Textual Poaching
Project viewed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VohPp-8PRdg8uL_QFDBRM-lz4WbL_aNYJq_B5oggFU4/edit?usp=sharing
My idea for this project was to take a beloved text that I feel like has defined my life and my generation. Books are an integral and wonderful part of my life and my identity, and always have been. Since I was a kid I've been finding excuses to sneak off and read books and get lost in the fantasy worlds they provide. Harry Potter was the spearhead of children's literature as we know it today, and they remain some of the most intricate, well written books in children's literature. However, from the beginning, it was thought of as a "boy book." Joanne Rowling was asked to invent a middle initial for herself so they could market the book with her initials, so that the world wouldn't know that a woman wrote a book with a male protagonist. I decided to play with this idea. What if the spearhead of children's literature had featured a female protagonist? Would the books still have been as popular? Would it have changed the world of literature today? Children's literature often seems to contain the trope of two boys and a girl fighting the darkness. What if it had been two girls and a boy? Would it have been any good? Would we see more of it now?
I decided to test out that theory. I had come up with the idea for this assignment and was really excited about it, then realized it might not be older than I am. But! Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was first published in June 1997, and I was born in August. So it works! Bit of a loophole there but I'm going to snag it. I loved working on this; it was so fun to reinvent this chapter but genderbend the characters. Most of the text remains the same but I've changed a few things to make the characters a little more characteristic of boys and girls. Harry has become Harriet, Ron has become Rose and Hermione has become Herman. I recreated a classic argument scene they have.
As I was going through the book, I actually struggled to find a scene that would be greatly affected if the genders were switched. Rowling is a great writer and has created an intricate plot where the characters of Hermione and Ron have a unique role in the story. I had to try and preserve that while exploring how things would be if the characters were different gender. So I invented a scene in which a boy acts the way a boy would, by confronting them instead of hiding in the bathroom and crying, and the girls act the way girls would, by being unnecessarily mean and validating each other. In writing this I worry that I actually perpetuated a few stereotypes rather than breaking them; the characters are so much more than their gender, and their gender also has a big impact on how they act throughout the story. I think if the protagonist of Harry Potter really had been a girl, we would've had a very different book.
I loved this Sammy. It was so interesting to have my initial reaction to Herman was that he was being a typical man, mansplaining. This really made me think about how women are depicted in media and how sure we might not be mansplaining, but Hermione is depicted as a "snooty know-it-all" just for being smart.
ReplyDeleteSammy, I think this is so creative and really explores the effects of gender-bending in many levels. It's super interesting to have Harry be a girl as the main protagonist but it's also interesting to have a smart, quiet, know-it-all be the only main male character. I liked the different outlets this leads to. Plus, can I just say thank you for remixing Harry Potter?? Bless your soul!! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteEspecially being an English teacher who wants better representation in the literature that I'll be teaching this piece resonated with me. I especially liked how you didn't drastically alter the text until Harriet and Rose confront Herman. This lends to the idea that the story would remain largely the same but that certain parts, with the main characters being gender bent, would be different. It's a reminder that representation in literature does not mean that groups will be left out from the analysis and writing process; more that it opens up the opportunity for new discussions.
ReplyDeleteYou know that I ADORE Harry Potter. It's so interesting to see not only how this scene plays out in a gender-bent way, but also to see how our 'Harry and Ron' characters' relationship is different as girls. It's a great commentary on the differences between male best friends and female best friends, and the kinds of things they say to each other.
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