Enjoying the Works of Problematic Creators

Sometimes things we love are created by people we would not wish to associate ourselves with. What forms does this take? How does it affect our relationship with our fandoms? And how do we move forward with all this? Let's talk about it.
Please not that this video was filmed before JK Rowling released her "explanatory essay" on her views, and I address that more directly here: • A Few Words on JK Rowling
Jessie Gender's videos: • JK Rowling Transphobia... & • Breaking Down JK Rowli...
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#pride2020

[@annme_87]

I met Tom Felton at a con. He was so lovely. A young girl had a panic attack in the line up to meet him. Those of us around us were trying out best to help her, when a man came over and asked if she was ok. She crying very hard and she had to concentrate pretty hard to keep her breathing under control and I was worried she was going to puke. The man asked if her and her friend would go with him she pleaded to stay in line. She didn't want to miss her chance to meet Tom. I promised her I'd hold her spot, but it turned out I didn't need to. The man turned out to be Tom's security and he lead the 2 girls behind the curtain behind Tom's autograph table. He finished the autograph he was working on and also disappeared behind the curtain where he stayed for at least 10 minutes. Eventually he reappeared and started signing autographs again. The girls walked back out from behind the curtain and triumphantly held up their signed posters. Everyone clapped for them. I ran into the girl who suffered the panic attack again a little later and asked her what had happened. She told me Tom had just sat on the floor with her while she cried. She kept apologizing and he kept saying "it's ok. I'm not going anywhere." He waited with her until she calmed down, he signed her poster, she showed me the picture he took with her and her friend and she was absolutely beaming. I choose to see Tom Felton's kindness when I think of Harry Potter. I choose to let that moment remind me of all the love in the Potterverse and smile. I'll never turn my back on Harry Potter because it's outgrown Rowling in so many big and positive ways.

[@ShadofofaMermaid]

anny05 Oh my goodness, that made me tear up a little. Thank you for sharing this.

[@glitchedcrit3848]

I know an organiser for the local con, and she told me that Tom Felton was so lovely and really kind, I'm so happy to see that his kindness is a consistent thing 💖

[@thefantasticalicefox]

Goddamn that's beautiful.

[@tobiasmyles5375]

I know im randomly asking but does anybody know a tool to log back into an Instagram account..? I was dumb forgot the account password. I love any help you can give me!

[@drumcorp90]

Since I'm a librarian: if you choose not to support an author monetarily, use the library. There you get to interact with the art without the artist getting in your way. And librarians love to talk books. Dave The Cat.

[@p0etrygh0st]

not true in the UK. Borrowing in the uk gives the author a small payment.

[@darlalathan6143]

You can also read them online for free, if you're staying home under quarantine.

[@WeiYinChan]

p0etrygh0st This is conflicting for me because I go to the library so I don’t have to waste money and space for a book I’m only gonna read once but I still want to support an author. But then I want to be able to pick and choose the author I support while still being able to read the books. So I kinda want to have my cake and eat it. So I guess i can not borrow it out and just read it in the library? That’s kinda what I did as a kid when I couldn’t afford books and just stand in the book shop for hours until I finish a book in one go.

[@SakiBlablabla]

WeiYinChan Yop you absolutely can do that 🤣

[@WindspriteM]

it's too late for the millions she's earned from people buying her books in the PAST. We can't turn back time and we won't hurt her much nowadays anyhow. I have a complete collection of the harry potter series, some of which I painstakingly saved a lot of pocket money for as a teenager. Other times, parents and relatives bought them for christmas. That money has been spent. J.K. has cashed in on it. Not much can be done about that.

[@EmeraldDragon]

To quote one of my English Professors: "Only half the story is written on the page. The rest comes from the experience the reader brings."

[@Kiki-cs8xv]

Your English professor is clearly a fan of Mikhail Bakhtin. Well worth a read of you want to get into the philosophy of art as a dialogue between author and audience.

[@peggyjaeger9280]

❤️

[@theresisty7122]

Your daughter is lucky to have such a loving and wise parent.

[@IvoirePunk]

I saw a Twitter thread where someone pointed out that JK accidentally kind of got the pronoun thing in Deathly Hallows. Hermione takes polyjuice potion and "becomes" Harry, genitals and all, but they still use female pronouns for her because inside she is still Hermione, she was just put into this male body. She's never been a male and never wants to be one, she's just inhabiting a young man's body.

[@Galvion1980]

@@HOTD108_ That's not the point, the point is that she was female irrespective of the anatomic or genetic make-up of the body she inhabited.

[@darlalathan6143]

@@HOTD108_ Neither does J.K. Rowling, lol!

[@cariad123]

Arguably that's just her saying a trans man is still a woman even if he's fully transitioned

[@IvoirePunk]

@@HOTD108_ no their point is that Hermione was in Harry's body but still herself. It's not about a transition. It's that even though she's in Harry's body she's still Hermione and still a girl. It's not a great analogy by any means but the point is JK can fathom being in one body and it not fitting who you are, but only so long as it's her fiction and not reality

[@IvoirePunk]

Also, this is a reader's interpretation, absolutely not something JK did intentionally.

[@SgtAvreyJohnson]

Just after high school a good friend came out as trans. I was raised in a fundy-adjacent household and didn’t really have a frame of reference for how to react to it. So I defaulted to the only two examples I had, Star Trek and Harry Potter. Ironically JK Rowling taught me to be loving and inclusive of my lgbt friends. No one can take that from me... not even JK herself.

[@orionaugustwatson]

Quoting her own books: "You're the one who is weak. You will never know love or friendship. And I feel sorry for you." And remember ,just like Daniel Radcliffe said , not even the author can come between a reader and the book. And remember, as brilliant as they were, Peter Pettigrew, Salazar Slytherin , Tom Marvolo Riddle, Snape ,Gellert Grindelwald etc ,they all failed, were renounced because of what they became, not how they were born and grew up .

[@Sunnucksboi]

I also think it depends how much the author’s voice comes through in the text. As a gay man I find it quite a hard pill to swallow that George Orwell, who is one of my favourite authors, was homophobic. However when I read his work I don’t feel like I’m hearing his “voice”. I always view the narrator in his work to be someone who doesn’t have any bias in the story and is essentially reciting the facts to me. I do understand though that with some readers and some authors this may be a challenge

[@Venemofthe888]

I hear Stephen Fry a lot when i read

[@TTRPGSarvis]

At least with George Orwell, he's long dead. You aren't giving money to a creator who could donate it to anti-gay causes.

[@russmiddleton5486]

@@secondeye1574 The problme that has to be overcome with that kind of analysis is 'confirmation bias', the person want's to find evidence so they will, irrespective of if that evidence is objectivly there. It's a very hard thing to get around as it is something we all do.

