Seriously!! Harry literally hated the Ministry of Magic. It would be so much more narratively satisfying too, with the whole "there's a new defense against the dark arts teacher every year because Voldemort cursed it". Also creating Dumbledores Army showed he was clearly passionate about it and would've been a great teacher too, sigh 😔.
This!!! It makes sense on every level. I just can’t see Harry working for the ministry. He always said Hogwarts is his home. Harry being the one to finally fill the DADA position would be the perfect narrative conclusion to how they were never able to find a permanent teacher. It fits perfectly into the parallels between Harry and Voldemort since it was the position that Tom Riddle always wanted. And there really is no one better to teach the subject than Harry. He even taught it to his friends for a whole year!! I can’t believe all that setup was there and then she decided to have him work for the government instead.
He litterally was the happiest in the books when he was teaching his fellow students he loves to lead and teach and he loves to learn about magic, my headcannon is that they offered him an auror position but her turned it down and asked to be a teacher at hogwarts and his opening is telling his students he went toe to toe with Voldemort even as a baby
My new favorite type of RUclips video is queer folks dissecting Harry Potter and the culture around it. For once the algorithm has brought me what I wanted!
@@cthulhutheendless1587 if you like in-depth analysis, I recommend Lily Simpson's "A Brief Look at Harry Potter" (alternate title: Harry Potter and the Intimidating Timestamp). Do heed her warning about not necessarily trying to watch the whole thing at once, use the chapters, etc., but if you like long-form content, you are in for an absolute feast! Hoots also has one, as does Shaun, though idk if he's queer or just a vocal ally.
I also think that contributing to the decline of Drarry fanfiction is the growth of the Maurauders fandom and therefore the growth of Jegulus (James Potter/Regulus Black), a ship that is paralleled in a way to Drarry.
The ethos of the Mauraders fandom in general seems to be in the “fuck it” category as seen in this video. As far as Jegulus goes, it’s also very popular to depict Regulus as a trans man as an extra screw you to Rowling.
the actual parallel would be james/snape tho? james and regulus never even interacted. meanwhile james and draco were pureblood bullies who looked down on snape and harry who came from muggle households Draco Malfoy in Philospher’s Stone: “Imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?” James Potter in Deathly Hallows: “Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?” Both also start their bullying on their first trainride to Hogwarts. The text literally directly compares james to draco.
@@viking-astronaut yeah good point. Interestingly James/Regulus is a lot more popular than James/Snape (15k vrs 1.2k fics on Ao3 rn) idk why maybe some ppl just don't like Snape lol
I was actually thinking about this, especially because the marauders fandom inherently exists in a world which ignores canon. And it’s also very widely agreed that it’s queer, like it’s hard to find heterosexual marauders fanfic in my experience.
Good news from a stats teacher - constantly hedging your claims and pointing out they're uncertain is like, the main thing we want you to take away from that class.
Every year I have a little Drarry Summer where I go reread all my old favorite fics and dive into the tag for new ones. My favorite genre is post-series Harry and Draco meeting again as adults (after a lot of personal growth and reflection) to find that the other has a lot of hidden depths to them, sparking a slow-burn romance against a sprawling backdrop that really fleshes out the wizarding world.
I also do this! You might like “Parallax” by nevillenobottom on Ao3. It takes place after the war; Harry is an elementary school teacher and teaches Draco’s son. (It’s enemies to lovers.) I also like “We Can Be Pirates” by cowboilikeme (Ao3) and “My Safest Sound” by ElenandTara (Ao3), but these take place while they are still teenagers.
I do this as well! I'm not a huge fan of drarry fics set during the course of the books, but I LOVE post-series where both of them have been allowed to grow and mature and be able to see each other beyond school rivals/bully
Same! I wasn’t even able to admit in my own head that I was queer until I found slashfiction. I had buried it so deep that I needed those stories to help me shift all the dirt. I hadn’t realized that queer love could be so normal and beautiful and compelling and GOOD until I saw it written out. It had always been made to seem so alien and unnatural that I couldn’t find myself in the things I’d heard. But I could find myself in the stories that other people had lovingly crafted and that made all the difference.
Great essay, but arguably more impressive for a first video: great accessibility! I'm so used to having to rely on auto-generated captions for my auditory processing issues and you actually have a transcript and closed captioning. You have a dedicated fan now
@@deadphoenixrising happy you figured yourself out young. My own ASD and Ace journey started much later. Honestly you shouldn’t have to be between 40-50 like me to have yourself figured out.
any time in my adult life someone mentions warrior cats my vision whites out and my ears ring and suddenly im squirrelhands or whatever and im running thru the forest chasing rabbits and stuff
I was expecting that sentence to end with something about, like, being on the playground... aka where *I* role played warrior cats in elementary school 😂
One thing I particularly enjoy about the HP fandom is how the "fuck-its" created our own magical world with the Marauders as soon as she came out as a transphobe. Like fuck it. She's tainted her own work, but she hasn't tainted ours. And the Marauders and their queer magical universe are ours, now. That's why I think Drarry fandom is less popular nowadays. To keep your metaphor; we kept our sandbox, but put entirely new sand in it. I sincerely wonder how many Drarry authors are now Jegulus authors. It has the same enemies to lovers vibes, and the same hero-loved-by-everyone vs the-misunderstood-kid-from-a-bigoted-family characters. 🤔
I need some recs for “classic”, novel length Jegulus. My love of Drarry fic is rooted in the fact that it improves on an existing premise that could have been so reflective and interesting if the author was only, y’know, not terrible. Haha. I’ve dipped my toes into Marauders fic but I haven’t seen anything light a candle to fics like TURN or The Man Who Lived. I’m sure I’m just not entrenched enough though!
@@rikkirikki4892 I'm sincerely not the one who can suggest you any Jegulus fanfics. I'm more of a Wolfstar girlie lol. But the novel-length one I know people really really love is "Choices" by Messermoon on AO3 🤷🏻♀️
Honestly, I've never been able to get into Marauder's. It's not just the "vibes" I like; I really like the characters. There's something about Drarry that says "take Rowling's main character and have him deconstruct her entire mythos and conceptions and also fall in love with the guy she accidentally wrote as very gay" that really gets me lol
Right wing people tend to be like that. They think they are super good people because they are not openly racist or in her case, feminist, when theres a far larger list of people who are discriminated and under represented in media
Drarry fans are sooo detached from the epilogue that I remember reading Drarry EWE before finishing the last book (I was at my peak obsession with the ship). I still get amazed with the author (and lots of fans) defending Snape, a grown man abuser, as a hero (????), while Draco, a mean KID, clearly is forever doomed 😮
Yeah... No matter what you think of Draco, no one can deny Snape is far worst. Draco had a real moral dilemma. Snape switched side because of Lily, but nothing indicates that he thinks his past actions were wrong. And he abused kids for decades. Can you imagine how toxic you must be to be one of your student's boggart?
Honestly, reclaiming the characters for ourselves, disassociating JK from "her" characters and turning them into everything she hates, is the best revenge possible for how she has ruined so many people's childhoods.
Trust me, it isn't. For as long as you're still talking about harry potter and consuming the media, you're still supporting her. It doesn't matter if you don't see it that way, she does.
@@Kaminoboi No, please do not keep buying harry potter stuff. She has EXPLICITLY said that she sees people buying her stuff as an agreement with her views.
Some very valid points made, but as someone in the UK I would urge people to look into the campaigning and financial backing Rowling does for transphobic causes in the UK, often using the continued popularity of her work as political currency. How much fanfic contributes or is taken into account in her dealings is up for debate, but Rowling herself has made public claims that every fan of her work supports her beliefs, and that some are just quiet about their support because they fear the wrath of the trans mafia. Though it's not easy to have these discussions about someone expressing problematic and harmful views, I would say the issue is a whole lot more fraught when you realise she's not just expressing views, she's genuinely influencing UK politics towards transphobia. Only recently she was a massive part in efforts to oppose progressive reforms to Scottish law, and she's literally friends with a former UK Prime Minister. She's got genuine power and influence over here, often fuelled by her perceived cultural power.
@@tgiacin435 a bill designed to streamline the process for trans people to have their gender legally recognised. The bill originally passed in Scotland but was blocked by UK parliament in 2022. Scotland amended the bill a little and got it passed again recently, this time without UK parliament blocking it, but it was a very close thing, with J.K Rowling being a very visible, vocal and active part of campaigns calling on UK parliament to intercede again. And you have to remember she literally has personal relationships with UK politicians and throws a lot of money behind anti-trans campaigns and lobbyist groups, so her actions were a pretty significant part of the whole thing.
This is vital information to know. It’s something that any fanfic writers and enjoyers in HP related queer fanfiction stories such as myself have to take note of if Rowling has found a way to potentially weaponize the existence of those same queer fanfiction works that blatantly go against everything she believes in (politically) to give herself real political influence. As much as I enjoy reading the trans HP works created by trans and genderqueer authors and creatives, this concerns me greatly. I thought it was bad enough that she engaged in H--c-st revisionism just to push her transphobic agenda, but for some reason it never truly dawned on me that someone as terrible as her still has real power in the world of politics, where trans rights are still threatened by the hateful and bigoted.
If I’m going to be honest, the only reason why I started to doubt her as a real threat given everything else going on right now (🍉) is because when I heard about her family cutting ties with her, I thought that would’ve impacted her as a person and caused her to stop spewing transphobia. At least for a little while. In hindsight, this was incredibly dumb with me and I have to be more vigilant about the political activities of creators like her in the future.
Now i want you to touch on the marauders fandom because there is a lot. It really is amazing how a fandom could create so much on characters barely mentioned by Rowling.
I love the marauders fanon so much. I’m always amazed if I read two works by different authors with completely different focus and writing styles and suddenly there’s a casual name drop or mannerism or lore tidbit that both have in common. And then 5 fics later, it appears again. It’s incredible how many „facts“ about certain characters have spread over the years of content creation and now people just accept them as true and fitting.
