← Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast
Critical Magic Theory: An Analytical Harry Potter Podcast
Prof Responds: The Great Half-Blood Reckoning
00:42:22
Professor Julian Wamble returns to the Half-Blood Showdown listener mailbag to dig into three of the community's sharpest debates: whether Dolores Umbridge outranking Voldemort as the series' worst villain says more about misogyny than about her...
Loading summary
Transcript39 lines
- [00:00]
A
What's up everybody? It's Bretzky and America is turning 250 and I can't think of a better way to celebrate that than playing on an American owned social casino. Spinquest.com with all of your favorite games, live crafts, bubble craps, live blackjack, there's no better place to play for free and win real cash prizes. Spinquest.com Spinquest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.
- [00:31]
B
What's going on everyone? It's bluff here and we're driving through the states in the Bluff Mobile and the best thing that we can do is play our favorite casino style games. On Spin Quest they have over a thousand games including live dealer blackjack and craps. With tons of slots and unlimited options, you can get a 30 coin pack for just $10. For new users sign up today. Go to spinquest.com right now.
- [00:54]
A
Spinquest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. What's up everybody? It's Bretzky and America is turning 250 and I can't think of a better way to celebrate that than playing on an American owned social casino. Spinquest.com with all of your favorite games, live craps, bubble craps, live blackjack, there's no better place to play or free and win real cash prizes. Spinquest.com Spin Quest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.
- [01:35]
B
Welcome to Critical Magic Theory where we deconstruct the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Because loving something doesn't mean we can't be critical of it. I'm Professor Julian Womble and this episode is our Prof. Response episode for our Half Blood Showdown. Now I have to say we loved the fact that Minerva McGonagall was crowned Queen of the Half Bloods. We did love the fact that Dean Thomas had a really good showing. We did not love the fact that Dolores Umbridge was seen as more of a villain than Voldemort. We didn't like it. It was not our favorite thing. And so we are going to be diving into that. We also did not love. And I knew this was coming. I knew it was coming and I said it anyway because chaos. We didn't love the conversation surrounding Peter Pettigrew and Bravery and so we're diving back into those waters and honestly I don't know that my perspective on this has changed. But who's to say we've had stranger things happen on an episode, okay? We're also going to be diving into the inner workings of Hogwarts and, and how the heck it operates insofar that it helps us understand how certain professors are viewed in certain ways. Because here's the thing, okay? Expertise at Hogwarts is not always a foregone conclusion. See Gilderoy Lockhart. See. See Quirrel Honestly for Defense against the Dark Arts. And so we're going to be getting into all of that. I want to thank those of you who took the time to be a part of the post episode chat on Patreon and the Spotify Comments conversations you all brought. Lots of amazing insights that really kind of challenge a lot of the ways that we understand this. And this is our last kind of formal episode because we are going into our summer episodes, which I'm excited about because we have a lot of really fun things that we're going to be talking about. But we have to get through this one first, which means that we have to prepare our minds. But right now, you need to be preparing your body, okay? Because the BOP is coming and many of you have told me that you've injured yourself trying to bop too close to the sun. And as you know, I've said it time and time again, but it bears repeating. I'm not responsible for any bodily injuries that come along with the bop. So you all need to prepare your bodies. You should be stretching, you should be doing all of the calisthenics because the BOP is coming to you in three. In two, in one. Let's bop. We need to talk about Harry Potter. Sam, I hope you danced. Welcome back, everyone. Welcome back. To those of you who are catching up, those of you who took the summer to try to catch up on the episodes, welcome back, friends. We are glad to have you. For those of you who are all caught up and you're here with us live, welcome to you as well. I'm on vacation now, so the music just flows through me, okay. It just comes out of every pore in my body. Okay, that was graphic. Don't even worry about that, y'. All. We have to get into it. But before you know, we have to get through these announcements. Again, I want to thank those of you who participated in the post episode chat on Patreon. If you are not a member on Patreon, please feel free to join us for free at patreon.com criticalmagictheory where you can also join as a paid subscriber, as an outstanding owl, a deep diver, or a chronic overthinker if you are a chronic overthinker. We are having our virtual hangout this coming Saturday. So be there or be square if it's possible for you to be there. I don't know what we're gonna talk about. Something chaotic probably or something deep like we did last week when we talk talked about just like morality