I just read on E! Online that J.K. Rowling has outed Albus Dumbledore.
Yes, apparently the kindly if quintessentially mysterious headmaster of Hogwarts is gay. Or was gay, rather since...well, I'm sure everyone knows he's dead but just in case you don't, you didn't hear it from me.
How do I feel about it? Well, I couldn't care less one way or the other if Dumbledore was gay, straight, bi or omni [like Captain Jack Harkness!]. It's certainly Ms. Rowling's prerogative to reveal that one of her characters is gay. It's not a big deal for me, nor would it in any way color my decision to allow my children to read the books or watch the movies or even dress up as Dumbledore for Halloween if they wanted to.
What interests me more is what the extreme right will have to say about it. There is already a staunch, if debatably intelligent, army of protestors who have made it their job to cast Ms. Rowling's blockbuster series as nothing less than an insidious grimoire of evil magick. [And these are the people who would recoil even at seeing the 'k' on the end of the word no doubt.] I'm sure discovering that not only will the Harry Potter books turn their children in Devil worshipping warlocks, but will also give them slightly squicky leanings toward members of their own sex - well EGADS! Someone better alert the media.
I'm looking forward to the hubbub actually. Not so much because now and then I struggle with a macabre delight in bruhaha, but because this latest bit of scandal can only rachet up Ms. Rowling's royalties even higher than the 'more money than God' that she already makes.
And that's funny to me.
So I'll be sitting back and watching, listening and reading to see how this revelation, if you will, pans out.
Any thoughts?
6 comments:
I loved her comment -- something to the effect that the hard right already demonized the books, so why shouldn't she tell the truth?
I like it. I like the fact that his sexual orientation didn't matter through the whole series. Because it had nothing to do with his duties as headmaster, or his relationship with his students. And honestly, in the real world, I think students should NOT know much about their teacher's love lives.
I asked my son, who fervently read all the books, if he cared. He said, "Nope. Whatever." Which pretty much sums it up ...
*rolls eyes at the far right*. I'm pretty conservative, but the whole "Harry Potter is of the devil" bull crap just made me shake my head.
It's not like there was a plethora of books out there aimed at young kids, especially boys, that were quality and she brought them in to READING.
And if Dubledore was gay, WHO CARES.
I wouldn't put it past Ms. Rowling to have dropped that "bomb" and laughed her ass off at the ensuing battle.
All the way to the bank.
*shrugs* More power to her.
I wouldn't put it past Ms. Rowling to have dropped that "bomb" and laughed her ass off at the ensuing battle.
All the way to the bank.
*shrugs* More power to her.
What she said.
I didn't understand the point of revealing it now... I mean, the series is over, right? We know how it ends, and there's no romantic love interest for Dumbledore, so, why should it matter?
Oh, wait, is there a new movie coming out soon? *grin*
I agree...who cares. I saw this on Yahoo's frontpage this morning. It didn't strike me as all that surprising, but then again, I never really Dumbledore doing it, if you know what I mean.
Kris
Oops....I actually read it over at Publisher's Marketplace. Not Yahoo...but I'm sure it'll show up there at some point.
Kris
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