@excessivelyfangirlingbookw3339 Definitely! A lot of facts have been commonly used now in fanon, which is almost like an author's base for fanfiction (sometimes) and it's really nice to see a common ground in fanon because of how much the little things have spread throughout the fandom. This fandom is truly a remarkable one and one of the most complex ones I've experienced, speaking that most of the things the fandom believes in is a majority of collectively agreed stuff rather than canon.
It's still hard for me to make sense of the fact that the person who wrote the "from which witch or wizard did you steal this wand?"/"the wand chose me, I am a witch!" turned out... well, as she turned out. Yeah, there's also plenty of red flags... but it sure does seem that one of the main themes of the books is that one is *not* defined by the circumstances of one's birth. I suppose there's no law that says an author has to understand their own books. 🤷 First video essay, huh? Well, you have another subscriber. Good work.
I feel that a large part of the HP fandom have basically said Fuck It - JKR taught all of us to stand against tyranny, bigotry, bullying etc. we learned to stand up for those weaker than ourselves, to be true to what is right even if it meant going against friends. Being accepting of those marginalised and penalised for things beyond their control. As such, we have taken HP and are guarding it, using what we were taught against the very person who taught us. We know better and are better! We do better! We are inclusive and supportive of all people regardless of gender identity, sexuality or race. I cannot and will not hate a work that teaches us these valuable things but I cannot and will not be supportive of the author who clearly failed to learn the lessons her work taught so many of us.
@@SiriuslyPotty 🤔🧐🤦🏻♂️. The person you're replying to said "a large part," not "the large part" They made no claim to majority or even plurality. They spoke of holding onto the value of the works & the community even in the face of the author's continuing venom. You whined about cancel culture... But *Rowling* is the one who got herself shunned by the likes of Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, and most of the cast of her own films. She's trumpeting fascists like Matt Walsh and Posey Parker. Maybe you're marching to their tune, in which case there's not much to say; the face eating leopards will eat your face too sooner or later. But maybe you're willing to check your assumptions, set aside your certainties. If so, there's plenty of videos that will connect the dots for you. And over time, JKR seems committed to being more & more direct about fearmongering & fantasies of power.
opened your channel to watch your other video essays because this one was so fire only to see that there are no others yet. hope youre working on solving this issue
I'm an asexual/demisexual lesbian in the "eff it" camp. I'm a multishipper and I greatly appreciate seeing various queer interpretations of all the characters. I can't leave the fandom, but I refuse spend money on any Harry Potter products or JKR books. I will not support her. She has no power over us in fandom. She can't stop us from creating trans Harry or trans Draco or trans any other character. She can't stop us from changing the sexuality of characters. She can't stop us from saving bad characters from their evil ways. She can't stop us from keeping our favorite characters alive. She can't stop us from pairing anyone and everyone together. She can't stop us from writing Drarry, Snarry, Tomarry, Harrymort, Ronarry, Wolfstar, Jegulus, Sirius/Severus, James/Severus or stop the Marauder niche as a whole. JKR will die forgotten in her bigotry, but our words and stories will live on to touch the hearts of young queers for decades, perhaps centuries after our deaths.
Thus why I found a PDF version of the complete series, and turned it into a word document. I have so many fandoms, that while I may have headcanons for them, I also like the canon story just fine; eg. Fairy Tail, Naruto, Percy Jackson. But I also have others that I just can't stand the canon anymore as I've gotten older, but still love the idea of it and the fics and other fandom shit.
John Green, one of my favorite authors and a genuinely good person has stated that after a book is released, the author no longer owns them. It's up to the fans to interact and expand it. It's great for authors to understand they don't have the right to tell people how to interpret these fictional chars😊
This was such a targeted recommendation of the algorithm considering Harry Potter and HP fanfics are what brought me to where I am today. I learned English to read the books (and eventually the fanfics), it was the fanfics that helped me improve my English, Drarry and the Fandom helped me realize I was thinking heteronormatively despite being on the asexual spectrum, with many different fics that led me to come out as demisexual. If you asked younger me, she would say that fanfics don't really have a big value, but I know that to be untrue now, as a fanfic reader of 17 years.
I am one of those who spent maybe two years after Rowling outed herself as a transphobe gradually shifting from "Give her the benefit of the doubt, she's just ignorant but may come around" to "She's a transphobe for sure, but death of the author, I just won't buy official stuff" to "Everything HP makes me uncomfortable now". I thankfully found The Worst Witch and have redesignated a lot of my HP-related stuff into Worst Witch stuff. It's not near as popular or well-known, but it predates HP and has so many similarities (witches and wizards [in their own schools], castle school with [unnamed] houses, flying broomsticks, stern and unforgiving potions teacher, female Draco Malfoy, weird and dangerous magic, invisibility cloak mention, a [tv series-only] founder named "Hermoine", etc. etc.). I feel better about holding on to important keepsakes now.
I really respect what you decided and were able to do by converting your HP content into Worst Witch content. For me, I made a lot of student and and adult characters in the Harry Potter setting of ranging ethnic backgrounds and queer identities, but as much as I stay away from consuming official HP content in preference of fan creations, the immutable fact that it’s original creator turned out to be a horrible, bigoted and h--c-st revisionist bigot will always irk me, so I decided to explore creating my own world based after the magic system and fantasy elements of Harry Potter to create my own hybrid setting and universe where I can repurpose these original characters and use them outside of Harry Potter along with the overarching stories and arcs I’ve written for them in the Hogwarts and Wizarding World setting. This way, at least, I can still privately enjoy creating and experiencing stories of magical children and teenagers investigating fantastical and supernatural mysteries using their abilities, creativity, and approaches based after their values and skill sets to solve situations and defeat big evils without having to host those stories in the Harry Potter universe.
Brilliant first essay! I was never into Drarry but was deep in the Wolfstar trenches as a teen back in the noughties, and although my connection to the HP franchise is pretty much severed now (I guess I'd be one of the 'burners') it's very good to see younger generations of the fandom in the 'fuck it' camp critically engaging and taking what value they can from the work while dissecting or abandoning the bad bits. Feels like an evolution of of Wolfstar fandom's reaction to a lot of the 'no homo' text JK shoved into books 6 and 7. Great job :)
This video has helped me to finally conclude that, no, I WON'T be guilted into leaving my home-fandom behind! You would think that as someone under the trans umbrella myself that I would understand right away that me still being part of the fandom doesn't mean I support Rowling's transphobia, but after being bombarded with "you're a bad person then/read another book" on Tumblr, I just felt so burnt out about it. I was just going to finish the last active HP fic I have and then just move over to MXTX's danmei full-time, but I'm SO raring to embrace 'Fuck it'! If the Cthulhu Mythos and the works of Charles Dickens can still be acceptable to enjoy to this day despite Lovecraft and Dickens being notoriously aggressive racists, I will not be shamed away from the fandom that taught me it was okay to be queer in the first place.
Definitely! You can still treasure the world and what the stories taught you about yourself, your interaction with others and your view of the world. I understand that many people decided that completely boycotting any related work is the way to go, but HP has had such a huge impact on me that I can’t leave it behind. I believe there’s a tangible difference between buying merch/ supporting her directly and staying at home in my Hogwarts sweater and reading comfort fanfics.
Tbh I think it's a kind of surprising take to claim Lovecraft isn't controversial in a similar way or doesn't receive a very, very high level of disparagement or "read another book" attitudes; I think that is extremely common in discussion of Lovecraft to the point of fleshed out viewpoints on cosmic horror as a genre being fundamentally bent towards upholding white supremacy. I also see strong pushback against using "Lovecraftian" as an adjective; many conversations about reclaiming cosmic horror very specifically focus on cutting Lovecraft himself out. Not interested in weighing in on that movement but like it very very much exists, especially with younger folks and especially online. It is a perennial discourse about Lovecraft and the refusal of some horror fans to engage critically with the source of the work they consume.
@@j_fenrir Cassandra Claire's Draco trilogy was a huge huge fanfiction in the early fandom days. "leather pants Draco" became synonymous with they way he was portrayed in that fic, and it because a popular way to characterize him for a long time. think cliche bad but sad boy who needs love.
Awesome video. I think a lot of the rhetoric surrounding how to deal with Harry Potter (and works made by problematic creators in general) has become a bit reductive. As a trans person myself, I find it more valuable and compassionate to actually investigate why and how people still engage with these works. You did an incredibly thoughtful job of that here, and acknowledge all of the nuance that exists for people still creating within the fandom. There is no one right answer here, and I think that's an important thing to bring into consideration.
I think another thing to consider for fic decline is that a lot of Burners took to harassing those in the fandom to the point many quit. There was and still are a lot of people who think if you don’t view HP with the same level of disgust and vitriol they do that you are horrible person yourself no matter how you personally feel. I find it such an interesting albeit frustrating phenomenon as someone who does not agree with the author yet does enjoy the franchise, fandom, and acknowledges studies that show the books have made people more receptive to social equality and democratic viewpoints. I’m thankful for how much good the fandom has done, how many people it has allowed to express themselves, and I hope that continues.
Ive had the full spectrum. Currently, I desipe and laugh at JKR but I still read fanfics, play the games, own my Slytherin merch. I have a deathy Hallows tattoo, and I'm proud of it. Though I do plan to get it redone and add a background of the trans colors as an added fuck you lol
27:28 Fun fact, there is a crack fic series on AO3 that kinda follows a similar premise? Umbridge finds the series in the Room of Requirement one day and tries to use them to get Harry and his contingent expelled/out of her way - hilarity ensues. It’s called Dramatic Reading and was started by White_Squirrel (no pairings btw).
this is on my recommended home page! surprised it's only your first video. i starting reading on ao3 a decade ago now and loved the scholomance series - i did not know naomi novik was one of the creators!! omg
For me I don’t like the OG series. Loved it as a child (especially the movies) but reread them a little later in life (before JK came out as a terf) and absolutely hated them. Despite this I have always viewed the series as having a lot of potential, especially after the canon timeline. The canon has frustrated me for years but I didn’t get into fanficton in general until last year and drarry fics earlier this year. I haven’t viewed myself as a Potter fan for like 10 years but I am now a HP fic fan, for me these are very different. Personally I don’t see an issue with liking the material so long as I don’t financially support JK in any way, which I don’t. All the best parts of canon is either strolled right past or bad in the OG series. Love fics, love drarry, love wolfstar, hate Harry Potter.
