The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (a thread for Potterheads)

...So about that complete lack of understanding of American race issues and bigotry and brutality. About. That.

 

*angry screaming*

 

Rereading and, once again, cringing hideously over the term 'No-Maj'. That is so far away from pretty much any American slang I've heard of any time period that I can't take it seriously.

Also noticing how the Native American Natural Majicks appear to drop off the map the moment it becomes fun and profitable to talk about the Puritans instead. Interested in how we managed to make a Magical Congress for the USA before.... the USA.......... existed..........................

 

Holy shit.

So we're just... we're just gonna ignore all the issues like slavery that led up to the development of wildly radical IRL magic/belief systems in favor of "but the wizards work together!!!" That's so fucked up.

Did she ever confirm if latin incantations were used globally? Because I can't think of anything more tone deaf than this other than "Yes, the Chinese and African wizards absolutely have used latin for their incantations for thousands of years, thank u for asking :)"

 

Also, like. Assuming this Congress has any relation to either the Continental or current congress - how. How were delegates chosen. If wizards are supposed to be so detached from local culture, it's impossible for colonies to decide who would represent them. Did the native americans who we were apparently completely best buddies 5evr with get to participate? Because the only way I can see this shaking out is - the wealthiest wizards who already knew each other anyways got together and decided to say that they were a governing body now.

Also, I saw fic of the last update. http://archiveofourown.org/works/6201754.

 

Hell, there was nothing to indicate in any of the books or supplementary material that British (and therefore by osmosis, any American or other colony based societies) didn't share that sentiment. I mean, the wizards were wizards, yes, but they were also firmly British wizards. If being pureblooded (and not just pureblooded but upperclass pureblooded; I haven't forgotten that there are a fair number of apparently fully wizard families for generations that just happen to be poor and therefore outside of the snooty rich club) is enough to incite a genocidal war of terror through Voldemort, and if wizard disdain for muggles was already deeply entrenched to the point where modern wizards refuse to use fucking pencils, I refuse to believe that magically (snrk) they somehow dodged the race/ethnicity/cultural purity bullet.

And yeah, the Congress. The Congress.

I understand that non-Americans aren't versed in American History/Politics as well as citizens, just like I fully understand that without Google, I would never have known what the War of the Roses was, but. Come on. Google is right there. But here's the thing-- it wouldn't have been known as the United States of America (they were just called the Colonies) and Georgia didn't even exist yet. I feel like there were a few others that didn't exist? Or existed only in name and not in actual population.

If anything, I could see a splinter group of wizards, opposed to the Scourers, who leapt upon this opportunity to expand their own power over a still-growing magical community, but that's nowhere near the happy fun sunshine version of events we're getting glossed over. I mean, how did the MACUSA (and I will never not read that as 'meguca'／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼) deal with the Trail of Tears? How were enslaved African wizards treated? I'm assuming Ilvermorny is going to get addressed at some point, but does MACUSA have any jurisdiction over Canadian students? Mexican? Do they just go to smaller schools instead of one of the 'greats'?

What the hell did the wizards do with the Civil War? What the hell did wizards do during the Red Scare? I fully recognize that this is my American center-of-the-universe attitude leaking through but seriously what the hell did these supposedly enlightened wizards do with all the human rights violations throughout American History?

 

On a semi-but-mostly-not-related note, holy shit am I tired of fanfics that are basically saying "but what if the wizards are better than muggles" like holy shit. Exploring wizarding culture and traditions and politics and different forms of magic can be cool but I have seen way to many fanfics that just seem to, like, glorify the fucking corruption and backroom deals and stuffy old people who don't want to change their ways because prejudice and pointless pleasantries are more beneficial to them while portraying muggles as ignorant and out of tune with nature and idiots. Especially fanfics that give Harry and Hermione secret magical heritage (or more magical heritage, in Harry's case).
It seems to come out of "Slytherin isn't evil, because it's kind of absurd to have a house that is the evil house where the evil 11 year olds go" and extrapolate it to "also all of their long held prejudices are true tho" like. Slytherin isn't the evil house but the rich pureblood kids who go to it and are storted there based purely on family are still raised in a toxic ideology that needs to be challenged, and you can world build and create interesting things about wizarding culture w/o going "buuut what if Voldemort was kind of right, though?"

 

I'm still in utter shock so I can't write good posts like you guys. I'm just. No.

 

Now I want to do a lot of research into First Nations and try and figure out how different Nations had different relationships with their wixes, some public and accepted, some viewed with suspicion, some separate and isolationist, and how that clashed with European colonists who came from a very isolationist, secret wizard society. Now that is an interesting story to have >:/

 

proposal: we all band together and write an all-encompassing, conclusive, better history of american magic. bc wtf. >:T

 

I'm going to have to concentrate on Central and South America then, I will have better access to sources to study this. Heck, dad is an anthropologist, I'll ask him loads of questions too.

 

Well, there is the Sage Canyon RP... We could have Ilvermorny be the elite school where everyone knows their textbooks are funded and edited by the whitewashingest purebloods ever and no one learns what the three branches of government are.

 

I would totally write that fanfic with y'all.
Have we done any group writing projects?

 

I can see the point, but I am also extremely wary of bringing more people in and... the danger of the atmosphere, the vision, the tone changing completely. It reminds me of the way some movie adaptations of novels completely destroy the novel's spirit. It would be very hard, imo, to find a good collaborator to work with Rowling on that.

That said, man, I need to get some history books if I'm going to do this.

 

Yeah, I kinda feel like she has fallen into the Successful-Author-No-Editors hole. Part of this is maybe due to the fact that Pottermore is online and not a full book. But things like the Congress of the United States in 1693 should've been caught by someone.

 

I'm really not surprised by this. I'm annoyed by it, but I'm not surprised by it. She's repeatedly shown to be awful at handling things that aren't British. Honestly, I kind of was waiting for this to happen when I heard the new thing was taking place in America. And again it just makes me want to think about the Wizarding World outside of Britain. Because Rowling sure as fuck isn't coming up with one I care for or think works well in any capacity.

 

America just has a magical democracy aura, apparently

 

I want the eagle ceremony to be part of the wizarding world out here.

 

yknow what would be interesting? a wizarding monarchy. some pureblood line that's passed down the power for generations.

wizarding oligarchy!! wizarding dictators!!! political diversity and rebellion!!!!