I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: it’s more important to know and understand fully why something is harmful than it is to drop everything deemed problematic. It’s performative and does nothing. People wonder why nobody has critical thinking skills and this is part of it because no one knows how to simousltansly critique and consume media. You need to use discernment.
This is ultimately why propaganda is going to work on you. Because you never learned how to think for yourself and the actual ideology behind things. You simply rely on group think and the bare minimum explanations to tell you what’s good and bad.
Sawthis article linked on twitter yesterday and…. yeah. YEAH.
Okay I have a lot of thoughts on this so this is probably going to get super long.
The main things I’ll elaborate on:
1. Critical thinking is important.
2. Nuance (also important) and critical thinking are not the same thing, as the repost above is conflating them to be.
3. Your public support (or lack thereof) of a work deemed problematic has meaning, and you should consider that meaning before engaging.
4. Kindness and empathy need to be present in these conversations for those who have the energy and capacity.*
So the above posts are (I believe) pretty clearly talking about Harry Potter and JK Rowling, and how people have been dumping Harry Potter over the last several years because it’s been deemed problematic. OP is saying that this is due to group think and a lack of critical thinking and/or willingness to look into and fully understand why something is problematic. I will admit I may be wrong, as the repost linked article is about a different work, but I do want to use HP as an example of how this thinking may be flawed.
First, I agree that people need to be practicing critical thinking skills. It happens way too often that things just get shared without any fact checking. The most recent example being “Elon musk said he’d give $6Billion to end world hunger if given a plan and then didn’t do it then bought Twitter for 7x more than that” yes, elon musk is absurdly rich and I am not a fan for a number of reasons, but this is still a bit misleading (“ending world hunger” was not on the table for one, and due to legality with anonymous donations it is *theoretically* possible that he has done it [or at least 5.75billion] and we just….can’t get confirmation of that). That said, is the sentiment that the absurdly rich should be more proactive about giving back and have some responsibility to use a small percent of their wealth to do good in the world or care for their fellow humans still a valid sentiment, and something Elon musk doesn’t seem to be living up to? Is it absolutely ridiculous that an individual can buy an entire social media company? Absolutely. Should he be off the hook because the facts in the quippy little post that’s blowing up are a little off or don’t tell the whole story? I don’t think so, because there’s still some truth to the message the post is really trying to get to. Anyway, critical thinking is super important, especially in the age of algorithmically designed social media ‘bubbles.’ Please fact check things before blindly posting them. And let people know when you choose to post something anyway that may be misleading, and why.
Second, you can’t make a nuanced opinion without talking about specifics. That’s the whole point of a nuanced opinion, is that it’s going to be different depending on the (nuanced) circumstances of each thing. I know OP didn’t bring up nuance in particular and that was the repost, but it does ring true for “you need to use discernment” as well.
In the case of JK and HP (which again is what I believe OP is talking about, but they failed to be specific in their sweepingly broad statement about critical thinking, so I may be incorrect), HP was deemed harmful because of a number of things:
The primary reason, of course, was JK being deemed a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) based on the fact she opposes trans rights bills, doesn’t seem to believe that trans women are really women, specifically doesn’t want to open up women’s spaces to trans women for fear of men taking advantage of that and pretend to be trans to gain access to spaces where they can prey upon women. This is all stuff that was in her blog about it (which I did actually read, unlike a certain fantastic beasts actor who condemned people for cancelling her without knowing things/making judgements without knowing the facts when that’s what he did by judging people who’ve cancelled her without educating himself on it first?), so this is verifiable things people can look up and find it’s true. She’s also publicly supported anti-trans politicians and researchers, and continues to double down on her position whenever confronted about it.
Since then, the negative things about the books have been more in the forefront and people have been calling attention to them. Antisemitic themes in the descriptions of goblins, the gross abusive grooming behavior of Dumbledore, the lack of diversity, the queer baiting (that’s a little outside the books but still), etc.
All this to say: there are very valid reasons to be upset with the state of Harry Potter right now. OP said “No one knows how to simultaneously critique and consume media. You need discernment.” Well, There are reasons why someone would think critically about the situation and not want to consume or engage in it any more; that is discernment.
