[Blue & Yellow Ajah Harry Potter Week] (Semi-)Serious Discussions!

[Tsukibana]

Some will be for laughs, some will be much more serious...

 

 

First Serious Discussion Topic:

Simple, really - Did J.K. Rowling fail at simple world building?? I would take it deeper, and ask if the Wizards were just evil, but let's put the onus on the Author.

Magic - Healing, Transmutation, Travel...

I understand that the series was written for children, but some world consistency should be necessary: If a Wizard can regrow bones in a day, can they cure AIDS? Cancer? Why do they hoard this "technology"? Muggles don't believe, so market it under some psuedo-scientific babel, and make the world a better place.

Can't use Transmutation to create food... check. But can you make a crop grow overnight?? Imagine the same field producing 90 Harvests in one growing season... magically pest-resistant crops with 10 times the yield...

 

What other examples can you think of, or what counter-arguments can you make?

 

First Semi-Serious Discussion Topic:

Only 3 wand-makers are even hinted at in the books... WTH?? Busy, much? When do these guys sleep? I sense a business-model that strong-arms out competitors. Olivander should face Anti-Trust charges. Thoughts?

[Tsukibana]

[michellem]

To the last one, since I'm too tired for the first one right now

 

I at least read between the lines that there are numerous wandmakers; but Olivander i.e. is the best in England, and if you can afford it, you go to him.

[Daruya]

I always wondered how it is they could regrow bones overnight and fix teeth without braces, why does Harry still need glasses?  And why are some wizards bald?  Then again, there were some things they couldn't heal - certain spell damages, for instance.

[Tsukibana]

Mad-Eye Moody had a peg-leg and a fake eye. Granted, the eye was useful, but WHY couldn't they regrow a limb? Use magic to remove donor rejection syndrome and do limb transplants...

 

Anyone else want to jump in on this?

[Red2111]

with Mad-eye ...  i think it had something to do with the type of curse that took his eye and limb.  kinda like the curse that voldy used on the ring which was killing DD 

 

 

i do agree though Tsuki, there were a fair amount of widards interested in Muggle things (like Mr Weasley)  and then you have mudbloods as well.  i can't see Hermy for instance, not trying to help out the muggle world *nods*

 

 

 

as for wand makers, i made the same assumption as Mish.  that others existed, but Ollivander was the best and thats the one people used.

 

speaking of wands, it was never clearly explained how Ron got a new wand.  sure his mum sent him one ... but by JKR's own wand lore the wand Ron got shouldn't have worked so well because he, like, didn't pick it out.

[Tsukibana]

Ahhhh... good point, about Ron's wand. Never thought of that.

 

Pay attention, folks - never let your mom handle your wand selection.

[Daruya]

And when George's ear was cursed off, that couldn't be repaired either.

And remember that Hermione tried to repair Harry's wand with hers but it didn't work?  But then Harry repaired his old wand using the Elder Wand. 

 

And as many people as Harry used Expelliarmus on, he should have had a LOT of wands looking to him, not just Malfoy's and the Elder Wand!

[Tsukibana]

Harry Potter and a Fistful of Wands... could be dirty.

 

So, cursed wounds don't always heal with magical assistance, but what about a good ol' chainsaw to the leg?? Could THAT be regrown? *sigh* the world will never know :P

[Daruya]

I also want to know why Hagrid never got to get another wand.  Once they realized it wasn't Hagrid that opened the CoS and that he truly was innocent, they should have restored his "wizarding rights" and no longer prohibited him from doing magic.  That always bugged me . . .

[michellem]

There is a whole lot of inconsiencies in HP. Rowling is a great storyteller; worldbuilder, not so much. Take the school train. Everyone gets on in London? But why would the students from Scotland travel south to London to take the train north again? And the train doesn't stop to pick up kids along the way either. So if a kid lives in Hogsmeade, must they still go to London? There's doezens and dozens of these things you can pick on if you wish. I think it's ok; not every author is great at worldbuilding. Some things she's invented as she went along, some things got changed during the course of the books, some things are downright illogical. But most can be explained with "*shrugs* It's magic, it's not logical"

[Tsukibana]

BOO!!

 

Mish with the "it's magical, not logical" argument". Who can counter that??

