Did J.K. Rowling “Steal” Harry Potter?

Summary

In this engaging critique, Caelan Conrad delves into the accusations of J.K. Rowling's alleged unoriginality in crafting the Harry Potter series. The video humorously compares elements from Harry Potter to earlier works of fantasy literature, questioning the originality of Rowling's creations. With a mix of sarcasm and serious analysis, Conrad highlights the similarities between Harry Potter and other works, probing whether Rowling's success was built on borrowed ideas. The discussion also touches on the cultural impact and perception of Rowling's work in modern times.

Highlights

• Conrad humorously recounts how various elements of Harry Potter resemble earlier works like Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic. 🕵️‍♂️
• The video hilariously critiques the originality of Rowling's characters, comparing them to stock characters and clichés. 🤔
• Conrad wittily discusses how magical trains and institutions existed in literature long before Harry Potter. 🚂
• The critique draws parallels between Harry Potter and other magical schools depicted in literature, raising questions about plagiarism. 🏫
• With humor, Conrad presents a game of guessing whether certain names are genuine Rowling creations or made-up, showcasing the critique of her creativity. 🎲

Key Takeaways

• J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series shares striking similarities with earlier works like The Books of Magic and The Worst Witch. 📚
• Critics argue that many elements in Harry Potter are derivative of earlier fantasy stories and tropes. 🧙‍♂️
• Despite accusations of lack of originality, the Harry Potter series remains a massive cultural phenomenon. 🌍
• Caelan Conrad delivers his critique with a blend of humor and pointed commentary, engaging viewers in a discussion about originality in literature. 🎭
• The video underscores the notion that while the Harry Potter world captivates audiences, it relies heavily on familiar fantasies and archetypes. 🌌

Overview

Caelan Conrad's video begins with a humorous anecdote about confusing Harry Potter with other famous magical school narratives. This sets the tone for a satirical yet insightful exploration of whether J.K. Rowling's work is derivative. Drawing comparisons to The Worst Witch and The Books of Magic, Conrad argues that the essence of Hogwarts and its characters might not be as original as fans believe.

Throughout the video, Conrad mixes humor with analysis to critique the originality of the Harry Potter series. He points out numerous similarities between Rowling's work and earlier fantasy literature, such as magical schools, orphan heroes, and wise mentors. The video playfully challenges Rowling's alleged claim of originality, portraying her as a DJ remixing existing fantasy hits without innovation.

Conrad also addresses the cultural impact and reception of Harry Potter, acknowledging its success while questioning its creative merit. The blend of comedy and pointed commentary encourages viewers to consider the nature of originality in popular literature, ultimately leaving them both entertained and reflective on the complexities of literary creation.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to the Controversy The chapter introduces a whimsical scene where the narrator is deeply engaged in thought, reminiscing about a book they read in their youth. The book features a young boy in England with distinct characteristics – dark hair and round glasses – who discovers a hidden magical world that he is destined to protect. To fulfill this destiny, he must learn to master magic. This chapter sets the stage for exploring the theme of discovering hidden worlds and the journey of learning new skills to face challenges.
• 05:30 - 07:30: Discussing 'The Books of Magic' by Neil Gaiman The chapter humorously describes a scene involving getting a pet owl and taking it on a journey to meet various magical teachers and friends. It mentions 'The Books of Magic' by Neil Gaiman, highlighting its significance as a classic in its genre and a precursor to 'Sandman'. While mistakenly recalled as being published in 1909, the chapter eventually clarifies the confusion with 'A Wizard of Earthsea' by Ursula K. Le Guin, published in 1968, possibly alluding to the frequent conflation with other magical school stories.