I really agree with this, as I am the same way - an HP fic/fandom fan, not an HP fan. There was so much that Rowling either did poorly or didn’t do at all with the book series that fanfic writers have done super well since (or maybe they’ve just explored a really interesting idea for how the story could be different). There are also a ton of ways to show appreciation for the characters and world without directly supporting J.K., which is what I do (I cosplay, but never use official merch for example).
Something similar happened to me a few years ago - I don’t even remember how I discovered fanfiction, but I’m stuck since. I have read the books exactly once and have watched the movies only a couple times. But I have spent hours upon hours reading fanfic and that’s what made me be interested in HP again. I absolutely call myself an HP fan, but I lost contact to most of the original source material.
I regularly get in debates with some of my friends and family who know I read HP fics. They assume that since I like HP fanfiction, I'm a HUGE HP fan. I am not. I can't tell you how many times I've told my partner, "I am NOT a Harry Potter fan, I'm a HP Fanfiction fan." To which my partner replies: "🙄 ...suuuure." Moat people don't understand how that can be the case.
honestly, as someone who grew up watching the movies and is now learning more about the books, i never understood why people held them in such high regard. im not saying the movies are perfect or anything, (tbh, for as much as i liked them, i was _way_ more obsessed with other media. i was too busy losing my mind over undertale lol) and i understand having rose-tinted glasses, but considering all the not-so-great shit ive heard recently, im kind of amazed i havent heard anything critical sooner. say what you want about the movies, 'cause ill probably agree, but i just dont think they had a good foundation to begin with.
THIS WAS YOUR FIRST VIDEO ESSAY??? I could NOT tell, this is incredible! very in-depth analysis and the topic is so so interesting as well (the effect on specific communities not just the fandom as a whole), and done so well. Thank you!
Went through this with joss whedon. Only recently was able to enjoy Buffy and angel again. Took nearly ten years to emotionally separate him from his art b/c of how intertwined my love for the characters and for him as the creator had become over time. I wasn’t sure it would ever happen. I really thought he was someone to look up to as a kid and it was heartbreaking to learn I was so wrong about him
Wow. I can’t believe that the very first Drarry fic was posted exactly one year before I was born. I suddenly feel a crushing expectation to live my life differently
Fanfic has always been the Fuck-its, typically the older ones, the ones who like to use fanfic as a means of deconstruction. This is the camp I often find myself in, and often exploring what is wrong with the world has been a pivotal trend. For example, Harry’s abusive upbringing being tolerated by the people in charge. For me, what I’ve always wanted to dissect, were the issues with how female characters are portrayed in slash fanfiction. I’ve noticed it a lot in hp fanfiction recently, maybe because I’ve been reading a lot of them over the past two years. Still fantastic video essay! It’s interesting to discuss it, but I also feel like there could have been more, by reaching out to authors who were willing to discuss the topic with you. Still, regardless, great job!
Amazing vid :) As a trans teen who grew up on Harry Potter I too find myself struggling to enjoy it the same way. But I will continue consuming fan creations and not give Joanne a dime
YES 9:55 before I came out as bi and suffered from internalized homo/biphobia as a cis woman I felt comfortable writing mlm instead. It felt safer in my brain. Now I’m a proud certified girl-liker 💖💜💙 I heavily used mlm growing up as an outlet to explore my own sexuality and queerness
this video was so good, especially for a first video essay. I am a trans man who was madly obsessed with harry potter as a kid. I wrote many fanfics and most of my creative writing for a long time was inspired by JKR's work. I have many tshirts I struggle to wear because they are harry potter related and don't want to be assumed to support jkr but also don't want to chuck out because that's wasteful. I haven't read the books in a few years now because it's just not something I can bring myself to do right now. and it sucks because for a long time Hogwarts was like a nice escape I could go to during hard times in my real life, but it's kinda hard to escape into a book written by someone who would prefer you stayed hidden in a cupboard under the stairs.
I have the same problem with a sweater of mine; it was a treasured birthday gift, still fits me quite well and is incredibly comfy, but I can’t wear it outside the house anymore…
The way you pronounce words and speak is LOVELY you speak in such a satisfying way. I think it's the "k" sounds that you pronounce in a "round" and hollow way? I could listen to your yapping forever
Honestly super surprised to see this was your first video essay! It was a really well-written and insightful video, and I enjoyed your sense of humour greatly. I'm excited to see where you take this channel if you choose to do more!
I love this video essay so much. I can tell it comes from a place of respect and love for fandom. So many videos dissecting HP fandom come from people who were never in it and could never understand what a welcoming, diverse place it was and is when it’s at its best. Pointing out its problems and struggles is always worthwhile but so is celebrating when we can come together to make things that transcend the original works, not just in storyline, but in diverse storytelling and representation. Fanfiction has helped me come to terms with my own identity and made me so much more empathetic to struggles I don’t personally experience. It has even been a jumping off point for political development. All this to say, thank you for the effort that went into this essay, and I hope to see more from you. Best!
Lord of the Rings has always been that place of imagination for me, but it wasn't until I was deep in that lull waiting between HP books 3 and 4 that I discovered fandom for the first time. The LOTR fandom is a lot more diverse nowadays, but 20+ years ago it was definitely dominated by men a lot older than me. Not only did Harry Potter introduce me to a life long love of fandom, but a community full of people of all ages, gender, sexual orientation, and cultures. I honestly thank fandom for making me who I am, because I know my conservative family never would have. It broke my heart when JK Rowling went on her rant, but I stand by the fact that the HP fandom are some of the most wonderful people I know. I definitely say fuck it! I won't let her take away our community.
Screaming at the In Other Lands By Sarah Rees Brennan mention! It's also one of my favorite books, and I never hear other people bring it up. That screaming aside, excellent video! Can’t wait to see your future projects!
I clicked because I honestly thought you were Alexander Avila but I stayed because this is an awesome breakdown! And you only have two videos?? Insane, this is such a great start, instantly subscribed!
thank you so much for this!! i’m in the same boat as you regarding childhood obsession, down to thinking harry should have ended up as a teacher!! i was completely heartbroken in 2016 when trans people i followed on tumblr pointed out JKR liking terf tweets. i have often wished that i didn’t find out till later, because i was still definitely a kid when i found out, and i had just realised i was queer. your video is brilliant
As a not native speaker, this can sometimes be difficult to understand, but I am listening thoroughly. This case-study video-essey content is so interesting to me. And then to be about two topics that emotionally affect me is even better. Thank you for the video! PS: I like your outfit :-)
I was talking to a friend about this recently, who was more of the 'burner' persuasion. I made the argument that I completely understood trans folks who wanted to find some catharsis in reclaiming HP, but that I felt that I, as a cis person, should be held to a stricter standard - which is why I have stopped engaging with Potter-related material at all. Since I'm not the one who is most affected by her bigotry, I don't feel it should be up to me to decide that my engagement with the fandom is harmless. I don't personally think my views (or indeed my nostalgia) should matter here.
I was really surprised to see this on my homepage but I'm glad I clicked and I'm astounded this is your first video. The quality, both content and prodction, is very impressive. Definitely subscribing to see what's next!
I'm so glad I found this video. I haven't been into Drarry in decades. It's great to learn more about the Drarry fandom and that some of it is still going. I like seeing fans reclaiming HP in spite of the Terf who must not be named lol I can't wait to see what else you'll make
This is a great first video essay and an interesting academic perspective to take. In the case of problematic artists, I wonder if those most affected by the artist's harm should reclaim and reappropriate the creation from the creator rather than being made to sever all ties to the work. That way, the work can culturally retain it's positive position while sanitizing it of the, in this case, fascistic, bigoted and uninquisitive undertones. Those whom it touched and equally tried to harm can reclaim and voice themselves through culturally canonizing their framing. Sorry if that was nonsense, but great work.
First of all, awesome video! Great delivery, and I loved the topic. I would say I fall in the camp of a "fuck-it" but, I'm not very bold about it. When the dam broke in 2020, I spent a long time trying to see if I could be a burner. I wasn't as active in the fandom as I used to be, but I still held the world very close to my heart. I realized after a while that not only could I not do it, but I felt that hp at that point, had grown much bigger than her anyway.
Absolutely agree. The world has long transcended the author and people have added so much fanon lore to both characters and world that I sometimes forget what is official canon and what has been accepted as such for years.
@@excessivelyfangirlingbookw3339 So true! The fandom is it's own organism, and it developed it's own existence outside of the source material a long time ago.
Oh man, the disappointment I felt when I realised this is the _only_ available video on this channel... If you ever decide to make more I will be here for it
The research on this video is insane- at some points I was in awe that I was watching a video on drarry because of how well this is thought out and planned.
This was a really fun and interesting video. I’ve been thinking recently about how I just straight up forget that Drarry and wolf star fandom is technically Harry Potter fandom because it feels so disconnected, so this was so interesting
just messaged my gf with a link to your video (she'd already seen it, and subscribed.) So much of what you say here rings so true and correct to me. I was in the trenches of hp fandom for a long time, but absolutely dropped off engaging after 2020 happened and the *really* bad stuff came out. It honestly just hurt too much. I have a sort of micro tumblr/discord community, called sortinghatchats, where we get a little more nuanced and interesting with the hogwarts houses, and I changed up all my terminology to distance it from HP and signal my disapproval with JKR's comments. But when I finally felt okay enough to dive into writing "fuck-it" fic - boy did it feel good, and cathartic, and healing, and necessary. Please do continue creating content. This is good stuff, and I'll be here watching.
My lukewarm defence here, with Harry becoming a cop is that this is a gripe that only Americans seem to have. Harry Potter is an English creation and the relationship we have with police just simply isn’t the same. There are of course problems, but American fans seem to get particularly angry with this point because they don’t differentiate between different cultures. Nobody in the uk has to fear being pulled over by a cop Good video regardless, I subscribed
I wouldn't say nobody has to fear mistreatment from the police here. (The murder of Sarah Everard was only 3 years ago and theres been evidence of racism in police searches for years) I agree that the relationship most people have with the police is very different from America though, especially when the books were written. Personally I think him becoming a teacher would have been a better end to his arc, him teaching dumledores army seemed to be hunting at that, but him being a cop definitely doesn't carry as much stigma here as it does in America.
