Wands at the ready.

[rogueslayer452]

++ Well done with the movie quote meme, I named all the correctly guessed movies along with who guessed them. And here are the reveals of the last remaining ones that didn't get guessed: 01. Saw, said by John Kramer/Jigsaw, 03. Ginger Snaps, said by Ginger Fitzgerald, 10. A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, said by Freddy Krueger, 11. Noriko's Dinner Table, said by Broken Dam, and 12. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, said by Thorin Oakenshield.

Either way, this meme was fun to participate in, on both sides. It made me miss the days when similar fannish memes were posted on the regular.

++ Hearing that a Nashville school has banned and removed the Harry Potter books from the library due to the claim that the spells and curses in them are real and can actually "conjure evil spirits" is terrifyingly hilarious. What is this, 1999? Bringing me wayyy back during the early days when religious/conservative groups would literally hold book burnings when the HP books were becoming popular, using these claims precisely. Forbidding and banning children from reading them in fear that they would be converted to witchcraft or commune with the devil. I have no doubt that people who hold these views have never stopped believing them and that these kinds of "Satanic Panics" will always happen regardless, but jfc, the fact that it's 2019 and people are still trying this? Especially with Harry Potter being one of the biggest pop culture phenomenons for many, many years now? It's just so bizarre. Yes, I know that it's said that it's a Catholic school and all, but still, it's making headlines so seriously, what the hell. But as ridiculous as it is and we all want to mock, it's still very sad seeing these kinds of controlling measures to censor things by those who cannot differentiate between fantasy and reality. It's a dangerous slippery slope, we've seen this time and again with the books that are on the challenged list, educational books that have been removed from libraries because some "concerned parent" wants to control what everyone else reads, or anything else in the media for that matter, instead of minding their own damn business.

Comments

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

You know this makes my librarian hackles stand up on end. I hope the public libraries in Nashville buy EXTRA copies of Harry Potter to make sure everyone has access.

Nothing makes me rage more than people trying to tell other people what they can and cannot read.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

That's what I'm hoping will happen, too.

It makes me mad whenever I hear these kinds of stories, the fact that books are banned on ridiculous stances (mostly nonsensical and false, often twisted to fit their own agenda) makes me even more adamant on encouraging others to read from the list of challenged books.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I would love that.

And yeah, it's really nobody's business what others read, so that annoys me too.

[carlyinrome.livejournal.com]

Sometimes it's so hard to believe it's 2019 and not the literal Middle Ages around here. *sigh*

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeah. When I read that I had to do a double-take, like are people still doing this? But of course they are. :/

[monkiainen.livejournal.com]

That's just... I don't what to say. Like, what are those people thinking??

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately this happens all the time, not just with Harry Potter but with other harmless pieces of fiction or hobby. It's just this one managed to gain headlines on multiple online outlets. It just seems jarring since it's been years since we've heard any stories like this for Harry Potter specifically, considering its worldwide popularity in comparison to years ago when it was just starting to gain public acknowledgment.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

A friend and I were just talking about the Nashville book banning! What is this, 1999? Also, people think the books are "evil" because they take so much out of context. Like quoting Voldemort. Voldemort. People. But yeah, it amazes me that people are still complaining.

On the other hand, you're also right about the sad implications. Let kids and their parents decide for themselves. One or two "concerned" parties shouldn't dictate what an entire group reads or doesn't read.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Most of them probably never even read the books, only making assumptions based on things they heard or think they know about it. They take so much out of context to form it into their own twisted agenda. This happens so much. I remember back when that article that was written by a "concerned adult" about how dark young adult fiction is and how parents shouldn't allow their kids to read it, which led to many people to defend YA books. The person who wrote that article apparently never read the book that prompted the rant in the first place, they just went based on small blurbs which they suddenly decided it was too "inappropriate" for anyone to read. Which is absurd. But, that is the case with most of these incidents. It's absurd, but also dangerous too.

Let kids and their parents decide for themselves. One or two "concerned" parties shouldn't dictate what an entire group reads or doesn't read.

Exactly. It irritates me so much whenever these things happen, not just with books but with anything fictional/hobby related that is just harmless. Banning and censorship is something I deeply abhor.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_profiterole_/]

It's hard to believe these things still happen.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I know, and it's unfortunate. :/ We only know about some of them through new outlets being reported, but think about the ones that go undetected. It's just sad that this continues to happen.

[violateraindrop]

I remember these headlines years ago. When I first heard about it, I thought the article was old. I can't believe that this is happening in 2019.
The funny thing is, I went to a Christian (mainly Catholic) school and Harry Potter is the only book I ever checked out of the school library. They had an English copy and the one at home was German. I really wanted to try reading it in English.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I literally had to do a double-take when I saw the headline, and I shook my head in disbelief that something like that was still happening.

Also, I'm sure this happens everywhere else in the world, but I also feel like this is very much an American thing. Banning books and other examples of censorship is quite common here in the US, especially for ridiculous reasons. It's why there's a long list of "most challenged books" where the books listed are those that were banned/removed from schools and libraries for whatever claim at the time was by "concerned parents/citizens".

It's also why I'm a huge advocate for encouraging people to read off of that list, because seriously fuck censorship.

[violateraindrop]

very much an American thing
Totally! For a country that values its freedom so much, they are very quick to censor media, especially for younger people. Alabama(?) not airing the Arthur episode with the teacher marrying another man is ridiculous. It always comes disguised at protecting children...

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's bullshit. I mean, I'm thankful that we live in a country where we can challenge these things and fight back against censorship, but it still sucks that this manages to happen again and again.

But yeah the whole "think of the children" crusade is obviously bullshit because they don't care about that, they just care about controlling other people and winning that game, no matter what.

[noybusiness.livejournal.com]

Now, class (to a room full of conservative "Christian" adults), write 999 times: There are no such things as evil spirits.

[blakmagjick]

I thought I recognized the Ginger Snaps quotes, but I wasn't sure. It's been a hot minute since I've seen it.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I tried to use one of the more recognizable identifying quotes from that movie. I haven't seen it in some time myself, but it's definitely one of my favorites. I remember being so impressed when I first watched it.

[impala-chick.livejournal.com]

WTF - seems like they probably want to control HP for other reasons and they made up that bit about the spells. Maybe they're mad that Dumbledore is gay.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

You'd be surprised. There are plenty of people who actually believe that the spells in HP are real and are brainwashing children to become witches and summon up the devil. Like, sure, they'd probably ban it simply for the announcement that Dumbledore is gay (even though that isn't even present in the books, or anywhere in canon), but people will come up with stupid and ridiculous reasons why they want something to be banned.

[impala-chick.livejournal.com]

Oh man :( Sad/weird times we live in.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

It's nothing really new, since many will use fiction/entertainment as scapegoats for their fears or their means of control (ex: Harry Potter promoting witchcraft, video games turning children violent, metal music and RPG games like D&D are making kids want to worship the devil, etc.) These kinds of scares happen every generation for anything unknown that adults don't understand. The religious angle is mostly to place fear into people who are deep in their faith/belief system that these things are truly evil and corrupting innocent minds, without really thinking for themselves or second guessing these accusations. We've seen this time and again, and it's mostly just the fear of the unknown and ignorance through moral superiority.