Sorry For Talking About Harry Potter
Against my better judgement, I'm adding to the multitude of posts already up about Harry Potter. I know there's going to be a lot of posts out there about Harry Potter, and I honestly did try to find another story to write about. But there was really nothing else.
You see, I didn't really engage with the classic hero narrative when I was younger. It might seem odd, because all I did was read in elementary school. (Seriously. I would read ten books at a time. I've been through a ridiculous amount of some of the lengthiest series of children's books.) I suppose I had run into hero narratives before Harry Potter, considering how much I read. They were much more subtle narratives, and I never really looked up to any of the characters I found in them, but they were there. But despite the excessive amount of literature I went through, I never touched the "classic" heroes. I expressed zero interest in Lord of the Rings, I avoided seeing Star Wars for 16 years of my life despite having a brother who watches the movies obsessively, and I refused to touch Harry Potter until my mom decided that enough was enough and read the first book to me and my brother.
For those who don't know, Harry Potter is an orphan wizard living with his non-magical relatives when Hagrid arrives to tell him that he's a wizard and been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Over the course of the series, Harry is trained in magic until he finally faces and defeats Voldemort, the man who killed his parents and is viciously taking over the wizarding world, at the end of the series. Along the way, he makes lifelong friends with the other students at Hogwarts.
These side characters were always the more compelling characters for me. Harry was entertaining enough, and his stupidity was certainly funny at times. But I was always much more invested in Hermione and Ginny (one of Harry's two closest friends and eventual wife, respectively). To me, they were far more interesting -- they were strong women. Hermione was a nerd, but she made it cool in a way that spoke to my similarly book-obsessed self. Ginny was just a badass.
Ginny didn't start regularly showing up until around book five, and before that all we really got of her was that she had an enormous crush on Harry which prevented her from speaking around him. She did come out of her shell eventually, and turned out to be awesome at everything. She proved her many brothers wrong time and time again when she demonstrated her skill with hexes, she stood up for herself and others, she was kind, but she didn't let that stop her from coddling people when they needed firm advice. I didn't really know it at the time, but reading about her was really important for me. Kids really are affected by the media they consume, and representation of women like Ginny is incredibly important. I really couldn't have asked for much more in such a formative series.
Unfortunately, Ginny was not the most prominent character in Harry Potter. Hermione was one of the three central characters, and she was incredibly smart and hardworking. She managed to deal with Ron and Harry 24/7 for several months in book seven (a headache, I'm sure), not to mention for seven years at Hogwarts. Without her, Harry and Ron would've died within the first book (quite literally -- she saved them from a deadly plant because they were too stupid to pay attention in class). Everything the trio tried to do would have failed without her. She studied so much that people made fun of her, but she didn't let that get to her. She wasn't going to let anyone get in the way of her dreams.
But it always felt like Ginny and Hermione got the short end of the stick somewhere. Despite being more competent than the hero of the story himself, they were never as central as I wanted them to be. I suppose that's expected, given that it's called Harry Potter and not Ginny and Hermione. Ginny and Hermione made Harry Potter into a formative series for me, but they never got as much praise for it within the books as I thought they should have. It didn't feel fair -- why did these two cool girls, who were obviously better than Harry, not get more attention?
And so, after racing through the series, I still wasn't interested in other hero narratives. I wasn't even interested in the ones that were in a magical fantasy world like Harry Potter. Because while Harry Potter was one of my very favorite series of books, it was still about a boy that I felt didn't deserve the spotlight as much as others. Everywhere I looked, the books like that for my age were about boys. Instead, I stuck beside my books about girls, whether or not they were a classic hero's journey. Harry Potter turned me off from anything that I thought might be like it in the sense of a hero narrative.
Maybe Ginny and Hermione raised my expectations too high, because every hero narrative I saw after Harry Potter was a letdown in terms of the girls. To be perfectly frank, Harry Potter was rare with Ginny and Hermione. Most of the girls in books were not as cool or admirable as Ginny and Hermione were. As I got older, YA books started coming out with female heroes, and my subconscious hoped that I had finally found my niche. Alas, I had not, for the books in question were usually poorly written and containing love triangles which diminished what was supposed to be a strong female character into a prize for two men to fight over.
I know this is a bit of a negative take on my heroes. After Ginny and Hermione, I became so frustrated with the main male characters of these kinds of books that I refused to touch the stories I knew had men at the center. Because as lovable as Harry was with his rather thick brain and selfless sacrifice, Ginny and Hermione resonated with me and left Harry in the dust.
You see, I didn't really engage with the classic hero narrative when I was younger. It might seem odd, because all I did was read in elementary school. (Seriously. I would read ten books at a time. I've been through a ridiculous amount of some of the lengthiest series of children's books.) I suppose I had run into hero narratives before Harry Potter, considering how much I read. They were much more subtle narratives, and I never really looked up to any of the characters I found in them, but they were there. But despite the excessive amount of literature I went through, I never touched the "classic" heroes. I expressed zero interest in Lord of the Rings, I avoided seeing Star Wars for 16 years of my life despite having a brother who watches the movies obsessively, and I refused to touch Harry Potter until my mom decided that enough was enough and read the first book to me and my brother.
For those who don't know, Harry Potter is an orphan wizard living with his non-magical relatives when Hagrid arrives to tell him that he's a wizard and been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Over the course of the series, Harry is trained in magic until he finally faces and defeats Voldemort, the man who killed his parents and is viciously taking over the wizarding world, at the end of the series. Along the way, he makes lifelong friends with the other students at Hogwarts.
