Diversity in Media and Literature

[Andrea]

No: HPFGUIDX 40704

--- Aldrea, who has a really cool name if she'd just change one letter
wrote:
> Really?  So, basically, if Harry notices someone's skin color, he's 
> concerned with race?  I never thought of it like that.  I mean, 
> usually when you first meet someone you take in their physical 
> appearances, right?  So to me, it's just Harry taking in their 
> physical descriptions.  It could go alot more detailed, really, as in 
> describing everyone's hair color and stuff when we first meet them
> (including all minor characters- what color is Neville's or Sean's or 
> Lavender's hair, anyways?), instead of randomly saying "oh yeah, Ron 
> has flaming red hair."  But, I think JKR really focuses on the main 
> characters, which is a good thing- I like hearing about the Trio.

Let me add something from my own school experiences to this debate.  I'm
American, but I spent the last several years of high school in England at
a British school, so I feel fairly qualified to speak from both sides. 
(Let me add in passing that as an American more well-versed in British
culture than most, that I would NEVER have connected Dean liking West Ham
with any particular racial background, so that's really asking a bit too
much of us poor Americans!)

I went to what I feel was a fairly typical British school, diversity-wise.
 It was by no means lily white.  There were enough blacks, Asians, and
Orientals to not enough think about it.  And yet, the majority of the
students were white. (This would probably be because whites are still the
majority race, in America and England as a whole, at least, AFAIK.)  So
yes, it would be a fairly good descriptive term of someone to mention that
she was black, with no racial motivations behind it whatsoever.  It was
simply a question of numbers.

My view of Hogwarts as a whole is multi-racial.  But whenever individual
students are first introduced, my default way of thinking of them is
white, unless something indicates otherwise.  Lee Jordan has dreadlocks,
so that made me think black; the Patil twins had Asian-sounding names and
long plaits, so probably Indian or Pakistani.  But, say, Hannah Abbott,
with no real descriptions I can recall, is a slightly chubby white girl
with brown hair in braids.  I have no idea why my subconscious presents
things the way it does. ;)



Andrea


=====
"Reality is for people who lack imagination."

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