• 12:00 - 15:00: Comparing 'A Wizard of Earthsea' by Ursula K. Le Guin The chapter begins by drawing a comparison between 'A Wizard of Earthsea' by Ursula K. Le Guin and other magical school-themed books. The narrator humorously refers to the common tropes and elements found in such stories, including an invisible-to-normies school near a Forbidden Forest where students are sorted into houses. It discusses typical occurrences like students learning to ride brooms, getting into trouble with invisibility spells, and features a potions teacher who is strict and has a bias against the protagonist while favoring a bully. The comparison is aimed at the book 'The Worst Witch,' highlighting similarities in themes and character roles.
• 15:00 - 19:30: Exploring 'The Worst Witch' by Jill Murphy 'The Worst Witch' by Jill Murphy is a cherished children's book first published in 1974. It has been adapted for television twice, in 1998 and 2017, as well as into a TV movie featuring Tim Curry and Diana Rigg.
• 25:00 - 30:30: Magic Trains in Children's Literature This chapter humorously discusses the theme of magic trains in children's literature, focusing on the Harry Potter series and its cultural impact. It references the book in jest as a commentary on the British class system, making allusions to reactions on Twitter, controversies involving the author's public image, and the fantasy elements within the series. The commentary is laced with comedic mentions of other unrelated works and fictional titles to humorously mislead the reader before acknowledging J.K. Rowling's works explicitly.
• 40:30 - 45:00: Conclusion: The Derivative Nature of Harry Potter The conclusion of the work discusses the derivative nature of the 'Harry Potter' series, highlighting accusations against J.K. Rowling for lack of originality. It notes a quote from Rowling about not knowing where her ideas come from and critiques her for this statement. The chapter also mentions Rowling's controversial statements and her fall into disfavor due to her transphobic comments in June 2020. The narrative is supported by music that resembles the Harry Potter theme but is slightly altered, implying a critique of her tendency to claim originality.

Did J.K. Rowling “Steal” Harry Potter? Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Chuga-Chuga etc] [Whimsical music plays] Oh, hey! What up, slur? I didn't see you... slither in! I was just sitting here, main-charactering, thinking aesthetically, reminiscing about a book I read as a little jirl. I can't remember the name though. Can you help me figure it out? So, I remember it was a young boy in England, with dark hair and round glasses, who learns that there is a secret magic world just beyond ours, one that he is destined to save from evil. But in order to do that, he has to learn to wield magic,
• 00:30 - 01:00 get a pet owl, stuff it in an inappropriately tiny cage, and meet a whole bunch of silly and wonderful magic teachers and friends. What was it called? Shut up, I remember! The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman. A classic of its genre, a precursor to the world of Sandman, first published in nineteen hundred and nine zero. Oh wait, did you think I was talking about those other books? The books about the Arcane School of Wizardry, where you go to study magic to learn and develop your ability to control it? A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin, published in 1968?
• 01:00 - 01:30 No? Oh, oh, the other other one. The OTHER other book about the magic school. The invisible-to-normies school by the Forbidden Forest, where the students are split up into houses, learn to ride brooms, engage in hijinks like getting into a little trouble turning themselves invisible? Oh and it has that mean and strict potions teacher, who has a grudge against the main character, but favours the blonde bully. The Worst Witch. That's what you mean, right?
• 01:30 - 02:00 Written and illustrated by Jill Murphy, a beloved children's classic from 1974, famously adopted to television in 1998 and again in 2017, and also adapted into a TV movie starring Tim Curry and Diana Rigg? That must be what you were thinking of. No? Jesus on a popsicle stick! Was it: So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane? The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart? Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett? X-Men 1984?
• 02:00 - 02:30 Oh. Oh. Ew. You meant the one that's about the British class system, right? By that writer who people are always tweeting about and being mean to. The book about the private school where wealthy people want to murder anyone who doesn't have pure blood and there's a secret civil service hiding nefarious schemes? Ten Years to Save the West by Liz Truss? Fine. Fine. We'll talk about Harry Potter, the main character in the magical universe that takes place in the movie 'Troll'. Okay, I'm done. I swear. I'll talk about Joanne Kentucky Rowling, but this had better be the last time!