and, and fate which took a whole thing. It was, it took a turn. It was good. If you're a chronic overthinker and you haven't seen that, you can go back and watch that last meetup from last month. It is a lot of fun. Also, I don't know if I've mentioned this 3 million times, but turns out I wrote a book. It's called behind the Cloak, Race Identity in Harry Potter. It is available for pre order wherever you can pre order your books. We are still in the process of working on figuring out what's happening in the UK and New Zealand. I am going to reach out in Australia. I'm going to reach out to the people in charge, the powers that be and get an update on that. If the circumstance has changed and you can now preorder, please feel free to let me know. You can send me an email@criticalmagic theorymail.com, you can DM me on social media, Prof. JW on Instagram and ProfW. On TikTok. You can also send me a message from our website criticalmagictheory.com and if you go to criticalmagictheory.com you can also hit the merch button and have a look at the merch that we have available. I am on vacation and I am going to be rocking my be critical, stay magical crop top at the beach. So there you go. We're just, we are worldwide, okay? But we don't have time to dilly and dally. This is a Prof. Response episode and you know, we have to get into everything lickety split. And so I'm gonna play a little music so that you can get your minds right because the first conversation that we're gonna be talking about is one that is fraught with many a a thought hashtag bars. And so I'm gonna play the music. You guys are going to get yourselves together and ready and then we are going to dive right in. What's going on everyone? It's bluff here and we're driving through the States in the Bluff Mobile and the best thing that we can do is play our favorite casino style games on sp. They have over a thousand games including live dealer Blackjack and craps. With tons of slots and unlimited options, you can get a 30 coin pack for just $10. For new users sign up today. Go to spinquest.com right now.
- [09:10]
A
Spinquest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. What's up baby? It's Bretzky and I'm here to tell you that spinquest.com is giving out free sweeps coins. All you got to do is is purchase a $10 coin pack. And guess what? They're going to give you the coins from a $30 coin pack that lets you play all your favorite games like Blackjack, Wanted Dead or Wild. And we're talking real cash prizes, baby. Spin Quest.com Spin Quest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details. Oh, I have had no luck lately. Wait.
- [09:51]
C
Lady luck Bretzky.
- [09:53]
A
I got you.
- [09:53]
B
I've had so much luck on spinquest.com they have all of my favor games, slot games, live blackjack, craps and bubble craps. You can even get a 30 coin pack for just 10 bucks.
- [10:05]
A
10 bucks for 30. I'm headed over to spinquest.com right now. Spin Quest is a free to play social casino void where prohibited. Visit spinquest.com for more details.
- [10:23]
B
The first theme that we're going to be talking about is Peter Pettigrew's placement in Gryffindor. Now, some of you will recall that in the episode I said that I thought that there was a bit of bravery when it came to the idea that he betrayed his friends. And I said that we tend to associate the idea of bravery with a certain kind of moral valence or a moral imperative, right? That the idea of what it means to be brave means that you are brave because you are doing something good, right? But that, that in and of itself that courage doesn't necessarily require goodness. That one's the means that by which one arrives at doing a courageous thing. There's kind of an internal understanding of that and then there's kind of an external perception of this idea, right? It's like we can look at something and, and say, that was very brave. Right? But it could be like, you know, oh, it was a brave decision for you to, you know, to lie when I already know the truth or, and I don't know that this is just a movieism. But when Dumbledore says to Voldemort and the Ministry of Magic and he's like, you know, it wasn't wise for you to show up here tonight, Tom. Right. Or something along those lines. Right. Like that idea of like, well, like it was kind of stupid. But then there's a way that we also create that. That stupidity or that foolishness or that kind of whatever is also in some ways brave because it's like, oh, you really made a choice. Like you, you said that with your whole chest. Or you made a decision 10 toes down. Right. And that was a brave decision. Now, are we splicing hairs? Perhaps. But I think that there is a way that our own conceptualization of courage is one that we tend to associate with specific kinds of moral decision making. And I think it's the same thing when we talk about, when we were talking about, you know, what does it mean to be a good person or, or, you know, the idea of loyalty, our favorite word. Right. And that the idea of loyalty seems inherently to be good, but the question becomes, who are you loyal to? Right. And so that there is again, an internal understanding of the idea and an external perception. And so when we think about Peter Pettigrew, I kind of want to keep this in mind as we think about the. As we think about what people brought to bear in our post episode conversations. Fenty