movie Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe turned down Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie

[Zack]

11 minutes ago, Redstreak said:

There’s a passage in like the third book where she’s specifically described as white

There are passages (throughout the books) where her face is sometimes described turning different colors or appearing white at a certain point, but that's sufficiently ambiguous to deny that she was intended to be specifically white or to make any specific assessment of her race.  For example, mixed race people can go pale or pink or appear to have a "white" face in certain contexts and there are other situations where this would also fit for someone non-white.

 

My whole point is that it is open to interpretation, something which Rowling herself has supported, therefore I disagree with people saying that it is wrong or forced to interpret her as black, since the source material is not prescriptive on the topic. If anything, showing an intelligent black (or non-white) woman in a leading role can only be a positive thing, but that's just my opinion.

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by Zack

[Hephaestus]

Quote

"if you guys don't come back you're not gonna be Harry Potter anymore, we'll get someone else"

Jokes on them because the OG cast and especially Daniel will always be Harry Potter in the mind of fans.

 

Kudos to Daniel and Emma for standing their ground! 

[GabeInPolaroids]

The problem isn't how Hermione is portraited in the books. It's not if her color is white on the books. It doesn't matter! Why the color of a character needs to be important when it doesn't change a thing in her development?

 

The only problem with her being black is the same one as Dumbledore being gay: it was only stated by her years before the ending of the series and just as a mater of "i'm not racist" "i'm not homophobic" which, funny enough, she showed to be. 

[Reginald]

Hollywood, Come Up With Something New Challenge   I read Harry Potter when I was like 9 years old, it's a series for (and about) schoolchildren. Why does Hollywood think I'll want more of this series in a decade when I'll be firmly middle-aged? 40+ still stanning a book about an 11 year old  

[Mordecai]

24 minutes ago, Zack said:

Doctor Who is in a different situation since the source material has portrayed the character as a white male for literally decades, so that was largely accepted as canon. It's the same for arguments that James Bond should be re-casted with a non-white actor, since those books do actually go into detail about his appearance and it is clear he is intended to be white by the author.

 

This is not the case for Hermione, since the source material clearly doesn't detail her race in any prescriptive detail. So the point is, that she is not being "reimagined" or "re-characterized" in any way, since the original source material is already open to interpretation.

 

The fact that she's white in the movies and certain illustrations is just one interpretation of the source material. The fact that she's black in the Cursed Child play is another interpretation and both are correct. I don't think it's specifically for the "sake" of diversity. If anything movie adaptations have a long way to go in challenging historical white washing, so this is a positive development to me at least.

Interesting that she was black in the Cursed Child, I didn't know that. Totally get your points and even though the source material isn't specific, to have a character that's been portrayed in 8 films and is a cultural icon does paint a certain picture in your mind when you consider it all.

 

27 minutes ago, TheOnlyOne said:

Stop projecting what YOU don't want for everyone feeling the same. You sound like a typical racist republican complaining about diversity as if diversifying appeal to a wide array of audiences is somehow harming you in any way. Grow tf up. 

 

I want a black Hermione. As do many others.

 

 

It's almost as if you didn't read the rest of my comment. Stop being so damn rude and inflammatory

[Johnny Jacobs]

Good. No one wants it..

 

My husband deserved better

 

[Redstreak]

23 minutes ago, Venice B said:

We all know about that one and every single person with an ounce of reading comprehension can understand that "her face was white" because she was scared shitless. That's the only time in seven books where she comes close to describing Hermione's skin color and she only did that to evoke her fear in that situation.

And the cover of the original book?

[M!X]

57 minutes ago, Zack said:

Your protestations are interesting, since as far as I'm aware, Hermione's skin color/race is never explicitly referred to in the books.

 

Source....Rowling herself:

 

OT: I think this TV series will turn out to be a mistake, but we'll see.

 

23 minutes ago, Venice B said:

We all know about that one and every single person with an ounce of reading comprehension can understand that "her face was white" because she was scared shitless. That's the only time in seven books where she comes close to describing Hermione's skin color and she only did that to evoke her fear in that situation.

Hermione was portrayed as white on official book covers - POA US version and Deathly Hallows UK version, Emma was cast as her because let's be real that's how JKR imagined her to look like, I am sorry but that JKR tweet is as usual BS,  I do not even care about this discussion but Hermione's race being opened to the discussion was just a way for JKR to collect some woke points, same with Albus being gay 

[Venice B]

1 minute ago, Redstreak said:

And the cover of the original book?

