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Anti-hype? nossy Send a noteboard - 27/06/2017 10:35:22 AM

View original postHarry Potter and the Region-Specific Person Of Intellect's Stone turns 20 today, and that--combined with Facebook's little festivities regarding the series--means everyone is talking about [possessive pronoun of choice] favorite house.


View original postJust to get it out of the way--Gryffindor. Moving on.


View original postBut damn near everyone I know is gushing about Slytherin. Slytherin. Let's count all of the truly good people from Slytherin:
to
View original postOh, right. There aren't any. Rowling impressed me probably most in her ability to escape traps she wrote herself into (getting anyone to deeply care about the events of a school called "Hogwarts" is Nobel-worthy in and of itself), but it's pretty clear she never really could escape the Slytherin = awful person equation that's established as soon as Harry meets Draco.


View original postLet's put aside virtually every British dark wizard of renown who emerged from Slytherin (i.e. all of them) and focus on the best Slytherin has to offer.


View original postWe have Draco Malfoy, who manages to emblify perhaps every negative stereotype associated with wealth, and whose sole allegedly redeeming quality consists of the fact that he is not completely solid with regard to his alliance with a wizard whose goal has openly been genocide and subjugation.


View original postWe have Severus Snape, a racist-equivalent for whom we are supposed to feel sorry on the grounds that he called the woman he allegedly loved a slur and then subjected her child to years of absurd hatred because he looked like her (not that Harry wasn't a completely obnoxious little shit for most of the series, but Snape's hatred for him starts at first sight).


View original postAnd we have Horace Slughorn, who is possibly the only Slytherin of import to meet, much less exceed the "minimum standards of decent human being" qualification. Yes, he's terrified of Voldemort, and yes, he's a bit self-centered, and yes, he really only cares about people who are famous so that he can expand his circle of influence, and yes, he treats people as a means to an end...


View original post...and he's still far and away the least terrible Slytherin figure we have.


View original postSo with all that in mind, why are people so fond of advertising their fondness for Slytherin? There are better ways to let people know you're a sociopath who will stop at nothing to advance yourself, no matter who you have to cast aside to get there. My money is on either a contrarian attempt at looking interesting and different or an attempt at hanging the lampshade on serious character flaws.


View original postRant over. Feel free to discuss how you're wrong in disagreeing with me that Gryffindor is the best.

G is definitely not my fave, but I can see why people like it. It's too egotistical and energetic for me.

Slytherin is popular because of the way it's written. We see mostly G, with a bit of (generally positive) input from R and H. Slytherin basically gets ALL the (darker) gray area. Not super smart? Not dopey? Not particularly brave? Sometimes a bit grumpy? Maybe you're a Slytherin! More worried about yourself and your family than others/the world/etc? Brexit + Trump makes me realise how Slytherin we all can be.

Plus, bad is usually sexy until you have to think too hard about it.

Being serious for a sec - it's an extreme example, but one of my fave people struggles with depression, gender issues, etc, and does not feel like they fit in mainstream society. They identify strongly with Slytherin, because it's "other."

