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PotterCast just doesn't get it
I really should be working on my Family Fest fic, but...this is an update to my previous post here, where I said that I was offended by John Noe's statement during PotterCast #148 that "a true Harry Potter fan" would not feel sympathy for Steve.
So I sent them an e-mail response, again mentioned in the previous post, and I was going to leave it at that. However, I was curious to see if any other listeners were offended by the "true fan" bit, so I went over to the PotterCast website and started browsing through the comments for that episode. Most were in support of the hosts, but a few faulted them for showing their biases, and Melissa, one of the hosts, responded that it was purely an opinion piece and that they never intended it to be objective reporting. And furthermore she said, "Do not ever tell someone they don't have the right to their opinion or their opinion isn't theirs; we wouldn't do it to you."
So of course I couldn't resist jumping in to say (I'm "Seraphim" in the comments):
And Melissa responded:
This is my response back to her, written in haste because I was just finishing up my break at work. (I was being a whole lot more polite than I felt, because I felt I needed to take the high ground so as not to be accused of wankiness.)
She says that I'm welcome to express my dissenting opinion and that she wouldn't call it disrespectful as long as I do so without flaming, but to me, saying that I'm not a true fan is to me as hurtful a flame as if someone called me...er, something that they probably wouldn't print on the website. I thought about leaving another comment, but I don't want to keep harping on the same point when I feel like my words are not going to get through anyway. If someone else chooses to respond to my comment, then maybe I'll clarify, depending on what they say, but at this point, I'm going to throw my hands up in the air and go back to writing my Snupin porn. ;)
So why do I give a flying...er, hippogriff...what the PotterCast crew thinks of me? I've been listening to the show for a couple of years now, and I really found it entertaining. I enjoyed Sue's squeeing over Jason Isaacs, and the Canon Conundrums segments with Steve, and I was really amused by John's little obsession with Dawlish. (I have to admit, that probably gave me more of a fondness for the character than I would otherwise have had, and led to me giving Dawlish a supporting role in "Scars".) I wouldn't exactly say I thought of them as friends, but it's hurtful to have someone that you liked show such contempt for you.
I guess I was a little naive. I didn't know if anyone would respond to my e-mail or comment, but I thought that if they did, John might say something like, "Wow, I never meant to hurt anyone's feelings, and maybe I got a little carried away in the heat of the moment. It was never my intention to insult anyone." And I could've forgiven that, since it is a very emotional topic for many HP fans. I never expected Melissa to say that if John says something insulting, well, it's just his opinion and I shouldn't call him disrespectful for sitting in judgment over me as a Harry Potter fan.
Well, I guess I'll wait for the next episode to see if John addresses any of this stuff himself. I should emphasize that, as I think you all know, I don't object to him expressing his opinion that the court should find in favor of JKR. That is absolutely his right. I just object to him deciding who is or is not a true fan. If his attitude is also "I can go around insulting people and call it free speech," then I guess I'll have to stick to Mugglecast in the future. (And yeah, he has the right to be as insulting as he likes, so long as he doesn't cross the line into libel. And I have the right not to listen to someone who holds me in contempt.) I wish that Snapecast and Slashcast were still doing regular episodes.
I did listen to the Harry Potter Prognostications episode on the trial, and it was pretty even-handed, except for a brief moment of sarcasm from the female host (sorry, I forgot their names). But I think they tried to be fair and objective, and they made a point of differentiating between moral and legal objections to the book. (They did take a few digs at Mugglecast, though.)
EDIT 4/30/08: Penny, one of the Harry Potter Prognostications hosts commented below and explained that the digs at Mugglecast are a running joke between herself and the other host, and not an actual slight against Mugglecast. Thank you very much for the clarification, and I apologize for the misunderstanding.
