Jon Stewart sticking the knife in to JKR over "Jewish" goblins

[WandaWomblesaurus73]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10368289/Jon-Stewart-accuses-JK-Rowling-anti-Semitism-Harry-Potter.html

Ffs

In the US he is as famous as Jonathan Ross but certainly in the days of The Daily Show his opinions on political matters counted in a way that never applied to someone like Jonathan Ross.

That's part of the problem. People are taking their political news from comedians in comedy shows. It's bad for people if it's the only or main way the they get their news. And it gives these comedians and over inflated idea of how important their opinions are.

Him criticising HP is about as relevant as JKR criticising his new show. It's his opinion, not the truth.

Given he does believe that men are women if they say so, the timing is suspicious to me.

Just Google 'What do goblins look like?' And you literally get the same image, so it seems it's not a new thing this goblin antisemitism thing.

@VitalsStable

Just Google 'What do goblins look like?' And you literally get the same image, so it seems it's not a new thing this goblin antisemitism thing.

But goblins being portrayed as gold obsessed bankers, another antisemitic trope, was a new thing (outside of antisemitic propaganda).

@ZuttZeVootEeeVo

In the US he is as famous as Jonathan Ross but certainly in the days of The Daily Show his opinions on political matters counted in a way that never applied to someone like Jonathan Ross.

That's part of the problem. People are taking their political news from comedians in comedy shows. It's bad for people if it's the only or main way the they get their news. And it gives these comedians and over inflated idea of how important their opinions are.

Him criticising HP is about as relevant as JKR criticising his new show. It's his opinion, not the truth.

Given he does believe that men are women if they say so, the timing is suspicious to me.

This is the country who make ex actors and reality tv celebs/failed businessmen president…

You know what's really weird? That in all the world of Harry Potter, the one relatively clear connection to historical tropes about Judaism are the stories of arcane, magical, and hidden knowledge that enable the initiated to change matter from one thing to another.

Who is it that animates clay? Rabbis! They are all over central Europe making golems for about five hundred years with their knowledge of "the language of God" aka. magical language. So if anything, the character who would be a more historically accurate Jewish trope would be someone like Dumbledore. I mean, you could see Hogwarts as pretty much a school of the Kabbalah.

Historically, in terms of European cultural history, Dumbledore would be a better fit.

But somehow, no one is saying that. I wonder why.

@kharen4alone

ugh i know, i really miss the days when harmful stereotypes could be perpetuated about minorities without all this 'political correctness' nonsense

Tell me you haven't actually read the thread without telling me you haven't actually tead the thread.

@Coyoacan

I think it betrays an incredible level of anti-semitism to assume that gold-loving goblins is a reference to Jews.

This

@ZuttZeVootEeeVo

In the US he is as famous as Jonathan Ross but certainly in the days of The Daily Show his opinions on political matters counted in a way that never applied to someone like Jonathan Ross.

That's part of the problem. People are taking their political news from comedians in comedy shows. It's bad for people if it's the only or main way the they get their news. And it gives these comedians and over inflated idea of how important their opinions are.

Him criticising HP is about as relevant as JKR criticising his new show. It's his opinion, not the truth.

Given he does believe that men are women if they say so, the timing is suspicious to me.

If this is true, why on earth should people be listening to the political views of children's authors either? For that matter, what job do you have to be doing before your political views become worth listening to?

I once saw a Twitter exchange about this which claimed that in the films the Gringotts Bank set had the Star of David on the floor, so obviously it was antisemitic. This would not, of course, be evidence that JKR is antisemitic unless the tweeter believed she had designed the set, but it's a loopy claim in any case as apparently those scenes were filmed in Australia House and the building was built in the 1910s. I assume the floor is original.

@Palmfrond

So he’s comparing Jews to naughty goblins, and she’s the antisemite?

This was my thoughts as well. I can't see an actual explanation anywhere of she is anti-Semitic or what the problem with the goblins actually is?

Also, what's the issue with Cho Chang? And the Patil twins?

A pp said something above about Cho's name not making sense or something?

I'm wondering if she would have got a hard time if the characters were all white British? I suspect so. But she's added some diversity but that's still not right? Does anybody know what the problem is with Cho Chang?

Oh fgs. This is a silly whinge.

May we have the next whinge please?

@TheIncredibleBookEatingManchot

I wonder what people accusing JKR of anti-Semitism think of her agent, Neil Blair, who is Jewish.

He has tweeted that she is definitely not anti-Semitic.

So if a Jewish person who presumably knows her well and has worked with her for years doesn't think she's anti-Semitic then why not take his word for it?

The Harry Potter films are also produced by David Heyman, whose Jewish father was born in Nazi Germany and fled as a child. He has worked on al Harry Potters and is also producing Fantastic Beast Films. I would assume he wouldn’t produce a movie wirh anti-semitic stereotypes. Another co-producer of FB is Danny Cohen, former Head of BBc and also Jewish.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

I once saw a Twitter exchange about this which claimed that in the films the Gringotts Bank set had the Star of David on the floor, so obviously it was antisemitic. This would not, of course, be evidence that JKR is antisemitic unless the tweeter believed she had designed the set, but it's a loopy claim in any case as apparently those scenes were filmed in Australia House and the building was built in the 1910s. I assume the floor is original.

Stewart's issue seems to be the portrayal in the films. The sketch of JKRs vision for the goblins (in the Mail article) looks nothing like the Warner Bros version of the goblins.

Then there are the ''Seamus is always blowing things up! She obviously thinks Irish people are IRA!'' idiots.

