On the Harry Potter legacy

by | Feb 17, 2023 | Essay | 0 comments

Hogwarts Legacy has become a rallying point for transphobia to such a degree it is impossible to view it without this context, and I, in the same way I try to avoid the rest of Rowlings works since it came to light what a despicable person she is, have no intention of playing Hogworts Legacy.

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There are a lot of factors at play here, and a lot of people will air various variants of «what about», but it all boils down to this; Rowling is using her power, her wealth and her position in order to make life worse for a marginalized group. The game, based upon her writing, is not created by her, but it is intrinsically connected to her, her actions and her views. Yes, the game is created by other creatives, but it is a Harry Potter game that is only of significance because it is a Harry Potter game.

Good or bad; it doesn’t matter

The qualities of the game is of little significance, as that is not the discussion. It does not matter if it is a good game or a bad one. It is not a win for the trans cause if the game is bad, and neither does it exonorate the game from Rowlings deeds and statements if it is good.
Though reporting thus far tells me that it is a mediocre game that is hyped up by nostalgia and as a backlash against reading video games in both an artistic and political context. But more on that later.

The game has become the lynchpin for the fight for transrights, that has suddenly become very vocal and very public for both gamers and Harry Potter fans. Some of whom has had no knowledge of the context of Rowling and her harmful statements. Which means that there are a lot of people who will enjoy (or not) the game, blissfully unaware. And those that now become aware of the challenges surrounding the game due to Rowling, will have to come to terms with their own values. Because a lot of people who are aware, is using support for the game to further transphobic views.

Seperating the work;
the death of the author

A lot of people have defended purchasing the game by proclaiming the need to seperate the work from the author; a bastardization of Barthes’ concept of the death of the author. This does not mean the game is innocent of Rowlings deeds, rather the opposite. It means the author is not the authority of a text’s meanings and interpretations, but it also does not mean that the text exists outside the author’s context.

And the death of the author relates to the meaning of the work, which in this case is of little importance. The meaning of the game will forever be overshadowed by the political discourse surrounding Rowlings’ active efforts to make the lives of transpeople worse.

A foggy forest, with a fallen tree.

Video games are art, and art is political

Support of the game has become a statement for transphobic people, made worse by the people who proclaim keep politics out of games. The same crowd that proclaimed that #GamerGate was about ethics in video game journalism (and suddenly game reviews are important and true).

Politics

Video games are art, and art is political. And especially in this case, where the face of the work, the rags to riches author, is using her plattform politically. She uses her works, their social significance, and her wealth as a political weapon.

Video games are not apolitical and they never have been. The crowd that proclaim them as such are the people who’s politics have formed the majority of heroic roles and points of views in games. Video games are not political, but the hero is more often than not a white male of some variation, from a western culture, and straight. The villain is everything else, but very often brownskinned. This is not political.

So…

I am not going to play this game. Not because of the game itself (though there are enough issues with the game itself not to play it), but because I will not support the work of a transphobe such as Rowling. It is not a big loss to not play a AAA game. There are an enormous amount of great games that are worth the time and do not play a piece in the promotion of transphobia.

Video games are for everyone, and video games the better for it when everyone plays. We get new experiences, new voices and new views. Hogwarts legacy has become the banner to unite under for the people that do not want new voices, that do not want to have their views challenged and to experience new experiences. Last time we had it with #GamerGate where women who voiced opinions on what games are, could be and should be were harassed and attacked, and now we have it with transpeople.

We can do better