Subverting the genre?

[Barry Arrowsmith]

We all say things that in retrospect may have been better left  
unsaid, or perhaps stated differently. Jo's "I never realised that  
Harry Potter was fantasy" reported a couple of months back probably  
rates somewhere in her list labelled "That's not what I meant!".  To  
be fair it refers to the time when PS/SS had just been published -  
though that isn't always obvious when the remark is quoted. Add on  
"I'm not a huge fan of the genre"  and that she was anyway trying to  
"subvert" it and it's little wonder that the sainted Pratchett got a  
little testy. He's been doing it for years.

I'd have thought that setting out to deliberately subvert a genre  
requires a fair appreciation of the norms and stereotypes that infest  
too many of the bog-standard multi-volume let's-save-the-world-from- 
the-forces-of-evil door-stopper. As most readers are aware, the bog- 
standard etc. invariably relies on magic and wizardry to keep the  
plot limping along, HP differing somewhat in that just about all the  
protagonists have magical powers rather than the infrequent mage or  
witch that are obligatory cast members in other epics - a  
quantitative rather than qualitative difference. But note that the  
Chief Baddy invariably has magical powers, no matter who's penning  
the damn thing.

So how is subversion accomplished, what needs to be changed?
Well, before JKR there was DWJ -  Diana Wynne Jones. I say 'was' in a  
comparative sense, she's still alive and kicking and doing very well,  
thank you, particularly now that 'Howl's Moving Castle' has hit the  
big screen. Author of getting on for 30 fantasies aimed at the  
younger set, she was (and I understand still is for many) the doyen  
of Brit fantasists. What she doesn't know about fantasy probably  
ain't worth knowing. (I speak as an observer reporting common wisdom,  
I've read none of her tales - hardly surprising since I've never been  
addicted to the fantasy opiate.)

However, one small volume of hers has fallen into my hands, and it  
could be very useful: "The Tough Guide to Fantasy Land" provides the  
low-down on navigating yourself through the thickets and pitfalls of  
a fantasy 'Tour' i.e. any volume of fantasy. Refreshingly cynical,  
it's an alphabetical guide that tells you what to expect in the way  
of the fictional conventions, any hardware cluttering up the place,  
stereotypes posing in fore- or background - and how the plot (if any)  
is liable to progress. Not all the elements listed are found in every  
story of course - there's usually some pick 'n mix involved, but it  
is interesting to consult entries applicable to HP. You never know,  
we might find some subversion going on. Or there again.....

"Colour Coding is very important in Fantasyland. Always pay close  
attention to the colour of clothing, hair and eyes. [...] 2. Hair.  
Black hair is Evil, particularly if combined with a corpse-white  
complexion. Red hair always entails magical powers, even if these are  
only latent. [...] Fair hair, specially if it is silvery blonde  
always means goodness. (Whoops!) 3. Eyes. Black eyes are invariably  
Evil [...] green eyes always entail talent, usually for magic [...]  
Red eyes ... are Evil and surprisingly common.

"Enchantment. This is the Management's term for manipulative magic.  
Under its influence you  will feel nice, become dreamy and find  
yourself doing something you would not otherwise do.

"Gestures are the invariable accompaniment to the performing of  
magic. The Management here takes the reasonable line that, without  
Gestures, most people would not know that magic was being done. So  
all wizards wave their arms about a lot.

"Legends are an important source of true information. They always  
turn out to be far more accurate than history.

"Magic has slightly different Rules for every Tour. Tourists had  
better find out swiftly which Rules apply or here could be problems.  
Luckily the Management seldom or never changes the Rules in mid-Tour,  
but it has been known to reserve one or two extra secrets for a nasty  
surprise later on. [...] demons, dragons, elves etc all have magic  
that works in quite a different way.... The Rules (of which) are not  
known.

"Mentor. A Tour official who will be at your service until halfway  
through the Tour, when you will unaccountably lose him [...] He will  
be several hundred years old and will probably have a long white  
beard; this will give him the right to be bossy, smug, tiresomely  
philosophical and infuriatingly secretive about all-important facts.  
You will be glad to see the back of the old idiot. Unfortunately you  
won't have.

"Prophecy is used by the Management to make sure that no Tourist is  
unduly surprised by events [...] All Prophecies come true.

"Spiders are rare. This is fortunate because they are always of  
enormous size and venom."

And so on. Worth dipping into if only to garner snippets of fantasy  
lore. But apart from the number of magical folk all in a modern day   
setting, here's little indication of where the promised subversion is  
lurking in HP. Mind you, Jo isn't the only one to promise it:-

Director Mike Newell is using his forthcoming movie (HP & tGoF) to  
vent his seething mistrust of children. The 63 year-old film maker is  
determined to obliterate any sense of false innocence in the magical  
tale, as he insists kids should be depicted in a more truthful light  
-  as bloodthirsty maniacs.

He  says, "I was very anxious to break the franchise(!) out of this  
goody-two-shoes feel. It's my view that children are violent, dirty,  
corrupt anarchists. Just adults-in-waiting basically."

Lord of the Flies meets Lord Voldemort.
Hm. Do you think Warner Bros know about this?

Kneasy