Spoiling the fun

[Barry Arrowsmith]

When one considers the diversity among those that make up the fans of  
HP, it's hardly a surprise that the levels of enthusiasm and  
involvement fluctuate widely - not only between individuals, but over  
time for any one reader. Sneak a glance at the posting numbers and  
the identities of those putting up the posts on TOL and compare now  
with one year ago and with two years ago and you'll see what I mean.  
It's to be expected; circumstances alter,  tastes may change, new  
enthusiasms develop.

There are unflinching stalwarts, of course. Regulars who for years  
have offered opinions and speculations for the appreciation (or  
otherwise) of an ever-changing membership base. Mostly though,  
there's a predictable arc that traces the involvement of the average  
fan and sooner or later their posts become less frequent as they  
settle back into near-lurk mode, usually venturing out only when they  
have something new to contribute, or sometimes to point out to the  
newbies that that particular wheel was invented, oh, four years ago  
and why haven't they checked the files? ("These damn whipper- 
snappers, think they know it all." Grump, grump, grump.)

toc is a bit different, with a high proportion of members who over  
time have earned their battle honours on the boards and can strip  
their sleeve and show their scars - usually inflicted when favourite  
theories went belly-up as Jo inexplicably failed to develop the tale  
of the life and hard times of HP along lines congruent with these  
gems of ineffable deduction and logic. Still, that's the risk a  
poster takes and it's all part of the fun.

Millions of fans have been entertained and occupied over the years by  
indulging in speculations that were totally wrong. No problem there,  
that I  can see. Isn't that why so many of us are here, to play  
'second-guess the author'? If, using hindsight all the unjustified  
hypotheses and related discussions were stripped from the boards  
you'd be left with pretty thin fare, it'd hardly be worth logging on  
every morning. It's the divergencies of reader imagination that makes  
it all so compelling. "How on earth did he/she/they come up with  
that?" you think, as you scan a weird concoction of Aztec mythology,  
Sufi mysticism and Lamarckism that purports to explain the  
significance of something or other. You have to admit, the  
imaginative deductions demonstrated by some fans is pretty impressive.

Usually it starts with a musing on a perceived oddity, progresses to  
a dawning realisation, followed by a text search and results in the  
cobbling together of a rationale backed by numerous quotes and  
extracts to show that - Yes, Harry will end book 7 with only one  
buttock, there's this obvious metaphor running through the books -   
he's been acting half-assed ever since the start. This epic epiphany  
is then staunchly defended against all-comers until the moment of  
truth arrives - in a new volume.

This is usually when one's few remaining shreds of credibility become  
even more threadbare as Nemesis joins hubris to stuff your wonderful  
idea into the bin marked "Oops!" But never mind, there'll be another  
theory along in a minute.

Recent exchanges about HBP are pretty much standard when compared to  
those of previous books - for the most part the actions depicted  
therein are being analysed with a view to predicting or explaining  
what we don't already know. The majority of those predictions will be  
wrong - something we suspected before we even started.

Except - things have changed over the past year to 18 months. Whereas  
previously Jo only allowed the vaguest hints to pass her lips, of  
late she's been much more forthright and open - and that ain't a  
positive development IMO.

Recently Jo has revealed stuff that tends to restrict the fun and  
games; snippets of information or very broad hints as to what is or  
isn't a fruitful line of enquiry. At base we don't really need to  
know just how mistaken our ideas are until the series is completed.  
The final wash-up would seem to be the most apposite time for  
comparing notes and totting up one's final score.  To have  
potentially entertaining speculations rip't untimely from the womb  
for no good or obvious reason is a bit disheartening for an habitual  
theoriser.

SFAIC it started with the web-cast in March '04 when the House  
affiliations of the Marauders were revealed (all Gryffindor, for  
God's sake; where's the fun in that? IIRC there've been intriguing  
character analyses of that bunch tying them to the stereotypes of the  
Houses and hence predicting all sorts of things. Harmless, but  
entertaining - and stopped dead in it's tracks thereafter.) And there  
has been a steady drip, drip, of 'canon' info ever since. The massive  
interview posted last month increased the drip to - well, not quite  
flood proportions, but definitely there was a noticeable escalation.  
Too much for my tastes, it depressed me enormously. At this stage do  
we really need to know that the Longbottoms are permanently disabled  
and that Droobles wrappers have no plot significance? Plenty of other  
stuff in there too that puts the kibosh on some of the ideas that  
were developed immediately after HBP was published - ideas that could  
have kept us in a forensic frenzy for weeks. No longer.  "But Jo  
says...." is liable to be a commonplace response to many a  
speculative post from now on.

