Ranters and Reviewers discussion

*pointed glance at Harry Potter*
In your opinion, can you separate the things JKR has said from the series itself?
This also applies to other authors who have done problematic, offensive things. Can you enjoy the series despite the author, or not?

I think in an enjoyment aspect yes, but if you are purchasing the books/giving money to that franchise, no.

ATheReader wrote: "I think in an enjoyment aspect yes, but if you are purchasing the books/giving money to that franchise, no."

That makes a lot of sense. I agree.

I mostly never look into the author's life before reading a book. Unless, say, the author has done REALLY problematic things that have been spread across social media, in which case, I would probably not read the book. Or perhaps I would, honestly, I haven't been in that situation much. One thing I DO know, is that if the author is in the public eye and does things that are offensive, and expects me to forget about it whilst reading, well, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the book as much.

But on the OTHER hand, I like to enjoy a book regardless of the author's opinions, although I respect anyone who thinks otherwise. Which is totally okay, either way.

Em wrote: "In my opinion, it depends on you're definition of separate. For example, JKR has said transphobic things, and although the HP series lacks diversity, it is not transphobic. I think you should still..."

That was really well said and I agree.

Yes. At least I can.

I can separate the author from the work. If I don't want to support an author, I don't buy their book--which isn't that big of a problem for me since I rarely buy books.

It's different if the author is pushing blatant "problematic" content in their works.

if the author's work is harmful or problematic, and so are they, i won't separate it. if the author is problematic but the book is mot, i can.

pretzella wrote: "if the author's work is harmful or problematic, and so are they, i won't separate it. if the author is problematic but the book is not, i can."

it's the same for me!

pretzella wrote: "if the author's work is harmful or problematic, and so are they, i won't separate it. if the author is problematic but the book is mot, i can."

I agree. Ender's Game is one of my favorite science fiction books of the twentieth century, but you'd never know that the author is a raging homophobe from the themes alone.

I'm still undecided on the ethics of purchasing a book from a controversial author. If you decide to indirectly support an author who is against minority groups, I don't think it's any worse than purchasing clothing from corporations that use sweatshop labor, and I think we've all done that before...we shouldn't harass people for still reading JK Rowling or Orson Scott Card is what I mean.

Anyone have different thoughts?

Annie (Sad Water Bottle) wrote: "pretzella wrote: "if the author's work is harmful or problematic, and so are they, i won't separate it. if the author is problematic but the book is mot, i can."

I agree. Ender's Game is one of my..."

no, I agree. I don't want to support an author who is discriminatory or is just a bad person. even if they have the best book in the world, I still wouldn't put money in their pockets if they're a horrible person because they wouldn't deserve it. but that's just me.

Another interesting case of this was with 'Rurouni Kenshin', a pretty popular shone manga and anime a while ago. The story's themes gave absolutely NO hints to the author's darker impulses, and people in the manga and anime community were shocked when the news broke. If you want to know what the author did, I'll leave that for you to Google search (TW: it's very sick and disgusting).

I don't think I would have watched the Rurouni Kenshin anime if the author's past had come out earlier, and I definitely would not buy the manga now; I personally would feel a little strange and uncomfortable doing so. On the other hand, as strange as this sounds, we can learn a lot from what the worst people in society have to say, even if simply to learn what NOT to do or how NOT to say certain things.