That was the illustrator interpretation, just like the director of the show can have a different interpretation and see her as a POC 

[Redstreak]

Just now, Venice B said:

That was the illustrator interpretation, just like the director of the show can have a different interpretation and see her as a POC 

Weird how all these interpretations that have to be approved by Rowling somehow never match her intention she never revealed until it was too late 

[GabeInPolaroids]

4 minutes ago, Venice B said:

That was the illustrator interpretation, just like the director of the show can have a different interpretation and see her as a

exactly! it's just the default mindset of the whole world (specially back then): she is one of the protagonist? so she's white.

her race was never a defining thing for her. like cho chang, for example, who's chinese. if she was suddenly portrait as a european white girl it would be problematic.

[GabeInPolaroids]

8 minutes ago, Redstreak said:

she never revealed until it was too late

this. 

[Terylee]

Come on. Hermione was intended to be white by JKR back when she wrote the first book.

[GabeInPolaroids]

2 minutes ago, Terylee said:

Come on. Hermione was intended to be white by JKR back when she wrote the first book.

the problem is not her being canon white. everybody needs to agree she is because she was always meant to be the persona of JK in the books.

the problems is question why she can't be black.

[Reginald]

12 minutes ago, M!X said:

Hermione's race being opened to the discussion was just a way for JKR to collect some woke points, same with Albus being gay 

Veritaserum  100% truth and facts 

[OnlyManInTheWorld]

Wait, so there’ll be new Harry and Hermione? I thought the series would tell another story. Omg. Good luck with the inevitable mess.

[Obsession]

1 hour ago, Mordecai said:

Can they please stop reimagining characters for the sake of diversity, it benefits nobody. Representation is important but nobody wants a black Hermione - let's put that energy into creating new and original diverse characters whose stories deserve to be told

 

OT: Wonder how this will go down. Daniel/Rupert/Emma are still their characters so any recasting is going to get some people upset lol

There's nothing wrong with reimagining characters for diversity. The real issue is they're clearly going to weaponize that and the kids who are cast to offset the controversy of her being involved. 

[ThisNihilist]

I hope they cast Hermione as non-white so all the racists boycott this unneeded money grab

[scenekiller]

1 hour ago, Mordecai said:

But I understand where you're coming from. My point is that even if her race wasn't referred to in the books, recharacterising Hermione for the sake of diversity is dumb. Why reimagine characters when you can make new ones, especially when Hollywood is being so cheap and doing constant and unnecessary reboots and remakes of things.

Instead of attacking you like everyone else, I'm going to try to explain why it happens.

 

The reason reimaginings happen is because these are characters many grew up with/have a fondness for. I agree that new characters and new stories are great, but a new character is a fresh slate without the childhood nostalgia, so people aren't going to be attached to them the same way.

 

For example, there are black girls who grew up loving and relating to Hermoine, so seeing a black Hermoine would just deepen the love they have for the character already. And that's a win-win for corporations because a) it helps them diversify, and b) more importantly to businesspeople, it maximizes their profits.

[odin_envy_me]

1 hour ago, Mordecai said:

Can they please stop reimagining characters for the sake of diversity, it benefits nobody. Representation is important but nobody wants a black Hermione - let's put that energy into creating new and original diverse characters whose stories deserve to be told

 

OT: Wonder how this will go down. Daniel/Rupert/Emma are still their characters so any recasting is going to get some people upset lol

I want a black Hermione.

[Zaram]

Why does it seem like the only thing Hermoine can be is black or white?  There exist more.

[satellites.™]

2 hours ago, Zack said:

Your protestations are interesting, since as far as I'm aware, Hermione's skin color/race is never explicitly referred to in the books.

 

Source....Rowling herself:

 

OT: I think this TV series will turn out to be a mistake, but we'll see.

Its a new generation and this show WILL be the MOMENT. 

[Cherish]

1 hour ago, Reginald said:

Hollywood, Come Up With Something New Challenge   I read Harry Potter when I was like 9 years old, it's a series for (and about) schoolchildren. Why does Hollywood think I'll want more of this series in a decade when I'll be firmly middle-aged? 40+ still stanning a book about an 11 year old  

I don’t want it either but this is ridiculous  logic  kids should be exposed to a good series like this series. 

[Cryptique]

Quote

- They will make an effort to have a more diverse cast, particularly for the role of Hermione

CHILE... ENOUGH 

[Zoomer]

Who cares? 💀 she still got her money