Cursed Child Script book- What do you think?
It is August 3rd and we are 3 days into the world post Cursed Child's publication. So I want to know what people are thinking. Are you like me having read Evy (slumber)'s post of spoilers/rumors and think that I am SO not going to buy it much less read it? (I still haven't read it :P) Or did you love being back there with the HP gang? Let us know
( Read more... )
AND NOW I'M TALKING ABOUT SPOILERS
SPOILERS BE HERE
YE HAVE BEEN WARNED
[Spoiler (click to open)]I AM PRETTY WTF ABOUT THIS
Honestly, it reads like a mid-level fanfiction. Albus and Scorpius OF COURSE are besties, and no one likes them, and they get up to ~hijinks~ in the form of relatively cliche time travel. Unfortunately, the writing is pretty close to that too -- I can't imagine JKR's hands were very heavily on this script, because her humor is waaaaay better than this. I've read great scripts; this is a mid-level script. I can't imagine someone who's not into HP picking this up and being like YES. (And so far, everyone I've talked to has had the reaction of "well, it's more HP and that's great, but also, waaaah.")
It's probably a pretty fun play to watch, because it's clear that the theatrical skills you need to pull this off are ASTOUNDING and you would be wowed by the effects alone (and it's not a terrible script), but I wanted so much more from this. I wanted to learn more about the wizarding world, for starters, and all I learned here is that apparently Albus is not a great wizard, but is somehow great at making Polyjuice (at the age of 14 or so?), but also doesn't know that Polyjuice takes a month to make. So. You know. *tears hair out*
Reply
*HUGE HUGS* I am so sorry!! Like I said I haven't read it (not that it hasn't stopped me from reading the reactions as well as the wikipedia page regarding the plot haha) but all I have heard is that it is either a bad fanfic or AMAZING!!!....plus I heard that Hogwarts classes doesn't even really feature in it like in the books-- I know that it is a play and you can't devote an entire school year in the time needed but still! :(
[Spoiler (click to open)]Plus the spoiler of going back to the series' "big hits" and changing things just doesn't do it for me. I definitely think that fanfic writers have done a better job with the time travel....
Reply
[Spoiler (click to open)]There's definitely not much Hogwarts-y in there, just little bits (and luckily, a good amount of my queen McGonagall). And yeah, wtf with going back and being like "let's change the tournament!" I know that this makes sense for general audiences, who've read the book but who aren't so deep into HP that they know the most minute of trivia; they get latched onto things they know and enjoy a story that people do enjoy or otherwise this type of plot wouldn't have basically popped up in a bunch of fic, lol. For someone who's bone-deep, though, it's just like... dangnabbit.
Reply
And I totally agree! I think that if I wasn't such a huge HP fan and also not so canon detail oriented, I think that I could live with it because it is a new story and it is plausible if you don't look at canon too much haha. The only thing that really annoys me [Spoiler (click to open)](besides the fact that apparently Hermione has always been ambiguously black) is the fact that this was made out to be the next new adventure of Harry Potter part 8 and not being honest and saying that it is inspired by Harry Potter. I feel if they were honest about that then by all means change canon because you are creating a whole new entity on its own you know?
It is going to be interesting to see how this (if it does at all) affect Rowling's next book which is the Fantastic Beast screenplay.
Reply
Yeah, same with being canon-oriented. I mean, I like playing with canon a lot, but I want the world to be consistent. [Spoiler (click to open)](Which is why suddenly introducing wackass time travel has never gone well for me...) And I do wish they'd been less "HP Part 8" and more "The Adventures of Albus and Scorpius, with Harry being ineffective over in the corner."
I'm totally excited about Hermione being black -- though I would have loved for it to be, you know, BOOK CANON.
Still excited for Fantastic Beasts, though. Because ANIMALS.
Reply
[Spoiler (click to open)]That is exactly my point!! Now apparently it is book canon (which I don't see at all) and all the haters are just that haters. I am not a hater and if Rowling initially come out and stated that the producers/whoever chooses the actors came to her and said that Nomi (whatever her name was) is the best woman for the job what do you think? And she agreed so then okay I would be like weird choice but I will go with it. So Hermione is black for the play and so forth with Rose (because obviously they had to look for mixed race at the very least for Rose as a result) but NO, it was all--"I am happy, I never said that Hermione was white in the books brown eyes and brown bushy hair is the only thing"
hmm okay--so she is could be any color then BUT why are the illustrations in the books AND POTTERMORE and the movies she is white!?! And Rowling didn't have a problem with that? She could have said to anyone--go with a darker tone on Hermione because she is mixed race or something? we live in a visual world nowadays which is why people lost their shit over the Avatar movie and why people get upset when white actors are cast in minority character roles...so now I feel duped.
