NY Times article: Memo to the Dept. of Magical Copyright Enforcement

[stacygalore]

 Lee Kaiwen wrote:

> I don't think anybody is expected to believe these are "real" Harry 
> Potters; just some folks trying to make a quick yuan churning out hacks. 

ITA.  It is like my fake Prada bag.  Nobody is expected to believe that a real Prada bag is 
being sold on the streets of Chinatown.

> As to the strange plotline and stranger names ("Big Spinach"? "Naughty 
> Bubble"?), trust me, they sound much better in the original language and 
> cultural milieu. 

As an Asian-American, I can understand this.  Some things are lost in translation and just 
sound odd in English.

> recognize borrowings from several traditional Chinese mythologies.

That's what's kind of cool about the knock-offs.  They have a Chinese flavor to them.  

> As to the unauthorized Chinese translations, well, what do you expect? 
> The *authorized* Chinese translations have usually taken upwards of six 
> months to hit the stores, and no true Harry Potter fan could be expected 
> to wait that long. These pirates are just meeting market demand.

Yes, I agree.  I went to Manila two years ago just as the big crackdown on pirate dvd  sales 
was happening, yet there were still guys on the street offering them.  If those guys were 
risking fines and possibly jail time, they must be making big money from the demand for 
dvds.  People just can't wait for the latest Hollywood releases to make their way to Asia.

Stacy
(Secretly wishing Harry ended up with Cho Chang, for all the Asian fans out there)