:::: One Part FANDOM RETROSPECTIVE, One Part ANALYSIS ::::
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play that premiered in London, 2016. It was met with praise by theatergoers and disdain, even hatred, by those who read the script. Today, there is a...
A lesser-known fact about Hermione Granger is that, at her earliest origins in the mind of J.K. Rowling, her name was Hermione Puckle, both first and last names deriving admittedly from the plays of William Shakespeare. And now, so much drama surrounded this character on the eve of her debut on the stage... The delicious irony was not lost on me.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
To conclude this exhaustive critique on the fragmentation of the fanbase through a casting decision, I believe that the material I showcased proves without a doubt that, while writing the books, JKR had envisioned a light-skinned, Anglo-Saxon girl for her female lead. While you may still disagree, I feel I did my best to lay out a nearly indisputable argument based heavily in canon, where opinion was not a factor. My hope is that, by validating both sides of the argument, the disjointed members of the Potter-verse can all come to a consensus and reconcile our differences.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Like many of you, I took that first announcement as a bold and gutsy move. I saw it as taking a creative stance in order to remind people that this was a play and that you can make daring decisions in the theater business. Casting is always based on performance, not race. I agreed that there was nothing wrong with casting Hermione as black, just as there wouldn't be anything wrong with Asian Ron and Latino Harry. Go on with your bad self, Jo. It's cool. It's theater.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
JKR's first reaction to the fans conveyed this point directly. "Noma was chosen because she was the best actress for the job." This bold statement lost its significance, however, with the recent recasting of the play. They have continued assigning black actresses to the roles of Hermione and her daughter, rendering the argument that Noma was the best actress inert. Clearly, they've made a conscious decision to reorient Hermione's race, which moves this conversation in a different direction.