You should probably include the induction of the Inkstained Fingers archive in this data. Import began in 2015 and the original archive closed in 2018. That also covers your little uptick spike in 2015-2016 in the gradual decline of interest in Drarry.
i'm not active in the hp fic space at all, but this was still so fascinating to watch and listen to!! i'm excited to see whatever you come out with next - thanks for sharing with us :]
Was Alexander Avila cosplay intentional? /Pos The video's awesome i love essays on fandom/queer culture, i love statistics and i love internet drama, this video combined all of that lol
it was not! i was actually wearing a graduation robe covered with trans pride pins on top of this getup until like two minutes before filming (to sort of give a “wizard robes” vibe) but i got too hot and last minute decided to take it off… and then totally ended up in alexander avila cosplay. didn’t realize until folks pointed it out in the comments but very flattered by the comparison, his channel rules
I really appreciated your nuanced take on this issue! I’ve heard a lot of discourse over death of the author (your denialists) or rejecting the media as a whole (your burn it downs) but I’ve never been quite satisfied with those extremes. I think that, whatever problematic elements may have made their way into the books, they still had a very real and valuable impact on a lot of people and that doesn’t change just because jkr has expressed hateful views. I completely understand not wanting to financially or ideologically support jkr but that doesn’t mean the fandom as a whole should be abandoned. Taking an opportunity to examine and critique the media we enjoy is always something i support, as well.
This is really good for your first video essay, keep up the good work. As a trans woman I do find your analysis of Harry Potter fanfic very interesting, though I can't say I've ever been especially involved in male slash fics. From my general fanfic reading though, I would suggest part of the waning of drarry is growing popularity of other ships, I feel like I see more Snarry than Drarry nowdays.
Oh Drarry. My first introduction to the world of ao3 and one of my favourite pairings. I love stories of how they meet after the war and especially eighth year stories. Also great video!!
This has managed to completely encapsulate my feelings on this topic and for that I wanted to thank you. Drarry has been my first fandom, and one in which I have been active since the very early 2000s. In the discourse of burning it all down and people creating tons of videos saying "actually it has always been a trash", I have found myself frustrated at the lack of nuance and maybe even the conversation. I adore Drarry for exactly the types of fics you described, those that take the canon, look at at, and absolutely deconstruct it . The ones that look at things that Rowling hinted at and bring them to light an analyse them. Desi Harry has been one of my most favourite tropes to come up over the years, as has been all the fiction written about his trauma, what it would do to a person to live the life he did, and foil it against Draco and his own traumas. I love the fics that take the surface level magic and expand it into immersive, beautiful and deep worlds. I do not want to let those go because I think they are valuable, should be cherished, especially in the face of Rowlings bigotry. Especially as so many of those has been written by us, queer trans people. I also agree we do not talk about this enough. So thank you again for your video and thoughtful insights.
I loved it! Very interesting, argumented and serious video essay, I can't wait to watch more of your stuff. And I am checking the bibliography right now! :))
Just got to the bit where you discuss not being able to know the fandom’s sentiments in 2020, but only now, about 4 years later. I am someone who read Drarry extremely often (like hundred of thousands of words a week, lol) from ~2016 through ~2022. I do still go back and read more occasionally, but I prefer long fics, and I’ve read most of the good ones on AO3 by now. So I do have some knowledge about what happened at the time, but I can only give my own experience. This would be a lot more difficult to search for and find statistical significance in, but I mostly saw the TERF rhetoric and Rowling in general discussed in author’s notes on AO3 at the time. There seemed to be a couple different general approaches on the AO3 authors’ parts - there were a number of authors that orphaned their Drarry works, some that deleted them all together, some that finished any WIPs but stopped after that, and quite a few that put a disclaimer in their author’s notes saying that either they disavowed Rowling’s words/beliefs but were separating the art from the artist and continuing on (the author contingent of the “fuck-its” as mentioned in the video) or that they could no longer stomach being involved in anything HP and would no longer be writing any new fics in the fandom or even finishing current WIPs. There were extremely few authors that did not address the issues at all.
yeah, considering that particular fandom was queer it couldn't really go unaddressed because the people who wrote and consumed this content believed in equality, i do wonder whether the same effect was reflected on heterosexual spaces like dramione
I really appreciate that you covered something I myself have many mixed emotions about. I have two cousins who are also queer/trans, I’m very close to them and we’re all nerds who grew up loving Harry Potter and exploring the world of fanfiction in the mid 2010s. To this day we hang out on discord calls and create Harry Potter OCs and AUs. We never post or share anything online but it’s been such a great bonding activity that keeps us in touch well into adulthood, and it’s a fun and low stakes creative activity we enjoy (we’re all artists in different fields/mediums). I also work as an art teacher, and I’ve met so many kids who love the Harry Potter books, probably because their parents are millennials who were also fans of the franchise. Many of them love to draw fan art and even engage with fandom. I think it’s a good thing that there remains a part of online fandom that puts out fanworks that critique and engage with the more pernicious aspects of the books - I agree that it creates a better environment for newcomers to join into, it might also help people get their Harry Potter “fix” without supporting/engaging with the author herself.
This is an amazing video essay, bravo, bravo. I really like a lot of the topics u went over, and the views of who is still into potter fandom and fanfiction as a form of activism.
One thing to be aware of when collecting stats on ao3 is that a shockingly large number of fic authors decided to make some of their works restricted (only visible to logged-in users) recently due to the belief that this would prevent their works from being used to train AI.
I would think that using a control tag like fluff and analyzing the ratio would control for this, but absolutely true when you’re looking at overall numbers
Wow!! I spend a lot of time on YT watching queer video essayists-I was an avid Lindsay Ellis fan and these days I watch a lot of Contrapoints, Verilibitchie, Alexander Avila, and Rowan Ellis. All this to say, I consume a lot of this content, and I am SO impressed that this is your first video! Your ideas are so clear and easy to follow, and this is such a fascinating and well-researched topic! I was genuinely sad to click into your channel and find it almost empty! I've liked and subscribed, I hope you keep them coming!
hey eli ! I just wanted to say thank you for this video. I actually got into the online fandom space because of JKR's transphobic statements, which made me completely stop engaging with the "official" HP universe and stop affiliating with my local, non english speaking fangroup which i realised didn't care about it. HP has been a hyperfixation of mine since i learned to read with these books 20 years ago and it really hurt me to distance myself from it, so the fanspace on the internet became the safe space i craved for it and it has definitely been so eye opening to so much stuff i had never thought about or understood the implications of. Your essay helped me put words on that feeling and feel a lot more comfortable in engaging with it without fear of causing direct harm to the trans community which i'm not a part of.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
I think the series should have ended with Harry as a defense against the dark arts teacher, it just makes so much more sense for his character
Pretty sure the epilogue doesn’t even say who it is however many years later 😂 The copaganda is crazy
JK legit seems like the type to go, "But since Voldemort was defeated, there were no more dark arts to defend against!"
Seriously!! Harry literally hated the Ministry of Magic. It would be so much more narratively satisfying too, with the whole "there's a new defense against the dark arts teacher every year because Voldemort cursed it". Also creating Dumbledores Army showed he was clearly passionate about it and would've been a great teacher too, sigh 😔.
This!!! It makes sense on every level. I just can’t see Harry working for the ministry. He always said Hogwarts is his home. Harry being the one to finally fill the DADA position would be the perfect narrative conclusion to how they were never able to find a permanent teacher. It fits perfectly into the parallels between Harry and Voldemort since it was the position that Tom Riddle always wanted. And there really is no one better to teach the subject than Harry. He even taught it to his friends for a whole year!! I can’t believe all that setup was there and then she decided to have him work for the government instead.
He litterally was the happiest in the books when he was teaching his fellow students he loves to lead and teach and he loves to learn about magic, my headcannon is that they offered him an auror position but her turned it down and asked to be a teacher at hogwarts and his opening is telling his students he went toe to toe with Voldemort even as a baby
My new favorite type of RUclips video is queer folks dissecting Harry Potter and the culture around it. For once the algorithm has brought me what I wanted!
Same. Its such an oddly specific type of video i enjoy now
Have any more recommendations of similar vids?
SAME.
Omg Julian!
@@cthulhutheendless1587 if you like in-depth analysis, I recommend Lily Simpson's "A Brief Look at Harry Potter" (alternate title: Harry Potter and the Intimidating Timestamp). Do heed her warning about not necessarily trying to watch the whole thing at once, use the chapters, etc., but if you like long-form content, you are in for an absolute feast!
Hoots also has one, as does Shaun, though idk if he's queer or just a vocal ally.
I also think that contributing to the decline of Drarry fanfiction is the growth of the Maurauders fandom and therefore the growth of Jegulus (James Potter/Regulus Black), a ship that is paralleled in a way to Drarry.
The ethos of the Mauraders fandom in general seems to be in the “fuck it” category as seen in this video. As far as Jegulus goes, it’s also very popular to depict Regulus as a trans man as an extra screw you to Rowling.
@@arcticg7644 i love that honestly
the actual parallel would be james/snape tho? james and regulus never even interacted. meanwhile james and draco were pureblood bullies who looked down on snape and harry who came from muggle households
Draco Malfoy in Philospher’s Stone: “Imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?”
James Potter in Deathly Hallows: “Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?”
Both also start their bullying on their first trainride to Hogwarts. The text literally directly compares james to draco.
@@viking-astronaut yeah good point. Interestingly James/Regulus is a lot more popular than James/Snape (15k vrs 1.2k fics on Ao3 rn) idk why maybe some ppl just don't like Snape lol
I was actually thinking about this, especially because the marauders fandom inherently exists in a world which ignores canon.
And it’s also very widely agreed that it’s queer, like it’s hard to find heterosexual marauders fanfic in my experience.
Good news from a stats teacher - constantly hedging your claims and pointing out they're uncertain is like, the main thing we want you to take away from that class.
