Gay Controversy: Rowling and The Simpsons.
By now, the whole world knows that, within the Harry Potter books, Dumbledore is gay. JK Rowling admitted so in public, and as such, it’s hit the news programs and the blogosphere with quite a force. Truthfully, it really doesn’t change anything within the series of novels, as Dumbledore’s sexual orientation never really figured into the plight that Harry, as Rowling’s heroic character has to face, especially at the end of the series. What’s fascinating, however, it how much of stir Rowling has caused with this interesting background tidbit. Of course, had Rowling’s books been a run of the mill, mid-list level fantasy series, nobody would really care as much.
But, then again, there was another high level outing of a character. The Simpsons has hinted at possible gay characters for years, and by this, I don’t mean the guest stars. I mean the usual suspects. Smithers was always an obvious choice, partly because of his not-so-secret affection for Mr. Burns, and for the longest time, it seemed that the writers strongly hinted at Lenny and Carl – the two are, after all, inseparable on the show. It turned out that Patty was a lesbian, in a show that took on the controversy of same sex marriage.
The point, basically, is thus: many people weren’t nearly as surprised when The Simpsons decided to incorporate a gay character. The show is, after all, a work of social satire, and part of the show’s continued success is that, in order to remain relevant, it has to address the main issues of the day. J.K. Rowling’s wizard world, however, is a little more detached. In the surface, it’s more of a fantasy, lacking the in-your-face quality that has made Groening’s cartoon so funny.
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