wrote, standing up to a group of people should surely be about doing it so in a selfless way. What Wormtail did was entirely self seeking. It was all about what it did for Wormtail, not anyone else. Bear wrote, I'm still not entirely sure how the rat Dacity wound up in Gryffindor. Brave he is not. But reckless. There's a flavor of it there. And Charlie wrote, I have a theory that the hat sorts you by what you value, not who you are. He clearly valued brave people who could protect him, even though he had no bravery himself. It's my turn. Did I sustain vocal damage? Anyways, now this is interesting because I think that we are drastically underestimating what it takes. Yes, it is selfish and self preserving for him to do what he does, him being Peter Pettigrew. Right. Which feels very Slytherin in a lot of ways. Right. I also do think though that like, and obviously there is this idea of kind of connecting yourself to individuals who are powerful and basically always doing the calculus about whose power is more powerful for the purposes of trying to optimize your own position. Right. But at the same time, and again, I don't want to take away from the realities of, you know, what he did is bad. Yes. And the way that he goes about making particular choices is not what I personally would call Brave. But I do think that there is bravery. And I think. And what I'm invited to think about and what you all have brought me to think about is kind of the difference between bravery and courageous. Because I think that those are two different things. Because I think courage is something that does seemingly have a valence to it, like a moral valence that there, when you're doing something that is courageous, that feels like, oh, you are doing something in a selfless way, a la what Fenty brought to us in the post episode chat, right? Bravery, though, to be brave, I don't think it requires selflessness. I think it requires you making a choice that is. That stands in the face of your own well being, right? Like that. And that particular act is not something that requires you to be doing it for a good reason. It just requires you to recognize the stakes of a situation and deciding that whatever it is that you want to do is worth navigating those stakes. And so that there is the idea of, like, it is courageous that Neville stood up against the Golden Trio in the first book, right? Because while. And he didn't know the stakes, he didn't know what was going to happen, but he was ready to fight. But he was doing it for a good reason. What Peter Pettigrew is doing, right? Like aligning himself with Voldemort while simultaneously being friends with people who are fighting him and at any given moment being found out. Peter knows that both. He could die from both ends of this thing if it goes awry, right? And we know he kind of has a sense of this reality because Sirius came after him and he knows what's at stake. And he would have known it when he made the decision in the first place. And he made it anyway. Not only that, he then, like, yeah, lives his life as a rat, but, like, why not leave, right? Why not just run off as a rat someplace else where you wouldn't have to worry about this? Like, I think it's stupid, yes. But there is this idea of recognizing what's at stake and saying, I'm gonna stick it out. And he, you know, is punished and rewarded in whatever weird way. Because that's the thing, right? Like, we look at so much of what Peter Pettigrew experiences, you know, post Voldiva's ascension and his resurrection story, and we're like, oh, you know, he is being punished, right? But in his mind, right, There are moments where it's like a reward. Like him getting that hand, that magical hand for giving up his. Because he's a Drama queen who decided, I'm not just going to give you a finger, I'm going to give you my whole hand. Like you're doing too much, Pete, relax. But like him getting the silver hand to him is a reward that turns out to be a punishment. Right? And I give that example because I think that again, there is a personalized understanding of these concepts. And we know this because so much of what we end up doing when we try to define what it means to be a hero, what it means to be a good half blood, what it means to be a good person is all informed by our own internal definitions that we are then combating with the external realities of those things. Right. When I think about bravery, I don't, I'm. I'm still not convinced necessarily that it requires us to be brave to do a good thing. Like there are people who engage in very violent, dangerous behavior and they where like people lose their lives and we call it bravery, what they're doing, right. And there is a sense of like, yeah, some people are entering into context where the stakes are super high and they're making certain decisions and. But are those decisions selfless? Who's to say? Not always. Not in every way. Right. That's what not always means. But like there's not always a way that like we can define that behavior, but we don't know how they assess it. And I think that this is interesting when we think about the housing system in general, right. Because so much of it again is us placing onto these individuals our perceptions of what it means to be in these spaces and places. Right. Some of it is especially for those of us who have spent a lot of time kind of thinking about how