The game of quadball , since I’m not calling it its old name anymore, is so far removed from the fandom anyway at this point (and from the events that occur in the book -game) that it isn’t really required to be a Potter fan to play it.
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13 posts were split to a new topic: Should trans people be allowed to exist in public spaces? (Spoiler: yes)
2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Should trans people be allowed to exist in public spaces? (Spoiler: yes)
I don’t think so.
I was a bit too old for it, but I can see how the story of Harry Potter resonated for trans youth. You have a main character who is punished by his legal guardians for expressing his true nature, who then finds out that there is a world full of people just like him out there, and his guardians can’t stop him from being himself.
Then JKR shows herself to be Petunia Dursley IRL.
It’s best to just take the good and throw away the bad in these cases.
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Well said.
Also, there’s one school of thought that once one has created art, the art is it’s own thing in the world that the creator no longer has control over.
Personally, I like the way people are finding ways to preserve their love for this sport and the overall fandom while also distancing themselves from JK and making a point about not supporting her or her views.
Getting off topic from the sport, but the actors from the Potter films have been really great about this.
I hope seeing herself removed from the fan universe her art created stings badly.
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Lovecraft Country is an excellent case study in this idea.
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Yeah, but it’s probably a lot easier in cases like that when the author has been dead for decades and no longer has any control or input. There’s currently nothing stopping Rowling from self-publishing new Potter sequels that include the characters spouting bigoted nonsense if she wanted to.
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At least we can take solace that Daniel Radcliffe & Company would probably refuse to deliver those lines on screen.
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I will speak only for myself, as a trans woman. I used to be a huge Harry Potter fan. As @the_borderer pointed out, there are aspects of the Harry Potter story that resonate with trans people, especially trans youth. Once Rowling made it abundantly clear that this was completely accidental and that she herself is a transphobe and a TERF, I was unable to separate the art from the artist. It’s just too personal for me. I cannot watch the movies anymore, and I have no interest in consuming any new HP content in any media. However, that’s me. There’s plenty of other art from other problematic artists for which I have been able to separate the art from the artist, so I don’t have a problem with anyone who continues to enjoy HP content, although I think everyone could benefit from looking at the books again, critically, keeping in mind what we now know about Rowling’s politics. There are more problems that just her transphobia. This video, while long, is a good look at some of that. Anyway, as long as everyone understands all this, and is ok with saying, “Ok, Rowling sucks, but I really enjoy this game for its own merits,” then I see no reason why they shouldn’t continue to play.
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For sure, I definitely wasn’t trying to yuck anyone’s yum. It seemed clear that people were deriving meaning and value from Quadball despite the unpleasant associations – and I wouldn’t want to deny anyone that. But I didn’t have the experiential knowledge to understand how folks navigated that tension.
Thanks for your thoughtful response (and those of the others who commented)!
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Well, we can certainly pretend that she’d been dead for decades. As such, we’re just planning for the future.
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I’m confused as to how this is relevant, considering flying brooms and magical winged golden sportsballs are not real things that exist.
Quadball being played. (The channel has more footage. should it appeal)
It looks confusing.
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Looks fun, like water polo on land almost.
I do hope they phase out the “stick between the legs” thing as they distance themselves more from the source material. That looks like unnecessary injury risk, it does.
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I agree it looks confusing, but lots of sports are confusing if you don’t understand them. I’ve tried really hard to understand cricket because it looks so much like baseball (which I’ve followed since I was a wee lad and still learn new rules) but it baffles me.
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a game with four balls?
a rule where the seeker can swoop in to save any game for narrative purposes?
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Worth noting in Quadball, the Seeker doesn’t get NEARLY the points for grabbing the Snitch as they do in the books.
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