• 02:30 - 03:00 I do not want to be accused of entering my 'Cursed Child' era. Rowling once said: "I haven't got the faintest idea where my ideas come from." Well sit your ignorant ass down, Joanne and let me tell you. Angus! Roll the thingy. [Etherial piano music that sounds vaguely familiar, almost like Harry Potter? But distinct enough that someone like JK Rowling would probably say it’s a unique work and pretend she had invented pianos] In June 2020, following her descent into total transphobic oblivion,
• 03:00 - 03:30 Jesus Kobold Rowling faced criticism from former stars of the Harry Potter franchise and current actual decent humans with values and lives: Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Rupert Grint. As a result of this complete betrayal of the patron saint of being middle class, a number of British celebrities took to their greasy smart devices and tweeted in her defense. Amongst these was Graham Linehan, better known by his Twitter handle, @NoWifeNoJob. He said: "People make a big deal of Harry Potter turning on her,
• 03:30 - 04:00 but every single character in that series came from her head. She is Harry. And she's not just Harry. She's Hermione. [panting laughing wheezing choking] And Ralph." [laughs in slur] This is never not funny. Hashtag I stand with JKR. The R stands for Ralph. While I'm sure Graham was just emerging from his cocoon of crustified socks because he heard the notification on his phone he's set to sound every time there's an opportunity
• 04:00 - 04:30 to ride on a more popular transphobe's coattails, he does raise an interesting question: Is J.K. Rowling actually the mind behind these beloved characters? Is she really responsible for Hermione Granger? Is her imagination really where Harry Potter first squirmed into existence? And did she really come up with beloved children's character: Ralph the Weasel? Well given that I'm on the side of the culture war that doesn't cherry pick examples
• 04:30 - 05:00 to make legally dubious arguments and then celebrate being proven wrong by lying, I'm not going to say that Harry Potter was plagiarised. In fact, I'm not even going to say that the Harry Potter books were, to use a vaguer term: stolen. No, I'm not. I swear. I pinky swear. Bottom's honour. Listen, between us slurs, whatever clickbait title and thumbnail text that sucked you in was probably some kind of a mistake. And also your fault. And it never happened. And if it did, again, it was your fault.
• 05:00 - 05:30 You can't sue me, I'm gay! I'm just here as your dewy, friendly, neighborhood literary critic to explore the question: Is J.K. Rowling the most painfully derivative and unoriginal writer the world has ever known? Why, yes! Yes she is! But let's have some fun with it anyway. If you want a video on whether Harry Potter is good despite it being derivative, it's not, watch this video by Hoots that I did the CGI for. [Hopeful synthy music sting]
• 05:30 - 06:00 Our first example of potential 'influence' was published by DC Comics in 1990. The Books of Magic was a series created by writer Neil Gaiman and it tells the story of Tim Hunter, a 12-year-old boy in England who gets caught up in the magical side of the DC universe, which the series was intended to be a kind of explainer for, given the complicated web of magical characters in canon. So it has a long list of guest appearances as well as some pretty wild ideas, the kind you might expect from Neil Gaiman. But the fact that the Books of Magic balances all of that while telling a compelling story speaks to Gaiman's talent as a writer,
• 06:00 - 06:30 especially given that the main character, Tim Hunter, created seven years before Harry Potter, is the more interesting character of the two. What they share in common is all pretty on the nose. There's the round glasses, the floppy brown hair, the school uniform aesthetic, this coming of age arc, learning to use magic, a secret world just around the corner from our own, exposition by old dudes in cloaks, a sidekick who's a white owl, in this case called Yoyo, which I just think is very cute.
