(no subject)

[heidi]

Okay, how many of you feel that Dumbledore's characterization in PS/SS: The Movie would have been vastly improved if Steve Kloves or Chris Columbus had deigned to include four words from the book:

Nitwit. Blubber. Oddment. Tweak.

For me, those four words were among the elements in Book 1 that hooked me into reading the book way back in October of 1999, and they were part of Dumbledore for me. Well, that and his reaction to the twins' singing the school song, but for the sake of not adding minutes to the movie, let's just keep it to those four words.
Instead, they spent eighty seconds or so showing Hedwig flying through the snow. Wheee, lovely.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. And one of the reasons why, as alice_and_lain and cjestes can tell you, I stood up when the credits began and began stamping my feet on the floor in frustration and anger about the way the movie had been changed so much from the book* and the way the changes all felt stupid, or dangerous (Harry actively using his hands to injure/kill Quirrel, not just to protect himself and the stone).

We shouldn't have to use our imaginations to fill in the gaps about Dumbledore twinkling in the movie, and we shouldn't have to use our imaginations to fill the gaps in how Hermione finally decides she is either (a) finally actually interested in Ron as a boyfriend, or (b) finally actually willing to pursue Ron such as to have him become her boyfriend (and can we all FINALLY agree that before HBP, she was either not interested in him as a boyfriend, or had not undertaken to deem him her boyfriend? Good.).

The thing is, there are possible reasons for why she would do (a)-or-(b). The near-fatal injuries at the Ministry, or the risk of death in the woods with the centaurs would be enough to push anyone to change her perspectives on things, and I know from being-near-near-death-experiences. When I was 19, my then-best-friend and I were parking her car across the street from the townhouse just off campus where I lived, and these two guys in a van pulled up behind her, looked right at me, and grabbed her bookbag which was slung across her chest, dragging her 40 or so feet and running over her, possibly twice.

She was in and out of a coma for two days, ended up with pins in her hips and spent about two months in the hospital in traction; she's more or less fine now, fifteen years on, but watching her nearly die, and being five feet away from having been the victim myself, was enough to turn me, at 19 (ie about two years older than OotP/HBP Hermione) away from the career I'd planned to have (journalism) into law, in large part because I had been among the pack of people who'd descended like vultures after someone was seriously injured or killed in some horrific something, and I knew I couldn't do that anymore, not after having been The Witness and the only one the press could go to for said eyewitness account. And yes, that's a life-decision change. And it's entirely possible that what happened at the Ministry inspired Hermione to make a life-decision change. It seems to me to be the Moste Potente Reasone...

However, I am sure that some of you have other thoughts that explain why she did (a)-or-(b). And it's great to take your theory and fanficize it or fanart it or vid it.

But why couldn't JKR just write it? One line... just one line from Hermione when she's talking about Boys To Invite To Invite Jealousy would've done it, like one line from Dumbledore in Movie #1 would've changed his characterization to all those (and I know some of you are among them) who saw the film before reading the books (and along those lines, what did you think of Dumbledore when you saw the film versus read the books, if you did the movie first?).

I'm not a lazy reader - I can ponder a scene or a character for years, now, can't I? - but in this case, we shouldn't have to. If there was a reason, then that reason should've been in the book. If there was no reason, no inspirational moment of impact, no justification for Hermione to change her thoughts about Ron or at least her responses to him, then yes, that aspect of the book makes no sense. And what's frustrating me is that it would be *so* easy for it to make sense and be a natural progression of Hermione's character. Just. One. Line.

ETA: I wrote the above while about 24 hours behind in reading LJ, and on my first page spotted a link to this post by amanuensis1. Word, is all I can say. Incorporate all that into here; I wish I'd said it.


* Yes, I know that PoA was also changed from the book, but other than the neglect of the Department of Backstory and the stupid use of Sirius's "cleverest witch" line to Hermione, which makes no sense in the context of the film, it didn't bug me as much because the changes weren't of the degree of stupidity of the Flight of Hedwig, sigh, sigh, sigh.

Comments

[psychic-serpent.livejournal.com]

I can only speak for myself, but when you read fanfic that fills in the gaps, it's harder to read canon again without having just a little bit of expectation that the author will do the same.