Every year I have a little Drarry Summer where I go reread all my old favorite fics and dive into the tag for new ones. My favorite genre is post-series Harry and Draco meeting again as adults (after a lot of personal growth and reflection) to find that the other has a lot of hidden depths to them, sparking a slow-burn romance against a sprawling backdrop that really fleshes out the wizarding world.
I also do this! You might like “Parallax” by nevillenobottom on Ao3. It takes place after the war; Harry is an elementary school teacher and teaches Draco’s son. (It’s enemies to lovers.) I also like “We Can Be Pirates” by cowboilikeme (Ao3) and “My Safest Sound” by ElenandTara (Ao3), but these take place while they are still teenagers.
@@shoe3251 im reading my safest sound right now!! its rly interesting with how it writes harrys emotional turmoil in 5th yr
Turn by saras girl 😔
@@cal6137 OH MY GOD DONT REMIND ME THE FEELINGS THAT FIC INSITES IN ME I WANT THE WHOLE BOOK TATTOOED ON MY CHEST I LOVE IT LOVE ITTT I SAY
I do this as well! I'm not a huge fan of drarry fics set during the course of the books, but I LOVE post-series where both of them have been allowed to grow and mature and be able to see each other beyond school rivals/bully
Gay fanfiction was so important to me a closeted lil kid in the 2000s. I learned so much. Lmao.
Drarry was my intro, I loved them so dearly, but now I’m all about Remus/Sirius.
Same! I wasn’t even able to admit in my own head that I was queer until I found slashfiction. I had buried it so deep that I needed those stories to help me shift all the dirt. I hadn’t realized that queer love could be so normal and beautiful and compelling and GOOD until I saw it written out. It had always been made to seem so alien and unnatural that I couldn’t find myself in the things I’d heard. But I could find myself in the stories that other people had lovingly crafted and that made all the difference.
@@GentlethemJoey oh my god, I knew I wasn't the only one :O
Same lol
I read the title as Drake vs JK Rowling and didn't even question it
Great essay, but arguably more impressive for a first video: great accessibility! I'm so used to having to rely on auto-generated captions for my auditory processing issues and you actually have a transcript and closed captioning. You have a dedicated fan now
I use captions on every video I watch, so they are super important to me!
Wth this is your first video??? That realisation gave me whiplash rofl
You did amazing. Your voice is rly nice to listen to as well!
Absolutely devastated to click on your page to see this is your only video. Hope to see more from you!!
Same here
same !! i subscribed 👀
Same here, essay so good I forgot I was watching a small channel AHHA
I had the exact same experience
harry growing up to be a cop is CRAZY
like aint you tired?
Plus the very obvious trauma and likely ptsd he would have. I like to think that he wanted to, but doesn't stick with it.
I can totally see Luna as being Ace.
I always write her as autistic and ace because she was my comfort space as a kid who was slowly realising I was autistic and ace.
@@deadphoenixrising happy you figured yourself out young. My own ASD and Ace journey started much later. Honestly you shouldn’t have to be between 40-50 like me to have yourself figured out.
I love ace Luna, but I love her even more as poly. I would love to see an ace but polyromantic Luna fic, but I haven't found one so far
To me Luna is autistic, nonbinary (she/they) and aroace
The role playing warrior cats online was such a severe callout help 😭😭😭😭
any time in my adult life someone mentions warrior cats my vision whites out and my ears ring and suddenly im squirrelhands or whatever and im running thru the forest chasing rabbits and stuff
I was expecting that sentence to end with something about, like, being on the playground... aka where *I* role played warrior cats in elementary school 😂
It’s a better fandom than Harry Potter
@@vlad5042lmfaoooo, yeah, this
i felt called out because i still rp warrior cats. i'm in my mid 20s btw
One thing I particularly enjoy about the HP fandom is how the "fuck-its" created our own magical world with the Marauders as soon as she came out as a transphobe. Like fuck it. She's tainted her own work, but she hasn't tainted ours. And the Marauders and their queer magical universe are ours, now.
That's why I think Drarry fandom is less popular nowadays. To keep your metaphor; we kept our sandbox, but put entirely new sand in it.
I sincerely wonder how many Drarry authors are now Jegulus authors. It has the same enemies to lovers vibes, and the same hero-loved-by-everyone vs the-misunderstood-kid-from-a-bigoted-family characters. 🤔
I need some recs for “classic”, novel length Jegulus. My love of Drarry fic is rooted in the fact that it improves on an existing premise that could have been so reflective and interesting if the author was only, y’know, not terrible. Haha. I’ve dipped my toes into Marauders fic but I haven’t seen anything light a candle to fics like TURN or The Man Who Lived. I’m sure I’m just not entrenched enough though!
@@rikkirikki4892 I'm sincerely not the one who can suggest you any Jegulus fanfics. I'm more of a Wolfstar girlie lol. But the novel-length one I know people really really love is "Choices" by Messermoon on AO3 🤷🏻♀️
I'm still with the Drarry side of things, but honestly at this point these two might as well be my OCs
Honestly, I've never been able to get into Marauder's. It's not just the "vibes" I like; I really like the characters. There's something about Drarry that says "take Rowling's main character and have him deconstruct her entire mythos and conceptions and also fall in love with the guy she accidentally wrote as very gay" that really gets me lol
@@jokerdanny9255 Okay. Have a good day
I still find it hilarious that JKR is legitimately ignoring the moral messages of her own work that teaches children to not be a bigot.
Right wing people tend to be like that. They think they are super good people because they are not openly racist or in her case, feminist, when theres a far larger list of people who are discriminated and under represented in media
It doesn’t, it’s peak neoliberal lol
I love that Fangirl is just sitting in the background of a video on Drarry.
*Snowbaz enters the chat*
Drarry fans are sooo detached from the epilogue that I remember reading Drarry EWE before finishing the last book (I was at my peak obsession with the ship). I still get amazed with the author (and lots of fans) defending Snape, a grown man abuser, as a hero (????), while Draco, a mean KID, clearly is forever doomed 😮
literally wild that snape gets a redemption but not a literal child forced into a death cult (willing or not) after his dad goes to prison lmao
SO TRUE
Yeah... No matter what you think of Draco, no one can deny Snape is far worst. Draco had a real moral dilemma. Snape switched side because of Lily, but nothing indicates that he thinks his past actions were wrong. And he abused kids for decades. Can you imagine how toxic you must be to be one of your student's boggart?
Honestly, reclaiming the characters for ourselves, disassociating JK from "her" characters and turning them into everything she hates, is the best revenge possible for how she has ruined so many people's childhoods.
Oh yeah, you’re totally sticking it to her. Not like gender bending characters wasn’t already a thing.
Trust me, it isn't. For as long as you're still talking about harry potter and consuming the media, you're still supporting her. It doesn't matter if you don't see it that way, she does.
Nah she’s already rich you can keep buying the stuff just make trans Harry Potter ocs
@@Kaminoboi No, please do not keep buying harry potter stuff. She has EXPLICITLY said that she sees people buying her stuff as an agreement with her views.
@@amazingspiderlad Doesn't she also donate some of her money to transphobic organizations?
Some very valid points made, but as someone in the UK I would urge people to look into the campaigning and financial backing Rowling does for transphobic causes in the UK, often using the continued popularity of her work as political currency.
How much fanfic contributes or is taken into account in her dealings is up for debate, but Rowling herself has made public claims that every fan of her work supports her beliefs, and that some are just quiet about their support because they fear the wrath of the trans mafia.
Though it's not easy to have these discussions about someone expressing problematic and harmful views, I would say the issue is a whole lot more fraught when you realise she's not just expressing views, she's genuinely influencing UK politics towards transphobia. Only recently she was a massive part in efforts to oppose progressive reforms to Scottish law, and she's literally friends with a former UK Prime Minister. She's got genuine power and influence over here, often fuelled by her perceived cultural power.
What progressive reforms to Scottish law?
@@tgiacin435 a bill designed to streamline the process for trans people to have their gender legally recognised. The bill originally passed in Scotland but was blocked by UK parliament in 2022. Scotland amended the bill a little and got it passed again recently, this time without UK parliament blocking it, but it was a very close thing, with J.K Rowling being a very visible, vocal and active part of campaigns calling on UK parliament to intercede again.
And you have to remember she literally has personal relationships with UK politicians and throws a lot of money behind anti-trans campaigns and lobbyist groups, so her actions were a pretty significant part of the whole thing.
@@katharineeavan9705 and how do you streamline the process?
This is vital information to know. It’s something that any fanfic writers and enjoyers in HP related queer fanfiction stories such as myself have to take note of if Rowling has found a way to potentially weaponize the existence of those same queer fanfiction works that blatantly go against everything she believes in (politically) to give herself real political influence.
As much as I enjoy reading the trans HP works created by trans and genderqueer authors and creatives, this concerns me greatly. I thought it was bad enough that she engaged in H--c-st revisionism just to push her transphobic agenda, but for some reason it never truly dawned on me that someone as terrible as her still has real power in the world of politics, where trans rights are still threatened by the hateful and bigoted.
If I’m going to be honest, the only reason why I started to doubt her as a real threat given everything else going on right now (🍉) is because when I heard about her family cutting ties with her, I thought that would’ve impacted her as a person and caused her to stop spewing transphobia. At least for a little while. In hindsight, this was incredibly dumb with me and I have to be more vigilant about the political activities of creators like her in the future.
Now i want you to touch on the marauders fandom because there is a lot. It really is amazing how a fandom could create so much on characters barely mentioned by Rowling.
I love the marauders fanon so much. I’m always amazed if I read two works by different authors with completely different focus and writing styles and suddenly there’s a casual name drop or mannerism or lore tidbit that both have in common. And then 5 fics later, it appears again.
It’s incredible how many „facts“ about certain characters have spread over the years of content creation and now people just accept them as true and fitting.
@excessivelyfangirlingbookw3339 Definitely! A lot of facts have been commonly used now in fanon, which is almost like an author's base for fanfiction (sometimes) and it's really nice to see a common ground in fanon because of how much the little things have spread throughout the fandom. This fandom is truly a remarkable one and one of the most complex ones I've experienced, speaking that most of the things the fandom believes in is a majority of collectively agreed stuff rather than canon.