• 06:30 - 07:00 Now whenever I hear the name Hedwig, I just think of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which if you reread Harry Potter -- don't -- picturing that it makes the imagery of the series a lot more interesting. There're some pretty major differences too though. The Books of Magic is a comic series. It takes us from the birth of the universe to the end of time. It's an excuse to hang out with DC characters like Mr. E and John Constantine, and probably the most striking difference, Tim Hunter makes decisions. The whole series hinges on him choosing whether or not to practice magic,
• 07:00 - 07:30 and the ultimate question of whether having such power will cause him to do evil. Gaiman once said of the comparison between his work and Harry Potter, “I thought we were both just stealing from T.H. White” When asked in 1998 if he thought Joke K. Rowling had stolen the Tim Hunter character, Neil Gaiman answered, “I certainly didn’t believe that Rowling had ripped off Books of Magic I doubted she’d read it and that it wouldn’t matter if she had. I wasn’t the first writer to create a young magician with potential, nor was Rowling the first to send one to school.
• 07:30 - 08:00 because Hogwarts Institute for the Criminally Inbred is far from the first school of witchcraft and pigeonery in the history of fiction. Before Hogwarts, before Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches, before the Discworld's Unseen University, before Miss Frizzle and her magic school bus that I'm no longer allowed to ride on because I once asked Liz if she was a worm, there was the School of Wizardry on Roke Island in the 1968 book
• 08:00 - 08:30 A Wizard of Earthsea. Here again, we find plenty of similarities. An ancient school founded by legendary wizards, the main character traveling there to learn to use magic, he has a scar on his face, he ends up in a rivalry with a pompous patronising posh boy, and they get into a wizarding duel. But again, there are crucial differences too. Ged, our protagonist, has to go to this school because his impatience with learning magic is proving to be dangerous for everyone around him.
• 08:30 - 09:00 When he gets into a fight with his rival, Jasper, it's Ged who loses his shit and accidentally summons an evil darkness that scars him and haunts him for the rest of his life. Which is an Animorph's level of quality right there, because you see how the characters experience lasting consequences as a result of their own actions. You do see that right, Joanne? See how the physical scar is like a manifestation of something that the character did, rather than something that happened to them off screen, you see? Maybe I'm expecting too much from Joanne.
• 09:00 - 09:30 Even if she was once described by the maybe-ex-cultist and legitimately pretend journalist Megan Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church as: “arguably the most successful author in the history of publishing with the possible exception of god” That doesn't mean she has to make her art with character and motivation and consequence and other boring things in mind. She's a fun author, not like a good author. I don't think Joanne has ever claimed to be a great storyteller, where her strength lies is in the whimsical and fun ideas she has, right?
• 09:30 - 10:00 Don't tell me. She didn't even come up with the silly fun stuff? [airy musical sting] In 1964, when Jill Murphy had the actual fun idea of adapting episodes from her own life into stories of a magic school, it might have been because she was 15 years old, which is clearly the perfect time to have that idea. Jill Murphy's innocence and proximity to the experience of going to a boarding school with all the gals made her the perfect person to write about a school for witches.
• 10:00 - 10:30 So she wrote a book that was, for years, the seminal text on magical schools, ‘The Worst Witch.’ Transforming her friends into a bunch of quirky misfits at Miss Cackle's Academy, she created such beloved characters as Mildred Hubble, Maud Spellbody, and Enid Nightshade. These are the kind of magical character names I can get behind. Take notes, Joanne. Her chemistry class became potions class. Singing became chanting. Physical education became learning how to ride a fucking broom. You get it. When I mentioned I was doing this video in my group chat,
• 10:30 - 11:00 my gorgeous and incredibly helpful friend and YouTuber, Ember Green, was like, "Are we talking about 'The Worst Witch'? 'But are we talking about The Worst Witch tho?' Ember is a worst witch stan. She has their mofuckin' number and immediately sent me a detailed list of striking similarities between The Worst Witch and Harry Potter. Reading through the list legit had me like, hmm? Oh. Oh! Oh. Damning evidence in the worst witch for the worst author. Let's dip our toes into the most glaring similarities that
• 11:00 - 11:30 Rowling often gets credit for inventing. The protagonist is surprised to get to attend a magic school and so is an outcast among the other students. Just like Harry Potter. In Harry Potter. The kindly headteacher takes a special interest in Mildred and is especially fond of her. Just like with Harry and fake gay Gandalf. In Harry Potter. Witches and wizards aren't known about by non-magic society and have their own fashion, traditions, and history, and don't use modern technology because they have magic. Just like in Harry Potter. Some witches don't come from magical backgrounds.
