I don’t think I have read a word by J.K Rowling. When
the Harry Potter books became wildly popular, I abstained. Perhaps that was a
mistake. Lots of other people have enjoyed them, maybe I would have too. I rather
like classic children’s fiction. But somehow the prospect of reading about
child wizards going to school did not appeal. My loss.
So too I am unaware of watching any of the Harry Potter
films. I am something of a film enthusiast, but I much prefer to dig out
obscure black and white films from the 1930s. I have occasionally seen the work
of some of the actors and actresses who appeared as children acting the roles
of the stories Rowling wrote, but I rather regretted their subsequent stardom
as it has not coincided with obvious talent. If even Shirley Temple was unable to
properly make the transition to adult roles, why must we endure a grown-up
Harry Potter?
Rowling was very lucky indeed. There is a possible
world where her debut novel was never published. She was luckier still that her
novel caught the public imagination and became as popular as it did. Lots of
equally well written children’s books sit unnoticed on the shelves of
bookshops. Writing for most people pays very little indeed. But there was also
something about what she wrote that did capture the imagination of millions
across the world, which means that even if she was lucky, she is also extremely
talented. Anyone who can get millions of others to pay to read their words deserves
respect.
I wonder how much input J.K. Rowling had in choosing
the cast for the first Harry Potter film. She insisted that the children should
all be British. It is likely that if she had disliked Daniel Radcliffe, Emma
Watson or Rupert Grint that they would not have got the role. So, there is a
possible world where these had normal lives that did not involve acting, or
success or wealth and that the decision made by J.K. Rowling was decisive. Without
her books and without her nod, they would all be nobodies like the rest of us. It
is extraordinary therefore that each and every child member of the cast of
these films appears to have rejected her.
But there is something quite odd about the world we
now live in. Rowling wrote on Twitter:
Dress however you please.
Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have
you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their
jobs for stating that sex is real?
This is very mild indeed. It expresses tolerance for
different lifestyles. It suggests that trans people should be able to call
themselves he or she whatever their biological sex. It merely states that biological
sex is real. You would struggle to find a serious scientist who disagrees.
Rowling later wrote:
Creating a more equal
post-Covid-19 world for people who menstruate. I’m sure there used to be a word
for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
Again, this is both funny and states the obvious. Rowling’s
sin is to point out that sex is real and being a woman is connected with having
a woman’s body which can have babies etc. For a 56-year-old woman this is a
matter that is so obvious that when she was at school or university no one
would even have questioned it.
The extraordinary thing is that in the course of
twenty or thirty years a statement for which there was universal agreement has
become forbidden in certain circles. It is as if the statement “All bachelors
are unmarried” first became false and then became prohibited. I find this
deeply sinister even frightening.
Rowling is fortunate. She has her fortune and the
public continues to read her books. She may have been cancelled by some
ungrateful former child stars, but the rest of the country still likes her,
respects her and wishes her well. She is fortunate that she can say and write
what she pleases. In the end nothing too bad will happen, even if she were prevented
from ever publishing another book.
But what sort of pressure causes every former child
cast member of the Harry Potter films to reject the person responsible for
their success. I cannot look into the hearts or minds of these people, but I
wonder if they really believe that men can menstruate. Of course, they will trot
out that transmen can menstruate, just as transmen can give birth, but are they
really convinced by these orthodoxies or merely saying what needs to be said to
remain employed.
We now know that any actor who even questions certain
views will find that there are no more roles. Even a major star might struggle
if he pointed out that it is ludicrous to have black cast members in Macbeth
when it is forbidden to have white actors in A suitable boy. If we are to be
colour blind then let anyone play any role, otherwise let’s not pretend that
there were black people in Scotland in the Middle Ages. To suggest that only Jewish actors can play Shylock,
must logically and in fairness mean that Jewish actors ought not to play Christian
characters, which is ridiculous. But to point out the ridiculous gets you
cancelled.
In a Totalitarian society like the former Soviet Union,
it was necessary to pretend that you believed certain things in order to be
successful. Anyone who loudly questioned certain statements was cancelled, just
like here. It meant that people whispered in private to those they trusted and
hoped that they would not be denounced.
I think the same thing is happening now. If our work
has a new training scheme to do with anything woke, we know which boxes to
tick, but it doesn’t change what we think. If asked I will pretend that there
is a distinction between sex and gender and that men can become women. I do
this because I don’t want to lose my job and it is easier to have a quiet life.
But I still think that a “transman” who menstruates and gives birth is really a
woman. I think that this person is merely mistaken in believing that she is a
man. Of course, I will be happy to say “she” and use whatever name is
preferred, but it won’t change what I really think.
But we must be very careful. If common sense
statements from thirty years ago can be forbidden, such that even Boris Johnson
is reluctant to state the obvious about cervixes, then what next? We have
already moved in an unimaginably authoritarian direction since the beginning of
the pandemic. Even the scientists at the beginning did not think it would be possible
to forbid us from leaving our homes for more than a few days. Now there is
serious talk about compulsory medical treatment.
Woke initially seemed rather funny. There used to be
talk of loony lefties in the popular press, but these newspapers now conform to
what they used to call insane. They join in the hunt for someone who says
something forbidden and they use the language of those they used to mock.
Freedom is lost gradually and we barely notice its
departure. It is lost when we are scared to tell the truth. We all owe a lot to
J.K. Rowling for being brave enough to continue to tell the truth.
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free.