These side characters were always the more compelling characters for me. Harry was entertaining enough, and his stupidity was certainly funny at times. But I was always much more invested in Hermione and Ginny (one of Harry's two closest friends and eventual wife, respectively). To me, they were far more interesting -- they were strong women. Hermione was a nerd, but she made it cool in a way that spoke to my similarly book-obsessed self. Ginny was just a badass.
Ginny didn't start regularly showing up until around book five, and before that all we really got of her was that she had an enormous crush on Harry which prevented her from speaking around him. She did come out of her shell eventually, and turned out to be awesome at everything. She proved her many brothers wrong time and time again when she demonstrated her skill with hexes, she stood up for herself and others, she was kind, but she didn't let that stop her from coddling people when they needed firm advice. I didn't really know it at the time, but reading about her was really important for me. Kids really are affected by the media they consume, and representation of women like Ginny is incredibly important. I really couldn't have asked for much more in such a formative series.
Unfortunately, Ginny was not the most prominent character in Harry Potter. Hermione was one of the three central characters, and she was incredibly smart and hardworking. She managed to deal with Ron and Harry 24/7 for several months in book seven (a headache, I'm sure), not to mention for seven years at Hogwarts. Without her, Harry and Ron would've died within the first book (quite literally -- she saved them from a deadly plant because they were too stupid to pay attention in class). Everything the trio tried to do would have failed without her. She studied so much that people made fun of her, but she didn't let that get to her. She wasn't going to let anyone get in the way of her dreams.
But it always felt like Ginny and Hermione got the short end of the stick somewhere. Despite being more competent than the hero of the story himself, they were never as central as I wanted them to be. I suppose that's expected, given that it's called Harry Potter and not Ginny and Hermione. Ginny and Hermione made Harry Potter into a formative series for me, but they never got as much praise for it within the books as I thought they should have. It didn't feel fair -- why did these two cool girls, who were obviously better than Harry, not get more attention?
And so, after racing through the series, I still wasn't interested in other hero narratives. I wasn't even interested in the ones that were in a magical fantasy world like Harry Potter. Because while Harry Potter was one of my very favorite series of books, it was still about a boy that I felt didn't deserve the spotlight as much as others. Everywhere I looked, the books like that for my age were about boys. Instead, I stuck beside my books about girls, whether or not they were a classic hero's journey. Harry Potter turned me off from anything that I thought might be like it in the sense of a hero narrative.
Maybe Ginny and Hermione raised my expectations too high, because every hero narrative I saw after Harry Potter was a letdown in terms of the girls. To be perfectly frank, Harry Potter was rare with Ginny and Hermione. Most of the girls in books were not as cool or admirable as Ginny and Hermione were. As I got older, YA books started coming out with female heroes, and my subconscious hoped that I had finally found my niche. Alas, I had not, for the books in question were usually poorly written and containing love triangles which diminished what was supposed to be a strong female character into a prize for two men to fight over.
I know this is a bit of a negative take on my heroes. After Ginny and Hermione, I became so frustrated with the main male characters of these kinds of books that I refused to touch the stories I knew had men at the center. Because as lovable as Harry was with his rather thick brain and selfless sacrifice, Ginny and Hermione resonated with me and left Harry in the dust.
I completely identify with your struggle to find a strong female hero! While brainstorming/researching for this project, I visited various webpages listing the "Top 50 Heroes of All Time". I was lucky if I found one woman among the midst of all the James-Bond-ish masculinity.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many stories that push women to the sidelines, even when they're supposed to be the "heroines" of the story. I agree with you in that Hermione and Ginny are completely amazing female characters who definitely inspired me more than Harry ever did. I also agree with you in your comments about the YA novels of our middle-school ages - just look at how fans of The Hunger Games were divided over "Team Gale" or "Team Peeta" instead of enjoying Katniss herself! Although I do find that this male-centric hero norm is changing a bit now, it does sadden me that there was so little female-focused representation when we were growing up.
You see Rienstra, this is why you should have watched Star Wars as a kid. Because Princess Leia is the best female role model for little girls EVER. But I actually do get where you're coming from, because I remember being frustrated when I was younger that so many of my books were about boys. It was like Leia (and Eowyn once I was old enough to watch LotR) were the only strong female characters in any of the books I read & movies I watched (which is sort of staggering considering just how much media I consumed as a kid).
ReplyDeleteAnd although now I think it is possible to find well-written & interesting stories with a female character at the center, as opposed to support, it's also true that so many attempts at that fall short, and you end up with half-hearted plots, boring lovey-dovey subplots, and Mary Sues (although that title has it's own list of problems).
P.S. Mr. Mitchell, Rienstra has this great plan for an English elective focused on female writers and heroes, but she's refused to talk to the English Department about it for like a whole semester now. You should track her down and force her to tell you. I have suggestions for books to put on the list.
Agreed. Looking at the "classic" hero series most people have read like Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings, most are centered around a male character who has female characters supporting him. Struggling to find a strong, female role model who doesn't lurk in the background or isn't just added to a story to become a love interest can be difficult. You mentioned being drawn to books with female leads that weren't your typical hero narrative--were you able to find a role model in those characters instead?
ReplyDeleteStill, maybe something you could play with is the question of if a character can still be strong and relatable whether or not they are the main focus of the book/how much of an impact can a supporting character have on a reader.