• 11:30 - 12:00 Just like Harry Potter. There's a mean teacher who is basically Snape, Miss Hardbroom. She's tall, with dark hair, dark eyes, dresses in all black, hates Mildred and favours the blonde bully. She's the potions teacher. She seems like a bad guy. She's strict and unemotional and everyone is afraid of her because she appears out of nowhere, but is really a good guy. Like Snape in Harry Potter. The fuck? Are- Are we sure we don't want to just call this plagiarism? No? Okay. Well, what about after I tell you that the school uniform in the books is a white shirt, black cape and striped tie
• 12:00 - 12:30 and the students are split into houses, and wear colored sashes to mark them. Like with the Hogwarts houses. In Harry Potter. Although this is very much just 'British boarding school that seems unique to people who haven't seen these in real life'. Basically, maybe she's not creative. You're just American. In The Worst Witch, the school is also in danger from a coven of bad witches and it’s up to Mildred to save it. Like the Death Eaters. In Harry Potter. The rival student is an upper class girl with bright blonde hair, who is favoured by Snape. I mean, Miss Hardbroom. Her family are famous and respected witches
• 12:30 - 13:00 who attended the school for generations. She always tries to get Mildred in trouble, even if it means risking the school. Like in Harry Potter. Just like Harry Potter. Just like Harry. Just like Harry Potter. It's just like Harry Potter. Just like Harry. [Nearly crying falsetto]: Just like Harry Potter. But let's be balahnced. I guess the differences are pretty huge too. Basically, Jill Murphy is chill and Mildred Hubble is chill too. And she kind of just goes through education without there needing to be a fascist uprising or every other character getting Avada Kedavra'd off screen.
• 13:00 - 13:30 They're nice books. I wouldn't say they're a recommendation for something to move onto from Harry Potter. But if you're looking for something to have read instead, in a different version of reality where there's no Just Kan't Rowling and trans people are safe and everything is chill, then yeah, definitely eat that shit up. There's some more honorable mentions before we move on, too. The Little Broomstick, which features a school for witches and surprisingly, a little broomstick. The Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett feature Unseen University, a school for wizards and Ankh-Morkpork.
• 13:30 - 14:00 And on the staff, there's series regular Ponder Stibbons, who really, really looks like Harry Potter, but again, has actual personality. And so on and so forth. Yada, yada, padam, padam. There's a big boom in fantasy literature from the sixties through to the nineties. And a lot of it seemed to involve schools where wizards and witches learn how to wizard and witch. So let's answer the question. What makes you so special, Joanne?
• 14:00 - 14:30 (humming of train tracks and music sting) What makes you so special? Was it just coming up with all those silly ass names? In fact, here's a fun game. I call it two J.Ks and a jk. It's like two truths and a lie, except it's one wizarding name that I pulled out of my ass and two names that Joanne thought would actually be a good idea. Here we go. Kingsley Shacklebolt. Sodom Bloodbum. Cho Chang. Leave a comment below which one you think is the fake one and what your horrible Rowling name would be if you'd been at Hogwarts.
• 14:30 - 15:00 No slurs. Stick around because I asked Twitter what their offensive Joannified Hogwarts name would be based on their identity and they are funny. For instance... [Wheezey Laugh] Hormoney Changer! [Clown Cackle] Hormoney Changer! Brilliant. I love you. Okay. Maybe you think I'm a little affected by my distaste for Joanne's politics and I'm forgetting that the Harry Potter franchise features truly iconic imagery.
