Ethnicity in HP: A utopian depiction?

[brewpub44]

No: HPFGUIDX 33865

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "christi0469" <christi0469 at h...> wrote:> 
>  But why would JKR chose a utopian treatment of ethnic diversity 
> when she has chosen a "shades of grey" approach for most everything 
> else? My theory is that she is downplaying RL discrimination and 
> prejudice in order to highlight the forms of discrimination 
specific 
> to Potterverse. 


I primarily read sci-fi, fantasy fiction is a second favorite. But 
both have the ability to do highly allegorical, and that is one of my 
favorite parts of these genres. The beauty of these stories is that 
they take a common, yet controversial, real-world problem and talk 
about it in such a non-obvious way that it makes people think. 

There are people out there who can't have a reasonable discussion 
about racial prejudice, and any attempt would make them angry or 
cause them to recoil from the story. There are people who get upset 
at the first mention of any religion extant in the world. There are 
people who react in emotional ways to discusions of sexuality.

But when you use allegory to describe these things, those same people 
aren't as offended and can actually understand what the author is 
talking about. 

People who would not watch a television show about racial infighting 
can watch the Star Trek episode with the half black-half white faced 
aliens fighting for silly reasons. People who would not read a story 
about religious prejudice can read one about werewolves being 
outcasts.

I don't think that JKR is playing coward by avoiding sexism and 
racial tolerance. I think she is trying to make her points in more 
subtle ways. If kids can think mistreating Lupin is horrible, perhaps 
they will realize that mistreating anyone for illogical reasons is 
wrong, and carry that into adulthood. But if you directly talk about 
topics upsetting to some, you risk alienating them and they'll never 
come around.

Directly confronting uncomfortable topics belongs in other genres, 
not fantasy or sci-fi (IMHO).

A Barkeep in Diagon Alley