we map onto the houses, it's us bringing our own belief structures into the space about what it means to be brave or intellectual or curious or loyal and kind or cunning and self preserving. Some of that we bring to bear and we, and we analyze the behaviors of these characters through that particular lens. But I think, you know, what Charlie's understanding of, you know, how people are sorted offers for us to think about is what are these characters bringing in? You know, if the hat is looking for something, whether or not it's looking at who you are, who you will be, or, or what you wish you could be, what you hope will be your future, right. Like, you know, is it that Peter Pettigrew wanted to be brave or he recognized the virtue in bravery and that's what the Hatsaw. We don't know. That lore is not known to us. But what is clear to us, right, is that again, we have to navigate this internal versus external dynamic. And I think that when we do that, what we are offered to think about is the fact that nothing is easily defined. Because I can bring my definition, you can bring yours. But we don't know what Rat Dasity was bringing in any given moment. And so our assessment of his behavior is external, but we have no idea what the internal behavior is or the internal perception is. And so I think that there's a world where like, it doesn't feel crazy to me to say, like, wow, it takes a lot of gall to do what you did. And I think that in a gumption, you know, we could use a lot of words to describe what he did. And at the root of it, it's all pointing in the direction of bravery, but not the kind of bravery that is a good thing. It's not courage, it's bravery. And I think that those are two different things.
- [22:27]
C
This episode sponsored by She's Bertie Every woman knows that feeling. And she's Bertie knows it too. The just in case feeling. Just in case I hear something. Just in case someone tries the door. Just in case I need to wake up fast. It's not fear, it's awareness. And Birdie Box from She's Birdie was made for exactly that. Birdie Box is a portable travel door alarm designed by She's Birdie for hotels, dorms, Airbnbs, and anywhere you're staying away from home. It installs in seconds on the door frame and if the door is opened, it activates a loud siren and flashing strobe to help draw attention instantly. She's Bertie because peace of mind should check in with you. Birdie Box by she's Bertie visit she's birdie.com that's S H e S B I r d I e.com and order your Birdie box before your next day away from home.
- [23:20]
B
I started Ornod in 2013 and we make bike apparel. The best part of Shopify for me is our ability to run the business as essentially non technical people. We're able to admin everything on the back end, front end and sell things online easily. If Shopify were a bike accessory, I think it would actually be the bicycle. It's the thing that you do the thing on. We run the business on Shopify. Start your free trial on shopify.com this
- [23:50]
C
is the story of the one as a maintenance engineer at a beverage manufacturing plant, he starts his day knowing every line is ready to run because grainger delivers the industrial grade products he needs to keep mixers, conveyors and packaging available equipment moving. With Granger's vast selection of bearings, belts and motors, he keeps operations running smoothly so nothing grinds to a halt. Call 1-800-granger click grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [24:25]
B
The next theme that came up for us was one where we were pushing back against some of the internal logic of Hogwarts as an institution, asking questions about how we're meant to understand the teachers in this place. On Spotify, CLWC wrote, where does Grubblyplank come from? She's a Tim, she's a substitute. Like what is happening? Why doesn't she have the job of care of magical creatures if she's clearly a better better at the job than Hagrid? Why would they promote a gamekeeper with no teaching experience to the role when they got Grubbly playing ostensibly on the bench? Nadia wrote, I'm reflecting back on Snape as defense against the Dark Arts professor and Harry lamenting that he would get a poor grade because he disagrees with Snape about the best way to manage or deal with dementors. I think this illustrates the point in a way. Discussion, debate, experimentation, testing hypotheses, all of these things lead to a more complete understanding of a topic. Students should surely be encouraged to disagree, but to explain their reasoning as well. Snape ought to be approaching this scientifically given his years of experience with potions, but whether the Potter problem blinds his judgment or more generalized pigheadedness is hard to say. It's my turn. This is why I shouldn't record in the morning because the voice is rough. It's not what it normally is, friends, and for that I apologize, but we will soldier on. What I think these comments both bring to bear and it was part of a larger conversation that was had on the Patreon post episode chat is how the heck are these people made to be teachers? Like there's clearly no certification that happens to become a teacher at Hogwarts, so what is the qualification, right? Why is it that Grubbly Plank is someone who is so qualified and has a level of expertise that Hagrid has in some regard, but not in a lot of regards? And to what extent does that matter for the way that we understand
