[HPforGrownups] Allowable reader responce was Re: Disapointed in Potter?

[Charme]

No: HPFGUIDX 127817


<snipped most of a fabulous example of a proper conversation - thanks!>

>>justcarol67 said:
>> And the same is true for me and for all of us.
>>
>> I expect that I'll be disappointed in some aspects of HBP and even
>> more aspects of Book 7. JKR can't possibly want what I want for every
>> character. But she will only be "wrong" if she violates her own rules.
>> As long as the plot is credible within the bounds of the secondary
>> world she has created, as long as the characters' actions are in
>> character, she is perfectly "right" to write the books as she pleases.
>> And we are "wrong" to call her decisions "mistakes" if she follows her
>> own rules.
>>
> Lupinlore responded:
> Well, we will have to disagree on that one.  There is no "wrong" in
> reader response as long as the reader is honestly expressing his/her
> own perception and judgment.  And that includes perceptions and
> judgments of what constitutes poor writing, i.e. mistakes.  This will,
> of course, lead to a flurry of widely varying opinions and criticisms,
> some of them severe.  An author might well get confused and depressed
> over it, if they are paying attention (which they do not have to do).
> However, it is part and parcel of the writing culture, at least in
> America, and writers are well-advised to suck it up and get used to it
> and learn to deal with it in their own way.  Certainly paying no
> attention to critics is a legitimate method of dealing with this
> situation.  That makes the criticisms no less legitimate, however.

Charme now:

I have been watching this thread ever since it started, and have held off 
responding to anything until I had a "moment" to think about it.  That said, 
I've had my thinking moment (yes, ya'll definitely saw smoke - fear not, I 
have not melted or exploded, thankyouverymuch) and here I am.

Criticism is one thing, but moral postulating is quite another. While I 
personally accept people have their own opinions and express them, I don't 
necessarily agree that every opinion or expression is "right" especially if 
it smacks of moral superiority. I think some posters have a tendency to 
flavor their opinions with value judgements and moral stances which they 
wish you to believe is the proper and "right" interpretation and that their 
interpretations are indicative of a flawed moral character of the author - 
sorry, that simply isn't true. If you have to believe everyone's opinion is 
"right" because they have the freedom to express it, you have to give the 
author some due, too - millions of readers, movies, Internet message boards 
like this, fan clubs...it can't be she's totally wrong, now can it?  Too 
many people like what she writes, otherwise we all probably wouldn't be 
here.

It's weird how some people appear to attempt to opine the "correct and 
moral" way JKR should tell the story and in essence, seek to make JKR see 
the error of her ways and write or structure her writing differently to 
accommodate them. Just like it's their "right" to express that opinion, it's 
my right to ignore it and move on.

Back to the Invisibility Cloak...
Charme