Googling around, I’ve seen a lot of users and journos claiming they are a jewish stereotype. I struggled to even compare them to what HP did. And as a partially jew, I’m really jealous of qualities these bigots paint and the thinking process Quark put to work. He’s probably my favorite character of the whole franchise.
The HP goblins are so unabashedly antisemitic. It really takes an English writer to pump the xenophobia up to eleven.
The funny thing is - Rowling could avoid it, not mention t at all, but she’s gone out of her way to print it.
You could basically remove money from HP and not make a difference. The hate between the Malfoys and Harry/the Weasleys is mostly based on world view anyway. The fact that they are rich and powerful would just as well serve as them just being influential.
There was was really no reason to bring the goblins in, or at least not as she did
Meanwhile, over on Reddit, you’re the racist if you call the Goblins anti-semitic because you’re assuming that they look Jewish. My brother in Christ, I didn’t write the books or direct the movies.
It’s not like JK is some paragon of moral character either. She’s already a prolific transphobic bigot, are people really shocked that she is also racist and an anti-semite?
I get it. If someone else doesn’t think they look Jewish and hasn’t even though about it then someone else saying these fucked up looking goblins look Jewish does sound a bit jeez dude.
I can imagine someone going
“Well it’s obvious just look at their noses”
“…”
“What, it can’t be a coincidence that they’re also greedy bankers!”
“👀”
They don’t look Jewish. They look EXACTLY like the horrible racist cartoons mocking Jews from WW2 and before. So anyone who really doesn’t get the connection clearly is just ignorant of historical racism.
Are goblins themselves historically a racist caricature? Because I can think of other instances of goblins depicted with big noses and being greedy money-misers as if they were Jewish stereotypes. World of Warcraft for one. Most fantasy games, really.
None of those also put them in a bank that had a huge star of David on the floor, tho.
Goblins don’t always look like that: https://www.britannica.com/art/goblin
But the art varies depending on the artist, and sometimes they are used like that. Just like tolkien apparently modeled his dwarves after Jews. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarves_in_Middle-earth#:~:text=Tolkien elaborated on Jewish influence,Tolkien said "The dwarves of
Here’s a racist cartoon from the 1940s to see how specifically HP lines up. https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn544586
Maybe they are. Recently it was found that the Japanese Tengu may have its origin in an encounter with Jewish travelers back in olden times.
And the bank having a Jewish symbol can be attributed to the movie director allowing it unchanged. Or that it went forgotten and undetected. Or that it was a magical symbol that the goblins used for their security. Can’t Jewish imagery have a place in a magical society? The goblins had curse breakers slumming it in the pyramids. They went around and took what was useful to them.
But none of that. It’s racism because tweet, tweet little Birdy.
Hello.
Am a Jew. Am well read on history. I never saw the connection. For me the hp goblins have always been just what a goblin would physically look like.
That they are bankers and deal with money it never occured to me that they would be a Jewish stereotype.
I’ve had this discussion before so I’m very likely to just stop responding after this message but I wanted to show even us affected people aren’t always seeing the same thing you are. Have a good one
As a black man…
Are you suggesting a Jew would not have a relevant perspective about alledged antisemitism?
I’m suggesting that you cannot be well versed in the history of racism against Jewish people and unaware of what I posted. So the remaining options are they they’re not Jewish, and are trolling, or do not actually know history, and are confident in their ignorance.
Either way, their post becomes irrelevant.
So because I don’t agree with you my options are
With allies like you, who needs enemies?
Yeah the key phrase here is “stereotypically Jewish.” In reality, people look like all kinds, but our stereotypes are very specific. And fucked up, just to be clear
The antisemitism of HP books is a dumbass take on the whole thing.
If the HP goblins are Jews, then they are a defeated people living in a backwards, isolated society, fearful of change.
The wizards are openly mocked in the story. Do none of you really see that? They are a caricature of the British system of lords and commoners.
Pure blood, mudblood. Ring a bell?
The goblins as bankers in the story can be compared to Jews in medieval Europe who were forced to become merchants because they were not allowed to hold a title.
That’s not antisemitism, it’s history.
During the war, goblin and mixed families are shown as victims same as the Jewish and gypsy purge.
Antisemitism? No. History.
The epilogue shows that the wizard society remains mostly unchanged, still backwards, still isolated with only the new generation taking a step forward towards equality.
Antisemitism? No. History.
The only antisemitism found is the portrayal of Jews as goblins, in a fantasy series about dumb human wizards being dumb and most magical creatures being awesome.
It’s a very tryhard theory that only holds water after Rowling said some hot take in her old age.
And only considers people as static blocks of stone unable to start young and change as they grow older, for better or worse.
It’s a sucky POV and completely wrong.