[michellem]

Well that's how I think of, others can disagree as much as they want, but that's why I'm not terribly bothered by the illogical things and flaws

[Mashiara Sedai]

That's the fallacy of assumption, Mish. *straightens her White fringed shawl* We see 99% of the story from Harry's POV. It's possible that some kids arrive at Hogsmeade through other means. Just because we don't see it--ie, Harry doesn't see it, or care enough about it--doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

 

:P

[Red2111]

thats a very valid point Mashi, but even taking into the limits of a FP POV story and the POV's own limitations of world knowledge, there is still some massive faults with world building on JKR's story.

 

 

the one failure that always bugged me, when thinking about JKR's lack of world building and consistency as an author was her failure to take into account the fundamental laws of psychics.  

 

that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. 

 

the magic usage in the HP series is like the "never ending bullet clip" in holly wood movies.

 

and when you're talking about an author who was quoted as saying she prided herself in adding realism into her series while maintianing the magicalness of it, allowing the users to cast magic without any cost at all is a really big downfall in consistency and world building and realism.

 

dont get me wrong, it doesn't ruin the series for me ....  i still adore the story.   but i adore it enough to admit its faults  

 

 

i mean, its not like i'm not a twilight fan  (or as i call them, twitards)

[Tsukibana]

Twitards... *snorts*

 

 

Next Serious Topic

 

Werewolves, Centaurs, House Elves. We see several groups of beings being subjugated, discriminated against, and considered "less than human"... But they WERE less than Human.

Do these attitudes reflect a sign of inherent superiority amongst (almost) all wizard-kind? Centaurs voluntarily wanted to be considered less than Human (or rather, "Being" status according to the MoM) because evil beings such as Hags and Vampires fell into that classification... Werewolves faced persecution, but not everyone can afford Wolfsbane Potion once  a month. These are violent, potentially deadly humans... Our society does much the same thing with Sex Offender lists and registries. Does the protection of society out-weigh the rights of a person, even if they are potentially dangerous? House Elves - Definitely NOT human... Not quite as smart (seem to have trouble using pronouns :P ) - the Seeing-Eye Dogs of the Wizarding World. They certainly don't deserve to be abused, but do they deserve FULL civil rights? And if so, Why? Humans have enough problems being "equal" with each other, let alone other SPECIES.

 

Thoughts and Opinions?

[Tsukibana]

Figured a topic like this would've brought out some interest :(

[michellem]

It is super interesting! I just have so many and so conflicting thoughts about it I've written like five posts and erased them all XD Too tired to think, I tell ya.

[Elgee]

I'm not 100% sure I understand your question (things got a bit muddled there ... maybe start with the question, then provide further information?), but here goes:

 

I think all sentient beings deserve equal rights, in most ways. I know some dogs that are smarter than some humans, so why should house elves not have the same rights as humans? That being said, I don't think all humans should have equal rites in all things. As an example: I don't think prisoners should have the right to vote.

[Tsukibana]

Not really a question, Mother. Just wondering people's opinions and ideas about the matter.

 

So, would werewolves, due to the possibility of being violent and murderous once a month, deserve restrictions placed on their lives? They may not have harmed someone yet, but they might...

[michellem]

I think for the werewolves, the ministry should sponsor them with the wolfsbane potion, and those who refuse, will be locked up once a month when the transformation occurs, forcibly. For the safety of everyone else and themselves. I`m guessing you have mostly two types of werewolves, those like Lupin, who hate what`s happened to them and just want to keep away from everyone, and those like Fenris Greyback, who love their curse and use it to infect as many others as possible. 

[Tsukibana]

Interesting... And, since they could be dangerous and miss the potion or be locked up, they need to be tracked at all times. Right to Privacy, Violated.

[michellem]

No I think it would have to work on a trust-principle, but if someone is caught not doing what they should (taking their potion or being locked up), there will be severe consequenses. 

[Tsukibana]

Very interesting.

 

What about the Centaur issue - They are not human, but the MoM was going to classify them as "beings" and give them a say in the government. Hags and Vampires are also "beings", so the Centaurs gave up those rights rather than be classified with evil creatures - Since they voluntarily gave up those rights out of pride, does that mean that they "deserve what they get"?