On anti-HP-hype

[conuly]

A lot of people on my friends list today have posted about how they don't want the new HP book when it comes out. Harry Potter is derivative, a rip-off. It's badly written. It's in serious need of a good editing job. It's overhyped!

Well, yeah. I know!

I have always liked literary fluff. I still have very fond memories of the Baby-Sitters Club books, and of the Sweet Valley Twins series. I will happily read cheesy sci-fi novels with plot holes big enough to drive trucks though. (I also watch Lifetime and Disney made-for-tv movies, which really should give an indication of my taste). Yes, I read and enjoy serious works as well, but I've always felt there was a little bit of fun in reading candy. Or mocking it, whatever.

Am I the only one who sees it that way? Don't take Harry Potter so seriously. Read it, laugh, and move on with your life. Or don't read it. But don't diss those of us who happen to like badly-written books and movies.

Comments

[furiosity.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of the anti-HP hype stems from the whole "That J.K. Rowling is a lucky bitch, I wish I was her" syndrome rather than real faults with the books themselves. Not to say the series is flawless or all faults are imagined, but I can tell "you're just jealous" when I see it. A lot of wannabe writers have made noise about JKR as a talentless hack, but they remain wannabes, and she's the one with the 7-book deal. That kind of thing stings, if someone is immature like that.

Derivative? What isn't, these days?
A rip-off? Please. Just because JKR re-uses archetypes that everyone and their dog does, just because she's writing about childhood and school life does not make her works a rip-off. See "derivative".
Badly written? If you consider "good writing" on the merits of usage of the English language alone, perhaps. If someone considers "good writing" also good storytelling and can with a clear conscience say that JKR's writing is bad on the merits of storytelling, then I point and laugh in their direction while singing "You're just jealous."
In a serious need of an editing job -- why? Because some people didn't get the Ministry of Magic scene in OotP? No one ever said you didn't have to use your brain while reading Book 5, dammit. Granted, with some extra editing, the series can be improved, but what can't?
Over-hyped? I think that's the "You're just jealous" crowd's substitute for "popular," at least in this case. The series is popular because people are reading the books, writing stories set in the world, and trying to figure out what's going to happen next while anxiously anticipating film and book releases. That's because people love these books, not because the media tells them they're cool.

Any "you"s in the above refer to the hypothetical "you, gentle reader" rather than you personally, Conuly. :o) People take it so damn seriously because deep inside, many can't stand the thought that a single mother on welfare could pull off something like this, it leads to "Why her, why not me?" And I think that's pretty damn rotten of them. That said, I don't think every single person who doesn't like the series dislikes it for that reason. I think there are a heck of a lot more people who feel that way than there are people who'll admit they do.

[conuly]

JKR isn't a *bad* storyteller, exactly - she's just not a *great* one. And she really doesn't know how to cut out the dreck from her books. I'll say it again, and shout it from the rooftops, there's no need for them to be that long. (She's not the only one with that problem, that's the main reason I've never gotten into LotR as well. I can't deal with the description).

[furiosity.livejournal.com]

Actually, I agree that the books need not be as long as they are. But that, I think, is a matter of personal preference -- some people can read the Fountainhead and think it's brilliant, I think it's boring and uninspired. And I love the descriptions in the LotR series, I don't think it would be anywhere without them. Bottom line is -- JKR isn't everyone's cup of tea, and that's fine, far be it from me to try to convince people to like something that they can't enjoy. However, it's kind of like debating the merits of mash over French fries.

[conuly]

*grins*

Good answer.

[readerravenclaw.livejournal.com]

Saying that JKR isn't a good storyteller is like saying that Einstein wasn't an influential scientist. Even if, in the future, some of Einstein's theories are discredited, and turn out to not be the "truth", there's no denying that he was influential. A good storyteller - as opposed to a good writer - is someone who tells a good story, someone who tells stories in such a way that many people find the stories enjoyable. JKR is the most popular author around - millions and millions of people have read her books - which means that she IS a good storyteller. That's what a good storyteller is all about: creating stories that others enjoy. Saying that someone isn't a good storyteller because you don't think they have a good command of writing skills is a very elitist kind of comment to make - it's the sort of attitude that you find among some Literature Professors, who feel that if a book isn't one of the "accepted classics" it's not worth reading. Non-"literary" books - particularly Fantasy books - are evolved from the long-ago storytelling around a fire, and they serve the same essential purpose: to tell a story, and to entertain by means of telling this story. Good writing is an added bonus - but a book that is "well-written" but contains a poorly told story, and is not enjoyed by many people, is very much inferior in serving a story-telling purpose. It may make a good manual for an English class, but it's not a good story.

[toastedtuna.livejournal.com]

Why, oh why, does everything have to boil down to some group or another being "jealous" of someone else? Why can't someone be pissed off at a writer for not delivering something of quality?

I CARE about what happens to Harry and those kids. Yes, JK's writing bugs the living hell out of me because she sucks major ass. Unfortunately, she's managed to reel me in with a group of kids who stand up for themselves and always manage to come out on top, and I want to know what happens next.

I don't think it's wrong to demand that a writer give a reader something of quality and continuity.

I've quit watching many shows over the years because of the very reasons I can't stand JK Rowling.

Jealousy isn't even a factor, and I don't think it's a factor for others who find issues with her 'technique' either.

[furiosity.livejournal.com]

I quote: That said, I don't think every single person who doesn't like the series dislikes it for that reason. [being jealous] So no, it doesn't have to boil down to jealousy -- I just think a lot of people are jealous of her success.

JKR can't be all that bad if her characters are so vivid in your mind, can she? *shrug* I don't agree with you that she sucks major ass, I think you're quite wrong on that count, but like I mentioned to conuly above, it's a little like debating whether mash is better than French fries.

JKR's created a world that people can lose themselves in, and characters that people truly care about. There have got to be redeeming characteristics in there somewhere, ne?

[conuly]

Well, I've got a theory about JKR's vivid characters.

When she first wrote the HP books, she was a nobody. She had to fit the confining rules of children's fiction, which means that excess words and sentences were struck down mercilessly. Sometimes this is cruel - the editor wantonly takes out things that belong. But often it has merit, and things which are unnecessary are removed.

Now she's popular. Everybody loves her. She can do what she wants. And that means she writes her books longer and longer, and doesn't take out all the stuff that can not exist, that adds nothing to the story.

In the end, the writing suffers because it's full of dreck. It has good stuff too, but she's not editing out the bloat anymore, and the stories are slower, and slower, and have too much in them.

[furiosity.livejournal.com]

That's a pretty good theory, actually -- I agree with it to an extent. It makes sense, about her becoming popular and having more leeway as far as editing goes -- her publishers know that the book will sell no matter what she does, after all. Rumour has it that Half-Blood Prince is shorter than the Order of the Phoenix, so we can hope. :>

[adiva_calandia]

Icon LUUURVE! I have a plushie Cthulhu too, but he's (it's?) not festive. :D So cool.