• 15:00 - 15:30 Can we give her the imagery at least? Like the magic train, the Hogwarts Express, which leaves from King's Cross Station, platform 9 and three-fourthers. I mean, what could be more of a truly original Rowling creation than that train? Saur... Rowling has admitted to being a fan of the Chronicles of Narnia and its influence on her work. “I found myself thinking about the wardrobe route to Narnia when Harry is told he has to hurl himself at the barrier in King’s Cross Station.
• 15:30 - 16:00 It dissolves and he’s on platform nine and three-quarters, and there’s the train for Hogwarts.” Trains have held a special place in children's literature since the first railway track was laid down in the 1800s. Stories for Victorian children often featured the train as a romantic and logical gateway between their normal world and the world of adventure that awaited them. From Enid Blyton's Famous Five, to the pretty weird death by train-wreck and ascension to heaven
• 16:00 - 16:30 for the Pevensies in the Chronicles of Narnia, trains have been a fixture of children's fiction for as long as trains have been a reality. The specifically magic train that goes to a secret place is also not a creation of Rowling's. We could credit it to several people. In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, he meets a witch named Doris Crockford, who shares a name with the IRL author of the 1937 book about the famous train, The Flying Scotsman. In which the train departs from Platform 10, King's Cross Station,
• 16:30 - 17:00 and goes on a magical adventure. There's also Chris Van Alsberg, creator of the 1985 book The Polar Express. But focusing on all that would be missing the point here, zooming in too far on a much larger picture and focusing on the pixels. Trains have always been magical. Trains are just fun, trains are cute, trains take you to wonderful places you've never been before. Trains have been such a staple of whimsy and magic in fiction that in 1909 they published a book called The Railway Children.
• 17:00 - 17:30 And it didn't even matter what it was about because people saw railway and children and bought it on the spot. I used to take the train twice a year to visit family. And each time it felt like an escape not just from the city, but from my life. Going under bridges, tunnels, past fields, and through small towns you've never stepped foot in, but you can name them based on a blurry photo of their train station alone, it felt like being transported across more than just distance. The vibration of the train, the clicking of the tracks,
• 17:30 - 18:00 the constant and persistent motion through the countryside. It's a magical experience. So if you want to credit someone for that, or for the idea of a train that's magical getting incepted into culture, then don't thank the transphobic hack. Put some respect on the name of George Stevenson, inventor of the goddamn steam locomotive. Or don't, whatever. Far be it for me to ask you to respect the dead. Okay, so what ideas are left? What did J.K. Rowling come up with?
• 18:00 - 18:30 Hippogriffs? No, no, that was Ludovico Ariosto. He invented hippogriffs, fantastical creatures with a front half an eagle and the hind half of a centaur. Or as Glinner would put it: half bird, half chair. Maybe hippogriffs and hybrid creatures like them existed before all that anyway. Because as long as humans have looked at animals, our nasty little imaginations have thought: What if front half furry? What if back half feathery or whatever? We're just gross that way. But did she come up with Dumbledore?
• 18:30 - 19:00 No, he's just a queerbaiting Merlin. If you want a great video about how Merlin is queerbaity, check out this video on the channel of one of YouTube's most prolific and I'd say original video essayists, James Somerto- [Phone Rings] Hello? Oh, no. Oh no. No. Oh- Okay, I'll watch it now. Okay, thanks, Quing.