It's still hard for me to make sense of the fact that the person who wrote the "from which witch or wizard did you steal this wand?"/"the wand chose me, I am a witch!" turned out... well, as she turned out. Yeah, there's also plenty of red flags... but it sure does seem that one of the main themes of the books is that one is *not* defined by the circumstances of one's birth.
I suppose there's no law that says an author has to understand their own books. 🤷
First video essay, huh? Well, you have another subscriber. Good work.
I feel that a large part of the HP fandom have basically said Fuck It - JKR taught all of us to stand against tyranny, bigotry, bullying etc. we learned to stand up for those weaker than ourselves, to be true to what is right even if it meant going against friends. Being accepting of those marginalised and penalised for things beyond their control. As such, we have taken HP and are guarding it, using what we were taught against the very person who taught us. We know better and are better! We do better! We are inclusive and supportive of all people regardless of gender identity, sexuality or race.
I cannot and will not hate a work that teaches us these valuable things but I cannot and will not be supportive of the author who clearly failed to learn the lessons her work taught so many of us.
@@SiriuslyPotty not reading all that, sorry you have transphobic brainrot
@@SiriuslyPottythe whole thing is a bit silly to me. People act like they’re getting this one up, but it’s pretty much lateral moves.
@@SiriuslyPotty 🤔🧐🤦🏻♂️.
The person you're replying to said "a large part," not "the large part"
They made no claim to majority or even plurality.
They spoke of holding onto the value of the works & the community even in the face of the author's continuing venom.
You whined about cancel culture...
But *Rowling* is the one who got herself shunned by the likes of Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, and most of the cast of her own films.
She's trumpeting fascists like Matt Walsh and Posey Parker. Maybe you're marching to their tune, in which case there's not much to say; the face eating leopards will eat your face too sooner or later.
But maybe you're willing to check your assumptions, set aside your certainties. If so, there's plenty of videos that will connect the dots for you. And over time, JKR seems committed to being more & more direct about fearmongering & fantasies of power.
This comment made me tear up. Kudos. She did teach us the best fucking principles, even if she doesn’t live by them herself.
Literally crying tho
@@wasserperson 💕💕💕💕 thank you
opened your channel to watch your other video essays because this one was so fire only to see that there are no others yet. hope youre working on solving this issue
I sure am!
@@elievileye good im waiting with my popcorn and critical thinking hat on
This is a fantastic little video from a criminally small channel, subbed for the algorithm EDIT: THIS IS YOUR FIRST ESSAY???? DUDE
I'm an asexual/demisexual lesbian in the "eff it" camp. I'm a multishipper and I greatly appreciate seeing various queer interpretations of all the characters. I can't leave the fandom, but I refuse spend money on any Harry Potter products or JKR books. I will not support her. She has no power over us in fandom.
She can't stop us from creating trans Harry or trans Draco or trans any other character. She can't stop us from changing the sexuality of characters. She can't stop us from saving bad characters from their evil ways. She can't stop us from keeping our favorite characters alive. She can't stop us from pairing anyone and everyone together. She can't stop us from writing Drarry, Snarry, Tomarry, Harrymort, Ronarry, Wolfstar, Jegulus, Sirius/Severus, James/Severus or stop the Marauder niche as a whole.
JKR will die forgotten in her bigotry, but our words and stories will live on to touch the hearts of young queers for decades, perhaps centuries after our deaths.
Thus why I found a PDF version of the complete series, and turned it into a word document.
I have so many fandoms, that while I may have headcanons for them, I also like the canon story just fine; eg. Fairy Tail, Naruto, Percy Jackson. But I also have others that I just can't stand the canon anymore as I've gotten older, but still love the idea of it and the fics and other fandom shit.
John Green, one of my favorite authors and a genuinely good person has stated that after a book is released, the author no longer owns them. It's up to the fans to interact and expand it. It's great for authors to understand they don't have the right to tell people how to interpret these fictional chars😊
This was such a targeted recommendation of the algorithm considering Harry Potter and HP fanfics are what brought me to where I am today. I learned English to read the books (and eventually the fanfics), it was the fanfics that helped me improve my English, Drarry and the Fandom helped me realize I was thinking heteronormatively despite being on the asexual spectrum, with many different fics that led me to come out as demisexual. If you asked younger me, she would say that fanfics don't really have a big value, but I know that to be untrue now, as a fanfic reader of 17 years.
"otherwise good and normal year 2020" destroyed me 😂
this is INSANE for a new account, i love your style of delivery. can’t wait for more when you’re ready :))
I am one of those who spent maybe two years after Rowling outed herself as a transphobe gradually shifting from "Give her the benefit of the doubt, she's just ignorant but may come around" to "She's a transphobe for sure, but death of the author, I just won't buy official stuff" to "Everything HP makes me uncomfortable now". I thankfully found The Worst Witch and have redesignated a lot of my HP-related stuff into Worst Witch stuff. It's not near as popular or well-known, but it predates HP and has so many similarities (witches and wizards [in their own schools], castle school with [unnamed] houses, flying broomsticks, stern and unforgiving potions teacher, female Draco Malfoy, weird and dangerous magic, invisibility cloak mention, a [tv series-only] founder named "Hermoine", etc. etc.). I feel better about holding on to important keepsakes now.
I really respect what you decided and were able to do by converting your HP content into Worst Witch content. For me, I made a lot of student and and adult characters in the Harry Potter setting of ranging ethnic backgrounds and queer identities, but as much as I stay away from consuming official HP content in preference of fan creations, the immutable fact that it’s original creator turned out to be a horrible, bigoted and h--c-st revisionist bigot will always irk me, so I decided to explore creating my own world based after the magic system and fantasy elements of Harry Potter to create my own hybrid setting and universe where I can repurpose these original characters and use them outside of Harry Potter along with the overarching stories and arcs I’ve written for them in the Hogwarts and Wizarding World setting.
This way, at least, I can still privately enjoy creating and experiencing stories of magical children and teenagers investigating fantastical and supernatural mysteries using their abilities, creativity, and approaches based after their values and skill sets to solve situations and defeat big evils without having to host those stories in the Harry Potter universe.
Brilliant first essay! I was never into Drarry but was deep in the Wolfstar trenches as a teen back in the noughties, and although my connection to the HP franchise is pretty much severed now (I guess I'd be one of the 'burners') it's very good to see younger generations of the fandom in the 'fuck it' camp critically engaging and taking what value they can from the work while dissecting or abandoning the bad bits. Feels like an evolution of of Wolfstar fandom's reaction to a lot of the 'no homo' text JK shoved into books 6 and 7. Great job :)
This video has helped me to finally conclude that, no, I WON'T be guilted into leaving my home-fandom behind! You would think that as someone under the trans umbrella myself that I would understand right away that me still being part of the fandom doesn't mean I support Rowling's transphobia, but after being bombarded with "you're a bad person then/read another book" on Tumblr, I just felt so burnt out about it. I was just going to finish the last active HP fic I have and then just move over to MXTX's danmei full-time, but I'm SO raring to embrace 'Fuck it'! If the Cthulhu Mythos and the works of Charles Dickens can still be acceptable to enjoy to this day despite Lovecraft and Dickens being notoriously aggressive racists, I will not be shamed away from the fandom that taught me it was okay to be queer in the first place.
hell yeah!!!!!!
Lovecraft and Dickens are dead. They can’t use profits from people enjoying their work to fund hate groups like JKR does.
Definitely! You can still treasure the world and what the stories taught you about yourself, your interaction with others and your view of the world. I understand that many people decided that completely boycotting any related work is the way to go, but HP has had such a huge impact on me that I can’t leave it behind. I believe there’s a tangible difference between buying merch/ supporting her directly and staying at home in my Hogwarts sweater and reading comfort fanfics.
Tbh I think it's a kind of surprising take to claim Lovecraft isn't controversial in a similar way or doesn't receive a very, very high level of disparagement or "read another book" attitudes; I think that is extremely common in discussion of Lovecraft to the point of fleshed out viewpoints on cosmic horror as a genre being fundamentally bent towards upholding white supremacy. I also see strong pushback against using "Lovecraftian" as an adjective; many conversations about reclaiming cosmic horror very specifically focus on cutting Lovecraft himself out. Not interested in weighing in on that movement but like it very very much exists, especially with younger folks and especially online. It is a perennial discourse about Lovecraft and the refusal of some horror fans to engage critically with the source of the work they consume.
Oh man. You said 'Guns n handcuffs' and I was instantly falcon punched back into 2007
Same lol, although the teen in the back of my mind muttered “*The S.S.* Guns n Handcuffs”
So much wincing nostalgia through this one lol
i was waiting for a leatherpants draco reference
@siyrean please tell me what this means im so curious
@@j_fenrir Cassandra Claire's Draco trilogy was a huge huge fanfiction in the early fandom days. "leather pants Draco" became synonymous with they way he was portrayed in that fic, and it because a popular way to characterize him for a long time. think cliche bad but sad boy who needs love.
@siyrean of course cassandra claire would birth "leatherpants draco" god just imagine him squeaking all around hogwarts
The only thing I liked from The Cursed Child is Draco being an exceptionally good dad!! He was the best parent out of the bunch imo
Awesome video. I think a lot of the rhetoric surrounding how to deal with Harry Potter (and works made by problematic creators in general) has become a bit reductive. As a trans person myself, I find it more valuable and compassionate to actually investigate why and how people still engage with these works. You did an incredibly thoughtful job of that here, and acknowledge all of the nuance that exists for people still creating within the fandom. There is no one right answer here, and I think that's an important thing to bring into consideration.
I think another thing to consider for fic decline is that a lot of Burners took to harassing those in the fandom to the point many quit. There was and still are a lot of people who think if you don’t view HP with the same level of disgust and vitriol they do that you are horrible person yourself no matter how you personally feel. I find it such an interesting albeit frustrating phenomenon as someone who does not agree with the author yet does enjoy the franchise, fandom, and acknowledges studies that show the books have made people more receptive to social equality and democratic viewpoints. I’m thankful for how much good the fandom has done, how many people it has allowed to express themselves, and I hope that continues.
