:::: 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...
I am a storyteller and a Potterhead, which means I've always looked at HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD differently than most.
Confession time: I LOVE books, but reading tends to be more of a challenging than relaxing activity. I can never concentrate on the story. I see the man behind the curtain and linger on paragraphs, never moving from line to line without the desire to reach for a red pen. Which is why I lean toward audiobooks.
When I first heard of this play and how JKR was giving another writer a chance to develop NEW MATERIAL in her world, I was speechless. The universe was continuing to expand, and she was handing the quill to her fans.
And they weren't chosen to tell just any old story. No, this was the future of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
As a writer who could have, in some alternate reality, found himself in that scenario, I was ecstatic for Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. After reading the script, however, I was disappointed and underwhelmed and kinda embarrassed for them. I wondered what could've been created, were I to have such a responsibility. Would I have written the play with such obvious inconsistencies? Of course not! I realize this is not a fair criticism. There could be any number of reasons why it was written this way. Still, as a storyteller, I have yet to let it go.
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As the days carried on, readers found themselves feeling the same frustrations. Soon, a phrase made its way across social media: NOT MY CANON.
This statement provoked a lot of debate: On what grounds did Not My Canon originate? What are the benchmarks for canon, and who decides? And what exactly is canon, anyway?
Canon is short for canonical - The work in question is recognized as the depiction of historical events and genuine characterization within the framework of a fictionalized world. It is fully endorsed and accepted by the utmost authority within the fandom. As the root word for "authority" is author, it's safe to say that J.K. Rowling's opinion is the ultimate determining factor on what is or is not canon. Typically, a pronouncement from JKR would go unquestioned.
But if we're not allowed to question her authority, why are 9/10ths of the fandom standing in open opposition to her?
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