Orchid's Whims

I know this has already been said, but I need to get this off my chest, so here goes.

A while ago, the trailer for the Harry Potter series came out:

Something bothered me a bit. I hadn’t looked up any information about the series; I knew it was filming, but I had no idea about the cast. And what bothers me is the choice of actor for Severus Snape.

HBO, which wants to make a faithful adaptation of the books (this is an important detail for later), is adapting a book series that’s already been accused of being antisemitic and racist because of the description of goblins and the treatment of the only person of color in the book, all written by a TERF, and they choose a Black actor to play Snape, really? (Yes, I’m a little annoyed.)

Gender swapping or color swapping (or race swapping, but I don’t like that term) of characters isn’t usually something that bothers me. I even thought it was really interesting that they chose a Black woman to play the Little Mermaid or Cleopatra, and I love the new Hermione, I think she’s so cute. But in the case of Severus Snape, it’s completely different.

Yes, but you’re saying that because you’re a Harry Potter fan…

So, honestly, no. I’m not a Potterhead. I was born between the fourth and fifth books, so it’s safe to say these aren’t films from my childhood. I even find the films rather shaky in several respects, but it’s always complicated to adapt a literary saga to film. Beyond that, you have to commend Alan Rickman’s performance, which was phenomenal; it must be a huge responsibility for the actor taking on the role.

In the books, Severus Snape is described as being sickly pale (which is repeated more than once in the book) and particularly ugly.

So what’s the problem?

Paapa Essiedu, the actor who was chosen, is far from ugly; he’s actually quite handsome. Personally, I’d happily have him for a snack. (If you happen to be reading this and you’re interested, my DMs are open!)

The problem with Snape’s color swap is that Snape has a specific history that takes on a different meaning when the character becomes Black. Being Black in our civilizations with a colonial past already tells a story.

Snape’s story is that of an ugly, poor kid who was bullied by other kids, and whose main tormentor was James Potter, Harry’s father. And in one scene, he’s hanged from a tree.

Naturally, if you take that same scene but represent the victim as Black, you tell a completely different story. You go from the story of kids attacking each other because of peer pressure to a gang of racists.

Another problem is that in the first book, which the first season is supposed to adapt, the Philosopher’s Stone disappears at one point, and Harry immediately suspects Severus Snape of being responsible. By saying something like:

“I don’t know why, but I don’t trust him.”

So, with this adaptation, we end up with the story’s hero suspecting the only Black teacher at the school of being the thief…

If there was ONE character who shouldn’t have changed his skin color, it was Severus Snape. From Harry to Dumbledore, all the characters could have been Black (Hermione in the musical), but they chose the one person whose change tells a truly despicable story.

I wrote this article on a whim, sorry if I’m less cheerful than usual.

Hugs and kisses, see you soon!