I'm Done With JK Rowling (FULL VERSION)

Of course! Unionization is incredibly important, especially in the underregulated game industry!

Jessie Earl

Thank you for spending the time you did talking about the games industry. I have immediate family and friends in the industry and I’ve been personally affected by executives making decisions (including moving several times across states when projects are canceled). It doesn’t always matter if a game is a commercial success. A game can come in on time, under budget, and get an 85 metacritic score and that studio is still at the mercy of executives.

remmedy - they them

Great video. Aranocks statement made the harm Rowling does even more obvious to me. I think it is still such a big theme even among allies and trans persons is that Harry Potter intervined so extremely with our everyday lives. At school (20 years ago!) I called my best friend Jamie (James) and I was Tatze (German name for padfood). We stopped just recently to use the nicknames. To cut Harry Potter out is like to lose a friend I had since 1998. I love how the marauders fandom handles this and hope Rowling and WB (for the studio obviously supports her) never get their hands on this. I will enjoy the fandom. I will still love my memories from Harry Potter themed birthdays and will not throw out my 17 year old fanfiction with agender Sirius (did not know the term then but it was essentially this). But I will not support any merch. Well, I was never into merch anyway... I will not play the game. And I WOULD have if not for these videos as in Germany we do not get a lot of information on this part of Rowling and I am not on Twitter. And - most important - I will not introduce my kids to Harry Potter as I planned years ago before even having them. There are better options. When someone is asking me how their (monetized) fandom directly harms trans people (and I already got this question) I will refer to this video.

This was an awesome video, wonderfully articulated as always! Which is why I feel bad pointing out one small critique I have for an otherwise stellar piece. Some time around the 35 minute mark you referenced "Death of the Author" and compared it to separating the art from the artist. I've seen this done a lot in the JKR discourse, and based on the name alone a lot of people assume those are the same thing. "Death of the Author" is actually something else entirely. It refers to the lack of control an author has over the interpretation of their work. It argues that there is no "correct" interpretation of a work based on facts of the author's life (culture, religion, politics, etc) and that any reader's understanding of the text's meaning is valid regardless of the author's intended meaning. Of course, this is an incredibly brief summary and I'm definitely not doing it justice trying to condense it. This area of literary analysis is totally my jam (and what I majored in) so I feel somewhat obligated to bring this up. It's some really interesting theory, definitely worth a look into! Keep up the awesome work :)

Hal

This video is amazing, and part 8 was a kick in the chest. Thanks to you and Aranock both.

SinsofSenna

That was a hell of a video. I got no words

Sara Ezzat

Eh, unfortunately Proud Boys colors here anyway. I'd probably give it a miss.

OliveD

You will always be that fun trekkie girl who does fantastic breakdowns of movies and series! And now, also, owner of Gali and Tahu Nuva! Yay Bionicles ❤️ And yay you ❤️❤️ And yay Aranock ❤️❤️ Y'all are amazing!

Jo.Comics

I feel like I’m going to need a month to process this video. So many important points raised, particularly about the manipulation of the media centering around this discourse is. Your frustration makes complete sense. One of the things that - beyond this issue - I think we as a society have to grapple with is that so many nuances and complicated topics are distilled into easy to process (and easy to *manipulate*) little sound bites that feed into a certain narrative. The fact that you made a three hour video talking about how you no longer wanted to talk about JKR may seem counterintuitive in our “I’m not gonna read your 3 tweet thread it’s too long” society. It’s such a difficult balance, of being frustrated that you’re constantly being drawn into a fight that feels unproductive, vs not feeling like you can let go of that fight because if you don’t speak up about it then it will continue to become a worse problem. On a much smaller scale, I’ve deleted the twitter app three times. Because I hate the toxicity and the way it wastes my time getting into arguments with people… but then I get drawn back into it, wanting to bring nuance and thoughtfulness and sometimes just counter exceedingly stupid (and harmful) takes. It’s a cycle, and it’s nearly impossible to break. I don’t know what the answer is, other than maybe redirecting my energies into focusing on discussions and ideas I genuinely do positively care about. But… like i said, still processing all that. Mostly I want to thank you for putting so much time and effort, and for your and Aranock’s candidness about your feelings. It’s been a few years since I would’ve been comfortable wearing HP merch anyway. But if I *were* someone who still went out and about in Hogwarts gear, I think hearing about Aranock’s experiences would’ve made me rethink that. I would not be able to go out and about my day knowing that just what I was wearing could cause someone that type of fear. The part that unexpectedly brought me to tears was when you read your letter to JKR from back in 2018. There was so much patience and kindness and good faith in that letter. It breaks my heart that you were let down so badly. The world would be a much better place if more people approached those who are ignorant with that kind of trust - and every time that trust is betrayed, it makes the world so much worse. How are we meant to continue having faith in people, when so often we’re made to feel naive in hindsight for doing so? But - I don’t think 2018 Jessie was naive. I think you were kind, and emotionally intelligent, and if JKR had been the type of person you thought she was, those would’ve been exactly the right words she needed to hear. So just… thank you for being you. Thank you for your optimism, for your anger, for all the care you put into this video. And I hope you’re able to focus on the things that make you happy, because you are making the world better by just being you.

Kat

Jessie is free! Master has given Jessie a sock! I have a Hufflepuff sweater in my closet and I don't know whether I want to burn it or (try to) reclaim it by sewing on trans pride patches or what, because I don't want to surrender something I love just because the person who created it disagrees with my existence, but there's also a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. So thank you, Jessie, for making me feel "seen" and less alone in my complicated feelings. I wish I never had to hear that woman's name again.

Sorry, you're canadian. But I believe the same happens there, no?

Panthro Samah

It's very interesting how in USA you never discuss class. When Kanye says that he identifies with the "straight white man" because he is in a position of power, he could continue: I can relate to a billionaire, because he can't criticize poor people without be seen as a boastful bourgeois. But if he said THIS part out loud, the public he is trying to speak to, POOR straight white men, will see that they are NOT at the same team as Kanye. They are just receiving an enemy to stop then to revolt against their masters.

Panthro Samah

<3

Laura

The "marketplace of ideas" is like you are selling homemade candy in your school and JK was fucking Nestlé.

Panthro Samah

I heard some people say that it's JK's money, so she can do whatever she wants with it and, legally, it's not wrong. But imagine that she decided to create a free hospital in USA (other countries already have free hospitals) that only treated white people. Yeah, it's good that there is a free hospital to people that couldn`t afford medical costs. But the racist undertone would make it very, very bitter.

Panthro Samah