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What if Harry Potter was a black kid?
tinytreasury.com — Harry Potter isn't the only major sci-fi release to hit bookstores. The buzz is building on Troy CLE's "The Marvelous World" series, set to launch May 2007. The book has attracted such big names as Malcolm Jamal-Warner, illustrator Daryl Mandryk, formerly of EA Sports and now at Propaganda Games, and Joe DiVelario, of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" fame.
lawmummy- 675 diggs
- digg it
- crawfishsoul, on 10/12/2007, -84/+39He'd be nappy-headed?
Too soon? Is "nappy" the new N word?- DiggingDeep, on 10/12/2007, -7/+103There'd be no need for spoilers because he'd just die at the end.
- Akaji, on 10/12/2007, -58/+32Too soon... well, let's see, is it too soon to use "*****", or any other ethnic slur, in normal conversation? Yes?
It's always too soon. Racial slurs aren't funny. - tippmann1, on 10/12/2007, -8/+185his "magic wand" would be bigger than yours?
- Nudar, on 10/12/2007, -36/+12@Akaji
Nagger - willynilly, on 10/12/2007, -27/+15Not if you're tired and just going to take a little nappy.
- Akaji, on 10/12/2007, -26/+11@Nudar
At least I'm not niggardly, like one senator I could mention. - kingbighair, on 10/12/2007, -5/+52well this thread is going downhill quickly
- southwestnut, on 10/12/2007, -11/+35digger
/sarcasm - night141, on 10/12/2007, -5/+48Kramer would not approve.
- wonderboy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+36If he were black he would be the first one to die in the movie.
- TheCount, on 10/12/2007, -6/+7Is Harry Potter the "iPod" of the fantasy world now? All fantasy work involving children will be measured against Harry Potter?
- HunterTV, on 10/12/2007, -10/+21"***** man, that honky mus' be messin' my old lady... got to be runnin' cold upside down his head. You know?"
"Hey home, I can dig it. You know he ain't gonna lay no mo' big rap up on you man."
"I say hey sky, s'other s'ay I wan say?"
"Pray to J I get the same ol' same ol'."
"Eh. Yo knock yourself a pro slick, gray matter live performas down now take TCB'in man."
"Hey, you know what they say... See a broad, to get that booty yak 'em."
"Leg 'er down 'n smack 'em yak 'em."
"Cold got to be. You know? Shiiiiit." - Ceil, on 10/12/2007, -23/+8Well if he was black there'd be two possibilities:
1) It'd be a rated R movie because of all the violence they cause
2) It'd be a one minute movie because the non-violent ones are so lazy and expect everything handed to them - virtualball, on 10/12/2007, -7/+25"Avada Kedavra...Mo' *****"
- EatingPie, on 10/12/2007, -2/+26First, I think it's a BAD idea to just take someone else's idea and give it a racial twist. The racial twist isn't the issue, it's the lack of originality!
Second, there ARE black characters in Harry Potter. Angelina, the captain of the Quiddich team for starters. (Man that's gotta be the geekiest thing I ever typed.) No, Harry himself isn't black, but was re-imaging him as black really necessary? Especially when there are other good, strong black characters in the book in the first place?
-Pie - davidrools, on 10/12/2007, -6/+19If Harry Potter were black?
probably wouldn't sell many books, that's what. - fauxXenophanes, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Um ... Steve Erkle ?
- saifatlast, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1HunterTV, dugg for the reference to Airplane!. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Vzpwx5bVE&NR=1 has the clip.
- ldhotsoup, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@EatingPie
This book isn't just a remake of Harry Potter as a black kid... take the sensationalist headline with a grain of salt, please. It's just another teen fantasy fiction which have been a dime a dozen since before and after Harry Potter has made its rounds. They just don't strike the particular social chord that Rowling happened to with her series. If you don't find this book to your liking, you're probably not the target audience.
