by Grania Spingies
Full disclosure: I’m not a huge Harry Potter fan. I have read them all and enjoyed some more than others, but I think that J.K. Rowling’s adult novels are far superior. That said, there can be no doubt that her books for children have gripped (at a conservative estimate) the hearts and minds of at least a generation of kids, and probably even more.
Neither the books themselves nor their writer are strangers to controversy and abuse, either. Rowling has managed to offend the very religious to the point of getting her Potter books banned by groups ranging from several flavors of Christianity to two of Islam – a fairly impressive feat. She even managed to annoy Wiccans for portraying their craft incorrectly (do please at least try to keep a straight face). Evidently, writing fantasy fiction for children is a metaphorical walk in a minefield, because while children may love and understand that this is pure fantasy, some adults are clearly incapable of doing the mental arithmetic required to separate this from Real Life.
The latest chapter in the “Oh my god, I am so offended by your Harry Potter book” saga comes from Dr Adrienne Keene; and this time the offended party is pulling out the Big Guns by using words with lots of syllables in them: cultural appropriation and colonialism.
https://twitter.com/NativeApprops/status/707222859932946432
The cause of all the outraged foot-stamping and furious finger-wagging is this: History of Magic in North America published on the online Pottermore website as an expansion of the Harry Potter universe. You can read all about Rowling’s numerous sins here, if you wish. That’s just Part 1 in the link. There are other parts before and after.
These sorts of tooth-gnashing episodes that break out from time to time on the Internet are such a waste of an opportunity and ultimately counter-productive.
First, when a highly-educated academic starts complaining that all this is mine and you may not touch or even look at without my permission; they resemble nothing so much as a spoilt brat stomping their feet at a party because someone has dared to arrive in a dress that resembles their own. It does poor service to any marginalised and underrepresented community that one might claim to speak for.
Secondly, no-one can correctly claim that they speak for an entire community, let alone a collection of communities. Your offence may not be shared by other members of your community, as was evidenced recently by the Kimono Wednesday debacle in Boston recently.
Finally, this is the most bone-headed way of trying to communicate a culture or facilitate an outreach program. Harry Potter has millions of fans worldwide. The books have been translated into 68 languages. The outreach is huge and global. The smart thing to do if one really wanted to promote an underrepresented and hitherto marginalised group would be to launch a social media campaign on the back of the new addition to the Potter world. Something like: You read the Harry Potter version, now come and explore the rich treasures of the real cultures and peoples!
I guarantee that hundreds of thousands of Potter fans would have clicked through and started to learn some real history, and learn about cultures and people and communities that they had previously known nothing about.
Instead, Keene’s shenanigans have produced a somewhat bitter taste in the mouths of all involved, and the well has been poisoned by its own self-appointed guardian—and that goes for the many Potter fans who might have really wanted to learn more but are now too intimidated to ask.
Your suggestion was spot on! People would have flocked to their website, rather than be repulsed by it.
But Adrienne doesn’t want people to know anything about first-nations (aka american indian etc) cultures or histories. She pointedly states several times it’s “not for you to know”. So she is best ignored which fortunately isn’t hard to do.
On the other hand, Anton Treuer (White Earth Band Ojibwe) has written: Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2012
Treuer is an excellent human being.
Thanks for the information. Looks like he knows a lot more than Adrienne about the subject too.
Thanks for the tip!
In fact, I suspect that many people are now flocking to Rowling’s site- I wouldn’t have known about it without Dr Adrienne “Too” Keene.
(BTW What is it with people using their academic title in a Twitter handle?)
I agree completely. What a simple and intelligent solution.
BTW, do you have any recommendations for a good adult Rowling novel? I haven’t read any of her work, not even the Potter books.
The Casual Vacancy is a bleak and bitter look at small parish politics and social classes in modern Britain. Very gritty and dark.
If you enjoy crime novels, try the Cormoran Strike series. They’re surprisingly good.
~Grania
I liked Casual Vacancy, but loved the Harry Potter series.