- [26:48]
A
our,
- [26:49]
B
you know, how these kids are being taught and by whom, right? And when we think about Snape and we've had this conversation before, right, when we were doing the Snape episodes, that the idea that Snape's ability to teach, right, like he clearly has an expertise, which we've also talked about this a lot too, doesn't mean that you're a good teacher. It just means that you know the topic. It just means that you are aware of it. But that there is a skill set that goes into actually taking that information, synthesizing it down and making it something that people can learn, especially when you're dealing with something as dangerous as potions. Now, I think the other thing that becomes harder, you know, depending on where you're at in your teaching journey is your ability to bring your own personal life into the classroom and not allow that to stand in the way of your ability to be a good instructor, a good purveyor of knowledge. Snape is terrible at this, right? I mean, even Hagrid isn't great at it. Because Hagrid's belief about what kind of creatures are worth learning about informs the curriculum that he then sets up. And he can't understand why students are uninterested. He can't understand why, you know, they're afraid. And so again, it's like, what is it that these teachers are bringing in here to this place? And I think the problem with how Hogwarts operates now and granted, you know, we know the easy way is just to be like, well, it's just not very well founded in terms of the world building. Sure, we could go that direction, but come with me on this particular journey. I think the problem at Hogwarts is that they mistake competence for proficiency, right? In terms of if you can teach, if you know it, you can teach it. And the reality of the situation is that simply just isn't the case, right? And even Voldemort comes back when he asks Dumbledore for the Defense against the Dark Arts job. He basically is like, I've done a whole bunch of really cool stuff. And by cool stuff, I mean, like, figured out ways to keep my body alive and killed a bunch of people. And that to him is like, well, that's my qualification. I should be allowed to teach. And it's a wonder that anyone walks out of Hogwarts with any sort of proficiency in anything because all these teachers are disasters. Except for Flitwick. We don't really spend a lot of time with Professor Sinestra, so we don't know what she's up to. But we know that the boys are just making things up. But I shouldn't say that all of them are disasters, but the ones that we meet and spend a considerable amount of time with are disasters. And sometimes there being a disaster is not because they don't know what they're talking about. Sometimes it's the byproduct of them simply just not being good teachers. And I don't think that that has anything to do personally with them being half bloods per the topic of the episodes. But I do think that it speaks to the realities of like what we are, how we navigate who enters into Hogwarts as a teacher. Now here's the thing and I just thought of this. So this might not be as linear as we'd like but it is interesting though that most of our teachers, all the ones that we ran through, most of them are half bloods, right? And I also wonder, right, like Hogwarts is one of the few places where you enter in as a half blood person. Some of them are coming from non magical spaces, right? They're Muggle raised or they're raised in and around Muggle spaces. And Hogwarts becomes kind of their totem, their anchor in the magical world and probably one of the easier places to get a job relative to the Ministry of Magic where we know that pure blood supremacy is kind of the undercurrent. And so if you show promise and your intention is to try to stay in the magical world and you don't have, you know, roots in the space to be able to, you know, go and find a house in a magical world or find ways to bridge that gap, Hogwarts serves as a really great space for you to do that. And if the requirement is just proficiency, which it seems to be right it just your competence in the thing, then I would choose Hogwarts over the Ministry of Magic any day because it simply means that I have access to this bastion of knowledge. It means I have a place to live. It means that I am very much entrenched in the magical world and only have to go back to the non magical world if and when I want to. It creates a barrier for them in a lot of meaningful ways and doesn't present the kind of social and political hurdles that they might have to jump if they were to try and go to other spaces and places. It is not lost on me that so many Half bloods work at Hogwarts like the vast majority. I mean now granted proportionally it makes sense given the fact that like most people in the magical world are half bloods. But it is an interesting decision that these individuals made to show back up at this place. Now we know why Snape was there, right? Cause Dumbledee said. We've got to keep a close eye on you. But like everyone else, it's like Minerva McGonagall could have done any number of things and was right working for the ministry. And then Dumbledore said, girl, come join me over here. And I think it's because Hogwarts offers a level of connection to the magical world that you don't necessarily get in other spaces and places.