As for the rest of you taking the cheapshot racist comments, THIS is the reason racism still burns in our country, not Don Imus. Don't just watch your mouths, watch your attitudes. Peace. - ramiro, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Is it still ok to use the word "niggard"?
Have they banned "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" yet for the use of N-words? - frprod, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0He would of raped/spit Hermoine!
http://celebritytrade.com/photo.aspx?cid=194&f=corona-1.jpg
then stolen her TV.
- raymiester500, on 10/12/2007, -20/+36Butter beer would be replaced with 40oz malt liquor.
- Richggs, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Has it ever actually said in the books that harry wasn't black?
- egbert, on 10/12/2007, -3/+43He would most like know the difference between science fiction and fantasy. Harry Potter is not a science fiction book.
- Mountaineer1024, on 10/12/2007, -12/+1The distinction between Science Fiction and Fantasy is rather blurred though.
Just check out all the "Steam Punk" stories that are floating around. - TiMMY8765, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21dude Harry Potter is totally a Science Fiction book. Remember that time Harry had to divert power to the main deflector dish?
- an0nym0us, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1beam me up,scotty!
- Mountaineer1024, on 10/12/2007, -12/+1The distinction between Science Fiction and Fantasy is rather blurred though.
- Nudar, on 10/12/2007, -30/+16Harry Potter would fail out of magic school. (statistically speaking it is more likely)
- loki440, on 10/12/2007, -9/+40He wouldn't fail out of school douche. . .he'd be there on a Quidditch scholarship, so some other student would take his tests.
- zybch, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Academic -and- drug!
- willynilly, on 10/12/2007, -5/+20Maybe he'd know better than to use "was" in that question, dumb-ass.
- reddevil3, on 10/12/2007, -7/+42Comments are going to be full of stereotypes and people saying "nappy headed", "*****", etc.
Diggers never fail to disappoint.- kaelyiesta, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4...interspersed with comments about the nature of the comments such as these. Digg, the self deprecating community.
- ameba, on 10/12/2007, -4/+38Digger Please
- loki440, on 10/12/2007, -7/+27So true. they should at least try to be more interesting in portraying the stereotypes. for instance:
1. His name would be changed to Harry Potta'
2. Harry's spellbook would be updated to include more urban spells like "Pimp Juice" or "The Kensington Ho' Rejuvenator"
3. Harry would wear a gold medallion that says "H-Po fo' Sho"
4. He'd have a fly ass broom made by Hummer. - poppyfire, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0hey, racism exists. Since most of us aren't in a position to change things on a large scale, it is a rather bleak depressing reality. So the alternative is to laugh. Don't you realize laughter is a reflex tied to fear? We laugh because we have no other choice? So, without further ado . . . "That black kid over there with the voodoo witchin' stick. He killed Dumbledore."
- night141, on 10/12/2007, -25/+14He would demand welfare and have 3 babies hanging off of him.
- laserblazer, on 10/12/2007, -14/+11You should try demanding a do-over for your intellect, troll.
- laserblazer, on 10/12/2007, -5/+34They'd have to make new Quiddich rules to slow him down?
- monkeycatDx, on 10/12/2007, -15/+12Well in the Black Harry Potter World there would be no such thing as McDonald's or Burger king....Just Popeye's, Churches Chicken Popeye's Chicken and KFC!
- cragga, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20sci-fi my ***** balls.
- southwestnut, on 10/12/2007, -10/+60can't put rims on a broom, or can you?
- snowbooch, on 10/12/2007, -4/+37throw some d's on that witch
- Toon, on 10/12/2007, -12/+8You mean wi-otch?
- OMGWTFROFLMAOx2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15toon is behind the times on his urban slang
- ariez84, on 10/12/2007, -23/+12Harmony would be one nappy headed hoe.
- TCRAZNPride, on 10/12/2007, -6/+25He would've gotten Hermione and Cho up in the A by now
- tatltat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10haha!