Agree, the mystery novels are very good.
Thanks Grania! I’ve ordered The Casual Vacancy. Bleak and bitter small parish politics sounds like something right up my alley. I enjoy “gritty and dark”. 🙂
Enjoyed the books also you had to see what happened next.Still just a story so people need to forget about it or move on.
Bravo! I was watching this emergent clash, and I am glad to see a posting about it here.
Her attitude is strikingly arrogant. She’s actually saying, “What Rowling is doing is extremely offensive, but I literally refuse to tell you why because you cannot be trusted with this information, but just take my word for it that it’s incredibly offensive.”
To be honest, while I haven’t read the Harry Potter books (but have seen most of the movies), I find behavior like that of Adrienne Keene offensive, as well as ridiculous. But of course she has a First Amendment right to verify that she’s an ignorant, over-sensitive lout.
From what I can tell Pottermore’s “History of Magic in America” is proudly and blatantly fictional. It’s not intended by writers and not taken by readers as an historically accurate account of magic, witches, shamans, American Indians, or anything else. Rowling’s not turning Indians into magical creatures, nor is she appropriating someone’s culture by inventing a fictional story about fictional indigenous fictional magic.
Contrast that with The Book of Mormon or Mutant Message Down Under.
I don’t think the critic misunderstands the fictional nature. The way I read Dr. Keene’s posts, he (she?) is saying that Rowling ought not write even fictional versions of native American folklore because that’s cultural appropriation.
IMO this is just an attempt at self-promotion. People often bash Rowling just to get their 15 minutes of fame. If he was really upset about this sort of fiction, he wouldn’t have started with Rowling. There are probably literally thousands of works of fiction (both print and screen) that modified native American folklore for their own purposes – in much more offensive ways – long before Rowling’s publishing house did it. Geez, I can think of several Coyote-based fictional stories just off the top of my head. And just look at what the horror genre has done to it. Wendigo? Poltergeist? Stephen King’s Skinchangers? Rowling’s contribution to the “appropriation” is both very late to the game and very tepid. I don’t doubt Dr. Keene’s sincerity, but his/her choice of target does seem to be more about self-aggrandizement than the level of disrespect/offensiveness shown.
This made me think of Mutant Message Down Under (Marlo Morgan) too — the entirely fabricated story of a meeting with a non-existent tribe of Australian Aboriginals, which claims to be factual.
It’s incredibly popular here in Germany, and as I come from Australia (and tend ot mix socially with spiritual folk a lot!) I’m always getting asked about it.
What I find is that if I explain it diplomatically to them that they’ve been sold a croc, they nearly always want to know more about Aboriginal culture. As Grania points out, we want people to pursue their interest, not be terrified of asking a question that will get them labeled a cultural appropriator. (I recommend Diane Bell’s Daughters of the Dreaming.)
This Dr A Keene reminded me when Ron Wesley used his bent wand to fix a problem and ended up in the infirmary vomiting large slimy bugs.
I don’t know why I remember that but it was always good fun going over the various plots and action with my daughter, who was a big fan.
Would it be considered cultural appropriation for me to ingest mescaline?
This reminds me of a quote from Kim Philby; “Arrogance and ignorance are poor bedfellows, and [insert name here] has both in great measure.”
Remind me again….which Native American culture does Twitter originate from? Perhaps Adrienne can tell us.
The point that JK Rowling’s stories can serve as a stimulus for people to find out more about real Native American traditions is a perfectly valid one. However I hope that JK doesn’t defend herself based on this, while going down the road of a kneejerk grovelling apology for having “appropriated” these ideas. For once, I’d like to see a response along the lines of: “Your objections are noted, but the fact is that in a free society I can write about anything I damn well like. If you can’t handle that, then sue me.”
+1 on your last point!
I second that.
⅓
As a reader who was a late starter, I wish that there had been someone like Rowling to encourage me! I’ve read the Potter books (and agree with Grania that some are better than other) but may need to try out her adult fiction.