I think that's an excellent point. I definitely don't think that even if the HP books were romance novels that it would make any sense for Hermione to be the heroine/love interest of the hero based just on her being the most prominent female. She would have to INTERACT with him differently. JKR very purposefully put so many contrasts between the way Harry interacts with Hermione and the way he interacts with Ginny that it really doesn't seem at all coincidental. One girl is linked with him romantically and he spends all day denying that she's his girlfriend, telling everyone that asks that they're not a couple, while every opportunity to deny any romantic connection to Ginny goes uncommented. She even very clearly illustrated his potential with the two girls during the Lucky You speech by having him turn completely AWAY from Hermione and turn around TOWARD Ginny. She had him lie to Hermione about why he was depressed, after seeing the Pensieve, but the first time Ginny asks he tells her the truth about not wanting to speak to Cho (his erstwhile girlfriend).

As far as Hermione showing any remote interest in Ron goes, you named the two major ones in GoF, but the one that stands out in OotP is when she's trying to explain to Harry (as though he is a small child) that he should have told Cho he thought she was ugly. Not only do Harry and Hermione clearly not connect here--he's "bemused" by the idea that he ought to lie and not thrilled with the idea that Cho was trying to make him jealous, even though Hermione treats this as normal--but when she says to him, "You're as bad as Ron," then reverses her declaration when Ron shows up, there's really only one possible reason for that: SHE IS INTERESTED IN RON. She has just been lecturing Harry about how clueless he is about girls (because he isn't on the same page with her and does not seem to agree that lying and trying to make other people jealous is the way he wants to operate) and THEN she makes this comment about Ron. She's saying that Ron is as clueless about girls as Harry is, then No, wait, he's worse. While this is true, why on earth is she bringing this up in the middle of their "tutoring" session? She's being Harry's teacher/mum yet again, which is the reason for their discussing this; what on earth does Ron's cluelessness about girls have to do with anything unless she's frustrated with his not having a clue about HER? And that's exactly why she says it; while Harry is clueless he is at least TRYING to figure out the girl he fancies, wanting to know what makes her tick, and Hermione gets both a big "I don't care" from Ron at the same time that the slightest whiff of a letter from Viktor makes him turn green as a fresh-pickled toad. She's reaching her limit in OotP, and in HBP she FINDS her limit.

The same thing can be read in their interchange when Harry and Cho kiss; she only has a reason to care about Ron's "emotional range" if she's hoping that it will include a capacity to care about HER as more than a friend. That conversation was as much about her and Ron as about Harry and Cho, but their part of it was masked in a "concern" for their friend and his situation. Frankly, this was why I was pretty worried about the viability of R/Hr in the long run--and some things JKR said still leave me wondering about that, since she was so very clear about Harry/Ginny but merely saying that "it's Ron and Hermione NOW" (my emphasis), which is pretty clear at the end of HBP. I do think that they were both more emotionally honest with each other in HBP, which repairs a lot of the damage done by OotP, when they were so at odds in their relationship styles and looking like they might never connect. I'd still be perfectly happy with a platonic Trio at the end, but I'm glad she's finally reached the R/Hr stuff, whether it's temporary or permanent, as it feels like it's been coming FOREVER. Sometimes, like Hermione, I also despaired of our Ickle Ronnikins. ;)

[prettyveela.livejournal.com]

*sails back in*

Hey Captain!

Um, Neville/Hermione in book 7? *looks shifty eyed*

[psychic-serpent.livejournal.com]

Hee. She still needs to resolve that. I just hope it's not by having him sacrifice himself to save her. ::sniff:: Although Self-SacrificingHero!Neville would still be good in its way; I also don't think it's a coincidence that Luna and Neville were the ONLY members of the DA who were in the fight. I mean, this time it wasn't a matter of flying off to the Ministry. The others were all RIGHT THERE, in the castle, but even people like Katie, Ernie and Parvati, etc. didn't respond. And even though Luna and Neville didn't take the Felix potion they weren't killed, so you KNOW they've become quite kick-ass. :D