HBO Race Swaps Snape In Harry Potter Series?!

00:08:46
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayPcu2y9aL8

Summary

TLDRThe video discusses the controversy surrounding the recent casting choices for the upcoming HBO series set in the Harry Potter universe, particularly concerning the decision to cast a black actor, Papa Essiedu, as Professor Snape. This has sparked backlash from fans who feel the casting strays from the original character descriptions provided by J.K. Rowling. The video further explores how such race-swapping decisions in Hollywood often occur amidst a broader push for diversity, equity, and inclusion in media. Critics argue that this approach can sometimes feel contrived or unnecessary, prompting fans to question the adherence to source material. The speaker suggests that while these adaptations might not affect the commercial success of the series, they do require fans to adjust their expectations and affect their viewing experience. This phenomenon is also seen in other adaptations like 'How to Train Your Dragon'. There is a call from some fans for original stories that reflect diverse characters rather than altering established ones.

Takeaways

  • 🎭 The new Harry Potter series has cast Papa Essiedu as Professor Snape, sparking controversy.
  • 📚 Some fans argue this casting does not align with J.K. Rowling's original character descriptions.
  • 📺 The debate highlights broader issues of diversity and inclusion in media.
  • 🎨 Critics call for original diverse characters instead of changing established ones.
  • 🎥 Similar controversies are seen in adaptations like 'How to Train Your Dragon'.
  • 🧙 Fans have mixed feelings about revisiting the Harry Potter world through the new series.
  • 🤔 Questions arise about the impact of such casting choices on the viewer experience.
  • 📖 The controversy underscores the ongoing tension between artistic adaptation and audience expectations.
  • 🔄 This instance reflects the broader Hollywood trend towards diversity and inclusivity.
  • ✍️ J.K. Rowling's involvement has not shielded the series from casting criticism.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:08:46

    The video discusses the controversy surrounding the casting choices in an upcoming HBO Harry Potter series, particularly focusing on the decision to cast a black actor, Papa Aidou, as Professor Snape. The speaker acknowledges the uproar from fans who feel this casting moves away from J.K. Rowling's original character descriptions, which portrayed Snape with specific physical attributes. The argument revolves around whether these choices are driven by a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion in Hollywood or a disregard for source material. The speaker notes the recurring pattern of race swapping in recent productions and suggests that diversity could instead be achieved by creating new roles for actors of color. The speaker expresses a nuanced view on the matter, recognizing the challenge of adapting beloved characters while balancing cultural sensitivities. They express less concern about fictional depictions than about historical ones being altered. The speaker ends by inviting viewers to share their opinions, acknowledging they aren't deeply versed in the Harry Potter universe.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What is the controversy about in the Harry Potter casting?

    The controversy is about race-swapping the character of Professor Snape for diversity and inclusion.

  • Who is cast as Professor Snape in the new Harry Potter series?

    The role is reportedly offered to actor Papa Essiedu.

  • What is the public reaction to this casting choice?

    Many fans are upset and argue that the casting does not align with the original character description.

  • How does J.K. Rowling's participation affect the series?

    Although she's involved, the casting decisions still face backlash for not adhering to the original character descriptions.

  • Is this the only instance of race-swapping in recent adaptations?

    No, similar changes have occurred in other adaptations, such as 'How to Train Your Dragon.'

  • What do some fans suggest about the new Harry Potter series?

    Some fans feel it's too soon for a remake and are skeptical of changes deviating from the original books.

  • Does the speaker believe this will affect the series' success?

    The speaker thinks it may not affect the show's success but could change fans' experiences.

