Quote of the Week

Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.
~Cheris Kramarae and Paula Treichler

Monday, October 22, 2007

I <3 Harry Potter

So I have to admit, I've been in a bit of a slump this week. These journals are supposed to be a commitment, we're supposed to set aside a certain amount of time each week to allow (or force) ourselves to write. Well, last week was no good. A dead kitty and a sick boyfriend (who gave the sickness to me, to my dismay) and a house full of paint fumes do not a good environment make. (Sidenote: totally unrelated events...)
But it's Monday. I never thought I'd be so happy to welcome this usually dreary day.
But this Monday is a symbol of the recommencement of normal life! (I'm pretty sure "recommencement" is a word...)

So I was feeling particularly uninspired, until I read this post over on a classmate's blog, and I was inspired enough to write novel.

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I'm rather fond of Harry Potter, and all things Potteresque, the brain child of author J.K. Rowling.
Now, I think Rowling's story is pretty amazing. She'd been a schoolteacher for years, and created the character of "Harry Potter" in 1990, well before the story was published. It took quite a while (and quite a few publishers) for the Harry Potter series to catch on. But once it did,
it turned pretty much every eleven year old into a Potter-fiend, suffering from an addiction that might be likened to that of a crack addict.

Aside from having an imagination I would die for (and a fortune I would kill for,) what makes Rowling so damn special?
Well, according to Forbes magazine, she is the first author to become a billionaire. (Thats right, billionaire. Whoever said there was no money in writing?) She was also on their "Celebrity 100" list twice, last year in the number two spot (just after Oprah.) The list details the 100 most financially successful celebrities of the year.
Her books have also sold over 250,000,000 copies world wide, making them nearly as popular as the bible. (If you are my facebook friend, you know what I have to say about that.)

This is all fine and great, but what she did that really mattered was much less financially-oriented: She got kids reading. She got kids to use their imaginations, and invest emotionally in some really great characters. She created a world that mirrored our own, with all its prejudice and bigotry, with all its hierarchy and classism, but she also showed how much good can exist in this sort of world. She showed us characters born of pure evil, but she also gave us characters full of hope, compassion, selflessness, and above all, love. She showed us that it is okay to have flaws and to doubt yourself, she showed us that it is okay to be a misfit, because sometimes, it is these flaws and social stigmas that allow you to become a stronger and better person.
/end rant of adoration

So why is J.K. Rowling important as a woman? I mean, any one of the above accomplishments can, (and most likely have) been done by men. (I'm guessing that's also true of most/all of the women I praise.)
Well, a little piece of interesting information I found on my trusty sidekick Wikipedia states that her publisher requested she write under a pen name because "London-based publisher, Bloomsbury feared that the target audience of young boys might be reluctant to buy books written by a female author."
So good ol' Joanne raked in billions and has inspired children all over the world. And to think, the didn't believe she would sell, simply because she's a woman. Reminds me of a post written by another classmate...


p.s: Sorry blog class, for not attending today (Tuesday.) I'm waiting out the last of this stomach flu, and you are all too nice for me to want to give it to you!

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