[@etherealsky7078]

Exactly. That’s why, on the contrary, I couldn’t even try to watch Polanski’s last film. A movie about the Dreyfus affair, a Jewish man who was wrongly accused and divided public opinion. Don’t tell me he doesn’t see himself in this story... Which is quite disgusting. Edit: Then again, I have decided to personally boycott creations by living people who’ve done detestable things. The fact that you can hear the voice in the film is just aggravating.

[@lwaves]

@@secondeye1574 I haven't seen her video but I agree with what Russ Middleton said. Look and try hard enough and you can make anything fit the narrative you want. Sometimes things can be overthought and while the Hagbitch's (Rowling not Sarah Z) work has found a home with many types of people, clearly at least some of it wasn't intended that way. A least that ended up being a good thing, unlike her comments on the subject.

[@fuzzymurdermittens]

I find Lovecraft fascinating because the dude was afraid of EVERYTHING, making him an intensely hate-filled person, but it was his deep familiarity with being scared of everything that made him able to craft that fear into such existentially horrifying stories. It's also funny because of how much groups who face discrimination, like the LGBT+ community, can relate to his works - Lovecraft feared some ridiculous make-believe his little mind created for him, minorities fear very real eldritch gods in the shapes of oppressive systems which actually exist and hurt them in real life. I like to think he's turning in his grave over the whole thing.

[@Talyrion]

Yeah, Lovecraft is certainly an interesting case. It's not just "people not like him" that he feared, but stuff as random as architecture, any kind of dark place, deserts, the sea, non-euclydian geometry... I think it's safe to say the guy was fearful of anything outside of his own house.

[@t.thomas8919]

He would be called as a pandaophobia... might have spelled that wrong but to sum up. It means to be the fear of everything or fear of what is out of norm to stretch there. He likely more just as that and everything that people called as an easy target to use as a wider brush. To a degree but it can go either way for some depending whom sees it.

[@julietfischer5056]

@@Talyrion - His mother was likely psychologically abusive towards him, and the family was faded gentry. Both of those played a part in his psyche. There's one time when his racism was unintentionally comic: at the end of "Medusa's Coil" -- a story about a deadly love affair involving a woman of not-exactly-human ancestry -- the narrator sees a portrait of the woman. Is it her non-human lineage that he thinks set off the murders he learned of? Nope. As far as he's concerned, it's because she had an African ancestor.

[@dimitree7543]

well, that is an interesting take, but his worldview stands directly opposed to mine (may be my privilege of having an accepting surrounding). Because of that I could even feel the bigoted ideals of his mythos being incorporated, and thus whenever I read a story from him I could never feel dread or horror...being afraid of the unknown is stupid and something that should be worked against (weird example: whenever I saw dragons outside a metaphorical context get killed, I was angry at the character and felt betrayed, that he/she didn't even try to understand the dragon). Dunno what I just rabted about, but yeah, hope it had any use or something XD

[@mohnjilligan3830]

@@dimitree7543 I agree that being afraid of the unknown is stupid and something to work past but I think that alone shows how it is an innate human fear. I think lovecraft taps into this fear and goes even further to show his readers that these things that we dont know we will never know because we cannot comprehend them. And this is a true anxiety, at least for me, because the more knowledgable we are about the universe, the more we realize we dont know, and the closer we get to trying to explore concepts that our human minds just simply cannot and will not ever comprehend (e.g. imagine experiencing the 5th or 6th dimension). This is why I love lovecraft stories and why they genuinely are terrifying at times, because there are aspects of his universe that we could never hope to understand no matter how hard we try, and the same goes for our own universe.

[@laurens.8475]

Honestly, there hasn't been a single creator or creation company I've enjoyed that hasn't had something problematic about their works or production process come to light eventually (especially in the gaming industry). I've basically decided to parse it on a case-by-case basis. I also think it's very naive of us as fans to treat creators (especially authors) as deities. Love the work, sure. But there's that old adage "You should never meet your heroes" because ultimately that entity will never succeed in meeting that moral standard you assumed they had. We (as fans) also have this obsessive problem where we think that the work authors create is a direct reflection of them as a person (good or bad). Often times it's not. The creative process is just that...it's about exploring ideas, situations, emotions, and conflicts that may or may not be directly coming from an author's personal experiences or beliefs. Sure, you might have authors like Tolkien who create massive metaphors for their lived WWI experiences through their works, but that's not the case for everyone. Yet it's the default standard we slap on all of them as a justification to enjoy their work. Great pieces of literature do not equate to "good person".

[@HereComesPopoBawa]

"We (as fans) also have this obsessive problem where we think that the work authors create is a direct reflection of them as a person (good or bad)." - That's a POV I always encounter and struggle to relate to. I consider people and art to both be emergent processes, without there being any sort of fixed identity. Not unlike the weather! Some can be pleasant, some can be deadly - but in either case all I can do is try to be prepared and not take it personally.

[@rowan3682]

@@totallyanonymousbish9599 I think they mean more in terms of themes than actual plot points lol. Like GRRM has a lot of awful stuff happen in his books, but a lot of his real world beliefs can be extrapolated from the series. War is bad, monarchy is oppressive and unjust, women are as capable as men, homosexuality is fine, the rich exploit the poor, the most moral people are often not the best rulers, a lot of politicians are greedy liars. How many of these ideas he actually believes and how strongly he adheres to many of them is obviously unknown, but they are beliefs many readers would assume are his when they analyze his works. The way that he writes war as either pointless or causing more harm than good, the way that he writes women as complex humans and allows them to express their femininity in a multitude of ways - these are indicative of his beliefs, outside of what the characters in universe think.

[@horsepuncher95]

So true. You don't need to stop liking the things you like, but don't lie to yourself about the fact that people are people. Just because someone creates something you think is awesome doesn't mean you have to convince yourself that person is awesome. For example when XXXtentacion died... his music has gotten me through some stuff but he was such a piece of shit, fans grieved but I couldn't because I would have had to pretend he didn't abuse a pregnant woman. Marilyn Manson's music gives me life and I'm a huge fan of it, but he abused the shit out of a teenaged Evan Rachel Wood and her testimony was damning... yet much of the fanbase refuses to make piece with the notion that he can be capable of making awesome political music and also committing some disguting acts of domestic abuse. Sorry how long winded this is but yeah, you touched on something I think about often because of how many things I enjoy that were created by people I have no respect for outside of their works

[@horsepuncher95]

Steven Tyler is another one off the top of my head, adopted a young teenager so he could legally take her across state lines and fuck her, but Aerosmith is still beloved in the rock world as a god-like band so people just brush past it rather than integrating that juxtaposition into their views of him

[@mrsuperguy2073]

doesn't everyone talk about how LOTR is an allegory for war (or for christianity... i forget) despite Tolkien ferverently denying this for ages... which i think makes this a really good example of how our interpretations of a work as the audiance don't always line up with the intentions of the artist

[@SunDogDeb]

On separating the artist from the works I once read that while people would be thrilled to have an original Van Gogh hanging in their living room, few would be so thrilled to have the artist Van Gogh in their living room!

