DH Audiobook & Hermione

[lightofdaye]

So I've been following up my listening to the Half Blood Prince audio book with listening to Stephen Fry read Deathly Hallows, and while I'm not usually one to go for the "lol wand = penis" thing, this quote out of context did make me snigger:

"No wonder I can't get it out, Hermione, you packed my old jeans, they're tight"

Plot bunny for anyone who's actually capable of writing right now: Hermione likes seeing Ron in tight jeans but it causes problems later.

---

The other thing I've been noticing, that i'd seen commented on before and not really seen when reading to the books; is how different Hermione seems. As it she quite frequently seems to panic, or mess up or just plain burst into tears. I've only reached the bit where they're talking to Kreacher at Grimmauld place but still.

I don't know whether its supposed to show that Harry's the real hero and not her, or show that she's not coping as well with out the safety net of dumbledore/being at school, or just its done inadvertently while showing off how's Ron is now trying to be sensitive and supportive and all that jazz.

But it does strike me as weird.

Comments

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

LOL! That quote is awesome.

Hermione panics, messes up, and bursts into tears throughout all the books. It's sad what Steve Kloves did to the deliciously real, human character that JKR wrote. I was discussing Hermione with bitchet the other day, and I thought she had some interesting things to say about Hermione's imperfections — mainly how fandom (and Kloves, though she didn't say it) feels the need to make Hermione a Strong Female Character, when her less-than-appealing qualities are what make her so compelling to write fanfic about.

[lightofdaye]

I dunno. Like i said, she seems to be doing it noticeably more often in this book that the previous ones. Where she manages quite comfortably through thinks like daring time travel escapades and the invasion of ministry, and the battle at the astronomy tower with narry a hiccup.

This was a bit that really stood out; "Hermione crouched on the floor by the door with her arms over her head" That's her reaction the dust-dumbledore's appearance when they first get to grimmauld place and while Harry and Ron are implied to be scared, they're not 'cower helplessly on the floor' scared.

You're right in much, I'm trying the mentally put Hermione into a 'strong female character' but I'm not sure why you're implying that that means she had to be literally perfect. Strong Characters of any gender have flaws, that what makes them strong characters rather that cyphers, but like I said it just seems to me that they've become a lot more pronounced in this book.

Ugh. I hate thinking that I might be remembering the films better than the books though.

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

Ah yeah, I remember that scene. It felt believable and in-character to me, considering the circumstances. Actually, I thought that was one of the more frightening moments in the books. They don't know where to go or who to trust, and then, just when they think they're in a safe place, they're suddenly confronted by the malicious spectre of a person for whom they're still grieving.

When I think of a what audiences deem a 'Strong Female Character,' I think of movie!Hermione. She's smart, kickass, witty, and basically a caricature of a real woman. She's not really allowed to have flaws, or if she does, they must be justifiable flaws. She's not allowed to panic or cry at the drop of a hat, which we see Hermione do throughout the series.

You know, I really enjoyed Hermione in the first two movies. It wasn't until PoA that she became that caricature. They even started prettying her up in PoA. I have to wonder how much of this was due to the original movie!Hermione not coming across as nice or strong or accessible enough to audiences.

[nutmeg-44.livejournal.com]

This is interesting because it did annoy me a lot in the films, particularly after PoA. I have problems with the fact that Hermione seems to be the 'perfect female' in the movies when her character is practically dripping in flaws and unsavory (for want of a better word) character traits. I rather prefer the book!Hermione who was more rounded and balanced.

Another thing I hated was that Kloves spent too much time shipping Harry/Hermione, so much so that when the time comes to ship Ron/Hermione to keep with canon it seems forced and rushed.

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

Yes! They are almost two different characters, and I much prefer the book version. I see unsavory character traits in book!Hermione as well. The "SNITCH" thing stands out in my mind as particularly callous, as does the part where she leads Umbridge to the centaurs. And she's fairly venomous towards Ron throughout the series. Book!Hermione doesn't have much of a filter. That gets toned down in the movies.

I wonder how much of the Harry/Hermione shipping was also geared towards pleasing movie audiences.

[nutmeg-44.livejournal.com]

While reading (and rereading) the books it kept surprising me how more and more extreme some of Hermione's unsavory traits became. That SNEAK thing was one of her more extreme acts. Based on her single-minded determination and the rather vicious means she employs to accomplish her goals brings to mind a young Umbridge. I could easily see Hermione being as extreme as Umbridge in adulthood.

I suppose that's why Kloves was shipping Harry/Hermione so hard but it was just one of the many little irritations that the Writer/Director's do when they try to give their interpretation rather than a proper adaptation. That Patil twins in Gryffindor thing still grates on my nerves, especially when there are random extras walking around in Ravenclaw robse/ties. Just a pet peeve.

[lightofdaye]

The sneak thing is remarkable to me in that, it's mentioned in HBP that it's still there the following year. It's permanent. Now originally it seemed nasty but at least logical; if someone betrays your secret group you need to know who it was and who you can trust.

Never lifting it is just plain malicious.

Yeah, the shipping thing was obvious, and silly. Like the ending of both HBP and Dh seeming to end focusing on Harry and Hermione with Ron in the background. I really was wondering if there were even going to end up with Ron/Hermione at all.