Especially because the media does not exist in a bubble! JK has made a lot of money off of Harry Potter (and continues to do so), and can use that money and her influence to continue to support anti-trans politicians etc. Her views are harmful to trans people, and her having the influence to spread and perpetuate those views makes it exponentially more harmful.
Now, that said, as well as getting to the paranoid vs reparative reading point of the reposter: should people drop all things HP because of JK’s views?
“It’s performative and it does nothing” is simply wrong.
Because we live in a capitalist society, we show support by the things we spend money on. Furthermore, in the world of influencers and social media, publicly showing support for something (via tweet, Instagram posts, etc) has an impact on the people around us. It sends a message. To trans people it says “my love for this fictional thing is more important than your need for safety.” To people who may be on the fence about supporting HP, it says that it’s okay.
Now I am pecifically saying public support. This is where my personal desire for nuance, kindness, and empathy in these conversations comes in.
The other side of this story is that there are a lot of wonderful things about Harry Potter. It’s a story that has numerous layers of meaning to it and ultimately is about the powers of love and friendship. It’s a series a lot of people felt acceptance and belonging when they weren’t able to find it in the real world, and a series that brought together many beautiful and lasting friendships. It really sucks for people who grew up loving this series to feel like it’s been tainted and is no longer available to them, especially if it was a social crutch or simply the first place they felt at home. It’s hard to let go of that, and frankly, a lot of the aspects of the story don’t line up with the stuff JK is saying today. It feels like a betrayal we could have never seen coming. So how are we supposed to go on from there? By considering the impact of how you’re going to proceed.
Ultimately, everyone needs to make their own choices with how they interact with problematic media. They should be encouraged to make educated choices, engage critical thinking when making those choices. But you can’t bully someone into making the choice you think is right. And to the point of “a story cannot do everything,” there are a lot of facets to a story and a lot of reasons why someone might find good in that story and think it outweighs the bad elements. But also, there are so many other authors and stories that have similar good things that don’t have all this negative baggage. (Rick Riordan and Tamora Pierce, just to name two examples off the top of my head)
For me, I don’t think the good in HP or the good that JK has done in the past outweighs the active harm it and she are causing trans people today. I’ve moved on from HP. And I believe that others who care about trans people and trans rights should also come to that conclusion and withdraw public support from JK and anything she makes money off of. But am I going to blindly judge and condemn everyone who still engages with licensed HP stuff? No. I’ll have a conversation with them, ask why they engage with it and/or spend money on it*. You aren’t going to change anyone’s mind by just telling them they’re wrong for liking something. Because directing the reasonable anger I have for JK at people who like Harry Potter is not necessarily reasonable (kinda depends on the reason and the person and that’s my point—it’s important to get to the why, and if they are reasonable people, to share your why and what you know about it so they have the information to make a more informed decision*). Assuming hostile intent isn’t going to help anything. And, for example, if someone’s playing the new Harry Potter game specifically because the makers of the game (not Rowling) made the option to make your character trans, I’m not gonna judge them for that. That seems like a pretty important reason. But should they still consider the impact they’d have if they post on social media what a great game it is and how much they love Harry Potter and whatever else? Yea. Should they consider that at least some of the money spent on the game will go towards Rowling? Yea (maybe throw twice as much money at a charity like Trevor Project for example). Will these considerations affect your decision and make you ultimately decide it’s off-limits or that you don’t want to engage? It’s entirely possible, because just because you could simultaneously consume and critique media doesn’t mean you’re absolved of the impact your consumption would have.
It’s tricky water to navigate, and I just can’t find it in myself to be angry at others who are trying to find their own way to navigate it. The best I can do is try to share how I’ve navigated and hope it helps them. Educate, make thought-out decisions. Be open to changing your decisions when new information comes up. Be open to conversations about the ‘why’s.*
*Disclaimer: be healthy and stay safe! If someone literally does not think you or people like you should have basic human rights, that’s not a situation you need to put yourself in. Maybe ask an ally to intercede (hi I will be that person if you need one!), or remove yourself from the situation, or simply leave it for other people to have these conversations and don’t get into those situations in the first place, it is okay to prioritize your safety over changing someone’s mind who may not even change. Please stay safe friends!!