- ablez3, on 10/12/2007, -14/+1140inch gold broom with a plasma in the back.
- digitallysick, on 10/12/2007, -4/+33You guys are bad! haha , i can see it now " hermione, follow me bitch, to the chocolate city!"
- animewars, on 10/12/2007, -4/+26...did the description just refer to Harry Potter as belonging in the science fiction genre?
I think I'm offended. - kavery, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15You may think we've hit rock bottom on this thread, but trust me, it will get much worse.
- merreborn, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8There's already been a series of books about a young black wizard targeted at adolescents. They're really good too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthsea
http://www.slate.com/id/2111107/- JorgeGonzalez, on 10/12/2007, -13/+7How does he hijack a dragon?
- cogsprocket, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I remember Earthsea from the Sci-Fi channel. I actually intended to watch it but didn't.
- JorgeGonzalez, on 10/12/2007, -18/+8Yea, like an old-fashioned elitist school like Hogwarts is going to let a negroid in.
Sadly, that's what this world has come to...- night141, on 10/12/2007, -8/+14They would have to, to meet their quota.
- undergrace, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Right, except the fact that quite a few Hogwarts students are black. Dean Thomas, a Gryffindor in Harry's year, is a very prominent character in the book. So is Angelina Johnson, a girl on the Quidditch team that becomes the Captain. They are the two that come to mind, but I know there are more (I don't feel like looking up names). Bottom line - you're an idiot.
- dabomb, on 10/12/2007, -12/+14Well then I probably wouldn't like Harry Potter anymore.
- ColinDoody, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13Sci-fi?
- unusualbob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2dugg up, no science in harry potter
- MYarms, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2Why do they have to make a book about a black kid thats similar to harry potter? Way to promote racial harmony.
- neutrascrub, on 10/12/2007, -16/+9well he'd smoke herb and use magic powers to get little white girls to have sex with
- tardmongerster, on 10/12/2007, -8/+9Marked inaccurate. Harry Potter is fantasy, not sci-fi.
- MrFatalistic, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6I can't believe this statement is being dugg down, fantasy = learning magic at hogwartz, sci-fi = aliens, time-travel, future speculation - they are 2 completely different genres.
I know how retarded I made that, but it's no good for either side to be confusing the difference.
- MrFatalistic, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6I can't believe this statement is being dugg down, fantasy = learning magic at hogwartz, sci-fi = aliens, time-travel, future speculation - they are 2 completely different genres.
- MrDo, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9There would be the token white kid as his friend?
- numbnu7s, on 10/12/2007, -8/+21What if Harry Potter was a black kid? So what, why would it matter? I'd still love the stories.
- 8177, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14Did the book ever explicitly say that harry was white.
I know it on cover but if isnt in words it doesnt count.
- 8177, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14Did the book ever explicitly say that harry was white.
- lofiboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+41Then it would be black magic.
- swimmerking111, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2actually diggingdeep i beg to differ. he would be the first to die which wouldnt make it too much of an exciting series
- shellwe, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Okay, so the kid doesn't have magical powers or anything? That's what it seems it said... so how is he like harry potter...?
my thoughts... - writerboyVSgod, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Well, his god father was Black... wow. I am a nerd... and a geek.. and possibly a dork. At least I'm not a spaz.
- DarkDragon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8"What if Harry Potter was a kid"
why do you always have to bring race into it! Geez..
=P - kidcodea, on 10/12/2007, -7/+5hocus pocus would become bling bling
- aximbigfan, on 10/12/2007, -6/+22***** stole my wand!
sorry, i just HAD to say it...
il get my coat...- aschocobo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9don't forget your hood.
actually you and the rest of the people in this thread seem to be running a little late for a midnight meeting of sorts...
- aschocobo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9don't forget your hood.
- OneZeroZeroOne, on 10/12/2007, -2/+151) Harry Potter isn't sci-fi
3) He would have ***** Hermione ages ago.
