Poshness; Lucius Malfoy

[Jim Flanagan]

No: HPFGUIDX 5899

I guess that as an American, I was unprepared for Ian Hart's comment 
about the other cast members being "posh."  Perhaps as a result of 
our civil rights movement, it's somewhat unfashionable over here to 
make public comments that are class-aware. I can't imagine Billy Bob 
Thornton making a comment about how "posh" or upper-class his co-
stars might be. Over here, a journeyman actor might say how in awe he 
was of working with the likes of Harris and Smith, but his admiration 
would be on the basis of their accomplishments, not their social 
class.

Thinking back on some of the material in Rowling's books, I'm 
wondering if I might not have missed some points that British readers 
picked up on. For example, making Justin, the kid who was "down for 
Eton," a Hufflepuff. Was this a classist put-down, like M. 
Python's "Upper-class Twit of the Year" sketch?  

Lucius Malfoy is a puzzle to me:  If he is so class-conscious why 
would he associate himself with lunkheads like Crabbe and Goyle, and 
with McNair, who would be working in a slaughterhouse if he hadn't 
been born a wizard? Why also would Malfoy participate in adolescent 
behavior like tossing the muggle family around at the World Cup? 
Maybe he's just a psychopath, no matter his social class.

<End of free association on "poshness.">

-Jim Flanagan