Division of Creation

When I was 11, I was exposed to the world of Harry Potter. It had some terrifying moments but I learned in no time at all to find enjoyment in it.

I remember being Hermione for Halloween once even though my hair was in a pixie do that year. I always wondered what house I’d belong in, I was leaning toward Gryffindor or Ravenclaw the most. I read all the books and watched all the movies. My brother and I had several Lego sets too. I was never an obsessive type of fan, but you can tell from all of that that it is a significant part of my life growing up.

So it’s pretty obvious when I heard about the game Hogwarts Legacy I was excited because it wasn’t like previous HP games I played. I really wanted to play it, create my own character, and attend Hogwarts virtually. A childhood dream fulfilled.

However as easy as that sounds, try being a fan today in a world where we are more sensitive toward what we say so we don’t offend someone.

When word was out that J.K. Rowling was tweeting terrible transphobic statements, it sure caused a helluva uproar. It divided the fandom drastically. Some fans didn’t let it bother them and decided to get the game regardless while there were others who had more difficulty separating creation from the creator and chose to abandon the series. The latter is something that I have never understood since I fall into the former when it comes to contraversies like these.

Does that mean I am supporting or condoning Rowling’s statements by purchasing and playing this game? No, absolutely not. I am not sticking my head in the sand about this. I disagree wholly with her statements because I have several trans friends, and personally, I don’t care who or what you are as long as we can treat each other with respect. If you love someone the same sex as you, identify yourself as something neutral, or change your sex, you do you, as long as you are happy.

But I also do not let a creator’s views prevent me from enjoying their creation because if I love that particular creation I will find a way to look past the flaws and continue to enjoy it. The reality is, it doesn’t matter. EVERY fictional universe has problematic elements.

Take a look at the A Song of Ice and Fire universe. There is so much misogyny in Westeros. Women are literally reduced to objects to be sold to whichever Lord they manage to woo first, and once they’re married, their only purpose is to bear children. They can’t inherit any sort of property that would make them queen or a lady of said property. The only way they can be queen for example is if they marry the king or there are no male heirs left, the latter is quite rare. As much as I hate that, I will still find some enjoyment out of other things in that universe.

The women of Westeros may not have many rights, but a lot of them are badass and don’t back down without a fight, even if they lose in the end.

I know that isn’t entirely the same thing because GRRM has stated that he is not sexist. He created this world based on his passion for history.

As for why there is oppression in the Wizarding World, especially towards house elves, goblins, and even Muggles, I don’t know, but it shows that once again, the creation isn’t going to be perfect where everything is politically correct! If that were the case, it would be boring in my humble opinion.

Regarding creators, they’re not going to be perfect either. Life is too short for me to get wound up and avoid every sort of creation that has flawed elements and/or a flawed creator.

Gene Simmons was always very right-wing when it came to politics. He was always very outspoken about it (and many other things), surprise, surprise. Not that I followed it closely, but while I don’t agree with his beliefs, I continue to listen to KISS because I love the music and I love his stage persona the most.

Lovecraft was racist and Lemmy partied and used so many substances. Two things I don’t agree with and yet I still read the former’s work and listen to the latter’s music.

I really enjoyed the documentary Sicko even if Michael Moore is somewhat biased and one of its distributors is a company founded by a convicted sex offender. Hell, I’m pretty sure there are tons of other movies out there that I have seen and enjoyed that are also distributed by the same company or even directed by that man but I don’t let it get to me because whatever movie it is, I still love it and can see past the problems but not without ignoring them. It’s hard to explain but I find a way to do that.

I don’t ignore problematic creators, I acknowledge that they have their strong flaws and I choose not to let it get to me, even if the creation itself isn’t perfect either.

So yes, I will be playing Hogwarts Legacy and I will be sharing my thoughts on it here once I have completed at least one playthrough. But, I won’t be buying the game until it is on sale and the discount is reasonable. That’s something that I always do when it comes to buying games, especially AAA ones.

I acknowledge that Rowling is being a total transphobic bitch but that is where I draw the line. I am not going to throw away my love for something because of flaws like these because I’m just one of those people who has an easier time separating the two.

If you choose not to play this game because you feel you can’t for any reason, then fine. I will not force you to look at any of my content on this game or franchise that I may share here and on other platforms going forward.

But one thing I will not tolerate is anyone deciding to harass, insult, unfollow, and chastise me for playing this game and sharing anything about it. If you do that to me you’re basically sticking a false label on me that I’m transphobic when in fact, I’m not, and there are hundreds of other things I talk about that I love besides this that you probably enjoy too. This to me is cancel culture at its finest and I could go on and on about how much I hate that but that’s a story for another time. Hell, I’ve probably talked about it already in some much older posts.

And at the end of the day, it’s a video game, and nothing more. I want to play it, and I will. It does not make me a bigot or transphobe to do so because I am not any of those things and never have been. I don’t like J.K. Rowling as a person but I will always love the Wizarding World. She may have started it but the fandom is what made it thrive in my opinion. Remember, you don’t have to read my content about this game or anything else related, but please don’t harass and make false accusations about me for it.

👽Emily