some kind of list 
consensus. 

If you've not read the Jasper Fforde books you'll not appreciate 
this, but the Potter fandom definitely has gone way over the edge of 
blurring fiction with reality in much the way he describes. 
Essentially, Fforde's created a world where fiction drives the 
economy, politics, wars, people's personal lives. Fantastically 
clever and funny on the page, but more than slightly disturbing to 
see it played out for real.

Carolyn
Wearing a new badge this morning, discovered in the archives 
recently - LOOT (League Of Obsessed Theorists).