{"id":83637,"date":"2013-04-22T21:35:44","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T16:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=83637"},"modified":"2013-04-27T06:01:42","modified_gmt":"2013-04-27T00:31:42","slug":"racism-in-harry-potter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/racism-in-harry-potter\/","title":{"rendered":"Racism In \u2018Harry Potter\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Poet Rachel Rostad has zeroed in on some inconvenient truths for\u00a0Harry Potter<\/em>\u00a0fans, namely that J.K. Rowling managed to create a fantastical universe crammed full of exotic, magical creatures while still marginalizing and fetishizing people of color. It\u2019s really a stunning achievement, when one considers just how robust the world of Harry Potter is, that Rowling could manage to fuck up the last name of her only Chinese character, since \u201cCho Chang,\u201d Rostad points out, is an amalgamation of two Korean last names, and to come upon a Chinese person named Cho Chang would be like finding \u201ca Frenchman named Garc\u00eda S\u00e1nchez.\u201d Burn.<\/p>\n

Though naming Chinese character \u201cChang\u201d may be slightly\u00a0less egregious<\/a>\u00a0than she says it is (in a conscientious\u00a0response<\/a>\u00a0to the original poem, Rostad explains how she glossed over some of the nuances of Chinese naming in order to streamline the “Garc\u00eda S\u00e1nchez” punchline), Rostad has a point. It\u2019s unlikely that her criticisms about, say, the manner in which Dumbledore was outed after all seven books were released will prevent most people from professing their undying adoration for\u00a0Harry Potter<\/em>, but her takedown may raise at least a few eyebrows.<\/p>\n

Courtesy\u00a0http:\/\/jezebel.com<\/a><\/p>\n