Ever entered a restaurant, looked over the menu, fancied a few of the  
items only to be told they're off? That's roughly how I feel. And one  
can't help wondering how long it will be before the next set of ex  
cathedra comments knock more items off the menu. A feeling like that  
is not the best frame of mind to be in to compose speculative posts,  
just the reverse.

It'll be at least a couple of years before the last episode arrives  
and the greater the list of potential subjects for discussion during  
that stretch, the less likely it is that fans may get bored with  
repetitive postings and drift off.

It's not just that miserable old git Kneasy that's feeling  
disgruntled; it's commented on in the majority of the HP-related  
mails that come my way. Indeed, the word 'cheat' has appeared more  
than once, usually from those who expect the worst to result from  
Jo's admiration of A. Christie. It may be something restricted to the  
low circles I inhabit, but there seems to be a growing apprehension  
that the plot structure isn't as robust as it might be, that  
inconvenient inconsistencies are becoming evident and that hurried on- 
the-hoof canon revisions/explications are the order of the day. One  
would hope that the books would be able to speak for themselves ....  
but.... one begins to wonder.

So why the verbal codicils and addenda now?
Nobody really expected that there wouldn't be slips or errors in a  
work of this length and complexity, especially since the fans (and  
the publishers) always wanted to see the books in the shops as soon  
as is humanly possible. Most of us fully expect a revised edition to  
appear sooner or later. Might even be helpful if the up-coming final  
volume had a few pages of appendices explaining/correcting some of  
the more ambiguous, dubious or contradictory bits of canon. Can't see  
that any reasonable reader would carp at that, can you? But these  
amendments by interview or by web-site - no, sorry, they don't impress.

There are others who suspect that this increasing interaction may  
have a different purpose - it's about damping down reader  
expectations. Depends how one looks at it, I suppose. The fervid and  
febrile imaginations of posters may indeed have out-run the reality  
of canon. The resolution may not be as comprehensive or  
intellectually/emotionally satisfying as many have come to assume. If  
that's so then it's our fault; we're the ones who've been assigning  
significance to thoughts, deeds and themes in the books. Jo never  
has, so far as I know. If this is the case, then her actions are  
understandable - get their feet back on the ground. But what if we  
don't want our feet nailed to the ground - or at least not yet?

The publication of each new volume has been surrounded by  
confidentiality agreements, strict secrecy and severe repercussions  
have been threatened for premature release or leakage. The sites  
enforce blanket spoiler policies immediately the book is released.  
Yet it seems to me that in the couple of months since vol. 6 Jo has  
been getting very close to leaking spoilers for vol. 7.

OK, it's her book and she can do as she wishes - and so far the  
'revelations' seem to be minor, though they do have a restrictive  
effect. No more highly detailed hypotheses as to who RAB may be, for  
example. However, it's my contention that much of the fan output that  
hits the boards is not about what HP will be as about what might be,  
what could be. It's an on-going  demonstration of fan imaginations,  
not the author's.

As the series has neared its conclusion a narrowing of possibilities  
was inevitable. Theories have lost supporters as their likelihood  
diminished, though a remarkable number have never been totally  
eliminated. There's still a chance for example, that Trevor could  
have his moment of glory, though it is an increasingly long shot. And  
may it remain extant for as long as possible, however feebly.  Why  
reject possibilities unless it's unavoidable? The more options there  
are, the more interesting the board is likely to be IMO.

Whatever plans Jo has for Harry and his pals is strictly for the  
future SFAIC. In the meantime there are a few thoughts and theories I  
hope to inflict on a long-suffering membership, but that won't be  
feasible if Jo voluntarily discredits them before they're even written.

That's just spoiling the fun.


Kneasy