On JK Rowling, Being Delusional & What This Means for Johnlock

[pennswoods]

The following was my response to an Ask I received on my Tumblr regarding Rowling's revelation regarding pairing Hermione and Ron...

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I saw reference to it on Twitter yesterday and links like this one here which led to a discussion with fellow HP fans, some of whom were upset or stunned or ecstatic about this

Comments

[ravenna_c_tan]

Fantastic post. One thing that does seem very parallel is that certain shippers are very invested in their ship becoming canon. And the fascinating thing is in Harry Potter, well, you had two boys and one girl and these two heterosexual potential pairs were all in on finding out which it would be. I was kind of stunned that Harmony shippers seemed to disappear after Harry/Ginny happened, my thinking as a Harry/Draco/Snape person being "since when does what actually happens in the book change who we ship?" The big difference I guess was that Harry/Draco shippers never really hoped to actually see h/d canonized. In Sherlock all of a sudden though it seems for once people feel that there's some glimmer the slash pairing could be canonized. That's huge, for fandom and for the relationship of media with fans. (Look at the controversies in SPN fandom these days.) it'll be even huger of course if it happens!

[pennswoods]

Yes. I hear you. As a Snape shipper (I shipped him with Harry and Hermione), I did not expect any pairing with him to become canon. That was irrelevant to my interests. However, I feel very differently about Johnlock. I became fannish in Sherlock BECAUSE of the Johnlock potential (whether realized or not). I am not at the end of the spectrum that needs to see it romantically or sexually realized in the television show, but I do need for there to be some level of reciprocity and potential available because this is at the core of my fannishness

[ravenna_c_tan]

And I admit if I were to get into Sherlock your reasons would be exactly my reasons. :-) I'm still resisting but we shall see...

[frodosweetstuff]

Oh, this is such an interesting post on so many levels

[pennswoods]

It really does help to have the attitude that authorial intent is not gospel, but not everyone's mind seems to allow for this type of approach to texts. It's also funny but I found my shipping, prior to Sherlock, was also not at all contingent upon its verification by canon or the creators. However, it's different for me now with Johnlock. That is the reason I became fannish - the number 1 reason I want the show is to experience the arc of their relationship (whether it be platonic or romantic). If that focus is lost, I'm out of here. In that regard, my ship is the cause of my fannishness as opposed to being an outcome of my fannishness. I expect this may be true for many other Johnlockers who are in the same boat as me post series 3

[dickgloucester]

the attitude that authorial intent is not gospel

I disagree. Authorial intent IS gospel - at least in as far as they get it on the page. What's on the page is gospel - it is what's written.

What follows is exegesis.

Even if it's the author who does it.

[pennswoods]

I'm going to disagree right back.

We co-construct meaning. Words and sentences glean meaning from our experiences and understanding of the language. Communication (whether it be spoken or written) occurs between people and therefore requires co-construction.

What an authors says requires interpretation and translation on the part of the reader/hearer. And this is massively true in English, an international language where so many people with so many diverse experiences will intend and infer very different things with the same words and phrases and sentences because those same words and phrases carry very different situated experiences and histories for different communities and individuals.

Just because something is written does not make it static, immutable and fixed. It just means it's been transformed into symbols on a page and more easily reproduced and shared than language and ideas which have not.

[droxy]

"We do know she’s co-producing a play taking place in the pre-Harry Potter years,"--- this is the first I heard of the play. I don't know how to feel about that.

I wonder if she's going to Snape bash. =( Then again, it may never get off the ground.

[ravenna_c_tan]

Isn't she also writing the screenplay for the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie, too? Plus all the Pottermore stuff she has been dredging up. She spends a lot of time still thinking about the wizarding world.

[pennswoods]

Yep. I think this also the case too. I have a feeling she's therefore spending quite a lot of time in her verse as a result.

[drinkingcocoa]

I suspect it's the other way around -- that she spends a lot of time in her verse and that leads her to evaluate, day by day, how much she'll let herself participate in continuing Potter activities.

I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...

[nevrafire]

I want to talk about the why this is upsetting to me as hp fan

Re: I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...

[tjs_whatnot]

Yes.

This is the "Snape is NOT a hero" thing all over again.

WHY WON'T YOU LET ME LOVE YOUR CHARACTERS JO???

Re: I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...

[pennswoods]

Awe.

*pets*

We can love some her characters more than she does.

Re: I know you're talking at this from a SH perspective but...

[nevrafire]

that's what hurts so much.

that she's losing love on her characters- SPECIALLY Ron/Romione which seemed to be her favorite.

[major_dallas]

UGH, I was there for all that ugliness, mostly enjoying myslef and calling Harmony Shippers delusional too, look some of them truly deserved it and then they didn't behave all too well with the fandom anyways.

Now, I'm not all that fussed one way or the other, the series is written and is over, I enjoyed the story overall, MOVING ON...

Not a JohnLock shipper though nor a JoanLock shipper either ;p

[pennswoods]

I live for Johnlock. Seriously. I will go down with this ship. Such an intense feeling.