Stalinist realism/perfection/Heinlein/lesbian and gay issues

[Mike]

> Susan wrote:
>
> One of the reasons that I have had a hard time with the main list 
> recently (and really, with deep respect to those who disagree) is 
> that everyone has to be perfect.
> 
> Harry is now damned because he yearned for Kreacher to bring him a 
> sandwich (buying into the institution of slavery). Dumbledore is 
> suspect because he has the glasses of oak-matured mead bouncing on
> the Dursleys' head...Moody should NOT have turned Draco Malfoy into
> a ferret.... [the last two were scenes I found hilarious..including
> Dumbledore saying "But alas, rudeness too often occurs 
> accidentally" (not exact quote from the HBP)].

Mike:
Those and a few other non-PC moments provided by the twins all had 
me in stitches. I really don't care if I'm not *supposed* to think 
they're funny, and I don't buy that 'this signifies that it's OK to 
torture the "other" or the Slytherins'. To me, this signifies that 
JKR has a sense of humor and knows how to write it. The Dursleys are 
cartoon characters for me, I laughed at their misfortunes like I 
laughed when Wile E. Coyote fell off the cliff and beat the boulder 
to the ground. And for chrissakes, it wasn't Moody that transformed 
Malfoy, it was Barty Jr.

I agree with your attitude towards the series. It was fun for me to 
try to figure out what drove her plots, it still is. JKR is not 
Chekov, Lewis, or Tolkien. Her genius was intertwining her story 
lines and her character development. It wasn't in formulating a 
new/true morality for her plot or characters to convey. I'm no 
literary genius, but I saw that right off and was fine with that. 
That's why I didn't need Slytherin to be redeemed, I just needed 
Voldemort to assume room temperature. Not only did that wrap up or 
reluctant hero's quest, it gave me reason to believe things would 
improve for Slytherin with the lead cancer gone.


> Susan:
> It's kind of like leaders in the lesbian and gay community not 
> being thrilled with JKR because she didn't include lesbian/gay 
> characters in the book and only outed DD after the fact. I don't 
> look for perfection... <snip>

Mike:
It seems those leaders suffer under the same delusion as most 
politicians -- nothing is ever good enough and everything the other 
side says is wrong because the other side said it.