What I do like about Rowling is that she is very sharp and takes zero crap. I can’t see this going particularly well for Dr Keene.
“She even managed to annoy Wiccans for portraying their craft incorrectly (do please at least try to keep a straight face).”
Sorry! Couldn’t do it.
This is particularly wonderful as ‘Wicca’ was largely invented in the 1950s by the British civil servant Gerald Gardner: it was always a synthetic mishmash of traditions, superstitions and modern inventions.
I also chuckled out loud (COL) at reading the part about annoyed Wiccans.
My daughter and her aunt got into an argument over some detail of this fantasy magic religion thing. If he’s still alive just ask the inventor or change the invention more to your liking.
Coyne’s last point is best seen as proof of the proposition that she is not trying to advance native culture but is just playing a positional game.
Yes, it is a claim on territory. But this post is by Grania Spingies, who is ‘honorary Professor Ceiling Cat’ on this occasion.
I don’t remember such an outcry when Alfonso Cuarón introduced talking shrunken heads in the film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Maybe because he was a Mexican, but Mexico is waaaaaay distant from the Amazon anyway…
I think we need MORE cultural appropriation. Who says we cannot appropriate from other cultures? We do it all the time. The French love American blue jeans. The British love curry (so do I). I enjoy a wide variety of ethnic foods, styles, music, and other customs. I travel all over the world and I’m not supposed to let other cultures rub off on me? Screw that!
I’ve never had anyone adequately explain to me why it is wrong. I know, there are some oppressed peoples who are having aspects of their culture appropriated by people who otherwise ignore their plight. So stop ignoring them!
I cannot stand the damn culture police who deem to tell me what I can and cannot enjoy. Because, you know, oppression!
appropriation (n.) 14c., “taking (something) as private property,” from Late Latin appropriationem (nominative appropriatio) “a making one’s own,” noun of action from past participle stem of appropriare (see appropriate). Meaning “setting aside for some purpose” (especially of money) first attested 1789 in U.S. Constitution.
oppression (n.) 14c., “cruel or unjust use of power or authority,” from Old French opression (12c.), from Latin oppressionem (nominative oppressio) “a pressing down; violence, oppression,” noun of action from past participle stem of opprimere (see oppress). Meaning “action of weighing on someone’s mind or spirits” is from late 14c.
Both “appropriation” and “oppression” are appropriated words. Dr. Keene and his compatriots have no right to use them.
Not only did they appropriate curry, they invented their own versions – an Indian restaurant here in New Zealand states “Come in for a taste of the Midlands” -thereby appropriating an English take on Indian culture and being doubly offensive. Or does this count as recapturing one’s own culture – I find this all very difficult
Q.”What’s the difference between New Zealand and yoghurt?”
A.”Yoghurt has it’s own culture.”
I hope that is not too offensive. If it is, I self-deprecatoringly offer the following…
Q. “How do you tell if an Aussie is on the level?”
A. “The drool runs from both sides of his mouth.”
Both offensive. Great!
A Pommie (Englishman) walks into a bar in Queensland with a cane toad sitting on his head.
Bartender: “Where d’you get that?”
And the toad said, “It started as wart on my arse”.
cr
(Pommie)
Oh, and
Q: Why wasn’t Jesus Australian?
A: Couldn’t find three wise men and a virgin.
cr
Please can I have something to cuddle with now – and to avoid confusion for Australians – I don’t mean anything ovine.
I should think ‘ovine’ would cause extreme confusion for Australians.
“Hey, Bruce, what’s a ‘ovine’?”
“Strewth mate, search me, never heard of it. D’you suppose it’s some sort of tucker?”
“Nah, mate, this Kiwi joker’s talking about cuddlin’ it. Or not.”
“Ah, that’d be a sheep then. Everyone knows they’re sheepshaggers over there.”
cr
What’s the difference between Australia and New Zealand?
In Australia the men are men & the sheep are nervous.