[@Undeadharpie]

I do love how studios are handling HP Lovecraft lately. In the latest adaptation of the Color from Outer Space, the protagonist and audience proxy is played by a black man. Jordan Peele is going to be the show runner behind the HBO Lovecraft County series.

[@Galvion1980]

Black sci-fi/horror writer Victor LaValle has written a re-imagining of "The Horror of Red Hook" called "The Ballad of Black Tom", the titular Black Tom being a small-time hustler who gets drawn into the whole cult-mess...his name, of course, refers to the less racist name the publishers replaced an even more racist cat name in "The Rats in the Walls" with...

[@Reprodestruxion]

He didn’t like Slavs , Slavic Jews , Italians and probably the Irish . In fact he didn’t like anyone that didn’t talk like the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Pepys or the characters in The Witch incl Black Phillip

[@patric4401]

@@Reprodestruxion He also had a problem with Welsh, Mexicans, Polynesians, Puerto Ricans, Portugese, and a whole array of non-WASP ethnic groups. Honestly, I think Lovecraft was both brilliant and sadly pathetic. Imagine being as phobic as he was, and trying to live your life in the modern world. Terror around every corner, like a germophobe trying to isolate himself from life.

[@adamdavis1648]

@@patric4401 He was also prejudiced against rural people.

[@thedanespeaks]

this reminds me of overly sarcastic productions Lovecraft vid. He liked white people who weren't poor or working class. He hated and feared EVERYONE else.

[@davidcheater4188]

You touched on what's an important factor for me. "What impact do their problematic beliefs have on their legacy?" G. K. Chesterton was as anti-Semitic as H.P. Lovecraft though he isn't as notorious for racism. But while the fans of H.P. Lovecraft acknowledge that he was a racist anti-Semite, they tend not to defend those beliefs. A group of G. K.Chesterton fans are trying to get the Vatican to declare him a Saint and actively deny that his views of Jews were improper in the least. And then there's the legacy of Ayn Rand fans on politics and society.

[@bacul165]

"Be safe, be well, be kind." I think I might steal this as my new favorite goodbye!

[@Lil-Dragon]

How you remain calm with these things I don't understand. But I applaud how you explain these things

[@dickottel]

people should use JKR's books to teach their children about being on the good side and to be tolerant ✌️

[@pigeon2503]

Use her own works against her. Brutal.

[@beckyvan-orden7540]

That’s part of why this is all so infuriating - the books’ teachings about tolerance and belonging have spoken deeply to marginalised groups for so long, it makes her personal views seem more of a betrayal 😢 But you’re absolutely right - and this is why the books and Wizarding World should stand apart from the creator

[@charlie.tt4]

I agree, but also there might be better books to do that. A book without any representation of minorities and concepts such as “slaves that like to be slaves” (house elves) might not be the best way to teach kids about the world. The overall message is still a positive one though, obviously, just wanted to point that out. I think there’s more of Rowling in these books than we realize(d).

[@theblackfreighter1623]

Lol but not tolerant to forcing people into insanity

[@Estarfigam]

I think of the story of Mark Twain's writing process in writing Huck Finn, he like Huck had a moment of crisis in determining what is socially right and what IS right in one's heart. People can evolve out of troubling behavior, or into it. Good post as usual.

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

I'll always respect Mark Twain. He had every oppurtunity to be racist by nurture, and he apparently didn't take any of them, according to his writings.

[@Ba-pb8ul]

There's an argument in German Idealism, and lit crit, about the reader (or viewer) being half the works content, in the way it's received and perceived. The job of a writer is to use and expand metaphor effectively, such that you bring your own experience to the work - even if that works against the intention of the creator. In some instances, such work can actually be antithetical to the arguments of the writer, and assist in communicating something more inclusive. Once a work is created it no longer belongs to the artist. The issue may therefore be threefold: the material contribution to make to a poisonous mind, the soft power you give to the creator with the poisonous mind, but also the good that may come from the reception of the work

[@Galvion1980]

I wish I could upvote this more than once!

[@Alias_Anybody]

"Once a work is created it no longer belongs to the artist." George Lucas has left the chat.

[@grinnylein]

It's the idea that art is creating in the interaction of both the artist and the viewer. "Beauty is in the eyes of the viewer' But to ignore the morals the artist tries to promote is a bit to easy, because those things are important to the work

[@gunlovingliberal1706]

This is not a defence of Lovecraft's racism and xenophobia, but his foremost theme is not fear of the unknown. Many of the characters eagerly seek after the unknown, but when they find it they "can't handle the truth" and go mad. He believed that the human mind to too small to handle the cosmos. This quote from The Call of Cthulhu sums it up, "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. " That is the core of Cosmic Horror.

[@adamdavis1648]

Sounds like fear of the unknown to me.

[@snakes3425]

"The oldest emotion of mankind is fear, the greatest fear is fear of the unknown."

[@gunlovingliberal1706]

@@adamdavis1648 They are not the same in my opinion. The protagonist in many stories is a scientist, scholar, doctor or some other seeker after knowledge (i.e. the unknown). They aren't afraid of the unknown, they chase after it. The problem is that after they make their discovery it drives them mad. At that point they may express fear.

[@7Seraphem7]

Hmmmm, good point but, I don't think the core is really about the 'truth' being so vast man can not understand it. That is part of it, but it's more, the 'truth' is that, nothing matters, there is no will at work with some grand design, or meaning to reality, it is simply a cold, uncaring void where things happen, and humans are just a small, insignificant speck on one tiny pebble in the grand cosmos. It's finding out how small and pathetic and meaningless everything we know is in the larger view of things that tends to break people more then simply how large it is.

[@adamdavis1648]

@@gunlovingliberal1706 Right, they chase after the unknown and that results in them being driven mad. Chasing after the unknown turns out to be a bad idea. The thing that's unknown is the thing that's meant to scare the audience and if only the protagonist had shared that fear and avoided the unknown instead of trying to learn about it, they could have kept their sanity. How are these not stories based on fear of the unknown?

[@koivunen2489]

I chuckled at not feeling Weinstein's hands on the finished product. Good wording.