• 19:00 - 19:30 Okay, so the video you should watch is by Alexander Avila, and I have never met nor promoted this man. Okay, so I don't know. Saying J.K. Rowling came up with Dumbledore is like diversity casting Snap, Crackle and Pop by making them Italian off screen. And then saying that means you invented breakfast. The story of the orphaned boy who is destined for greatness taken under the wing of a wise old teacher with a big white beard is so cliched that not only is it the plot of the Disney film The Sword in the Stone,
• 19:30 - 20:00 which is probably also based on something, it's also fucking Star Wars. That's just Star Wars, Joanne. And you may ask, well, did she come--? No! You might say, okay, but she must have come up- No, she didn't! But- No! The entire legendarium of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is closer to a Fatboy Slim song than it is to an original piece of fiction. Harry Potter is cliches and stock characters all the way down. I guess you could say it's an exercise in sampling.
• 20:00 - 20:30 Decades earlier in the 50s in an era where fantasy wasn't yet its own genre of fiction, J.R.R. Tolkien took the myths of Europe, and used them to create an elaborate and detailed world of constructed languages, spanning dizzying geographies, and rich, lived-in cultures. In the 60s, as high fantasy exploded, Ursula K. Le Guin saw an opportunity to address all the misogyny and racism that fueled it. She said, I'm going to do better than that by writing better than that. In the 80s, Terry Pratchett saw this proliferation of fantasy and thought it
• 20:30 - 21:00 was a great opportunity to take the piss. Eventually, his taking of the piss would lead to some of the most profound and humane satire that would ever be written. In the 90s, Neil Gaiman took all of the fantasy and adventure in the mainstream and used it to introduce readers to the strangest corners of myth and dream, which somehow still felt familiar. And then along comes Joanne.
• 21:00 - 21:30 And she's like, hey, I like the way you use trolls and shit. I'm just going to shart out this little world where there's only one school in the entire continent of Africa. World building? Who's she? I've never heard of that before. Whoops, I guess I gotta kill that guy off now. Writing is so hard. Why is everyone so mean to me? I'm suing the internet. I'm suing God. Speaking on her blog in 2019, JKKK Rowling said, Having your work scrutinised is an inevitable concomitant of being a professional writer. I never dreamed there would be a fandom the size of Harry Potter’s picking over the books.
• 21:30 - 22:00 It’s staggering and wonderful given that I’m fairly obsessive myself. These are kindred spirits. Kindred spirits!? Kindred spirits? Well that's fucking horrifying, thanks Joanne. Looks like you built a pretty good defence against the dark art of criticism by telling me and the other critics that we're basically the same as you. We're all obsessives. Well, no thanks. I obsess no longer. The Harry Potter series is definitely and definitively, books and films.
• 22:00 - 22:30 So we can unambiguously say that for sure. They also seem to be pretty clearly derivative and unoriginal books and films. And that's probably a large part of what makes them so successful. They scratch a cultural itch without exposing any of the weirdness of myth. They tell us familiar stories without asking any challenging questions. And the magic world reminds us of our own, without the mental workout of shining a satirical light on real injustice.
• 22:30 - 23:00 J.K. Rowling is a wedding DJ for fantasy fiction, playing all the hits. And there's nothing worse than a DJ. But none of them were really born from her, from the place inside us where art is conceived. And what's worse is that she doesn't seem to be too big a fan of the hit she's playing. Her disregard for accuracy in terms of Irish, Norse and Greek mythology aside, J.K. J.K. Rowling doesn't even seem to understand how themes work in general.
• 23:00 - 23:30 It took until 2004 and a visit to the Holocaust Museum for Joanne to see that the genocidal wizards she spent more than a decade writing were, in fact, genocidal. Writing on her website in July of that year Jo said that she was: "chilled to see that the Nazis used precisely the same warped logic as the Death Eaters." I don't know how she could not have known this How she could not know, and then think the best thing to do is tell us that she did not know. And then use it as an opportunity to tell us about the dangers of fascist logic
• 23:30 - 24:00 while denying the very same atrocities she claims she finally bothered to learn about. Girly, you just came up with ethnofascism from first principles because you asked yourself, what would your posh friends do if they had magic powers? Put the microphone down and step away from the discourse. Your inability to understand things is a danger to you and everyone around you. Log the fuck off and read a book, that you didn't write, while cosplaying a poor person in your brother's cafe while your friend paid your rent because you didn't feel like teaching anymore. When Neil Gaiman answered the question of whether or not J.K. Rowling stole his ideas,
• 24:00 - 24:30 he said that he didn't think she had read The Books of Magic, and that it wouldn't matter if she had. Again, he said, I wasn’t the first writer to create a young magician with potential nor was Rowling the first to send one to school. And as you can see, this is kind of an understatement. Stories of magic schools have been around since real life schools first shut their gates to the lower classes. Stories of orphans destined for greatness have been around for even longer than that. Stories of magic trains have been around for as long as trains.