In New Zealand the men are men & the sheep aren’t nervous, they’re used to it.
🙂 (from a Pom).
American blue jeans were an appropriation from Genoese sailors’ denim work clothes (Levi Strauss added copper rivets) – the denim fabric the Italians used came from Nimes – denim was dyed with indigo from India – the best denim nowadays comes from Japan – where does it stop?
I wonder if Dr. Keene would have been happier with a fictional magical Harry-Potterized history of the American continent which made no mention whatsoever of American Indians. Nothing. It’s just a large, empty land where the witches and sorcerers gamboled and played in another Renaissance Faire — none of them Native American. Erase the indigenous culture completely, as if it had never existed.
Would that be better than “appropriation?” Given the situation, that would seem to be the alternative.
Unless the alternative is not to write the book in the first place.
Good point. Or imagine, the US and every other place is populated by white anglo-saxons, her own culture. This shows well that cultural appropriation and Critical Race Theory segregation of non-whites (etc) are the flipside of the same ultra racist ideas. That’s not the kind of thoughtless racism or prejudice, but functionally the severe, KKK level stuff — and the scary thing is that it’s both commonplace among SJWs and also thought as a good idea.
At the end creatives are in a crisis today, whether it’s satirists or fiction writers. When they add these things (e.g. men adding women, white adding people of colour, etc.) they are in acute danger of tripping someone off because someone will find something “problematic”. But that’s of course just the next problematic thing. Add no women (or blacks etc) it’s a racist. If you do, it’s cultural appropriation.
As Jerry once wrote, they are “Leisure Facists”, at least. Incidentially, this subject was the first “SJW-Gate”, before Elevatorgate and Gamergate, and known as Racefail ’09. When I recall correctly, this was also because one write included natives into a story in the fiction writer community but wasn’t one himself. Shetterly then popularized the term “social justice warrior” over that. His ebook is free online (on mobile now, google it) 🙂
Vole De Mort
https://www.flickr.com/photos/110292855@N05/25187806144/in/dateposted-public/
Lol!
Avada Kedavra!
Unlucky voles, who have a border collie for a Patronus.
I wonder how she feels about Michael and Kathleen Gear’s novels about Native American history. They are both archaeologists and wrote many novels set in pre-columbian America, rooted in historical facts. Very popular and very good, at least in my opinion.
Deetzletrius!
If I would have to guess which two flavours of Islam banned Harry Potter, I’d say: Sunni and Shia.
It doesn’t take very much to offend Islam.
Are there not occasions where cultural appropriation by a dominant culture has been a bad thing for the minority culture?
Consider the scenario where sacred objects and practices from the minority culture are absorbed into the dominant one. Over time (likely generations), the meaning and importance of the thing is lost as it becomes a parody in the form of cheap plastic toys or a kiddie Halloween costume. A joke. An echo from quaint bygone age of a defeated and humbled people. Isn’t that a bad thing?
I do not expect that the instance described here fits that scenario, simply because it is way too early to tell.
I’m not sure it is a bad thing if it’s primarily the result of people losing their belief in superstitious nonsense.
Like the ancient tribes of Israel appropriated Egyptian and Babylonian religious and cultural mythology? Or the Romans coopted the Greek pantheon? Or Christianity appropriated Pagan mythology? Or Christian festivals that are now secular or commercial holidays – like the troublesome Halloween?
I don’t think that there is a culture in existence that hasn’t appropriated things knowingly or even unknowingly from every single culture and civilisation around it.
It’s definitely a complex and complicated issue, and beyond trying to educate people about your culture, I don’t know what the answers are. But I am pretty sure that the answer is not insisting that nobody else is allowed to even think or write about it.
Literature and art would be severely impoverished if writers were confined to writing characters that reflected their own personal circle of acquaintances and experience.
~Grania
“I don’t think that there is a culture in existence that hasn’t appropriated things knowingly or even unknowingly from every single culture and civilisation around it.”