Phew! I took that way more personally than I should have, but it feels good to get it off my chest. I'll try to lay off the Lexicon rants for awhile and go back to focusing on my fanfic. I'm not going to finish the Family Fest fic on time, but I should be able to get at least the first chapter or two up tomorrow night so I can at least kind of squeak it in before the deadline. The rest should follow by the end of the week. (Despite what I said about writing the Snupin porn, it will probably be more fluffy than porny, but I'm having fun using the Father's Day plot bunnies that everyone gave me.)
And then I want to get back to my post-DH plot bunny that I've been working on forever, and I have a couple of sequels for the Always series in mind. And I'd like to do a few short side-stories that don't fit into the main Always fics--Draco and Serafina out on a date, maybe; Imogen in Azkaban, dreaming about Greyback during the full moon; Erika asking Snape for a potion that will help her concieve a daughter; and in Scars, I meant to have Tsubasa give his stepmother the dress she was admiring in the shop window at Hogsmeade, and I totally forgot about it. Darn, and it would've been perfect to have her wear it to the wedding, too!
Ah, I'm feeling better already--there's nothing like fanfic to cheer me up! ^_^
So of course I couldn't resist jumping in to say (I'm "Seraphim" in the comments):
You want us to respect your right to express your own opinion, but John did not show that same respect to those of us who disagree with you regarding the Lexicon book when he said that "a true fan" would not feel sympathy towards Steve. Just because I disagree with him does not mean that I do not passionately love the Harry Potter books--it just means that I disagree with JKR on this legal issue. And I do not think that he has the right to judge who is or is not "a true fan".
And Melissa responded:
seraphim: that's why he clearly said it was his opinion and never implied you couldn't disagree if you were so inclined. If expressing an opinion equaled, in ANY way, telling you that you had no right to your own, we'd never express any.
An opinion is just that; thus show definitely had opinions, but we clearly called them that. You should never feel that anyone's expressing of opinion equals a directive prohibiting you to disagree. We certainly never said anything coming close to that, nor thought for a moment that those whose minds had been made up prior to this episode would change their minds because of t. You are expressing your opinion here but I would never, ever, say you have been disrespectful by dong so, so long as you have done so without flaming.
This is my response back to her, written in haste because I was just finishing up my break at work. (I was being a whole lot more polite than I felt, because I felt I needed to take the high ground so as not to be accused of wankiness.)
Okay, John has the right to express his opinion, but I felt that he was saying something very hurtful and insulting about people like me, and I don't really understand why he would want to alienate a certain portion of the listeners that way. However, I appreciate that you took the time to respond, and I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.In hindsight, I really should've waited till I got home and had more time to think about it, because I don't think that I really conveyed what I intended, but man, she totally misses the point! Is it too hard to understand that people will feel hurt and insulted if you call them "not a true fan"? Does she not understand that when John says that people who support Steve are not true fans, that I feel like he is dismissing my opinions out of hand before I've even had a chance to express them? That by saying someone who feels the way I do is "not a true fan," that it sounds like he isn't interested in hearing my opinion? Because after all, why would someone who is a "true fan" care about the opinions of a non-fan?
She says that I'm welcome to express my dissenting opinion and that she wouldn't call it disrespectful as long as I do so without flaming, but to me, saying that I'm not a true fan is to me as hurtful a flame as if someone called me...er, something that they probably wouldn't print on the website. I thought about leaving another comment, but I don't want to keep harping on the same point when I feel like my words are not going to get through anyway. If someone else chooses to respond to my comment, then maybe I'll clarify, depending on what they say, but at this point, I'm going to throw my hands up in the air and go back to writing my Snupin porn. ;)
So why do I give a flying...er, hippogriff...what the PotterCast crew thinks of me? I've been listening to the show for a couple of years now, and I really found it entertaining. I enjoyed Sue's squeeing over Jason Isaacs, and the Canon Conundrums segments with Steve, and I was really amused by John's little obsession with Dawlish. (I have to admit, that probably gave me more of a fondness for the character than I would otherwise have had, and led to me giving Dawlish a supporting role in "Scars".) I wouldn't exactly say I thought of them as friends, but it's hurtful to have someone that you liked show such contempt for you.