[@russmiddleton5486]

As the royalist historian Clarendon said about Oliver Cromwell 'he was a great bad man.' Science has to deal with this all the time, a person's work stands irrespective of who they were, take Newton good on gravity, a really nasty piece of work in real life. But we used his work to get to the moon. As always a very well thought out discussion video.

[@GermanLeftist]

See the current debate in Germany about renaming the Robert Koch Institute. Robert Koch was a groundbreaking epidemiologist in the 19th century but given the time he lived in, he was racist and he did use humans as guinea pigs, mainly people of colour. On one hand he was a brilliant scienst but on the other hand he was racist and a lot his discoveries came through his racism. How are we in the 21st century supposed to handle that? Should we apply our present day standards in judging him or the standards of his time?

[@benwillis5840]

Your quote is much more intellectual but reminded me of one closer to home "He [...] did great things - terrible, yes, but great".

[@BritishBriggsy]

With historical figures there is a little difference, you have to judge them as products of their time and align their views with the standards of the past

[@HereComesPopoBawa]

@@GermanLeftist - "Should we apply our present day standards in judging him or the standards of his time?" Neither, IMO. We need to be proactive in what we actually do to reduce harm and make things better. But "judging people" is reactionary and doesn't actually _do anything._ Personal judgments I find are a tantrum that can feel cathartic, make it feel like one is taking a tough stance. But they are separate from real-world actions. Human cognition is rife with faulty biases and rationalizations, some of which can and do cause harm. It's understandable why people feel entitled to take that personally, but the problem and its solutions are more technical, and IMO it can be more empathetic to realize and work towards that.

[@learning2727]

I agree. I wonder how this view will age given what is going on in the global climate right now.

[@ChannelPup]

Didn't she do this during pride month last year? Trying to ruIN IT.

[@scaper8]

Holy shit, you're right I think. It has to be out-and-out deliberate.

[@Ben-vf5gk]

Not to mention given all the news lately this might be the worst time to do it. Seriously Rowling there are much, much bigger injustices you could be using your platform to talk about.

[@lwaves]

@@scaper8 She believes her viewpoint is the right viewpoint and she doing it for attention and trying to stay relevant. When the HP movies were being made, she was top of the pile but the Fantastic Beasts movies haven't generated the same acclaim and she's desperate to stay relevant like she was before. She's definitely doing it to serve herself and probably thinks her fans will follow whatever she says, but her views are disgusting and the fans have seen through it.

[@Carollnn]

Yeah, wtf is wrong with her. She just needs to stop. I am a cis woman and a bisexual, and she is not fighting for me. She is fighting against people who I love.

[@artemis3181]

Oh hey!!! Love your channel

[@childeroland2569]

Wagner's music makes my soul soar but of course he was an anti-semite.

[@M-CH_]

He was not an anti-semite, he was the Anti-semite.

[@maurinet2291]

Stephen Fry actually did a whole show about how conflicted he was about this. Really well done and beautifully researched. And Wagner wasn't just a man of his times anti semite. There was a reason Hitler revered his music.

[@ajiththomas2465]

@@maurinet2291 Wagner is right alongside Henry Ford when it comes to anti-Semitism.

[@M-CH_]

@@ajiththomas2465 But Wagner did it before it was fashion.

[@classicalduck]

Wagner was a horrible person in many ways: He was nasty, he was a cheat and a liar, he ran out on debts, he rebelled against the King of Saxony when he was a member of that king's court, he seduced his best friend's wife away from him, he repaid the kindness of Giacomo Meyerbeer (who helped him when he was scrounging for a living in Paris) with bile and insults -- the examples go on and on. And yet, this is NOT to contextualize his anti-Semitism, which was of the worst. He was worse than most anti-Semites of his time, not merely a typical example. And yet -- I find his music amazing. I often tell my wife that, among opera composers, I feel that only three composers truly understood the human condition and human heart: Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner. Yes, Wagner, even when most of his operas have gods and heroes and kings and a cursed Dutchman and a Christ-figure and maybe a swan or two. It is because even THOSE characters have our human strengths and failings

[@karenlarkin3786]

Stephen Fry did an interesting documentary years back about his love of Wagner's operas and how he tried to reconcile that with Wagner's anti-semeticism (which does come out in his Ring Cycle), and Fry's own cultural background. It was a very interesting piece and essentially came to the same conculsion: it is a personal if challenging decision and does depend on how much you ascribe to the Death of the Author perspective. (I do a lot, I have written short stories and been highly struck how differently they can be received by different readers - not because they didn't get my point, but because they brought something I never realised to the story). Great video as always. And by the way you look gorgeous in this video. Stay safe xx

[@Kiki-cs8xv]

Weirdly, I feel exactly the same way about Stephen Fry. I enjoy his comedy, but he's said lots of wildly misogynistic things over the years which make me dislike him as a person. That makes it much more difficult to laugh with him when he says something witty, which is a shame.

[@EphemeralTao]

@@Kiki-cs8xv Also a fan of Stephen Fry, and can't say I'm familiar with his misogynistic comments, but I certainly believe it's possible he said them. I'm also well-aware that he's seriously bi-polar, and was undiagnosed and untreated for most of his life, so... I guess the upshot is that People Are Complicated.

[@platina1502]

One can love the child of a Karen

[@BlackCover95]

Karen would be preferable to a bigot, IMHO. No, they do not automatically overlap by default.

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

@@BlackCover95 karens are malevolent through being ignorance and Pride and not malice or envy.

[@deniibook1007]

For me the fandom has always been a family and away from Jo herself. I've a battled depression for years and Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings have been my escape. I cannot agree with you more. Thank you for your wise words. All the best to you :)

[@geosustento8894]

I don't hear people talking about Orson Scott Card that often.

[@tesreso5448]

I like Ender's Game, its a good thought experiment and got me through many nights on watch... i had no idea the author was such a wackjob when i read it... it shows more in the later books, so i just stick with Ender's Game :/

[@BonaparteBardithion]

@Hans Hanzo Speaking as one raised LDS, most of that doesn't apply to modern Mormons (outside maybe the Utah-area core.) You can drag all the mud out of Catholicism too, but it doesn't apply to the the average Catholic either. We could point fingers at religions all day if we want to claim guilt by association. But I agree his religion is definitely a factor in his beliefs on homosexuality. You'd make a stronger argument discussing more recent church actions (they did a lot of lobbying in California against gay marriage, for example) and how Card reacted or contributed to that than using early church history as your basis. (Which, again, we could do with nearly any religion - especially variants of Christianity.)

[@Medraut00]

his father was Mormon and he inherited those beliefs. as far as I know, based off reviews, only Ender's Shadow is the most homophobic.

