HP as an Anti-Establishment Tract, OR the MoM is Evil

[Katie]

No: HPFGUIDX 173263

So, the more I am reading posts and thinking things over, the more I 
feel that - far from being a treatise about conservative Christian 
theology - the series is about undermining the corrupted 
establishment and more philosophically, about the relationship 
between authority and evil, and the nature of hypocrisy. 

Dolores Umbridge stands as the most foul and loathsome character in 
the series, more because she pretends to be something she isn't, 
than for her evil deeds. Voldy is loathsome, too, but he relishes it 
and revels in it. You can (almost) respect that. At least he's 
honest. Umbridge is more disgusting because she has kitten plates on 
her walls and wears pink cardigans. She masquerades as the exact 
opposite of what she really is. 

Taken socio-politically, this can be seen as a metaphor for the 
traditional established world order. Governments and religions 
pretend to be our friends, to be looking out for the good of the 
people, but in reality is crushing individuality, choosing our 
morality for us, telling us what to believe while lying to us 
constantly, and persecuting people who don't fit in with the 
establishment's idea of what is acceptable.

This is definitely what has gone on in the septology, with incresing 
brutality and hypocrisy until it culminates in DH in an 
actual "witch hunt", pardon the pun. The MoM is initially seen as a 
bumbling, harmless bureaucracy. It's motives become more sinister in 
OotP, as we discover that Lucius Malfoy has some serious influence 
over Fudge. In HBP, the MoM is definitely seen as our enemy, trying 
to recruit Harry, even as it lies to the public about Voldemort's 
true power and works against Dumbledore. In DH, it finally falls 
completely under Voldy's control - in the form of a MoM puppet 
named, appropriately enough, Pius(Pious) Thicknesse(in the UK, being 
thick means being stupid). Umbridge is basically let loose to 
perpetrate the kind of interregation that Jews were subjected to 
before being sent to concentration camps. Umbridge is definitely (to 
me), a Hitler-esque figure, pretending to have good intentions, but 
really just full of hate and racism. 

Harry, Ron, and Hermione(especially Hermione), remind me of social 
justice crusaders, the Progressives of the late 19th and early 20th 
century, or just plain old protesters. They repeatedly make comments 
about not being able to trust the media, trust the MoM, or have 
faith in the magical political and judicial processes. They are 
fighting against tyranny - not just by an evil man, but by a corrupt 
and hypocritical bureaucracy. The MoM is, in some ways, worse than 
Voldy. At least people REALIZE that Voldy is evil, but they tend to 
have faith in their government. JKR is very blatently telling us not 
to.

All the interviews I have read with JKR, and knowing the charities 
she supports, such as Amnesty International, leads me to believe 
that she has a lot of social justice beliefs. To me, this is clearly 
the thrust of at least the final 3 books. 

Thoughts?? Cheers, Katie