- [32:51]
D
This is the story of the One. The one who keeps multiple buildings running smoothly day after day. Plumbing that flows, H Vac that hums. Cleaning supplies that keep surfaces sparkling. That's why she counts on Grainger. With easy reordering online and 24. 7 support, Grainger helps her keep the products she needs on hand so shelves stay stocked and buildings stay ready. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [33:20]
C
This is the story of the One As a maintenance engineer at a beverage manufacturing plant, he starts his day knowing every line is ready to run because Grainger delivers the industrial grade products he needs to keep mixers, conveyors and packaging equipment moving. With Grainger's vast selection of bearings, belts and motors, he keeps operations running smoothly so nothing grinds to a halt. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done
- [33:51]
A
Evening Buyer's remorse.
- [33:53]
B
Buy a new car. I'll be moving in.
- [33:56]
A
Let's get started.
- [33:58]
C
Sorry, I think there's been a mistake. I bought it from Carvana. You what? Yeah, great price. I even have seven days to love it or return it. So there's no, no, no buyer's remorse. More like buyers rejoice.
- [34:10]
A
I guess I'll let myself out.
- [34:12]
B
Congratulations.
- [34:14]
A
I mean it.
- [34:15]
C
Buyers rejoice. Buy your car today on Carvana. Limitations and exclusions May apply. Senior 7 day return policy at Carvana.
- [34:20]
B
Com the third and final theme that came up in our post episode conversation was one that I knew would do the work. And it's one that I care about a lot because I do think that it tells us something very specific about how we as a fandom have been conditioned both by the author throughout the text, but also societally to view certain people. Right? And that conversation is one that is about Umbridge outranking Voldemort in the perceptions of, you know, villains. And you know, I said this for Umbridge's episode, right? Like in other surveys that have been done, she is the most hated character, which I think is interesting, right? Because there's a bit of a difference between being the most hated character and being seen as the most villainous character. Right? Like, we can understand the former to a certain degree, but the latter is something that I think is very unsettling for a number of reasons. On Spotify, Sasso said, you cannot convince me that Umbridge being seen as the bigger villain than Voldiva is not the product of misogyny. Mad Dan Echols wrote, voldemort feels more cartoony. There's a humanity in Umbridge's villainy. Umbridge is literally a Ronald Dahl villain. Amelia wrote, umbridge may be hated more than Voldemort because Umbridge officializes these views as a representation of the ministry or as a representative of the ministry. So people like Umbridge become the channel for bigoted views to be normalized and thrive within an institution whose main interest is to have complete control over the affairs of its magical subjects. And Erica wrote, is it because Umbridge is supposed to be a good guy, we should have higher expectations of those that are in positions to serve the public? Something about government officials that cause harm hits more close to home. It's my turn. We're getting there. It's not quite where I want it to be. I should have warmed up before this. I don't think that any of these things are mutually exclusive. I do think that there is a misogyny that goes on here, I think. And again, and I've said this many a time, right? So some of this is a rehashing. But one of the things that stands out to me about this series in general is how little we learn about the women and girls. We get no backstory for them. We get no reason to redeem them in any way. Not a shameless plug, but we get into this in behind the Cloak, there's a whole chapter dedicated to this particular idea. But I think that when it comes to this kind of concept of villainy, one of the things that we even heard in the surveys for Voldemort was the idea of, like, oh, I can understand why he ended up this way. I can understand how he arrived here, right? Like, he's got a family that is rife with issues. He's got a mother who engaged in nefarious, dangerous behavior against his father. We have all of these reasons and justifications for why he is the way that he is. And so our ability to, at least in some part, empathize and justify his behavior allows for us to see his villainy as more understandable. And we don't get that For Umbridge. Right. All we get is that she's an evil woman in pink. And so when it comes to our perceptions of her villainy, it's like, well, yeah, it is grounded in the inherent misogyny that comes along with not giving women the benefit of the doubt because we don't have a story to kind of provide us with that. And I think it is also the idea that because she is a governmental official, that there's a certain expectation that we have. And I think, again, it's not just that she's a government official, she is a woman who is a government official. Right. And I don't know that we have much of a sense of how the Ministry of Magic comes to kind of promote these particular individuals. Right. Like, I don't