[@3oct1111]

@@tesreso5448 I stick with the Ender Quartet, Speaker for the Dead Children of the Mind & Xenocide resonate with me

[@solsticechase8079]

see, I only ever read Ender's Game and I thought it was an awesome book that was pretty gay.

[@shee-nanigans7352]

Thank you for acknowledging this topic! It's the first thing I always think of when someone brings up an author (or artist) and their creations. People tend to forget that no matter what an author says, their say after a piece has been published is not theirs to give. Once you read the book or view the painting, that interpretation is yours and not the author. They can't take that from you no matter how hateful they are. In a way I think of it as a means of replacing that hate with something of love.

[@beckyvan-orden7540]

I love the Wizarding World, as do my daughters - and I’m damned if I’m going to let JK’s views steal that from us! I’m so deeply disappointed in her - but she may yet choose to be educated about sex and gender, she has enough people around her who genuinely care for her to help steer her in the right direction. Attitudes and beliefs can always change as long as the person lives and breathes - I remain hopeful ❤️

[@Blue_Lunacy]

To put Rowling's behavior into a bit of perspective. Her transphobic is not a recent development. She been at it for at least a few years back and growing more intense over the years. Rowling is also married to a medical doctor. She could have gotten a real research through him, if he wasn't the one feed her this nonsense. It's also been pointed out that Rowling may have been transphobic from the start, with the paragraphs about how Harry describe Rita Skeeter in book 4. And then there is the latest movie. Where there are numerous editorial error, inconsistencies and pacing issues. Which lead me to believe that she had not been listen to editor, even if she had one, when she write the script. Which lead me to believe that she had not been listening to her people for years. Because she had been financially successful all these years. Also, she has the viewpoints of conservative Tories. I am not sure if your hopefulness should be wasted on her.

[@beachgirl4583]

Pete W, Is there a way to edit your comment so “read more” expands it instead of prompting a reply? I only got to “...married to...”

[@Blue_Lunacy]

@@beachgirl4583 My comment was long, so it will be cut to read more regardless. What device did you tried to read my comment on?

[@orionaugustwatson]

Ma'am (or whatever address you prefer), I really admire your optimism . Quoting her own books: "You're the one who is weak. You will never know love or friendship. And I feel sorry for you." And remember ,just like Daniel Radcliffe said , not even the author can come between a reader and the book. And remember, as brilliant as they were, Peter Pettigrew, Salazar Slytherin , Tom Marvolo Riddle, Snape ,Gellert Grindelwald etc ,they all failed, were renounced because of what they became, not how they were born and grew up .

[@beachgirl4583]

Pete W, A cell phone. Any reply allows me to expand comments, so I’ve now read your full comment.

[@sigyn27]

I agree with everything. I must also confess that before watching this video and the previous one about J.K. Rowling exclusively, my reaction to her tweets and her essay was like "yeah whatever, we've known for quite some time she is transphobic, nothing new here". Your videos and your post made me finally realise that this is not "yeah whatever" because real people have been hurt by what she wrote. And I have been too complacent disregarding all the BS she likes/writes.

[@HBHaga]

Lovecraft had a host of issues. He was racist, he had some cripplingly classist views, a spotty education, and pretty much everything outside of Providence, RI filled him with dread. I like to think that his marriage and time spent in New York helped a bit with some of his issues but he never shed them completely.

[@michaellangwaller]

Lovecraft did, toward the end, start moving away from his racism and phobias and started to regret how he treated people when he was younger. His change started coming about when he started to interact with others outside his circle and that can attest to the power of learning about people changing one's racist perceptions.

[@jenniferbailey1580]

I have a History degree and a Psych minor and reading these works by someone frozen (by his early death) in the 20 years that laid the groundwork for eugenics policies in so much of the world is so fascinating. I believe that he had personal fears, his dad died in an insane asylum when he was 5 and it looks like his mother’s family might have pushed some “you come from questionable stock” stuff on him that makes the transformations into whatever (de-evolution or alien genes depending on era) read as more “what if my good genes aren’t enough” (despite the dad probably having an acquired condition, STD). He was frozen in an era that science was playing in that direction and so reading it is interesting. Yet I wouldn’t hand his work to my kid if I had one. Reading when you know that he held these ideas and how it led to forced sterilization (Natives, disabled, PoC); policies that handicapped people seeking education, business opportunities, and decent housing; led to lynching and genocide and turning away boats of people escaping genocide... that he couldn’t react to so much of that since he died helps him get his pass. Still I used free sources for my reading.

[@WhoTookMyMirr]

@@jenniferbailey1580 afaik His works are in the public domain anyway, but you have some good points.

[@EphemeralTao]

@@michaellangwaller It's actually a bit more complicated than that. While he was married -- to a Jewish woman no less, the writer Sonia Greene -- he did moderate some of his views thanks to her influence, and the circle of people he joined largely as a result of that influence. However, when his marriage failed, he withdrew from society and fell back into his bigotry pretty severely.

[@timelordrohan9425]

The way I am viewing it is to not let the author beliefs interfere with my love of the media. I will personally continue to pursue the Harry Potter series and I don’t think I will ever stop, I will always keep it in the back of my mind that the creator holds some very awful personal beliefs but I will not let that stop me from enjoying what I want to enjoy. I will also not stop myself from purchasing merchandise. (Although I will feel awful whenever I buy merchandise, because that is money going directly to JK Rowling) I’m not trying to convince anyone to share an opinion with me, I’m simply just putting my opinion out there so other people can give their opinion on the way I’m handling the situation and get another persons point of view.

[@jessali_]

I personally will not be purchasing official HP merch anymore, but I don't find it objectionable if someone else does because JKR is so ridiculously rich that it doesn't make a difference at all. If all trans friendly HP fans stopped giving her money, she wouldn't even notice.

[@Sarah-dg6xc]

I purchase my merch from small creators on Etsy!

[@timelordrohan9425]

@Sarah that’s also an option purchasing non-official merch

[@MsAwesomeSaucey]

Maybe you can get HP meechandise through independent artists like look on Etsy and get stuff like that if you feel you want stuff or you do you

[@redcurrantart]

Orson Scott Card is Mormon. I was raised LDS and later left... sadly his perspective is pretty much in line with the church’s position on Homosexuality. If you recall the church threw a ton of money at trying to stop gay rights and Marriage in California back during Prop 8. The church also teaches every single male that they’re Uber special, have Devine rights given by God through priesthood authority and honestly many men in the church have a arrogance around that and their ‘authority’ that they are blind to... it’s a bit like when your around a smell long enough you no longer notice it... it’s a long conversation to have and in no way defending OSC since he has the ability as we all do to get his own head out of his ass.... however he is also a product of his religion and society. He’s not unusual for an LDS man.

