[HPforGrownups] Re: What is Canon?

[Katy Cartee]

No: HPFGUIDX 55889

Gwendolyn Grace said:

> Well, I do tend to take her interview answers as authoritative, but I 
> don't think I quite make them into gospel. After all, she has said 
> conflicting things in the past. People do.

As i've stated before...i'm only talking about the things she's said that did NOT contradict anything else...and i'm only talking about putting them down "as canon" AFTER the series is complete.

> Like whether James was a 
> chaser or a seeker (one was in an interview; the other a movie 
> reference) - which one was correct? Many reject the movie and accept 
> her interview. I know I prefer "chaser" for James. 

If it's never said one way or the other in the next two books, then i would say that James being a chaser is canon fact. Because JKR said it and her word is much more reliable than what was put in the movies. Does anyone disagree with that?

> But could she have 
> misspoken? I believe it's possible. For example, I am *forever* 
> getting "keeper" and "seeker" muddled in my mouth. I know which one 
> guards the goalposts, and I know which one catches the Snitch, and I 
> know that Oliver was the keeper for Gryffindor, and I know that Harry 
> is their Seeker... but how many times in my life have I *said* one 
> when I *meant* the other? Lots.

But you didn't create the game, the rules, the objects or the names of the objects. She could still misspeak, sure. But it's much less likely for HER to misspeak than for us to, seeing as that she breathed the words into existence.

> I think the reason we tend to listen carefully to what she says is 
> that we know she has filled the world with a lot more detail than 
> we'll probably ever see on the page. We know it's "Lily Evans Potter" 
> although that fact may or may never be "important" in the course of 
> the books. The interviews are frequently a source of information that 
> is valuable - only to the die-hard fan. 

Well we are a list of die-hard fans, so that's the angle i'm coming from. If Lily's maiden name is never mentioned in the next 2 books, what good reason would there be to NOT put Evans down as canon fact?

> However, I am also guilty of creatively "ignoring" some of the facts 
> that don't sit well with me. Not that I discount them completely, but 
> that I tend to reserve my judgment on whether that tidbit is really 
> real, or really means what we think it means, or exactly what.

Well i can understand your hesitation 'at this time.' But if AFTER the series is complete, i don't like the name Evans because my ex-boyfriend's last name was Evans, and i just 'don't want to accept it' as true...then that's tough cookies for me. Because 'at that point in time' i would say that Evans is "canon fact."

> We went through this with the trading cards, the video game, and the 
> board games - are facts given there canon or not? Did she authorize 
> them? It's still not clear to what extent she controls what we get to 
> hear - either from herself, or from others.

AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE, i no longer believe that the games/other merchandise should be considered canon at any point in time, because JKR did not personally write them. But if something comes straight out of her mouth, she has complete control over that - so i believe it should be considered canon at a later time. Why should it not?

> So, back to the point... ah, yes. Knew it was here somewhere. JKR is 
> very tricky, and I think sometimes either when we don't like what she 
> says or we're not sure what she means, some folks tend to be more 
> cynical than believing, expecting her to somehow turn it around like 
> she does with her plots. So it's a "We'll wait and see how things 
> play out." It's just that that way, we get to select when we believe 
> her and when we don't. :^D

I agree that RIGHT NOW we get to select what we believe and what we do not believe. But the point i'm trying to make is, AFTER THE SERIES IS COMPLETE...i think that needs more emphasis..

AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER AFTER 

AFTER the series is complete, is there any good reason that we should NOT take her spoken words (all of the ones that do NOT contradict anything else) as canon fact? THAT is what i want to know.

It seems like it would be a good idea to establish some kind of "canon rule" for the HP fandom now, so that it doesn't get confused later on, when even more merchandise is released and more interviews are given.

~Katy~
..who is sorry for all the caps, but REALLY hates having to repeat herself..

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