Reply
[Spoiler (click to open)]I do suspect that JKR originally intended Hermione to be white. She mentions it when other characters are black (e.g. Dean Thomas is explicitly described as black). Whiteness is just so assumed in British (and Anglo culture in general) that if you don't make it obvious someone is of XYZ race, everyone defaults to white. So the whole "well I never said she was white" thing doesn't fly with me; lady, you said it in every way that wasn't those words exactly. Add in the movies and that just gets strengthened for me.
I'm a bit divided re: JKR on Nomi's casting. On the one hand, she obviously stands behind it and is for a black Hermione, and that's AWESOME and it makes me so happy. But on the other hand, she seems to be shying away from the part where Hermione was originally written and casted as white; like, you don't get to backtrack and remake the past (only Albus and Scorpius get to do that). Be honest about it; don't pretend that you didn't write an overwhelmingly white book series. Say that you wrote books where you knew most people would headcanon her white (and I honestly imagine JKR headcanons her as white), and say that you're glad the play provides an opportunity to write an explicitly black Hermione, and just... be honest!
Annnnd ending my soapbox now.
Reply
THIS. THIS. THIS.
OMG, thank you. I couldn't of said it better myself and I'm glad at least someone is being honest about this (because JKR clearly isn't).
It really, REALLY irritates me how she's acting now like she always had lots of diversity in her books when she didn't. Simply saying a character has brown curly hair and brown eyes DOES NOT = POC representation. Saying now that "oh, I never actually said Hermione was a white girl" doesn't change the fact that she pretty much did everything in her power to make people think she was. Hell, wasn't JKR quoted once as saying that she based Hermione on herself? I mean, C'MON.
It's like saying she showed LGBT representation in her books by simply saying at a meet/greet that Dumbledore was gay. Umm no, lady, it doesn't work that way. Harry Potter was (and still is) great but it would have been much better if the books/films hadn't been so dominantly white imo. Actual representation is important and instead of acting like she never made any mistakes, she could learn from from them and say "yes, I wrote Hermione as white in the original books but I support the idea of a POC playing Hermione and will incorporate more POC main characters into my future writing". Would that be so difficult?? If she can be honest about the Ron/Hermione and Harry/Hermione thing, then why not this too?
I respect all versions of Hermione, though tbh neither if the actresses who've played her so far are like how I've ever imagined the character in the books/fanfics. There is no "wrong" way to imagine Hermione imo and I enjoy seeing how different FANS interpret her. However, I do wish JKR were more truthful/consistent with her own writing. I wish she would stop making headcanons about her books.
Reply
I just keep thinking about how much it would mean if JKR -- JKR, who is SUCH A HERO to so many of us -- were to say, "hey, I didn't do enough before, and I want to do better now about representing the world like it actually is -- a world with POC and disabled and queer people."
Reply
Just my two cents...
Reply
"yes, I wrote Hermione as white in the original books but I support the idea of a POC playing Hermione and will incorporate more POC main characters into my future writing"
I wonder if creators shy away from that intentionally or unintentionally because if you say that people will have something in their hands sort of against you aka they will have it easier to hold you accountable for not following up on your words and sticking to creating mainly white stories. And they don't want to really open up to diversity like the audience demands it.
Reply
Reply
I think my canon knowledge puts me off the play a lot too. I read many times that people need to be more open because it's a different medium and all that, the thing for me is I always knew it's a play and they'd release the script, I have read scripts and loved them even without ever seeing it acted out. I haven't read it and honestly doubt I will any time soon because the lack of work that was put into it by the writers to check with canon and make it properly work makes me really mad because this could've been amazing on all fronts.
And I'm honestly dissapointed in JKR that she didn't make them work this story better into the canon, especially because she said herself that it's canon. I expect it to fit then and not have to point out that a major plot point contradicts what we learned from book 3.
Reply
That sounds like some Gary Stu stuff -.-
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment