Harry Potter

[Cornflower MM]

Ravenclaw is the only house I haven't gotten.

I'm Slytherpuff mostly, though. And Thunderbird!

Has anyone taken their Patronus quiz yet? Mine is a tigress.

Really? Slytherin was the only one I hadn't gotten before I checked out the new site. (Ravenclaw twice, Gryffindor once, and Hufflepuff multiple times) and. . . I don't remember my Ilvermony house.

My Patronus is a husky.

[DanielofRedwall]

I saw Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them at the midnight premiere in my city the other day. I really enjoyed it, I liked how it's expanded the wizarding world so we get to see how magic operates in other parts of the world. I feel like 5 movies in the series could easily become overkill, but they got off to a good start.

Anyone else seen it yet, if so what are your thoughts?

[Rusvul]

Wizarding society (as portrayed in Fantastic Beasts) seems really unethical. (More in the spoiler.)

Significant spoilers for Fantastic Beasts

One, it seems like they look down upon no-majs a lot. I think they mentioned no interpersonal relationships of any kind are permitted between wizards and no-majs? That's kind of harsh.

Two, they're really overzealous with memory wiping- to the extent that they'll take memories from an entire city of people. I'm not sure that's okay.

Three, they can fix everything that was broken after Credence tears up the place... so where are they when natural disasters strike? Think about how many lives they could save or dramatically improve. Is it okay to not use that power for the good of others if you have it? I'm sure wizards never have problems with hurricanes or earthquakes...

[close]

[Edraithel]

There's been some controversy around Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Rowling's handling of native american culture was criticized as being disrespectful and ignorant. With the American wizards there was speculation that Rowling was implying that they were less civilized and barbaric. Writers have to be careful when they choose to portray a culture that isn't their own, often times they push their own beliefs or views of what that culture is like. It's like if you're an expert in chemistry you wouldn't write critics about art or lecture on history because that's not your realm of experience. I've seen some of the Harry Potter movies and have read two or three of the books. It's not really my type of story, I'm not a big fan of wands, I like magic that's more natural and has an ancient and druidic feel.

[Ashleg]

There was a point in this movie where I thought it live up to the others, and then the last quarter came...
Rusvul explained why I'm unsure perfectly.

There's been some controversy around Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Rowling's handling of native american culture was criticized as being disrespectful and ignorant. With the American wizards there was speculation that Rowling was implying that they were less civilized and barbaric. Writers have to be careful when they choose to portray a culture that isn't their own, often times they push their own beliefs or views of what that culture is like. It's like if you're an expert in chemistry you wouldn't write critics about art or lecture on history because that's not your realm of experience. I've seen some of the Harry Potter movies and have read two or three of the books. It's not really my type of story, I'm not a big fan of wands, I like magic that's more natural and has an ancient and druidic feel.

Native Americans?...

[Edraithel]

Native Americans or otherwise known as Indians, the people that originally inhabited North America before settlers from Europe came. I think Rowling took some of the Native American beliefs and legends to add to her story.

[Maudie]

So, I've got this theory that Snape should've been sorted into Hufflepuff. Thoughts?

[Jetthebinturong]

Absolutely not. Snape was forever ambitious and self-serving. Even after he joined the fight against Voldemort he did it for purely selfish reasons (Voldemort planned to kill the woman he "loved"). And even then he only helped because Dumbledore wouldn't do what he asked for free. Another piece of evidence is his ceaseless pursuit of the DADA teacher position.

Snape was a Slytherin through and through.

And being a Slytherin is not a bad thing.

[Maudie]

Well, it seemed to be that the majority of his focus in life was on Lily. From the time he met her he seemed to be unwaveringly loyal to her. One of the things that set Hufflepuffs apart is their loyalty. Even after her death, one of his life ambitions was to protect her son that he utterly detested. I think that had he originally been sorted into a different house he would never have become cunning and ambitious to the degree that he was.

Also, in Deathly Hallows we witness a conversation between Snape and Dumbledore in which Dumbledore implies that Snape may have been sorted into the wrong house. Dumbledore implies that maybe Snape should have been put in Gryffindor instead, but to me Snape isn't exactly brave overall--just loyal to the point of bravery.

[Ashleg]

Yes, he was loyal, but he loved her.
That's one emotion causing him to be that way.

Everything else points Slytherin, and as you can see, Slytherins can be loyal. Not all of us are backstabbers.
Most Slytherins have strong loyalty to their house, that doesn't make them Hufflepuff.

[Maudie]

Okay, I've become somewhat annoyed with the concept of sorting students into houses based on their values. First of all, you can value knowledge, ambition, hard work, and bravery equally. In fact, they kind of go hand in hand. To pick one over others is kind of ridiculous. Besides, there are an infinite amount of virtues/concepts that people can value and to single out just a handful of them really narrows the scope of what people can be like.

I also have problem with the Ilvermorny houses. They represent mind, body, heart, and soul. Why can't you value and be influenced by all four?

[Wylder Treejumper]

Well, now you have come to the intrinsic criticism of personality factors: people are integrated beings, and most will fall at various points on any scale at various times in their lives.

[Jetthebinturong]

I'm not a Harry Potter fan, but you're taking the system too seriously.

There were several characters who could have been sorted into multiple houses. Dumbledore could have been a Slytherin or a Ravenclaw but he's a Gryffindor. Harry could have been a Slytherin but he's a Gryffindor. Having a dominant trait doesn't automatically mean you have to devalue the others. Dumbledore was cunning and deceptive for his entire life. Harry was ruthlessly ambitious. Hagrid (a Gryffindor) was kind and loyal (Hufflepuff traits).

[Ashleg]

Dumbledore was the ultimate troll of the Harry Potter universe.

Had he just been honest with Harry instead of trying to shroud everything in mystery so much could have been avoided.

[Ashleg]

I just had to show you guys this.