Conveniently ignoring the fact that he doesn't blow things up in the books (I think the closest thing in the book, and this is really reaching, is he accidentally sets fire to a feather? It's been a while since I read them).

And then the star on the floor, as you say.

People who take issue with any of the above would do better directing their anger at the filmmakers. But then why would they do that, when it's way more fun getting to shit all over the woman they love to hate so much. Again.

But she's added some diversity but that's still not right?

With 2020s eyes, if you were going to write a series of books that you had the foresight to know would be an international phenomenon and make billions and billions of pounds, you would make the main characters more diverse.

However people don’t seem to be able to appreciate that JKR was just writing a book that might never be published at a time when nobody questioned why the cast of Friends was all white. They talk as though she knew what the books would become, and as though she should be able to foresee their international impact.

Also, if the books were retrofitted to accommodate all current criticism, they would probably be unreadable.

Neil Blair’s tweet btw:

Total and utter bs. @jk_rowling hasn’t an antisemitic bone in her body. Quite the opposite IN FACT (a concept out of fashion these days). @JonStewart should apologise for his ignorant, false and hurtful smear. Sometimes I feel that the whole world has gone mad..

With Cho Chang I think it's because her name doesn't make any sense to the Chinese community, like it's not a real name and JK should have taken more care but didn't because she's secretly racist.

All I see is a writer who did try hard to be inclusive, but some people are determined to see something suspicious.

@merrymouse

But she's added some diversity but that's still not right?

With 2020s eyes, if you were going to write a series of books that you had the foresight to know would be an international phenomenon and make billions and billions of pounds, you would make the main characters more diverse.

However people don’t seem to be able to appreciate that JKR was just writing a book that might never be published at a time when nobody questioned why the cast of Friends was all white. They talk as though she knew what the books would become, and as though she should be able to foresee their international impact.

Also, if the books were retrofitted to accommodate all current criticism, they would probably be unreadable.

Spot on.

@MummBRaaarrrTheEverLeaking

FFS. They are throwing every single accusation they can at her. Anything and everything to try and get her to piss off and shut up about WOMEN'S RIGHTS. Anything to detract that she's lately raised the issue of violent male sex offenders being charged as women, and housed in the women's estate. This is just full on bullying now.

I find it very hard to believe that had she towed the TWAW line and chucked women under the bus they'd be going after her like this. A bunch of MEN, on an outright witch hunt, because a woman said that sex matters and they don't like it.

Where's the outrage over the directors eh? What about the costume designers, set designers? Anyone gunning after Warwick Davis for playing Griphook? No? All the woman's fault. The woman who has so much say, she must have wanted to keep it all in, she's clearly evil

They attack her because she's successful, the money that she's earned from her work is now used as a stick to beat her with (she's a millionaire what does she know?) Screaming transphobe at her didn't work. So they went for racist, antisemite. They tried to distance her from her own work, that doesn't seem to be working so now it's tearing down her work instead.

I've never seen such a whipped up frenzy of woman hate, how she keeps going is beyond me, it would have utterly broken me by now

Speaking of latecomers I see Femi has jumped onboard the JKR hate bandwagon today....

👏👏👏

None of these people gave a fuck about anti-semitism or Cho Chang's name when these books were 'shaping their youth' and they were parting with literally billions of dollars to buy Harry Potter related stuff.

Let's not kid ourselves. If JKR was TWAW and willing to shit on women to make herself look 'acceptable' in the eyes of these people, none of them would be raising anything about anti-semitism or racism. We all know this.

The world hasn't gone mad, it's just that identity politics has created a number of new tools to wield power and they've been seized, and are enthusiastically being used, by those already having a good position in the existing hierarchies. If anything, this is a continuation of one of the oldest stories in the history of humanity.

Look at the men who've gone to war in this way to attack women in the past week. They're not marginalised in any way but are hoping to really capitalise on this.

The Harry Potter films are also produced by David Heyman, whose Jewish father was born in Nazi Germany and fled as a child. He has worked on al Harry Potters and is also producing Fantastic Beast Films.
I would assume he wouldn’t produce a movie wirh anti-semitic stereotypes. Another co-producer of FB is Danny Cohen, former Head of BBc and also Jewish.

Woah! All these Jews in charge! Any moment now there'll be an accusation of some kind of secretive Cabal controlling the film world.

Oh, hang on a sec, that's what anti-Semitism actually looks like.

Also, what's the issue with Cho Chang? And the Patil twins?

The actress who played Padma Patil spoke very highly of JKR.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10220987/amp/Harry-Potter-actress-praised-thanking-JK-Rowling.html

@barleybadminton

Gringotts is quite clearly a re-presentation of the Victorian British banking experience, heavily influenced by Dickens

A somewhat apt comparison given Dickens rewrote sections of Oliver Twist after being criicised for antisemitism.

Oliver Twist has nothing to do with banking. Possibly you are thinking of Trollope and The Way we Live Now and the character of Augustus Melmotte?

I don't think Dickens "toned down" Oliver Twist but in Our Mutual Friend he created Riah, who is a very positive , sympathetic Jewish character.

Because he was a thick Paddy? But JK didn't write him that way. Where does it end....

People who take issue with any of the above would do better directing their anger at the filmmakers. But then why would they do that, when it's way more fun getting to shit all over the woman they love to hate so much. Again.

I think the film makers share culpability but Rowling had creative control over the films which are also the source of a great deal of her vast wealth. It's inconceivable that if she had objected to the way the goblins were portrayed on the grounds of antisemitism the producers would have ignored her. And she has made no public criticism since, despite the controversy dating back over 15 years.