Misaimed Fandom/Literature/Harry Potter

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Examples of Misaimed Fandom for characters in Harry Potter — the Trope Namer for Draco in Leather Pants — include:

  • J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, has frequently whined about the vocal fanbases of Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape. Part of it is that the good guys intentionally eschew the trappings of power, including mere refinement, which turns into Evil Is Cool and Good Is Dumb -- and almost Dumb Is Good -- with even the slightest fumble. And, of course, it didn't help that the movie versions of Malfoy and Snape were played by the easy-on-the-eyes Tom Felton and Alan Rickman, respectively.
    • Granted, the Malfoy family and Snape are shown to be the most morally ambiguous of the Death Eaters, with Snape leaning heavily on the good side by the end and the Malfoys at least not as unlikeable as before, but that still doesn't excuse the blatant ignoring of the nasty stuff they did do. And then, there are the folks who think that Bellatrix is the perfect feminist role model. She spends her entire time obsessing over Voldemort who, by Rowling's own admission, is completely and utterly incapable of understanding or returning love. While Voldy does show a few signs of affection for her, he also seems to have no problem at all torturing her and theirs is possibly the closest thing in the series to an abusive relationship.
      • It's also sort of interesting that people tend to mention Snape as right alongside Draco in this area, though Rowling seems far less concerned over people liking Snape than liking Draco. Then again, any time someone asks her who her favorite character other than Harry is, Snape gets mentioned, so... many people love him because of the actor, but just as many like him for the same reasons Rowling does. A lot of the vehement hatred toward him seems fueled by fandom rivalries, just like Sirius.
      • There are those that feel that because in the end Snape was working for Dumbledore it absolves him of all his sins. Which ignores the fact that he was still a horrible bully who abused his power. Seriously, when a thirteen year old boy's biggest fear is his teacher something is deeply wrong.
      • The chapter on Snape's memories in book 7 really helped show he was good all along, and put his actions into a broader context that made it almost impossible not to sympathise with him despite all he'd done.
        • Your Mileage May Vary. While Snape's memories clearly showed that he had opposed Voldemort from the day of his original Heel Face Turn, it is far more arguable if they show that he possessed any particular virtues beyond hatred of Voldemort and persistence. Remember that just because someone shares your enemies and goals, that does not automatically imply that he shares your values or ethics.
  • Certain segments of the fandom treat being a specific blood status as better - missing the point.
  • There's also a certain amount of the fandom that tries to say that the term "Muggles" is equivalent to the real world's "chinks" or "niggers"; ethnic slurs. This despite the fact the canon very has a word that is explicitly stated to be a slur against those of Muggle descent who have magic; it's "Mudblood," though "Muggle" is used in a derisive way by certain bigoted characters as well.
    • While 'Muggle' is clearly a far milder word than 'mudblood', it does still come across as somewhat derogatory in its usage on occasion. It feels like they're calling someone 'white trash' rather than 'poor'.
  • If you go to Average Wizard or hang out on a fan forum, you can always find a certain number of people who think that the Unforgivable Curses would be fun to use and/or want or have had the Dark Mark tattooed on their bodies.
  • Since JK Rowling's admission that a Muggle with a shotgun will generally beat a wizard, there are several parts of the fandom who have claimed that Harry and Co. should've just sniped Voldemort. This ignores the facts that a) they're children, b) they live in Britain, where guns aren't as readily available as in Eagle Land, c) the general public has a more negative attitude towards guns than in America, and d )sniper rifles take specialized training to use effectively.
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