know how, you know, democratically elected these individuals are. You know, we don't really get a sense of how the Wizen Gammat becomes the Wizen Gamma. There is a lot of lore that's passed around in fanfic about certain families just having seats and then other people are able to get them. But we don't really understand how these individuals arrive at being governmental officials. Right. Like, is it just you worked your way up and so now you're here? Are you elected? Is the body electing you, the Wizengamat or other councils, is it the populace of the magical world? We don't know. What we do know, though, right, is that, I mean, part of our particular expectations in our world of our. Our leaders, is that they represent our views. And when they. When they present a misrepresentation, that is when we are upset, when they represent something that we don't believe in, when they support legislation that we don't support, and it's like, well, we put you there. I don't know that that's true here in the magical world. And what's more. And this. Okay, just come with me on this one. It's also possible that Umbridge does represent people. Maybe not the characters that we like, maybe not the characters that we empathize with, but it's very possible that she does actually represent a lot of what people believe. Right. It's how she's able to keep her job across regimes. Because once Scrymgeour comes in, she's still there. When. What's it. When Yaxley comes in, she's still there. And so the idea that, like, she is someone who is a misrepresentation, I don't think so. Which then makes the critique of her even more problematic because, again, it kind of invites the reality that so many of us are doing the thing where we place into the individual the ills of the structure. When in reality, Umbridge is a perfect representation of the structure. We just don't like the structure. And so we don't like her, but we place it all in her, right? And in so doing, we overlook any of the potential biases that we may or may not have against her. Because why do we believe we should trust her? We know Cornelius Fudge is an absolute, complete and utter disaster and yet we believe that, like, he is. Like, we know that and she works for him. Right? Like, we have heard up until this point about the Ministry leading the smear campaign against Harry Potter. At the end of Goblet of Fire, we can hear Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge fighting. We know that he's like a pure blood supremacist insofar that he believes that pure bloodedness is the end all, be all. Like, in so many ways, nothing that Umbridge does is outside the realm of what we know the Ministry of Magic is capable of. And it is interesting because in many ways she's one of the few characters that we get to see, see who kind of exist throughout all of the different regimes. Right. Like, and that tells us a story about this, about the magical world and the society they're in. And so it is not lost on me. Right. Like, yes, of course her role as a teacher is meant to, you know, lend to certain beliefs about what kind of behavior she's supposed to be engaging in. But I think that so much of that, again, like, we let Snape off the hook for a lot of things and a lot of the torment that that man put those students through. And many of us are still sympathizing with him because he has what a backstory, he has what a justification. We can understand why he does it. We don't know why Umbridge does this. And we inherently believe that she should be a better person than she is. And I don't know where that belief came from because it's not grounded anywhere in the text. She is a representative of a government that was literally running a smear campaign against a 15 year old child. Why would we believe that she would not be this person? And why is that reality not enough to say, well, yeah, she sucks, but it's, you know, we get it. Dumbledore, Dumbledore, Voldemort is out here dropping bodies and we're like, well, you know, he's a psychopath. And again, I think so. There's A question about, like, how we understand what these individuals are supposed to be like. Because the idea that Umbridge is supposed to be a good guy, really, like, the government is a disaster. And we. Just because it is the government doesn't mean it's inherently good or that the people who work in it are inherently good. Many of us are living in a time right now where that reality is all too apparent to us, right? That the government itself as an institution is not one that has a moral valence that leans towards goodness and justice and what is right, because it's made up of people. And so the individual ideologies that then come together to create the government don't go away. And we have to ask ourselves the foundational questions of, like, what. What is the structure of this institution? And how are we then meant to understand how people arrive at it? And we know in the magical world, pure blood supremacy is the foundation on which so much is built. So that when we look at someone like Umbridge and we ask ourselves the question of, like, well, she's one of the good guys, is she? Who said that? And why would we believe that she is
- [44:52]
C
who?