Including each others genes which sort of confuses things.
Maybe, but I would need a few actual, historical examples before I was convinced this was a serious problem.
I see it sort of like voter fraud in the US. Yes, in theory it could be a problem. Even a serious problem. But in practice it doesn’t appear to be, so measures against it feel more like useless heavy-handed repression than beneficial restraint.
Hmm, possible case, Pacific Grove’s Festival of Lanterns. In its current incarnation it started in the 1950s with local white folk dressing up in sort of Chinese/Japanese clothing and putting on a play supposedly based on a Chinese legend. This was at a time when most property in Pacific Grove had property covenants banning ‘Asiatics’ (and ‘Negroes’); apparently many still do though they aren’t enforceable (since 1948). Add in that there was a previous festival of lanterns starting in 1905 (again apparently white only though the lanterns are described as Japanese [or Chinese depending on the newspaper]). The Chinese fishing village in Pacific Grove which had existed for decades (possibly since 1844) burned down under mysterious circumstances on May 17, 1906 and the burned out residents evicted from Pacific Grove. The second lantern festival was held in July 1906. The play seems not to have shown up until the 1950s version.
The example I was given was headdress. Giving your kid a feather, nevermind a whole headdress of feathers to wear, is regarded as insulting because feathers are earned, usually by doing great deeds. So the idea that a 5 year old has earned one is ludicrous. The grey area is Hallowe’en, which we didn’t talk about.
(Replace any other earned headdress to see how it works. I suppose examples would be turbans, kippa, mortar board.)
(Feathers) But only in Native American tradition. I’m sure many other cultures used feathers for decoration or fashion.
So unless the feather or headdress is in identifiable Native American style, that’s (reverse?) cultural appropriation going on right there.
cr
A bottom line is there are appropriate appropriations and inappropriate misappropriations.
AK has a point about the portrait of Native Americans in Peter Pan, but I suspect that JK is doing something with more subtlety and class.
I am not a Potter fan (I have a sneaking suspicion J K Rowling was cashing in on a trend started by Tolkien and Terry Pratchett). But I can muster some enthusiasm for Potterism when idiots like Keene spout off against it.
I can understand why anyone would be reluctant to use Potter to ‘springboard’ publicity for their area of interest. I (as a steam locomotive enthusiast) cringe when preserved railways have ‘Thomas’ weekends complete with fibreglass faces (ugh!) stuck on the front of perfectly innocent vintage locomotives. Even if it brings in lots of revenue and interests kiddies in the railway, a small percentage of whom may continue that interest later. But if that helps to keep the locos running, I’ll swallow my nausea and look the other way.
cr
P.S. What’s with the M C Escher Lego structure in the bottom pic?
It’s Harry Potter Lego.
~Grania
It is just very reminiscent of M C Escher architecture
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e8/Escher_Waterfall.jpg
cr
Heaven forfend that the religious practices of some middle-eastern cultures would be adopted and adapted by people from foreign lands. L. Ron Hubbard seems quite visionary in that regard. Don’t steal somebody else’s religion, justm ake one up.
Reblogged this on Nina's Soap Bubble Box and commented:
http://dykewriter.wordpress.com/2015/04/29/godbot-watch-kindly-update-your-dd-to-harry-potte
Colonialism, Copyright and the Art of the Co-Opt…
The concept of copyright is a colonial one, arising from the ability to mass produce and sell, it benefits the Distributor, not the creator of the work.
Pagan Cultures do not have a culture of ownership, they have collectivism and the stories, and the symbols and the stylization of expression is each group’s identity from each and one another.
The symbols belong to the group to use, so even individual arrangements of elements cannot be deemed owned by the artist, they draw from shared traditions.
What it is time for is White People to not use their position of privileged and entitlement to re-tell the stories, but to use their position and expression of interest by their fans to explore authentic stories by the people they are about.