It'd forgotten they'd made Padma a gryffindor. They're also not identical but i guess there may not have been identical twin indian actress available for minor rolls. There's also the weird thing with Lavender Brown when they changed her from a black girl to a blonde when it became time for her role to be expanded in HBP.

[nutmeg-44.livejournal.com]

Hermione can be quite malicious whenshe thinks her way is the right way. I even look at the scene in PoA when she turns in the Firebolt to McGonagall just because she feels it's the right thing.

The uniform thing annoyed me the most because there was no shortage of Ravenclaw uniforms walking around in the background. There was no reason that detail couldn't be canon. Little things like that really annoy me with adaptations. Big detail changes I can understand because it might be difficult or expensive to pull off but the little things are just unnecessary and borderline disrespectful to the reader/viewer.

[lightofdaye]

Eh. I wouldn't say the firebolt thing was malicious. she didn't do it because of any ill-will towards Harry just that she thought she was looking out for him. And that was basically the sensible assumption. Which most often seems to be the case.

[nutmeg-44.livejournal.com]

Ok, I concede. It wasn't malicious but it was just another time when Hermione does whatever she wants just because she thinks it the right way, regardless of what anyone else thinks. In this case she was right but she does that 'my way, no highway option' thing too much.

[lightofdaye]

You're right about Hermione though. Even when people don't agree with her, she just nags and nags and nags them to try and get them to do what she wants.

Though Harry;s a bit like that too. i'm trying to remember any examples of actual compromise between them.

Actually---

[nevrafire.livejournal.com]

Rowling said in an Interview that the SNEAK thing Would fade out over time.

"Q: Did mariettas pimply formation ever fade?"

J.K. Rowling: Eventually, but it left a few scars. I loathe a traitor!

so yeah It isn't as Bad as everyone in Fandom makes it out to be- Horrible thing to do yes; but not OMG Hermione disfigured her face FOREVER! D:

[nutmeg-44.livejournal.com]

While reading (and rereading) the books it kept surprising me how more and more extreme some of Hermione's unsavory traits became. That SNEAK thing was one of her more extreme acts. Based on her single-minded determination and the rather vicious means she employs to accomplish her goals brings to mind a young Umbridge. I could easily see Hermione being as extreme as Umbridge in adulthood.

I suppose that's why Kloves was shipping Harry/Hermione so hard but it was just one of the many little irritations that the Writer/Director's do when they try to give their interpretation rather than a proper adaptation. That Patil twins in Gryffindor thing still grates on my nerves, especially when there are random extras walking around in Ravenclaw robse/ties. Just a pet peeve.

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

Based on her single-minded determination and the rather vicious means she employs to accomplish her goals brings to mind a young Umbridge. I could easily see Hermione being as extreme as Umbridge in adulthood.

I have thought this many times. Especially if she thinks something is for the greater good, she's ruthless.

On Hermione = Umbridge

[nevrafire.livejournal.com]

I don't know how biased that comment is/isn't....

But I would think that The War and seeing the Muggle registrating trials and being tortured by Bellatrix,etc would probably soften Hermione a lot.

I mean she learned that her approach to dealing with House Elves was... wrongly approached? (at least that's how I interpret it)

Plus being wrong about the Hallows... So I think her head might have deflated a bit and her viciousness cut back a bit.

Re: On Hermione = Umbridge

[nutmeg-44.livejournal.com]

Well sure, after all those things Hermione could have some personal growth but at the point when she does those things in the books she could have easily grown into an Umbridge-like character who uses extreme measures to get what she wants in the name of the greater good - based on whatever her greater good is.

EDIT for typos due to stupid Kindle autocorrect.

on movie portayals

[nevrafire.livejournal.com]

While I'm not ready to jump on the Kloves defender bandwagon (still mad about Him giving Hermione-s ron line in PoA "if you want to kill harry, you'll have to kill us too!" and the way tooo long and explicit Horcrux kiss *GRRRR*

I think All characters got overly simplified for the movies-- The Dursleys are more cartoonish than awful, Molly Weasley is not such a "when she's mad run for cover", Snape is not as much nasty git, Ginny lost her nasty temper,etc,etc,etc

Partly is Kloves fault, partly is the fact than in the movies they simplified it a lot- as opposed to flesh it out like they would have been able to do in a tv show.

and I might be a weird exception but while I could clearly see Kloves sprinkling HHr all over the movies- there were certain scenes that came across as rather more friend-ship-y to me.
(I personally saw the dance scene as one of them, but I know most fandom utterly disagrees with me)

and I personally always saw the Ron/Hermione-ness in the movies- both in Big and small ways-- and personally think that Romione was relatively well done and not that forced or Rushed (as opposed to Harry/Ginny which WAS REALLY Blatantly Forced And rushed and twisted up because they cut out 90% of the Harry/Ginny-ness from the books )

Re: on movie portayals

[nutmeg-44.livejournal.com]

I know they have to condense to fit but so many crucial details were left out or altered that it annoyed me. The Harry/Ginny romance was so rubbish. They ignored Ginny for the whole series then shove her at Harry at the last minute and they somehow have this epic romance.