A TVTropes-Centric Grievance...

[redwoodalchan]

 You know, there are times when I think TVTropes just criticizes a thing without realizing why it's a thing. The Draco in Leather Pants page for Harry Potter, for instance, is excruciating for me to read because it seems to assume the worst of everyone who liked Snape, Draco, or Slytherin and disliked one or more Gryffindors they regularly interact with. I've seen people on that site try to argue that people only ship Snape with Lily or think Lily was ever unfair to Snape because they're misogynist and think Lily should have ended up with someone who was racist toward everyone but her, or that fans of Snape were racist themselves because one person who happened to like Snape made a racist comment once that was only tangentially related to Snape in the first place (I'm not trying to argue that her comment was okay, of course, but if she's racist that's her problem and it shouldn't be treated as the problem of all Snape fans). Most likely, 99.9% of Slytherfen don't think that way at all--they probably aren't even considering "racism" when they prefer Slytherin. If my own fandom experience is to be believed, they're just sick and tired of seeing Slytherin and its inhabitants get bashed in book after book and so they feel compelled to sympathize because no one else will (I'll probably write a longer article addressing this point sometime in the future). 

I'll never understand TVTropes' approach to certain things. The notion that Rowling might have not actually represented Slytherin or her bad guys all that well never seems to cross their mind. And I don't get it--they're perfectly willing to point out how bad books like Twilight are, but you're not allowed to voice opinions on that site that differ from what the writer of Harry Potter believes, because Harry Potter is just that good? Really? 

Comments

[guardians_song]

"You know, there are times when I think TVTropes just criticizes a thing without realizing why it's a thing. "
You only SOMETIMES think this? |P

"And I don't get it--they're perfectly willing to point out how bad books like Twilight are, but you're not allowed to voice opinions on that site that differ from what the writer of Harry Potter believes, because Harry Potter is just that good? Really?"
Yeah, the inconsistent application of no-negativity is just embarrassing. I only really visit TV Tropes for Narm pages these days.

[shamanicshaymin]

It did bother me in the Harry Potter books that Slytherin was depicted as the "Evil House." Which does make me wonder. The series is 3rd-person-limited through Harry's POV, so we only see the world--and Slytherin--through his eyes, so it's likely he's prejudiced and has a very anti-Slytherin bias. But then there's the tale of the Four Founders, and only Salazar is shown as ZOMG EVIL MUST HAVE PURE BLOODS and the one being most rational, and Gryffindor is heroic and never wrong, etc. that makes me uncomfortable a bit.

Which also explains the lack of insight on Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, which still frustrates me. :/

[redwoodalchan]

It goes way beyond inconsistent application of no negativity--it's like, criticizing Harry Potter for its sloppy writing, the pastede on yay social-justice commentary, and the constant bashing of Slytherin and idolization of Gryffindor for no real reason is bad, but it's perfectly okay to criticize people who like the Slytherins (any one or collectively) and insist that their love of the characters is rooted in racism, misogyny, or a desire to see Harry and his friends and family oppressed??

It goes to show how prevalent herd mentality is on TVTropes. Harry Potter is super-mega-popular and better than the average children's book, and so it can do no wrong and if you disagree with any part of it, that's your fault and nothing whatsoever to do with the books themselves.

[guardians_song]

*No-negativity-towards-the-canon.

TV Tropes is a completely-bonkers mob. On the bright side, it's one you can scare off by reading aloud Pokédex entries, so it's not a very intimidating mob...

but it's perfectly okay to criticize people who like the Slytherins (any one or collectively) and insist that their love of the characters is rooted in racism, misogyny, or a desire to see Harry and his friends and family oppressed??
Hm. I wonder if some of the HMS STFUers stampeded over to TV Tropes when the HMS STFU was shut down. That sounds like the shtick of some of the more... uptight members. *sigh*

[redwoodalchan]

They're actually a fairly easily-led mob, if you have the right leverage. For example, awhile back I revamped the Psychopathic Manchild page to organize every variation of the trope into types (A through D or E). These days people use the categories I set up like they've always been there.

But that ain't the half of it. A few years ago I was a pretty huge fan of the anime "Code Geass," and my favorite character was a minor villain from the middle part of the first season. Back in the day, it was hard being a fan of the character on TVTropes, since the predominant mentality was that he was a complete psycho, and there were even a few instances in which people tried to have him marked down as a Complete Monster (which didn't take, largely on account of his VERY tragic backstory). But when I was in the fandom I corresponded on FF.net with this one lady who wrote an epic story featuring this villain in order to present him in a positive light. I made an entry on TVTropes about that fanfic because at the time I thought it was hot shit--and sure enough, opinions on the character in general began to change after it got big. Since then people seem to have gotten a lot bolder about favoring this character and presenting him sympathetically, and there have even been those who tried to argue that he's more sympathetic and heroic than the protagonists!

[guardians_song]

Huh, really? That's interesting.

Maybe you could spam TV Tropes with FanficRecs for pro-Slytherin (or at least not rabidly pro-Gryffindor) fanfics? That might sway the HP section's opinions...

[redwoodalchan]

Unfortunately, I doubt that much would happen. The page on this fanfic now contains the assurance that it's like the Draco Trilogy... except with more justification for how it treats its character! Not that it's better quality, has fewer unfortunate implications, or is just plain more in-character (it still doesn't interpret the villain the way I would, in fact)--but that it's more justified in feeling the way it does about the character. They're absolutely intolerant of anyone trying to argue that Draco is not every bit as horrible as Rowling makes him out to be, and they use the Draco in Leather Pants trope to guilt-trip people into towing that party line. The people who frequent the anime pages seem to be a lot more flexible on that score than the people who frequent the Harry Potter pages.