Ralph Fiennes speaks out in support of JKR

[Deadringer]

Apologies if this was posted already and i missed it, but has anyone seen this? Fair play to him.

[3timeslucky]

@MarkRuffaloCrumble

Totally agree with Rabbitwoman and all PP who said he’s not standing up for her, or with her, simply denouncing online harassment ‘regardless of whether you agree or not’. That in itself is a useful conversation to be having in the world of #nodebate but it doesn’t align him with her or GC views in general. In fact it could be read that he disagrees with her views but defends her right to have them. 6/10 Ralph.

I'll take his denouncement of on-line harassment regardless of what his views on trans ideology may be. If the harassment and the no-platforming, cancelling, threats to safety and jobs can be dealt with then it opens up the world to frank and open discussion. And that, I believe, will inevitably lead to a challenge to trans ideology and its insidious reach into institutions and legislation. That is precisely why there are such efforts to keep these discussions away from ordinary people.

[Gerla]

Good - but how sad that just basically saying women should be allowed an opinion without being threatened with rape or death is now to be lauded rather than being basic humanity!

[CaledonianMacBrayne]

Well, I'm quite pleased that he has left this particular beat. I'll have a google of Jessica Parker.

Thanks for the info.

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

Ben Hunte has just started a short stint as BBC news West Africa correspondent earlier this month. Jessica Parker is now covering the role.

[CaledonianMacBrayne]

fatblackcatspaw Thank you!

The Lord owns the sea, the sky, and the rain
But the Western Isles belong to Caledonian MacBrayne

But back to the point... I think that it is very interesting about media coverage. I think the UK and US are diverging massively on this. The US is becoming more toxic but I do think that there has been a reduction of the more batshit assertions in the UK press, at least I hope so.

The BBC is still woeful, and frankly embarrassing though. Ben Hunte is just not very good at his job, is he?

And I hate to say this, but the tragic death of Sarah Everard has put the breaks on as well. At least on the more 'enjoy your erasure' zealots.
In one Facebook group I am in, an NB femme presenting male started a thread about how upset he was that all the language and reporting of Sarah's murder was not inclusive enough of non-binary people. He genuinely thought that the discussion and grief that poor woman's death made him the victim.

There were a few handmaidens asking how the general population could help him at this difficult time, but there was a marked silence from the rest of a usually chatty group.
Of course, no one could complain, or pick him up about it, because they would have been complained about and probably ejected from the group, because of transphobia. But this ridiculous narcissism, his lack of empathy, his lack of plain decency in the face of tragedy took my breath away, and no doubt did the same for others.

[thirdfiddle]

Link fail
www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/entertainment-arts-56444655

[thirdfiddle]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/entertainment-arts-56444655

BBC take. With links to n previous BBC articles saying "x weighs in on JKR transgender row" for different values of x. While my first reaction is rather "is this news?", it may be interesting to compare the media's tone over time. I liked that this one gave JKR the last word.

[fatblackcatspaw]

@CaledonianMacBrayne

It struck me at the time of the Radcliffe / Watson/ Grint crap that they might be the stars of Harry Potter, but there were huge amounts of the great and good who connected to the films not throwing JKR under the bus although I know Robbie Coltrane came out and defended her.

So when all the TRAs and blue-haired avatars were claiming that the fans actually owned Harry Potter, or that Daniel Radcliffe actually wrote it, and that any right minded person hated JKR, they didn't have a huge amount of support from within the franchise, despite what has been widely reported in the press.

I'm sure I've missed some, but I don't think the anti- JKR sentiments have been echoed by Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, HBC, David Thewlis, Bill Nighly, Jason Isaacs, Zoe Wannamaker, Chris Columbus, Imelda Staunton etc etc.

And I hate to say it, but I think that if someone is not saying anything, they are probably on the GC side.

In any case, it does not really matter. I'm sure some are very thoughtful and have big brains. But loads of actors are thick as mince, and I don't really care what they think.

As for Ralph Fiennes, I doubt that this particular topic is of great interest to him. He's a rich, white bloke. Any children he has will probably not be the victims of the consequences of this batshittery.

And I'm willing to be my Patreon subscription to Blocked and Reported that the 20-something Twitter activists who have been trying to scrub off their Gryffindor tattoos are not the intended audience for his performance of TS Eliot's Four Quartets.

I bet loads of Mumsnetters would love it though.

you have the best poster name EVER!

[HeadIsFucked]

Whichever side of the fence you are on, its basic human decency surely to condemn the utterly ridiculous and over the top threats that were dished out. Its hose who repeat the mantra, yet dont even acknowledge the abuse I find vile. Or those who justify the abuse by saying 'oh but he said something bad!!'

[WarOnWomen]

Why should actors have to make statements either way anyway? Obviously the younger actors in HP chose to do so but they didn't have to. Ralph Fiennes was asked about it because I presume he's having to do publicity for his new play or whatever. He doesn't have say he agrees or disagrees with her. It's his business how much he wants to share. He talked about the huge overreaction because he was asked about it because it's what newspapers do. If they spin the story to be about JKR and the actors' thoughts on what she said, they get more clicks.

I admire Ralph Fiennes and the Comoron Strike actors for keeping it at a professional level.