I keed I keed. - V1ncent, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I don't know if the book is any good, but it's nice to hear that he's been given a chance at success and entertaining young minds!
- raymiester500, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8The Weasley twins would be replaced with the Wayans brothers.
- diggn_it, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8He sure looks a whole lot more badass than harry potter. Not because he's black, just because that drawing is awesome and he isn't an underfed nerd with taped together glasses (although I think he go those fixed a while ago).
PS, everybody block that spam guy - Warptera, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7What does this even have to do with Harry Potter?
The author clearly states that there are basically no similarities between the two.- aschocobo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5this is digg. you're not supposed read the actual article you "idiot", not even the submitter is supposed to that. :)
you're only supposed to come up with the most sensationalized title for the story that you can think of, regardless of whether it actually relates to the story or not, duh! ;)
- aschocobo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5this is digg. you're not supposed read the actual article you "idiot", not even the submitter is supposed to that. :)
- ralf1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6http://www.bash.org/?111338
- Amoeba16, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1This is a press release.
***** off, flack.
Also, confusing the genres of fantasy and science-fiction is a travesty. - UglyShirts, on 10/12/2007, -2/+22I've always found it ironic that black leaders fought so long for equality and integration, only to re-segregate themselves once the law said discrimination was illegal. How are "Miss Black America", The United Negro College Fund, and FUBU (For Us, By Us) any different than "Whites Only" on a drinking fountain or "No Coloreds" at the job service window? They're not, really. But segregation on the terms of the persecuted is tolerated. So, we wind up with the CW, BET, and now they feel like they need their OWN boy wizard?
"Separate but Equal", I guess.
- southwestnut, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5sad but true
- reddevil3, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I understand your point, but thing is such things are still needed. How many "black" shows do you watch on TV? I bet it's 0. That's why channels like BET/UPN (now CW) were needed, because blacks have traditionally had limited access to just about everything. Remnants of that are still left, and if you think about it blacks aren't really at the "equal" level in American society. Hopefully there'd be some point where such "special" access is not allowed.
If you read your country's history you would understand why blacks had to start their own businesses, schools, etc. to support their own community. - joflow, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Because of shared experiences and culture, blacks have a demand for certain television programming that non-blacks may not be interested it. Its no different then a telemundo...its purely economic (not racial) and the station owners are simply filling the demand like how TechTV used to fill the demand for computer nerd-centric TV programming.
The UNCF is still needed because blacks are underrepresented in higher education. One of the reasons for the disparity is wealth...alot of blacks simply can't afford to go to college and thats sometimes due in part to the lack of economic opportunity caused by past discrimination. You dont sign a law banning segregation and expect things to be equal overnight. UNCF addresses that issue. - inhaler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"How many "black" shows do you watch on TV?"
Star Trek had a multi ethnic cast of black and asian people in it. First inter-racial kiss on TV can be attributed to a 1967 episode of that series. With exception to the Steve Harvey show (I think the man is helarious), yeah, you don't catch me tuning into BET or Moesha. I did watch Sister Sister on occassion though, and practically grew up on Family Matters. I guess my TV selection has been moderately multi-ethnic?
- steve_s, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3man thats alot of spam
- punx, on 10/12/2007, -8/+5He'd pop a cap in Voldemort's white ass, then celebrate with some of his niggaz with some 40's.
- southwestnut, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4@madtoaster and his spam spree
I would like to see black Harry Potter and crew go ghetto on you right about now- aschocobo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3threads like this deserve spam sprees. i don't think it matters anyway. this thread is already full of trash, so what difference does it make just adding to the pile?
- HanSolo69, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10nobody would buy it because white kids wouldn't relate and anything regarding black people or black culture in the book would be perceived as racist and exploitative by the black community (al sharpton).
- dangerding, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7because white kids don't listen to hip hop and identify with black culture...
have you looked at a Billboard best sellers chart lately?