[@timthememer2785]

'Your personal level of 'eeugh'' is a great phrase for this issue, I have to say. And I absolutely agree that it's a great thing that fans can and should condemn the hateful sentiments of the author- not only do I try to do that myself with media the creators of which are bigoted, I think it's something important for fans to try to do in general.

[@Sailor_Enchantix]

She needs a t-shirt that says, "You are beautiful. You are valid. You are loved."

[@trackeduser2577]

He needs to sell that shirt.

[@lcflngn]

Jessie’s vids are awesome. Thanks for the recommendation, they are so good/useful/smart.

[@MarkvanBeelen]

Thank you for this video. I've been following your videos and enjoying them already for a while, but there is something about this particular video I just watch that really touched me and I'm very grateful for the way you present this issue and how you deal with it. Thank you.

[@biggsg1934]

I love how you framed it at the end about connecting with your daughter through Harry Potter, how as consumers, we're half of the equation because we experience the art on our terms. I do feel it's easier to distance the artist from the art when the beliefs are problematic than when there's a vile action. I also feel like it's easier to separate the artist from the art in written or drawn media than it is in film or live media. It's easier to get caught up in the dread of Lovecraft's world, even knowing he was horribly racist, than it is to get caught up in the drama and emotion of a Chris Benoit wrestling match after he murdered his family, or a Roman Polanski film knowing what he did.

[@emmanash6699]

I appreciate the way you end by affirming us, especially in this trying time for so many

[@tamarakw7724]

Thank you so much for this video! It helped me come to terms with my own thoughts. I'm a massive harry potter fan, my house is FULL of merchandise. Looking at it right now makes me feel sick. I moved everything out of the way for a while, but I'm not getting rid of it. All of these were gifts, and I chose to look at them separately from the author as a person

[@KeyWiteWolf]

What you said about making the experience your own, reminded me of a quote I always loved: "I know what I have given you. I do not know what you have received." - Antonio Porchia I like this quote, and I apply it in cases like this sometimes. Because we can receive something completely different in the books, movies, games, etc. that we consume, than what the original creator intended. This can be for better or worse. But it is important to understand that how a story affects you is between you and you. It is a personal experience. Some people hate Disney as a company (and Walt Disney himself was a well known hater/distrustful of women and PoCs), but they can still enjoy the classic movies and share them with their children. That's their own experience. Same with all these authors. I made a lot of friends over the years from the Harry Potter fandom, and I am trans myself, but nothing Rowling says or does is going to take away the fun I had or the friendships I made because of her books. Because those things were never hers to begin with. My enjoyment and my friendships are mine alone. I also love a lot of Lovecraft's works, and the games and stories people made later, based on them. Doesn't mean I approve of his attitude, but then, he was a pretty messed up guy in other ways (kinda makes me wish there was more help for mental health back in his day). But in the end, I will always find a way to enjoy the things I enjoy without the creator "tainting" it, because I see those as separate things. Not that I ignore what a creator does, but I can separate the "voice" in the story from their voice. (Though to be honest, if a story was nothing but derogatory hate I'm not going to like it anyway. This is all referring to cases where I like the work for it's own sake, outside of the creator's views.) In the end, what I like or dislike, and what I take away from a story, is still my own experience. I might be disappointed in some of these creators, but I can still love the stories they shared with the world. Since, in a way, once you put your work out there, it belongs to everyone, to take away from it what they will.

[@SeSeMittens]

I did not expect to find such a lovely corner of the internet. Thank you for this warm and thoughtful commentary :)

[@kyramonnix1520]

This brings up one of my gripes with how we conceptualize and handle intellectual property. That the owner is to have total ownership and control of a story. It flys in the face of how stories work, and have been working for all of human history. I believe a work belongs to the fans as it does the original author. Perhaps it's in different ways, but I object to the notion that the author is the sole owner and gets to call all the shots on what is done with a specific story.

[@leithskilling552]

Great video, as always! This is a very important subject, and I’m happy to hear your input.

[@cynhanrahan4012]

I tend to read out of the library, or borrow from a friend before I buy a book. I have a problem with storage space, and also, I'm poor. So once I've read a book, and love it enough to give it space on my shelf, I have the option of buying a new book, or buying a used book. Used doesn't contribute to the author at all, which is in itself problematic for struggling artists. But in cases such as these, buying used allow me to love the story and not contribute to the fortune. Thank you for this, Vera.

[@robinpullman1488]

Thank you for helping me on the path to deal with all of this!!! ^_^

[@Mbors001]

Great video. It seems youtube and the google algorythm can read my mind now, as I have been thinking about these exact three authors and how I can continue to enjoy their works. You pretty much summed up my thoughts. Thank you!

[@SAVYWRITESBOOKS]

love this video!! this is such an important topic and i love the examples you used. also your hair looks awesome in this video

[@barkingpurrfect1394]

Thank you. What a well worded way to discuss a complicated subject. I needed this video.

[@NisseAlgarro]

Thank you for your thoughtfull and deep commentaries on these topics. They've helped me a lot to think about these issues without directing me to an exact answer. More content like this is needed.

[@qualcosadinerd7471]

Thank you so much for this video, it war really informative and I'd love to continue my researches after this mature introduction

[@Melissa_939]

Thank you Nathaniel for your advice. I was struggling more with this more than I thought I would, and the processing/reframing really helps. Your video also made me realize how much Rowling current words differ with her words in the books. There have been always problems within the books of course, even as a child I was aware of some, but so much is indeed in direct contrast with her transphobia. "I must not tell lies" --> writes tweets and an essay full of lies and misinformation "We must make a choice between what is right and what is easy" --> chooses outright hatred instead of working to understand and accept

[@peggyjaeger9280]

Thank you so much for your insightful message.

[@rion2499]

Love you. Thanks for this. Helped more than I can express. Your videos always do. You be safe as well. X

[@anyawillowfan]

Thank you for making this video, it's something I've been struggling with in the past, but especially now. I know I still have processing to do, but hearing your process really has helped me know I'm not alone in these confusing and conflicting thoughts and feelings.

[@derekbrown1771]

i have been trying to deal with creators/artworks that are problematic for years now. and you've helped me out a little. but what i wanted to say is that the gift and the part about still reading it to your daughter was beautiful.

[@gryffindorgeorgi]

Thank you for this!!!

[@squalloogal]

Such a wonderful piece worthy of thought and discussion. Thank you.