[IvyTwines]

@AlecTrevelyan006

Maybe he’s only mentioning it now because no one asked him about it previously

Yes, most adult, male established actors don't get asked (maybe interviewers are too in awe, and don't want to get a withering reply), but I have noticed established actresses being asked, a propos of nothing at all, about it, and it has a very bullying, 'are you now or have you ever been a communist?' feel to it. When the Radio Times did it with Helen Mirren recently, it was then used in loads of spin-off headlines, which focussed on that rather than the show she was actually being interviewed to promote.

[TheRabbitOfCaerbannog]

That looks interesting, thanks for sharing Embarrassing.

When the support of a policy, tradition, or regime is largely contrived, a minor event may activate a bandwagon that generates massive yet unanticipated change.

[CatChant]

Good. Everyone who has the courage to speak up is to be applauded.

[Helmetbymidnight]

Ralph Fiennes? He must be being funded by the Conservative Christian-right. There can be no other explanation for it.

Hoorah!

[EmbarrassingAdmissions]

On the wider point of participating in contentious social discourse, this book offers a useful discussion on preference falsification: Private Truths, Public Lies
The Social Consequences of Preference Falsification

Preference falsification, according to the economist Timur Kuran, is the act of misrepresenting one’s wants under perceived social pressures. It happens frequently in everyday life, such as when we tell the host of a dinner party that we are enjoying the food when we actually find it bland. In Private Truths, Public Lies, Kuran argues convincingly that the phenomenon not only is ubiquitous but has huge social and political consequences. Drawing on diverse intellectual traditions, including those rooted in economics, psychology, sociology, and political science, Kuran provides a unified theory of how preference falsification shapes collective decisions, orients structural change, sustains social stability, distorts human knowledge, and conceals political possibilities.

A common effect of preference falsification is the preservation of widely disliked structures. Another is the conferment of an aura of stability on structures vulnerable to sudden collapse. When the support of a policy, tradition, or regime is largely contrived, a minor event may activate a bandwagon that generates massive yet unanticipated change.

In distorting public opinion, preference falsification also corrupts public discourse and, hence, human knowledge. So structures held in place by preference falsification may, if the condition lasts long enough, achieve increasingly genuine acceptance. The book demonstrates how human knowledge and social structures co-evolve in complex and imperfectly predictable ways, without any guarantee of social efficiency.

www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674707580

[ARoombaOfOnesOwn]

One positive is that every time someone takes a position on JKR the Mail repeats what she said.

[TheRabbitOfCaerbannog]

And I hate to say it, but I think that if someone is not saying anything, they are probably on the GC side.

I often wonder if this is the case. We can see from the Stonewall letter to Allison Bailey's chambers that the threat of reputational damage is used effectively as a tactic to embed gender ideology. It's hard to stick your head above the parapet if it means your career could suffer. I have enormous amounts of respect for those who do. Absolutely zero for those who jump on the gender bandwagon because it's politically expedient.

[Beowulfa]

Excellent. I can continue to have a minor crush on him without any issues.

Glad it's not just me who thought that...sometimes I see a celebrity name on a thread title here and my heart sinks.

Is Feinnes on Twitter? I like to think he spends his days perusing 19th century Russian literature and has no time for watching people call each other bumpoofaces online.

The last film of his I saw was White Crow, about Rudolf Nureyev, which I thought was great.

[YetAnotherSpartacus]

Voldy doth redeem himself.

[CaledonianMacBrayne]

It struck me at the time of the Radcliffe / Watson/ Grint crap that they might be the stars of Harry Potter, but there were huge amounts of the great and good who connected to the films not throwing JKR under the bus although I know Robbie Coltrane came out and defended her.

So when all the TRAs and blue-haired avatars were claiming that the fans actually owned Harry Potter, or that Daniel Radcliffe actually wrote it, and that any right minded person hated JKR, they didn't have a huge amount of support from within the franchise, despite what has been widely reported in the press.

I'm sure I've missed some, but I don't think the anti- JKR sentiments have been echoed by Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, HBC, David Thewlis, Bill Nighly, Jason Isaacs, Zoe Wannamaker, Chris Columbus, Imelda Staunton etc etc.

And I hate to say it, but I think that if someone is not saying anything, they are probably on the GC side.

In any case, it does not really matter. I'm sure some are very thoughtful and have big brains. But loads of actors are thick as mince, and I don't really care what they think.

As for Ralph Fiennes, I doubt that this particular topic is of great interest to him. He's a rich, white bloke. Any children he has will probably not be the victims of the consequences of this batshittery.

And I'm willing to be my Patreon subscription to Blocked and Reported that the 20-something Twitter activists who have been trying to scrub off their Gryffindor tattoos are not the intended audience for his performance of TS Eliot's Four Quartets.

I bet loads of Mumsnetters would love it though.

[BlowDryRat]

Excellent. I can continue to have a minor crush on him without any issues.

[ChattyLion]

Good start! He’s a proper adult and this is what any proper adult person would say about this toxic misogynistic culture. Good for him.
Now how about all the other British actor household names chime in to support her?

[AlecTrevelyan006]

Maybe he’s only mentioning it now because no one asked him about it previously

[MarkRuffaloCrumble]

Totally agree with Rabbitwoman and all PP who said he’s not standing up for her, or with her, simply denouncing online harassment ‘regardless of whether you agree or not’. That in itself is a useful conversation to be having in the world of #nodebate but it doesn’t align him with her or GC views in general. In fact it could be read that he disagrees with her views but defends her right to have them. 6/10 Ralph.