Author J.K. Rowling poses at the premiere of the film ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’, at a central London cinema, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018. Photo: IC
Twenty years ago, when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone premiered in theaters, the whole world was crazy for the fresh and magical Hogwarts School created by writer J.K. Rowling. However, when the main cast reunited to celebrate the blockbuster’s 20th anniversary last week, where was the franchise’s mother Rowling? She was not even invited, or you could say she was expelled because of “political correctness.”
Since HBO Max announced that Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts will stream on January 1, 2022, all spotlights have focused on the cast’s reunion. The main leads Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have confirmed that they will take part in the retrospective special with filmmaker Chris Columbus and other cast members, but without Rowling.
This not only riled me but also many die-hard Chinese fans who call “the magic world would not exist without her!”
The Harry Potter franchise can be seen as Rowling’s “son,” but when the “son” celebrates his birthday and the mother can’t attend, this disobeys the “filial piety culture” of traditional Chinese etiquette.
Rowling created the huge successful Harry Potter IP, but now the Western world ignores and omits her just because of some different voices. Where is the so-called “democracy and freedom?”
A free and tolerant society should accommodate people who speak out for transgender people, as well as those who criticize transgender people.
Rowling only expressed the worry that under the influence of “political correctness” LGBT groups would harm women’s rights and she has denied that she has discriminated against the LGBT community. However, the West has still called her “anti-transgender” and “transphobic.” Nobody really cares about what Rowling is worried about, but only that she disagrees with LGBT-related policies, so they say she is discriminating against LGBT.
This reveals the unique “single value” in Western culture, which only allows one voice and requires everyone to follow it.
People can certainly criticize Rowling, but not allowing her to participate in the commemoration of her works has actually caused her harm.
Western media often promotes the thought that culture and art should not be kidnapped by politics, but when it comes themselves, they choose to keep silent and not speak out for victims.
On Monday, Rowling said she had received a flood of death threats due to the transgender controversy.
Under rampant “political correctness,” society only allows the so-called “correct” voice. This voice calls for the protection of the disadvantaged groups; but if someone disagrees, they besiege him, reject him, or even go to suppress him. Finally, those who demand protection of the rights of the disadvantaged groups undermine the rights of others.
If this continues, they will eventually go to the opposite side of their original intention, and try all means to destroy their enemies. They think that they are the messenger of justice and can be Harry Potter fighting against Lord Voldemort, but in the end they have become the Death Eaters under the leadership of Voldemort.
When Rowling wrote the series, perhaps she had expected that Voldemort would never be completely wiped out. But she probably never expected that as the creator of a wizarding world, she would be the target of a “witchhunt” one day.
Global Times