[@mrrobotvoice8321]

Hey long time fan of the channel thanks for the vid 💜💜❤❤

[@benw9949]

When I was growing up, it felt like there was nothing (books, videos) that represented or talked about or included what I was feeling and going through, discovering I was gay. I did not know how to handle it and was too confused and fearful and conditioned to try some things (books, videos, magazines, going places, etc.) that maybe I could have, and I was too immature and vulnerable socially in some ways too, to handle anything more. But I needed that and I really grabbed onto a few things that kinda-sorta spoke to that, or almost did, enough to speak to me. I was this mix of better adjusted than I was later as a young adult, and yet not adjusted, confused, lonely, anxious, hiding it to protect myself, and afraid to reach out, yet occasionally trying to. And if any friends ever liked me back or would have accepted me and included me if they knew (maybe some could tell I was) I never knew if any friends liked me "that way" or knew and accepted me, as allies, friends, or as potential boyfriends in any cases. Yet this is what so many in my generation and probably even now go through. I hate that so many of us go through all this so isolated and so mixed up and so problematically adjusted or not really adjusted, still carrying around so much baggage from our years growing up and into adulthood, often with delayed or thwarted relationships. This, even more than "problematic creators," gets to me.

[@merelymayhem]

Great video! I feel like you explained the bigger issues and emotional sides ot it very well

[@kellygingrich4302]

This was lovely - thank you!

[@matthewbaker5741]

This video was my introduction to you and your work. Thank you so much. I will be back for more.

[@CouncilofGeeks]

Happy to have you here.

[@cassidymcdaid1609]

Content I didn’t know I needed! Loved this! You’ve earned another subscriber!

[@benjaminlimsowtin1633]

I am so glad this video was made, my partner and I were just discussing the J.K.Rowling creator vs creation situation. I firmly stand by that the work they make is separate from the author's beliefs. And I'm happy you did bring that up. At the same time, my partner believes that all the work made by that person will be tainted. I simply dont think that's right... art isnt about what someone believes or how someone thinks, it's more about how good the art is. I loved the video!!

[@Applepoisoneer]

I think this was a fair assessment, and a very conscientious approach to talking about this sort of thing. I'm glad that you brought it up, and I'm glad that you made the distinction between objectionable actions and beliefs. I'm not here to excuse anyone's detestable actions, but I do feel that people make mistakes, and can change. Its a lot harder to make that claim when that person states again and again that they were in the right all along, even after they are called out on whatever it was.

[@jegraham440]

Thank you for your very thoughtful and well-expressed treatment of a difficult subject. You come across as gentle and generous, at the same time strong and clear about who you are what are your values.

[@JamieSwitzer]

JK Rowling really broke my heart in the last few years. Sort of on topic, though about music creators: in the last decade I had to quit listening to Pogo's music, in light of horrible things he's said over and over again. And it's never easy because the music is so well done. Usually I try to seperate the artist from the music.

[@meris8486]

Yeah I remember there was controversy around his previous username. I avoided looking into it cause I didn't want to ruin the music

[@JamieSwitzer]

@@meris8486 Well the username is just the top of the iceberg. I didn't pay mind to the username, it was everything he said that irked me.

[@signeaarejrgensen61]

I hear you. I used to really love The Smiths and Morrissey 🙄

[@ianfryer8386]

@@signeaarejrgensen61 I'm in the process of donating all my Smiths/Morrisey records to charity. He leant so much to so many people and turned out to be *that* person. :-(

[@ianfryer8386]

Or rather he *Meant* so much to so many people! I have no idea if Morrisey leant anything!

[@somritamisra468]

I was recommended this channel by a friend and I love this video.

[@fleckensteinsmonster]

Thank you for your gentleness and generosity. Many thanks.

[@TrentMenssen]

I love you and support you. Thank you for such a thoughtful exploration of this.

[@MsDaphne13]

You have a very comforting voice. Thanks for saying this.

[@bowtiesrcoolmonksrnot3272]

This was helpful. I was feeling guilty about still liking Harry Potter.

[@cheshirecat2140]

This helped a lot. Thank you!!

[@sigred1000]

I knew you would do this topic justice. Great video

[@annamollers5853]

About reading books, I belive in roland barthes "death of the author", this is a concept, which is dealing with reading books without having the author in mind and which allows you to read a book like you want to read it without having the "intention" of the author in mind, if you want to read neville as a trans-man, you can read him as a trans-man, if you want to read hermione as a black woman, do so! Harry is in Inder for me, so why not?! this is what fandoms do so often and I love it! Each character can be anything to you, as long as the text provides it

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

death of the author is acknowledgement on the deeds done with a intellectual property but not the unsavoury views of the author. when you deal with prose, you try to replicate the works without the predjudices, those arent required for an imagination rich work.

[@feradraco]

a couple years ago i was let down by an author and his work deeply. for so long i was giving him the benefit of the doubt, ignoring every red flag because i felt his work gave me something special and important. what was then the breaking point for me was the point that made his work a masterpiece for, well, seemingly everyone else. so now that i imagine many people had a breaking point like mine, i'm honestly relieved to see it being discussed like this. harry potter was my childhood and even if it didn't become so much of my life as hardcore fans, i empathize with everyone who's feeling angry, sad, disappointed, lost. i hope both you and anyone watching this video can work through this. i hope even if some may distance themselves entirely from rowling's work, the friends they made thanks to the story will still be there for them, along with the lessons they learned and the memories they share of harry potter.

[@OnlyShadowkin]

I just stumbled over your channel! I am Subscribing and smacking that Bell! Rock on!

[@allanjohnstone5258]

Great video Nathaniel.

[@edj8008]

Lovcrafts xenophobia was a lot even 4 his adge. He was afraid of everything. He was afraid of fish and mathematics. He was ill. I think people need 2 know about his xenophobia (that was an actual phobia) or it might accidently rub of on them. but they are good stories.

[@julietfischer5056]

If his xenophobia 'rubs off' on readers, it's because they're isolated and don't know many outsiders.

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

they are really the ramblings of a madman.

[@julietfischer5056]

@@haruhisuzumiya6650 - Have you read any Lovecraft?

[@thundercookie3214]

I have been trying to come up with a sensible and intelligent response to comment on this video and share my thoughts and feelings, but I'm struggling to express myself. So instead I just want to thank you for taking a difficult subject and leading me through a respectful discussion of it. Thank you.

[@iciajay6891]

Thank you for this video.

[@Cass63450]

Thank you for your thoughts, which I really appreciate and find enlightening. And - it is off topic and all that, but I just have to tell you: I love your outfit and make-up in this one. The color coordination made me smile several times, despite the hard topic. All the best from Germany!