Ive had the full spectrum. Currently, I desipe and laugh at JKR but I still read fanfics, play the games, own my Slytherin merch. I have a deathy Hallows tattoo, and I'm proud of it. Though I do plan to get it redone and add a background of the trans colors as an added fuck you lol
Dude your voice is so smooth. I would listen to an audiobook voiced by you.
27:28 Fun fact, there is a crack fic series on AO3 that kinda follows a similar premise? Umbridge finds the series in the Room of Requirement one day and tries to use them to get Harry and his contingent expelled/out of her way - hilarity ensues. It’s called Dramatic Reading and was started by White_Squirrel (no pairings btw).
this is on my recommended home page! surprised it's only your first video. i starting reading on ao3 a decade ago now and loved the scholomance series - i did not know naomi novik was one of the creators!! omg
For me I don’t like the OG series. Loved it as a child (especially the movies) but reread them a little later in life (before JK came out as a terf) and absolutely hated them. Despite this I have always viewed the series as having a lot of potential, especially after the canon timeline. The canon has frustrated me for years but I didn’t get into fanficton in general until last year and drarry fics earlier this year. I haven’t viewed myself as a Potter fan for like 10 years but I am now a HP fic fan, for me these are very different. Personally I don’t see an issue with liking the material so long as I don’t financially support JK in any way, which I don’t. All the best parts of canon is either strolled right past or bad in the OG series. Love fics, love drarry, love wolfstar, hate Harry Potter.
I really agree with this, as I am the same way - an HP fic/fandom fan, not an HP fan. There was so much that Rowling either did poorly or didn’t do at all with the book series that fanfic writers have done super well since (or maybe they’ve just explored a really interesting idea for how the story could be different). There are also a ton of ways to show appreciation for the characters and world without directly supporting J.K., which is what I do (I cosplay, but never use official merch for example).
Something similar happened to me a few years ago - I don’t even remember how I discovered fanfiction, but I’m stuck since. I have read the books exactly once and have watched the movies only a couple times. But I have spent hours upon hours reading fanfic and that’s what made me be interested in HP again.
I absolutely call myself an HP fan, but I lost contact to most of the original source material.
I regularly get in debates with some of my friends and family who know I read HP fics. They assume that since I like HP fanfiction, I'm a HUGE HP fan. I am not. I can't tell you how many times I've told my partner, "I am NOT a Harry Potter fan, I'm a HP Fanfiction fan." To which my partner replies: "🙄 ...suuuure." Moat people don't understand how that can be the case.
honestly, as someone who grew up watching the movies and is now learning more about the books, i never understood why people held them in such high regard. im not saying the movies are perfect or anything, (tbh, for as much as i liked them, i was _way_ more obsessed with other media. i was too busy losing my mind over undertale lol) and i understand having rose-tinted glasses, but considering all the not-so-great shit ive heard recently, im kind of amazed i havent heard anything critical sooner. say what you want about the movies, 'cause ill probably agree, but i just dont think they had a good foundation to begin with.
THIS WAS YOUR FIRST VIDEO ESSAY???
I could NOT tell, this is incredible! very in-depth analysis and the topic is so so interesting as well (the effect on specific communities not just the fandom as a whole), and done so well. Thank you!
Drarry vs Rowling: to quote Ron "wouldn't it be great if they finished each other off?"
Went through this with joss whedon. Only recently was able to enjoy Buffy and angel again. Took nearly ten years to emotionally separate him from his art b/c of how intertwined my love for the characters and for him as the creator had become over time. I wasn’t sure it would ever happen. I really thought he was someone to look up to as a kid and it was heartbreaking to learn I was so wrong about him
Wow. I can’t believe that the very first Drarry fic was posted exactly one year before I was born. I suddenly feel a crushing expectation to live my life differently
Fanfic has always been the Fuck-its, typically the older ones, the ones who like to use fanfic as a means of deconstruction. This is the camp I often find myself in, and often exploring what is wrong with the world has been a pivotal trend. For example, Harry’s abusive upbringing being tolerated by the people in charge.
For me, what I’ve always wanted to dissect, were the issues with how female characters are portrayed in slash fanfiction. I’ve noticed it a lot in hp fanfiction recently, maybe because I’ve been reading a lot of them over the past two years. Still fantastic video essay! It’s interesting to discuss it, but I also feel like there could have been more, by reaching out to authors who were willing to discuss the topic with you. Still, regardless, great job!
Amazing vid :)
As a trans teen who grew up on Harry Potter I too find myself struggling to enjoy it the same way.
But I will continue consuming fan creations and not give Joanne a dime
YES 9:55 before I came out as bi and suffered from internalized homo/biphobia as a cis woman I felt comfortable writing mlm instead. It felt safer in my brain. Now I’m a proud certified girl-liker 💖💜💙
I heavily used mlm growing up as an outlet to explore my own sexuality and queerness
this video was so good, especially for a first video essay. I am a trans man who was madly obsessed with harry potter as a kid. I wrote many fanfics and most of my creative writing for a long time was inspired by JKR's work. I have many tshirts I struggle to wear because they are harry potter related and don't want to be assumed to support jkr but also don't want to chuck out because that's wasteful. I haven't read the books in a few years now because it's just not something I can bring myself to do right now. and it sucks because for a long time Hogwarts was like a nice escape I could go to during hard times in my real life, but it's kinda hard to escape into a book written by someone who would prefer you stayed hidden in a cupboard under the stairs.
my suggestion for all those shirts is wear them inside only or as pyjamas
@@ranchustars3050 that's actually a good idea
I have the same problem with a sweater of mine; it was a treasured birthday gift, still fits me quite well and is incredibly comfy, but I can’t wear it outside the house anymore…
would expect nothing less than excellence from a former warrior cats roleplayer. fantastic video
The way you pronounce words and speak is LOVELY you speak in such a satisfying way. I think it's the "k" sounds that you pronounce in a "round" and hollow way? I could listen to your yapping forever
This is very kind, thank you! Next video will be up next month and it’s on the longer side-probably about an hour.
Honestly super surprised to see this was your first video essay! It was a really well-written and insightful video, and I enjoyed your sense of humour greatly. I'm excited to see where you take this channel if you choose to do more!
I love this video essay so much. I can tell it comes from a place of respect and love for fandom. So many videos dissecting HP fandom come from people who were never in it and could never understand what a welcoming, diverse place it was and is when it’s at its best. Pointing out its problems and struggles is always worthwhile but so is celebrating when we can come together to make things that transcend the original works, not just in storyline, but in diverse storytelling and representation. Fanfiction has helped me come to terms with my own identity and made me so much more empathetic to struggles I don’t personally experience. It has even been a jumping off point for political development.
All this to say, thank you for the effort that went into this essay, and I hope to see more from you. Best!
Lord of the Rings has always been that place of imagination for me, but it wasn't until I was deep in that lull waiting between HP books 3 and 4 that I discovered fandom for the first time. The LOTR fandom is a lot more diverse nowadays, but 20+ years ago it was definitely dominated by men a lot older than me. Not only did Harry Potter introduce me to a life long love of fandom, but a community full of people of all ages, gender, sexual orientation, and cultures. I honestly thank fandom for making me who I am, because I know my conservative family never would have. It broke my heart when JK Rowling went on her rant, but I stand by the fact that the HP fandom are some of the most wonderful people I know. I definitely say fuck it! I won't let her take away our community.
It’s like that with the narnia and lovecraft fandoms now unfortunately
Your final sentences gave me literal chills. Thank you for articulating the entire argument so beautifully.
Screaming at the In Other Lands By Sarah Rees Brennan mention! It's also one of my favorite books, and I never hear other people bring it up. That screaming aside, excellent video! Can’t wait to see your future projects!
I didn't expect young Jon Oliver to give me a deep dive into the harry potter fandom but I'm glad I'm here
I clicked because I honestly thought you were Alexander Avila but I stayed because this is an awesome breakdown! And you only have two videos?? Insane, this is such a great start, instantly subscribed!
thank you so much for this!! i’m in the same boat as you regarding childhood obsession, down to thinking harry should have ended up as a teacher!! i was completely heartbroken in 2016 when trans people i followed on tumblr pointed out JKR liking terf tweets. i have often wished that i didn’t find out till later, because i was still definitely a kid when i found out, and i had just realised i was queer. your video is brilliant
I love this type of essays, they’re so relaxing and interesting
As a not native speaker, this can sometimes be difficult to understand, but I am listening thoroughly. This case-study video-essey content is so interesting to me. And then to be about two topics that emotionally affect me is even better. Thank you for the video!
PS: I like your outfit :-)
I was talking to a friend about this recently, who was more of the 'burner' persuasion. I made the argument that I completely understood trans folks who wanted to find some catharsis in reclaiming HP, but that I felt that I, as a cis person, should be held to a stricter standard - which is why I have stopped engaging with Potter-related material at all. Since I'm not the one who is most affected by her bigotry, I don't feel it should be up to me to decide that my engagement with the fandom is harmless. I don't personally think my views (or indeed my nostalgia) should matter here.
I was really surprised to see this on my homepage but I'm glad I clicked and I'm astounded this is your first video. The quality, both content and prodction, is very impressive. Definitely subscribing to see what's next!
Hoooow is this your first video?? This was so well-organized and entertaining, can't wait to see more :)
I'm so glad I found this video. I haven't been into Drarry in decades. It's great to learn more about the Drarry fandom and that some of it is still going. I like seeing fans reclaiming HP in spite of the Terf who must not be named lol
I can't wait to see what else you'll make
This is a great first video essay and an interesting academic perspective to take. In the case of problematic artists, I wonder if those most affected by the artist's harm should reclaim and reappropriate the creation from the creator rather than being made to sever all ties to the work. That way, the work can culturally retain it's positive position while sanitizing it of the, in this case, fascistic, bigoted and uninquisitive undertones. Those whom it touched and equally tried to harm can reclaim and voice themselves through culturally canonizing their framing. Sorry if that was nonsense, but great work.
This video is so well made especially for your first one! I can't wait to see what other content you make ❤❤❤
First of all, awesome video! Great delivery, and I loved the topic. I would say I fall in the camp of a "fuck-it" but, I'm not very bold about it. When the dam broke in 2020, I spent a long time trying to see if I could be a burner. I wasn't as active in the fandom as I used to be, but I still held the world very close to my heart. I realized after a while that not only could I not do it, but I felt that hp at that point, had grown much bigger than her anyway.