• 24:30 - 25:00 And even the iconic image of a tussle-haired boy in a school uniform and cloak with round glasses and an English accent is at least seven years older than Harry Potter. Gaiman concluded by saying, It’s not the ideas, it’s what you do with them that matters And I think this is exactly my biggest criticism of Rowling as a writer. What she does with these well-worn tropes and cliches is not much. She lists them, tells us about them instead of showing us.
• 25:00 - 25:30 She crams them into a stuffy setting, adds them to her lazy playlist, and then buys herself time and a lengthy word count, all for the yearly mystery that is somehow both tedious and inconsistent. I read Harry Potter as a kid, and looking back was left wanting. Maybe it's because I'd already read the greatest book series ever created, Animorphs. Or maybe it's because the magic in her universe was devoid of charm. The one thing I know for sure is that the only talent Joanne without a doubt possesses is making content that appeals to the masses.
• 25:30 - 26:00 If you want to call the work of J.K. Rowling good because she sold millions of books, go ahead and buy a new set of Harry Potter books and read them while eating what is, obviously and arguably, the most exquisite and creative cuisine in the world. McDonald's! Where each location has served millions too. Listen up, bub. I don't love having sponsors in every video, but I need them if I want to, like, live, thrive, eventually have a place to live where my workspace isn't in a windowless room.
• 26:00 - 26:30 Eventually, I'd like my members over at patreon.com to be enough to not take sponsors on every video, so if you want to help with that and get bennies like exclusive videos, watch parties, and more like a discord, sign up. Thanks again to Füm for sponsoring this video, and if you're ordering Füm, don't forget to use my code, CAELANCONRAD Okay, so remember, I asked people on Twitter to share what name J.K. Rowling would have given them based on their identity if they were in her wonderful wizarding world, and they did not disappoint.
• 26:30 - 27:00 They did not disappoint. And I'm gonna read you my favorites. I fucking love these. Autis Tyke Borda Hoppa Ebon Chayned Joo Wish Jenny Jigglepiggle Manny Nadress Tyranneous Peeyocee Ivor Sible Damage Gayle Lawsoot Deafie Wheeler Hormoney Changer Mickey Mafioso Anne Frank Wokerius Sirtuevignal
• 27:00 - 27:30 Taco Borderjumper Shea Wuzman Sean McGlockland Carson Bomber Peter File Rob Everyone Cho Chang Torah Kosher Trenee Manhands Jock McGay Boobsweat Poutine Groomeria Gentalium Denise Skellington Uraman Bytheway Slutlana Whorevitch Timothee Fageoux Mul Latto Autist Blackmon-Pollowbight Notoriam Bignose
• 27:30 - 28:00 Autumn Gine-Ophelia Janis Fickle Offred Pudgedike Spuds McGroomer Shloma Accountantberg Dandy Hogbody Dreidel McCarbomb Nachos Rodreguezv Hugh Jacksmen Haggis McWhisky Adolf Hirshfeld Carla Bomb Sanchez Hernandez Juanita Mowalawn Paddy O’Potato Paynus Handler
• 28:00 - 28:30 Stimmy Bombthreat Ria Tardid Austistran Halfjew Herman Phrodite Hagissa McBagpipes Okay, I love you, bye. [Kiss noise]