I guess I was a little naive. I didn't know if anyone would respond to my e-mail or comment, but I thought that if they did, John might say something like, "Wow, I never meant to hurt anyone's feelings, and maybe I got a little carried away in the heat of the moment. It was never my intention to insult anyone." And I could've forgiven that, since it is a very emotional topic for many HP fans. I never expected Melissa to say that if John says something insulting, well, it's just his opinion and I shouldn't call him disrespectful for sitting in judgment over me as a Harry Potter fan.
Well, I guess I'll wait for the next episode to see if John addresses any of this stuff himself. I should emphasize that, as I think you all know, I don't object to him expressing his opinion that the court should find in favor of JKR. That is absolutely his right. I just object to him deciding who is or is not a true fan. If his attitude is also "I can go around insulting people and call it free speech," then I guess I'll have to stick to Mugglecast in the future. (And yeah, he has the right to be as insulting as he likes, so long as he doesn't cross the line into libel. And I have the right not to listen to someone who holds me in contempt.) I wish that Snapecast and Slashcast were still doing regular episodes.
I did listen to the Harry Potter Prognostications episode on the trial, and it was pretty even-handed, except for a brief moment of sarcasm from the female host (sorry, I forgot their names). But I think they tried to be fair and objective, and they made a point of differentiating between moral and legal objections to the book. (They did take a few digs at Mugglecast, though.)
EDIT 4/30/08: Penny, one of the Harry Potter Prognostications hosts commented below and explained that the digs at Mugglecast are a running joke between herself and the other host, and not an actual slight against Mugglecast. Thank you very much for the clarification, and I apologize for the misunderstanding.
Phew! I took that way more personally than I should have, but it feels good to get it off my chest. I'll try to lay off the Lexicon rants for awhile and go back to focusing on my fanfic. I'm not going to finish the Family Fest fic on time, but I should be able to get at least the first chapter or two up tomorrow night so I can at least kind of squeak it in before the deadline. The rest should follow by the end of the week. (Despite what I said about writing the Snupin porn, it will probably be more fluffy than porny, but I'm having fun using the Father's Day plot bunnies that everyone gave me.)
And then I want to get back to my post-DH plot bunny that I've been working on forever, and I have a couple of sequels for the Always series in mind. And I'd like to do a few short side-stories that don't fit into the main Always fics--Draco and Serafina out on a date, maybe; Imogen in Azkaban, dreaming about Greyback during the full moon; Erika asking Snape for a potion that will help her concieve a daughter; and in Scars, I meant to have Tsubasa give his stepmother the dress she was admiring in the shop window at Hogsmeade, and I totally forgot about it. Darn, and it would've been perfect to have her wear it to the wedding, too!
Ah, I'm feeling better already--there's nothing like fanfic to cheer me up! ^_^
hpprogs
(Anonymous) 2008-04-30 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)Anyway, I just wanted to write that I definitely agree with you. I also think that it is a shame that this court case seems to be dividing the HP fandom the way it is. I don't think people should support EITHER Jo OR Steve. I think there are arguments to be made on both sides. Yes, without Jo there would be NO Harry Potter world but there *is* something to be said for the fansites that have devoted years to furthering the popularity of Harry Potter.
Anyway, once again, thanks for giving us a listen. Be in touch!!
Re: hpprogs
And thank *you* for providing a balanced view on the issue. It's a really emotional issue--Merlin knows I'm quite emotional about it myself--so I was really happy to see someone trying to look at it from both points of view. I will definitely be listening to your podcast in the future.
Re: hpprogs
(Anonymous) 2008-04-30 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)I felt the same way after the whole Dumbledore/Gay thing came out. People were sooooo adamant about their opinions being the right one and tolerance for either side went completely out the door. Hopefully this fan community will find something to unite them...