- [44:52]
B
Like, there's no reason for us to believe that she is, but somehow what she does is worse than what Voldemort does, y'. All. I don't. I don't know. Someone else wrote a comment like, voldemort tried to kill a baby. Like, that tells us a story about who he is and what he's about and the ease with which we're willing to condemn Umbridge more. We have to interrogate that, y'. All. We have to do some deep thinking about it, because I think it's more revelatory of us in our own frame of mind and our own thinking than it is about her as a character. Because we don't get that much about who she is as a character to begin with. Not in the canonical text. That was a rant and a rave. But needless to say, I don't think that any of these things are mutually exclusive. And I do think that we have to ask ourselves why we have these particular expectations of her and where they come from, what informs them and to what extent are those expectations gendered. And I think we would be remiss if we didn't highlight that there is a meaningful gendered component to this in both our perception of her behavior, but also in terms of our expectations of her, of our expectations of who she is in her role as a teacher, in her role as a ministry official. Like that all of those things. We cannot divorce the fact that she is a woman from those things. And what does that then lead us to believe and expect from her? And then why do we seemingly punish her more when she doesn't meet those expectations?
- [46:45]
C
This is the story of the One As a maintenance engineer at a beverage manufacturing plant, he starts his day knowing every line is ready to run because Grainger delivers the industrial grade products he needs to keep mixers, conveyors and packaging equipment moving. With Grainger's vast selection of bearings, belts and motors, he keeps operations running smoothly so nothing grinds to a halt. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done when you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there is no room for slowdowns. With Granger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place so nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [47:45]
D
Grainger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, Filters ready to clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering and 24. 7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it.
- [48:18]
B
I feel like I've said everything that I need to say about Half Bloods and I feel like this conversation has been very illuminating. But I don't have a reflection for us today, y'. All. And you know what? That's okay. I want you all to reflect. Also, that rant and rave that I gave about both Peter Pettigrew and Umbridge feels like reflections in and of themselves. So I think we're good today. So no reflection, just thoughts. And I am going to play some music and then do the outro. So there you go. That's it. That's all. The reflection is no reflection.
- [49:08]
D
Foreign.
- [49:14]
B
This has been another episode of Critical Magic Theory. I'm Professor Julian Womble and if you like today's episode. First of all, thank you. Please feel free to like, rate, subscribe and do all the things that one does where pods are cast, y'. All. We did it. We made it through Half Bloods and we are now going to be moving into our summer episode series on any number of things that you all have brought to bear. Next week we're going to be discussing the Ministry of Magic, which feels very apropos given our conversation about Umbridge. I cannot wait and I hope that you all have a great day again. Thank you to those of you who participated in the post episode chat. If you want to join in the post episode chat, please feel free to join us. Patreon.com criticalmagictheory Follow me on social media Prof. JW on Instagram @ProfW on TikTok. Please feel free to check out my book behind the Cloak Race Identity in Harry Potter. Wherever you can buy books y'.
- [50:05]
C
All.
- [50:05]
B
I can't wait to hear from you. Until then, be critical and stay magical my friends. Bye.
- [50:16]
C
When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there is no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high quality quality motors, sensors, belts and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place so nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [50:46]
D
Grainger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through one walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, filters ready to clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering and 24. 7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [51:16]
C
When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there is no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place so nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.