This message last edited by nossy on 27/06/2017 at 11:04:06 AM
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What the hell is with people's fondness for Slytherin? Ghavrel - 26/06/2017 09:48:07 AM 1029 Views
Contrarian & deconstructionist fashions Cannoli - 26/06/2017 11:13:55 AM 681 Views
I think it's more because people are rejecting facile black-and-white depictions of the world. Tom - 26/06/2017 02:27:21 PM 641 Views
I can't help but think a children's series is the wrong venue for this sort of protest. Ghavrel - 26/06/2017 05:52:52 PM 634 Views
I can't help but think a children's series is the perfect venue for such a protest. Tom - 26/06/2017 07:45:47 PM 534 Views
Claps *NM* Roland00 - 27/06/2017 09:38:46 AM 386 Views
Maybe there's also room for different takes on morality in children's books? Legolas - 26/06/2017 07:58:21 PM 646 Views
I mean, I tend towards black and white morality as a general principle, so... Ghavrel - 27/06/2017 12:46:53 AM 529 Views
How is Gondor theocratic? I think I missed something *NM* Ghavrel - 26/06/2017 05:45:55 PM 387 Views
Appendix J to the Return of the King is essentially just religious laws of Gondor. Tom - 26/06/2017 07:49:08 PM 574 Views
I remember the first time reading those appendices at the end of The Return of the King The Shrike - 26/06/2017 08:09:18 PM 624 Views
I recall that one. Very bittersweet. As is most of the end of the trilogy. *NM* Ghavrel - 27/06/2017 12:43:16 AM 410 Views
I didn't say it was, I said that people like coming up with nonsense like that *NM* Cannoli - 27/06/2017 11:05:58 AM 421 Views
I got placed into Slytherin at Pottermore back in the day. The Shrike - 26/06/2017 01:30:13 PM 669 Views
Re: I got placed into Slytherin at Pottermore back in the day. Ghavrel - 26/06/2017 05:43:34 PM 663 Views
Your replies do show a large streak of Slytherinesque views. I think you were mishoused. The Shrike - 26/06/2017 06:06:09 PM 681 Views
Nah. I have vague glimmerings of a conscience. Disqualifying trait for House Sociopath. *NM* Ghavrel - 26/06/2017 06:08:44 PM 371 Views
Ah I see. You're in denial. In the closet as it were. The Shrike - 26/06/2017 06:27:37 PM 490 Views
Yet you're studying for the bar so you can join Profession Sociopath. Tom - 26/06/2017 07:56:47 PM 617 Views
Ugh. Don't remind me. *NM* Ghavrel - 26/06/2017 07:58:03 PM 354 Views
Meanwhile future "sociopath" The Shrike - 28/06/2017 12:20:27 PM 533 Views
I'm going into public defense. Don't be too proud of yourself. Ghavrel - 28/06/2017 08:31:04 PM 633 Views
Just a self-righteous and masochistic form of sociopath. *NM* Tom - 28/06/2017 10:05:18 PM 444 Views
But intensely charitable in its sociopathy! Ghavrel - 28/06/2017 10:54:14 PM 507 Views
How many years, do you guess, as a PDA before he bails for the bucks? damookster - 28/06/2017 11:13:43 PM 545 Views
I went to law school specifically to be a public defender. Bailing is unlikely. Ghavrel - 29/06/2017 12:19:42 AM 610 Views
You are an American, bail---ing is part of our judicial system Roland00 - 29/06/2017 02:45:05 AM 619 Views
I thought about making that pun but demurred. Ghavrel - 29/06/2017 03:22:46 AM 529 Views
Well we slytherin folk we have our own role models in regards to humor Roland00 - 29/06/2017 04:50:58 AM 537 Views
Well we slytherin folk we have our own role models in regards to humor Roland00 - 29/06/2017 04:50:58 AM 646 Views
The Practice aired what 8 seasons, 7 with Bobby, only to be replaced with the much better show Roland00 - 29/06/2017 02:42:07 AM 513 Views
I re-watched the eight HP movies a while back. Legolas - 26/06/2017 07:38:39 PM 680 Views
You think "Eyebrows" Watson improved the films? Yeesh. *NM* Ghavrel - 27/06/2017 01:59:55 AM 559 Views
What do her eyebrows have to do with anything? And yes, I do. *NM* Legolas - 27/06/2017 06:13:20 AM 423 Views
They comprise about 98% of what passes for her acting ability. Ghavrel - 27/06/2017 06:14:31 AM 523 Views
Nonsense. She does a great job - at least in those movies, haven't seen her in anything else. Legolas - 27/06/2017 06:20:26 AM 569 Views
Hasn't BEEN in anything else. That anyone else saw, anyway. Cannoli - 27/06/2017 03:18:48 PM 660 Views
Pretty sure that a lot of people saw her in Beauty & The Beast The Shrike - 27/06/2017 03:26:29 PM 597 Views
In which, incidentally, she could neither act nor sing. *NM* Ghavrel - 28/06/2017 03:13:32 AM 422 Views
That's not the point. The point is she was seen in a film that garnered over $1billion. *NM* The Shrike - 28/06/2017 12:18:14 PM 399 Views
The point is she hasn't been in anything that would support a positive assessment of her ability Cannoli - 01/07/2017 02:56:26 PM 555 Views
Voldemort came from Slytherin. He was awesome. Tom - 26/06/2017 01:50:46 PM 606 Views
*NM* Ghavrel - 26/06/2017 05:44:33 PM 393 Views
One of the rather few things in the series that I'd say Rowling got wrong... Legolas - 26/06/2017 07:32:43 PM 594 Views
I agree with most of this. Ghavrel - 27/06/2017 01:03:19 AM 678 Views
As a fellow "Never Slytherin"... Clover - 27/06/2017 12:22:17 AM 859 Views
Re: As a fellow "Never Slytherin"... Ghavrel - 27/06/2017 01:15:15 AM 599 Views
Perhaps the houses Roland00 - 28/06/2017 01:44:35 AM 589 Views
Anti-hype? nossy - 27/06/2017 10:35:22 AM 600 Views
Ok, so, everybody beat me to it nossy - 27/06/2017 10:45:33 AM 580 Views
Nossy you are our hufflepuff Roland00 - 28/06/2017 01:47:40 AM 566 Views
Re: Anti-hype? Cannoli - 27/06/2017 03:24:12 PM 608 Views
Re: Anti-hype? Ghavrel - 28/06/2017 03:21:59 AM 452 Views
Re: Anti-hype? nossy - 28/06/2017 01:14:09 PM 532 Views
Stop it, you are meant to enjoy the books not analyze them to death. Roland00 - 28/06/2017 01:40:41 AM 517 Views
I don't watch anime. RWBY is safe. *NM* Ghavrel - 28/06/2017 03:12:56 AM 299 Views
Hun, that product is made in America it is not Anime Roland00 - 28/06/2017 03:17:45 AM 534 Views
That's anime. I don't watch anime or its derivatives. But if you want me to criticize it... *NM* Ghavrel - 28/06/2017 03:23:01 AM 347 Views
Perhaps you should watch it Roland00 - 28/06/2017 03:29:59 AM 468 Views
Enjoyment =/= thinking about, or having feelings toward, something. Good to know Cannoli - 01/07/2017 02:57:42 PM 503 Views
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