“Racism Is Not Black and White”: The “Black Hermione” Debate in the Community of Harry Potter Hungary Cover Image

„A rasszizmus nem fekete-fehér”. A „fekete Hermione”-vita megjelenése a Harry Potter Hungary közösségében
“Racism Is Not Black and White”: The “Black Hermione” Debate in the Community of Harry Potter Hungary

Author(s): Annamária Turbó
Subject(s): Cultural history, Media studies, Social Norms / Social Control, Identity of Collectives
Published by: Korunk Baráti Társaság
Keywords: Harry Potter; fan activism; participatory politics; racism; social equality

Summary/Abstract: In 2016, the Harry Potter universe was extended with a new movie franchise, the Fantastic Beasts, as well as a play with the title of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child that was published in the form of a playscript. However, in the play version there was a striking change: an African American actress got the role of the adult Hermione Granger, whose character was considered to be white-skinned in the official Harry Potter canon. The present study shows how the debate over Hermione’s skin colour has emerged in a fan community, Harry Potter Hungary, and how the activities and discourses in the group have contributed to the creation of an alternative political arena that can be described with a phenomenon that Henry Jenkins calls participatory politics. At the end of the paper, I also highlight some broader pop culture processes that can be related to the creation of social equality.

  • Issue Year: 2022
  • Issue No: 01
  • Page Range: 99-107
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: Hungarian