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/chart_display.jsp?g=Singles&f=The+Billboard+Hot+100
I don't buy the argument. - alarion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1it's not so much that they "identify" with black culture, as they perceive the "thug life" as being bad ass. Much the same as most white kids wore black leather jackets, slicked their hair back and acted all cocky in the 50s/60s.
Some kids just want to be "hard" - and they will adhere to whatever the current fad is.
- dangerding, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7because white kids don't listen to hip hop and identify with black culture...
- dangerding, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5a little more comprehensive article: http://www.scifislacker.com/books/marvelous-effect-by-troy-cle.shtml
as an aside: I unfortunately knew that the comments related to this story were going to be bad - but I didn't expect it to get to this level. I'm all for jokes and mocking stereotypes where appropriate , but come on people: it's 2007, not 1947.
How many dumbass, uniformed bigoted racists exist on digg?
Shouldn't we as a society be beyond this by now? People are just people, regardless of skin color - our differences make life worth living.
for the record: I just preordered it: http://www.amazon.com/Marvelous-Effect-World/dp/141693958X?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176902263&sr=8-7
Sounds like a great book - even for a middle-class white kid like me.- punx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Dude, you obviously haven't been on digg long...it's going to get much worse
- dangerding, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3been on digg since the beginning - I knew it was coming... still makes me disappointed and discouraged though
- inhaler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9"Shouldn't we as a society be beyond this by now? People are just people, regardless of skin color - our differences make life worth living."
The only reason this book is getting any publicity is BECAUSE it's a superficial spin on a hackneyed genre of literature using a black kid. That's about it. Take the same situation, replace the main character as any other uniform, generic coming of age protagonist, and I doubt we'd even have heard about this. Sounds like the same bland ***** we've been reading for years ("This story is a megadramatic, remarkably true, super action fantasy. Get ready!" -Editorial Review), just using, as I said it before, someone of an ethnicity outside the primary demographic of sci-fi readers/writers.
If the author was trying to break down walls with new material, why cast the main character so stereotypically: "He loves listening to hip-hop, racing radio-controlled cars, and hanging out with his best friend, Brandon." The author mentioned that in his own childhood he played classical piano, so why pander to a modern preconception of what black kids like to do?
Sounds like Blaxploitation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaxploitation) has hit literature. - dangerding, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3good argument.
I don't like the "Blaxploitation" of african-american culture either, however, if a series of books can be written from the point of view of that the author brings and can inspire kids to read and possibly give them aspirations of an alternative lifestyle to the portrayal of excess and exploitation presented by MTV on a daily basis - I am all for that.
publicity based around a "black harry potter" may indeed be *****, but if the story is as good and engaging as the Harry Potter series, at least some good may come from it. - inhaler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Thinking about it now, it might not be the author that's pushing the title as a "black harry potter" piece. It could very well be his publicist, or the site that wrote the editorial, and while the sales pitch leaves a bad taste in my mouth, I can forsee some good that could come along from this (you don't see alot of black kids reading sci-fi, or playing dungeons and dragons for instance). If it encourages kids to try something that they might not have felt comfortable about doing, activities that are counter culture to the urban-hip hop expectations set by MTV (like you said), then yeah, there is deffinately some good that comes from it. Just seems like a ***** way to go about it. Here's hoping though it's not a piece of mediocre fiction just pushed because of the marketing posibilities.
- dangerding, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2publicists are always going to whore this kind of stuff.
regardless, yes: here's to hoping... - jtcalhoun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Thank you, posters in this thread, for injecting decent conversation into this otherwise sea of overwhelming ignorance.
- Ibox, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7No one would buy it.
- socokoolaid, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Looks dumb. When it fails, I bet people say its cause the character is black.
- giddieon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Well for me personally would not have read it... no that is not what I am trying to say... I would not relate to it as well...
it would be hard for me to like it as much... - milkham, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Malcolm Jamal-Warner is a big name now?
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