Absolutely agree. The world has long transcended the author and people have added so much fanon lore to both characters and world that I sometimes forget what is official canon and what has been accepted as such for years.
@@excessivelyfangirlingbookw3339 So true! The fandom is it's own organism, and it developed it's own existence outside of the source material a long time ago.
There has never been a video more tailored to me in my life.
I can’t believe this is a first video. It’s so good!
you speak so eloquently, i love it.
Oh man, the disappointment I felt when I realised this is the _only_ available video on this channel... If you ever decide to make more I will be here for it
My next video should be up in the next week or so! I’ve actually been working on it since before this one came out… so it’s gonna be a long one.
FINE RUclips I’LL FINALLY WATCH THIS
(This has been in my watch later playlist since 3 months ago and yt keeps recommending it to me)
The research on this video is insane- at some points I was in awe that I was watching a video on drarry because of how well this is thought out and planned.
This was a really fun and interesting video. I’ve been thinking recently about how I just straight up forget that Drarry and wolf star fandom is technically Harry Potter fandom because it feels so disconnected, so this was so interesting
just messaged my gf with a link to your video (she'd already seen it, and subscribed.) So much of what you say here rings so true and correct to me. I was in the trenches of hp fandom for a long time, but absolutely dropped off engaging after 2020 happened and the *really* bad stuff came out. It honestly just hurt too much. I have a sort of micro tumblr/discord community, called sortinghatchats, where we get a little more nuanced and interesting with the hogwarts houses, and I changed up all my terminology to distance it from HP and signal my disapproval with JKR's comments. But when I finally felt okay enough to dive into writing "fuck-it" fic - boy did it feel good, and cathartic, and healing, and necessary. Please do continue creating content. This is good stuff, and I'll be here watching.
Sortinghatchats! I remember this tumblr 🤩
Thank you for such an interesting, unique video! Would love to see more of you! 😊
My Immortal is the only fic I have read from the fandom. And lets be honest, there can't be anything better than that.
Damn, you ate with the first video on your channel! Kudos to you, my friend
Thank you!
you obviously did so much work for this vid essay and it shows ~ it was a joy to watch :) everyone say thank you eli
great first video ! looking forward to seeing more from u.
Great video, your voice is so soothing
This was great. I’d love to hear your thoughts on more fandom-related topics
My next video should be up within the next week or so!
My lukewarm defence here, with Harry becoming a cop is that this is a gripe that only Americans seem to have. Harry Potter is an English creation and the relationship we have with police just simply isn’t the same. There are of course problems, but American fans seem to get particularly angry with this point because they don’t differentiate between different cultures. Nobody in the uk has to fear being pulled over by a cop
Good video regardless, I subscribed
I wouldn't say nobody has to fear mistreatment from the police here. (The murder of Sarah Everard was only 3 years ago and theres been evidence of racism in police searches for years) I agree that the relationship most people have with the police is very different from America though, especially when the books were written. Personally I think him becoming a teacher would have been a better end to his arc, him teaching dumledores army seemed to be hunting at that, but him being a cop definitely doesn't carry as much stigma here as it does in America.
You should probably include the induction of the Inkstained Fingers archive in this data. Import began in 2015 and the original archive closed in 2018. That also covers your little uptick spike in 2015-2016 in the gradual decline of interest in Drarry.
i'm not active in the hp fic space at all, but this was still so fascinating to watch and listen to!! i'm excited to see whatever you come out with next - thanks for sharing with us :]
Was Alexander Avila cosplay intentional? /Pos
The video's awesome i love essays on fandom/queer culture, i love statistics and i love internet drama, this video combined all of that lol
it was not! i was actually wearing a graduation robe covered with trans pride pins on top of this getup until like two minutes before filming (to sort of give a “wizard robes” vibe) but i got too hot and last minute decided to take it off… and then totally ended up in alexander avila cosplay. didn’t realize until folks pointed it out in the comments but very flattered by the comparison, his channel rules
This felt like an university lecture! Well done and very interesting!
this was genuinely so fucking well done. ESPECIALLY for your first video essay oh my god!!!
I really appreciated your nuanced take on this issue! I’ve heard a lot of discourse over death of the author (your denialists) or rejecting the media as a whole (your burn it downs) but I’ve never been quite satisfied with those extremes. I think that, whatever problematic elements may have made their way into the books, they still had a very real and valuable impact on a lot of people and that doesn’t change just because jkr has expressed hateful views. I completely understand not wanting to financially or ideologically support jkr but that doesn’t mean the fandom as a whole should be abandoned. Taking an opportunity to examine and critique the media we enjoy is always something i support, as well.
Knocked it out of the park with your first video!
This is really good for your first video essay, keep up the good work. As a trans woman I do find your analysis of Harry Potter fanfic very interesting, though I can't say I've ever been especially involved in male slash fics. From my general fanfic reading though, I would suggest part of the waning of drarry is growing popularity of other ships, I feel like I see more Snarry than Drarry nowdays.
Oh Drarry. My first introduction to the world of ao3 and one of my favourite pairings. I love stories of how they meet after the war and especially eighth year stories. Also great video!!
This has managed to completely encapsulate my feelings on this topic and for that I wanted to thank you.
Drarry has been my first fandom, and one in which I have been active since the very early 2000s. In the discourse of burning it all down and people creating tons of videos saying "actually it has always been a trash", I have found myself frustrated at the lack of nuance and maybe even the conversation.
I adore Drarry for exactly the types of fics you described, those that take the canon, look at at, and absolutely deconstruct it . The ones that look at things that Rowling hinted at and bring them to light an analyse them. Desi Harry has been one of my most favourite tropes to come up over the years, as has been all the fiction written about his trauma, what it would do to a person to live the life he did, and foil it against Draco and his own traumas. I love the fics that take the surface level magic and expand it into immersive, beautiful and deep worlds. I do not want to let those go because I think they are valuable, should be cherished, especially in the face of Rowlings bigotry. Especially as so many of those has been written by us, queer trans people.
I also agree we do not talk about this enough. So thank you again for your video and thoughtful insights.
I loved it! Very interesting, argumented and serious video essay, I can't wait to watch more of your stuff. And I am checking the bibliography right now! :))
Just got to the bit where you discuss not being able to know the fandom’s sentiments in 2020, but only now, about 4 years later. I am someone who read Drarry extremely often (like hundred of thousands of words a week, lol) from ~2016 through ~2022. I do still go back and read more occasionally, but I prefer long fics, and I’ve read most of the good ones on AO3 by now. So I do have some knowledge about what happened at the time, but I can only give my own experience. This would be a lot more difficult to search for and find statistical significance in, but I mostly saw the TERF rhetoric and Rowling in general discussed in author’s notes on AO3 at the time. There seemed to be a couple different general approaches on the AO3 authors’ parts - there were a number of authors that orphaned their Drarry works, some that deleted them all together, some that finished any WIPs but stopped after that, and quite a few that put a disclaimer in their author’s notes saying that either they disavowed Rowling’s words/beliefs but were separating the art from the artist and continuing on (the author contingent of the “fuck-its” as mentioned in the video) or that they could no longer stomach being involved in anything HP and would no longer be writing any new fics in the fandom or even finishing current WIPs. There were extremely few authors that did not address the issues at all.
yeah, considering that particular fandom was queer it couldn't really go unaddressed because the people who wrote and consumed this content believed in equality, i do wonder whether the same effect was reflected on heterosexual spaces like dramione
I genuinely admire your dedication to the topic of the video
I really appreciate that you covered something I myself have many mixed emotions about. I have two cousins who are also queer/trans, I’m very close to them and we’re all nerds who grew up loving Harry Potter and exploring the world of fanfiction in the mid 2010s. To this day we hang out on discord calls and create Harry Potter OCs and AUs. We never post or share anything online but it’s been such a great bonding activity that keeps us in touch well into adulthood, and it’s a fun and low stakes creative activity we enjoy (we’re all artists in different fields/mediums).
I also work as an art teacher, and I’ve met so many kids who love the Harry Potter books, probably because their parents are millennials who were also fans of the franchise. Many of them love to draw fan art and even engage with fandom. I think it’s a good thing that there remains a part of online fandom that puts out fanworks that critique and engage with the more pernicious aspects of the books - I agree that it creates a better environment for newcomers to join into, it might also help people get their Harry Potter “fix” without supporting/engaging with the author herself.
This is an amazing video essay, bravo, bravo.
I really like a lot of the topics u went over, and the views of who is still into potter fandom and fanfiction as a form of activism.
One thing to be aware of when collecting stats on ao3 is that a shockingly large number of fic authors decided to make some of their works restricted (only visible to logged-in users) recently due to the belief that this would prevent their works from being used to train AI.
I would think that using a control tag like fluff and analyzing the ratio would control for this, but absolutely true when you’re looking at overall numbers
Instant subscribe. Can't wait to see what you make next!
Wow!! I spend a lot of time on YT watching queer video essayists-I was an avid Lindsay Ellis fan and these days I watch a lot of Contrapoints, Verilibitchie, Alexander Avila, and Rowan Ellis. All this to say, I consume a lot of this content, and I am SO impressed that this is your first video! Your ideas are so clear and easy to follow, and this is such a fascinating and well-researched topic! I was genuinely sad to click into your channel and find it almost empty! I've liked and subscribed, I hope you keep them coming!
hey eli ! I just wanted to say thank you for this video. I actually got into the online fandom space because of JKR's transphobic statements, which made me completely stop engaging with the "official" HP universe and stop affiliating with my local, non english speaking fangroup which i realised didn't care about it. HP has been a hyperfixation of mine since i learned to read with these books 20 years ago and it really hurt me to distance myself from it, so the fanspace on the internet became the safe space i craved for it and it has definitely been so eye opening to so much stuff i had never thought about or understood the implications of. Your essay helped me put words on that feeling and feel a lot more comfortable in engaging with it without fear of causing direct harm to the trans community which i'm not a part of.