Much like Elvis Presley brought his musical interests to white audiences, some only going so far as him and the ones who copied him – others went through the charts and caused them to no longer be separate…
JK Rowling is certainly part of the merging of religions and mythos, skinwalkers in the new world are not euro-slavic werewolves.. Vikings wore bearskins and drank LSD and thought they transformed too…. variations on a theme, each to their own ghetto, separate and equal works little better than equal but different, Canada’s mulitculuralism at least only riots at UN conferences, Hockey Games and Cable TV negative Option Billing. Shouldn’t everyone get to live in a society where that is the social unrest problems? You don’t have to worry about being shot for going about your legal and private business.
Where did the Vikings buy their LSD?
cr
They probably used reindeer urine; if memory serves some cultures still use it for its hallucinogenic qualities. Something to do with the reindeer diet, a particular fungus they’re partial to. I seem to recall a documentary showing reindeer staggering about, as high as kites (or Rudolph) after eating them, and there is enough of a trace left in the urine to give humans a pretty decent buzz.
Hmmm, interesting. Now we know why Rudolph’s nose lit up.
I believe morning glory seeds contain LSA (lysergic acid amine), which is not that different from LSD. Though Wikipedia says ‘Morning Glory is the name for over 1000 species of climbing plants’…
which means I have no idea whether the ‘right’ one would occur in Norse areas.
cr
Yes, exactly that. And why Santa’s reindeer fly. (Red Reindeer gives you wings.)
/@
mushrooms, eaten and then the urine collected and drank, wasn’t it?
drugs enhance religious and fighting and sex experiences.
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berserker
I am not sure but I don’t think this is true at all. While ancient pagan civilizations didn’t have copyright laws as we know them, I believe the Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Chinese civilizations all had and used the concept of the “state controlled monopoly” on certain goods and on certain manufacturing processes. Which is very much a concept of ownership and managing who gets the benefit from some innovation. And if we broaden it from goods and processes out to land, then feudal systems the world over
– be they pagan, monotheistic, or other – would count too. Feudalism is very much about ownership and control over who benefits from the use of the good (in this case, the land).
I guess if you want to go back to hunter/gatherer tribes, dykewriter, your characterizing might be accurate. But I really don’t think its an accurate characterization of more advanced and urban pagan civilizations.
Private property as we understand it seems to be invented as part of agriculture.
(This also seems to be true of religion as a separate activity, writing, and a few other things.)
not the neo faux ones no, you are correct on the Roman and other ancients to the degree that state controlling who got to manufactor and distribute was an early form of copyright protections – but the actual legal concepts, put into fine fine details has been largely driven by the American Patent office for inventions and distributors who eventually owned the patents over their original creators and in terms of protecting artists legacy interests after their deaths, it’s been the Elvis Presley Estate.
as for copyright an applying that to indegious populations of America and Canada and into South Americas where europe colonized (plus australia/new zealand – those pre-colonial cultures did not have the concept of copyright.
My experience is actually drawn from a Canada Federal Government interaction when I worked at Indian and Northern Affairs and one of my projects was a contest for a Welcome Pole (different from a Totem pole) and I asked for copyright on the pole as a condition of the contest and then I started getting phone calls from Aboriginal Lawyers who wanted to explain to me the difference between native cultural concepts and Colonial ones. and Since I am still bound by Bill C51 about talking about working in government, that is all I can actually say about it….
I feel for JK Rowling, you only need to be schooled once by a group before you mind the cultural boundaries 🙂
I enjoy JK Rowlings Harry Potter Books very much (i’m in my 70s) and they are good fun, The Author herself does more for Charity than anyone else I know and she gladly pays her Taxes, unlike some precocious pricks publicising their Charity work whilst living in a Tax Haven or hiding their wealth in one.
Siberians used the dried mushroom Amanita muscaria (google it). When they peed, the reindeer rushed over to eat the yellow snow. When the reindeer peed, the Siberians rushed over to collect the urine – the hallucinogenic substance was powerful.
I wonder how the first person to discover this happened upon it. I winder the same about the toad-licking thing.