What is Canon?

[annemehr]

No: HPFGUIDX 55799

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Katy Cartee" <rainbow at r...> 
wrote:
> I wrote:
> 
<snip>
 > >> But pretend that the 
picture
> >> depicted Harry reading the book "Pride and Prejudice" and had a
> >> caption underneath it stating "Harry, reading his favorite book." 
If
> >> nowhere in the completed series are we told what Harry's favorite 
book
> >> is, i would take this caption as being "canonical fact" as there 
is no
> >> reason not to!
> 
> Mysmacek replied:
> 
> > Please no :-). Even the movie is not reliable. I do not recommend
> > believing merchandise at all. That we do not know otherwise does 
not
> > mean that it's a truth (truth at least in Potterverse, I mean)
> 

Katy again:
> Again i must ask, WHY NOT? Nobody has given me a good reason thus 
far as to WHY we should refute facts retrieved from objects other than 
the books if they do not contradict what is in the books! 
> 
> Here's one good reason why we SHOULD accept them as fact (or 
"canon"): so far, we've been told that JKR is only writing 7 Harry 
Potter books. SEVEN. #5 is about to come out and then only 2 more to 
go. What then? What else will we have to turn to to satiate our thirst 
for Potter-knowledge? I'll tell you - OTHER licensed sources. I don't 
know about you, but it would thrill me to learn more facts after the 
series is complete. 
> 

Annemehr:
This is why I will never accept licensed articles as any part of 
canon: because JKR is never going to be *personally* designing them.  
We have two possibilities.  On the one hand, the licensed merchandise 
could be created with *absolute* faithfulness to what's in the books, 
in which case it would add nothing to canon (and, IMO, be impossible 
anyway).  On the other hand, the creator of the merchandise uses his 
or her imagination to fill in certain details, in which case the item 
is no more canon than posts of people's opinions on this list or 
fanfic that tries to remain true to the books (i.e. non-AU fic).

I, too, feel that I will not be learning all that I want to about 
Harry Potter's world in seven books.  However, I personally would not 
feel that taking in other people's ideas about this world would be the 
same as learning new *facts* about it.  Just as I will enjoy reading 
opinions here, if I see some merchandise I like I may buy it, but I 
will not take any of it as canon.  Furthermore, two pieces of 
merchandise may contradict one another; which one would you then 
believe?

By the way, it seems all the merchandise is licensed by Warner Bros., 
not JKR, am I right?

Annemehr
holding out hope that JKR writes more about Harry's world beyond book 
seven some day...