[@hitsujikumasheepbear967]

19:53 Thank you, I needed this. :')

[@shiaseedsalad2726]

11:23 He even looks nervous in the picture. This guy just couldn't relax, could he?

[@ozofri8755]

I finally have a channel that makes me feel strong and I'm being challenged for being member if the LGBTQ+ community. Thank you for making me feel strong, for voicing opinions I cannot express without stopping in the middle, because sometimes I lose the words, I cannot fight the wind. Thank you for making me feel that I'm part of a community, that I share pain with others, that we can share dreams. We're strong, and we'll make through this

[@gregorycourtney1532]

As a fan of Ender's Game and the other works set in the "Enderverse", I have a different perspective. First off, while homophobia is not really discussed, there are other problematic elements, especially in the the later books in the universe. Without going into too much detail, there is potential islamphobia (I do feel qualified to say distinctly how much, as I am not Arabic), traditional sexism (the female characters fit traditional roles you would see in say the thirties, though to a less obvious extent. Card also pushes subtly that women's source of achievement and happiness should be having children in one of the sequel series), and examples in later books of people doing acts on par with what Ender does at the end, but the narrative treats it being justified by the means. Despite all this stuff reading these books had a profound impact on me both mentally and just feeling like I can relate and respected. I should mention, because of real life things I am good at compartmentalizing the problematic or bad aspect of something, media or otherwise, just as a way of dealing with the grayness life can be. I understand why others don't do that and won't touch Card's books. Finalky, I would argue that Ender's Game's themes are contrary to Card's homophobia. Like you brought up with Harry Potter, one of the major themes of the universe (there are multiple series and short stories in, I don't know what else to call it) is about understanding and accpeting those who are different. The wars with th aliens are a perfect example. It was a conflict that could have ended before Ender's time as after the second war the aliens had no intention of coming back to earth. They do not make any kind of verbal communication, so had no way to tell humans that. The genocide Ender commits is entirely the result of human imperialism and paranoia. That theme continues into the next book published, where Ender, thousands of years later, works to prevent misunderstandings with another alien race to go same way. Even the big lesson Ender learns in the first book, to that enemy better than they know themselves, ends causing him sympathize with them and help the aliens reemerge into the galaxy. All of that empathy and willingness to understand Card does not allow himself to do to queer people.

[@sopranophantomista]

I don't know if anyone has told you this lately, but you're the absolute sweetest. Really. You come at this with calm and compassion and I'm so thankful this was on my recommended.

[@robo3007]

JKR must be who Jonan Keating was singing about when he said "You say it best when you say nothing at all."

[@poeticsparrow]

On a lighter note I'm LOVING the indigo tones in your haairrrr ✨ I just had to say it!

[@willmendoza8498]

A very thoughtful take. I needed this.

[@SIDEKICKDUSTY]

Hey, this was great and helpful. Sometimes I worry about what it says about me that I enjoy the work of a lot of people who do pretty crappy things

[@griffinraynor8425]

I really appreciate your insights on this! I think you're right that it's important not to ignore or deny the reality of the author and what they've done or said, but that it doesn't necessarily have to take away from your own experience. I've kind of been in a dilemma with this kind of thing regarding my favorite game and the music in it. It was scored by Jeremy Soule, and I won't get into it here but he's been accused of some heinous shit and I'm inclined to believe the accusations. So now I'm in this position where music I love in a game I cherish was directly created by somebody who did something I find reprehensible... and I haven't quite decided how to deal with it yet. The music I like that he made is still really comforting to me, but whenever I think about listening to it or playing the game my discomfort with the creator is just kinda there, hovering in the back of my mind. I think ultimately I'm not gonna try to stop myself from enjoying it and try to let my experience from it be somewhat separate from the creator, but I'm also resigned to the fact that my enjoyment of it may never be the same.

[@learning2727]

I always appreciate and value your insight (whether on serious topics such as this, or things like Doctor Who). I may be in a minority here, but I would support any talented artist that didn't call for direct violence (a debatable point there) to a group of people. I may be much more critical about artists that had beliefs I disagree with, which could easily lead to me not supporting their work, but if I thought it was "good" (also meaning of value, which is more nuanced) I would do it. I grew up consuming works that attacked my deeply held beliefs on a fundamental level, but some of the ideas were of value. It is a difficult choice (certainly made harder by social media...and I only follow two authors on Twitter, and one on Facebook) but it is definitely one people need to make for themselves. In the end, there are many voices in the world, and some aren't worth listening to.

[@Yoyshaia]

I found this really interesting, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I first read Ender's Game, and its sequels, many years before I had any awareness of his personal beliefs - and his attempts to force those beliefs on others. I have struggled a lot since learning about that. I read the sequels to Ender's Game and internalised what I saw as a message of understanding, of the importance of deeply knowing and empathising with other people. I don't know what Card intended to be the message of his books, but that's what I took from them as a teenager.

[@sandrine9400]

Thanks for the video, enjoy the lovely notebook gift.

[@CouncilofGeeks]

Thank you, I will

[@sirjedisentinel]

Thank you so much for this! I've been collaborating on a project for a little bit. We're taking old, out-of-print Doctor Who books and making fan-made, non-profit (and with everything going on, I wanna stress that part) audiobooks out of them. The books I've been slated to work on... were all written by Gareth Roberts. And I've been seriously evaluating that; should I even go on doing this project? I despise Roberts' beliefs. But your comments about fandom and reclamation really helped put me at ease.

[@Bizarro69]

Great video. I am learning a lot from you. I enjoy lovecraft's work (i am black), i feel like the best you can do is actively work towards making/supporting stories in that genre (and style) which surpass the original authors' work. I believe This could be a way to balance out within oneself this sticky situation. That is, if it feels like a sticky situation within you.

[@CesarGamboa]

Great video! From Orson Scott Card I only read Enders Game (I was gifted the book) already knowing about Card's views and was actually quite surprised at how the most remarkable theme of the book to me was actually about empathy and getting to know and understand people who are different from you (and how you end up inevitably loving them when you understand them), so I'd personally actually put Enders Game as an example of the second category, more even than Harry Potter. Just wanted to know if other people who read it think the same or have different interpretations. (despite liking enders game a lot (against everything I expected), I don't plan on reading any of the other books by the author or supporting his work, but if anyone here read more I'm curious to hear how his other books hold up)

[@maurinet2291]

I think for a true discussion of the dichotomy of Card, I'd recommend Songmaster. And I responded to Ender's Game like you did.

[@julietfischer5056]

When writing Lovecraftian stories, we aren't required to share his racism and phobias. When reading Lovecraft's works, we must mourn the damage done to his psyche.

[@michaeldrescher841]

A sensible and reasonable video. Subscribed.