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  • 00:00:00
    all right guys we're back and we're
  • 00:00:01
    having another race swapping
  • 00:00:02
    conversation I feel like this
  • 00:00:03
    controversy pops up every now and then
  • 00:00:05
    and we have to unpack yet another
  • 00:00:06
    character that has been swapped out for
  • 00:00:08
    the sake of diversity equity and
  • 00:00:09
    inclusion and today we're doing it in
  • 00:00:11
    the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
  • 00:00:13
    there's a lot of pissed off people about
  • 00:00:15
    this next one now of course this
  • 00:00:17
    pertains to the HBO streaming series
  • 00:00:18
    that's coming out soon about Harry
  • 00:00:20
    Potter we all know that JK Rowling has
  • 00:00:22
    been working very closely with the
  • 00:00:23
    creative team that is working on this
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    project although I don't know what her
  • 00:00:26
    role is in the casting HBO recently came
  • 00:00:29
    out in defended did her work on this
  • 00:00:30
    project saying despite her personal
  • 00:00:32
    political beliefs hom girl is going to
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    be working on the show because we kind
  • 00:00:36
    of need the author but if they needed
  • 00:00:38
    the author maybe they would reference
  • 00:00:41
    the original Source material when it
  • 00:00:42
    comes to the description of characters
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    apparently they've decided to just
  • 00:00:46
    ignore that I guess in this casting
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    announcement now this has to do with the
  • 00:00:51
    character seus Snape you know Professor
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    Snape he's kind of this dark figure uh
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    in the Harry Potter World when we first
  • 00:01:00
    get introduced to him in in movie number
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    one and of course if you're Harry Potter
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    book fans we're about to briefly get
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    into his description here but it seems
  • 00:01:08
    as though this role has been offered to
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    uh an actor by the name of Papa aidu I
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    hope I said his name right sorry Papa
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    and this announcement has come out and
  • 00:01:18
    it's getting a lot of responses of
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    course people are saying I know what SE
  • 00:01:22
    Snape looks like I know that professor
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    and I don't think that he's a a black
  • 00:01:27
    man and it's not to come after this
  • 00:01:29
    actor in any any way shape or form it
  • 00:01:31
    seems like he has a pretty lengthy set
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    of work I can imagine he's a good actor
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    and he's going to take on this role and
  • 00:01:38
    try to the best of his abilities to be
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    loyal to the source material and to put
  • 00:01:43
    on a good show for everybody who's going
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    to watch but it's interesting to see
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    these changes being made as we've been
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    living in the Hollywood that has focused
  • 00:01:51
    itself on diversity equity and inclusion
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    for quite some time and it's hard to
  • 00:01:55
    believe that this race swap is not a
  • 00:01:57
    part of the culture that's been placed
  • 00:02:00
    and and poured onto entertainment over
  • 00:02:03
    the last few years now for those of you
  • 00:02:05
    who are unfamiliar with the original
  • 00:02:06
    description of what Professor Snape is
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    meant to look like we actually have this
  • 00:02:12
    uh from the Harry Potter books JK's
  • 00:02:14
    description says thin man with salow
  • 00:02:16
    skin a large hooked nose and yellow
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    uneven teeth he had shoulder length
  • 00:02:19
    greasy black hair which framed his face
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    in curtains curling lips and dark
  • 00:02:23
    penetrating eyes that resembled tunnels
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    and you even have you know that little
  • 00:02:28
    cartoon animated version of SE Snape and
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    you know it's not really working out I
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    don't know how exactly you get a
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    shoulder length greasy black hair on the
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    actor that they've presumably offered
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    this role to but I'm interested to see
  • 00:02:44
    where they go I can understand people
  • 00:02:46
    being a little perturbed by this race
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    Swap and it does feel a little
  • 00:02:51
    unnecessary to the best of my knowledge
  • 00:02:53
    within the Harry Potter World and in the
  • 00:02:55
    source material there are black
  • 00:02:57
    characters and it is actually spoken
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    about in the book they are directly
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    referenced and described as being black
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    so it's interesting that they've taken
  • 00:03:04
    Professor Snape and deciding to swap him
  • 00:03:07
    out I saw a lot of people in the talks
  • 00:03:09
    of this Harry Potter series say Adam
  • 00:03:11
    Driver Adam Driver Adam Driver he's the
  • 00:03:14
    one who's meant to be separ Snape he
  • 00:03:16
    looks like him he has the same Vibe we
  • 00:03:18
    all know Adam Driver is an immensely
  • 00:03:20
    talented actor but instead they've
  • 00:03:23
    decided to do this and this is not the
  • 00:03:24
    only story that people have been talking
  • 00:03:26
    about recently in recent news How to
  • 00:03:29
    Train Your Dragon has also popped up the
  • 00:03:31
    main character ashd or the main female
  • 00:03:33
    character has been race swapped and is
  • 00:03:36
    now being played by the actress who you
  • 00:03:38
    see here and of course she's talented
  • 00:03:41
    I'm sure she's wonderful I saw her in
  • 00:03:42
    the last of us she put on a great
  • 00:03:44
    performance that being said why can't
  • 00:03:46
    actresses like that get their own
  • 00:03:48
    characters that are written in their
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    likeness and it's not to attack people
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    of color or to say they shouldn't be
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    given opportunities it is simply to say
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    I read a book once and I was imagining
  • 00:04:01
    the way this character looked in fact I
  • 00:04:03
    was told exactly what this character
  • 00:04:05
    looked like and in in the sense of Harry
  • 00:04:07
    Potter and how to train your dragon
  • 00:04:09
    there is a world built around these
  • 00:04:11
    characters that is also hinting maybe a
  • 00:04:14
    little bit of a a certain race and maybe
  • 00:04:17
    I should look into that and think what
  • 00:04:19
    do those characters look like and most
  • 00:04:21
    importantly how have they been described
  • 00:04:22
    to me and when we are reading books and
  • 00:04:24
    and works of of fiction and non-fiction
  • 00:04:27
    we are building these characters in our
  • 00:04:30
    brains and when you see the casting and
  • 00:04:32
    it is in no way shape or form what you
  • 00:04:34
    predicted and it's also not motivated by
  • 00:04:37
    anything genuine it's motivated by this
  • 00:04:39
    massive push within Hollywood fight for
  • 00:04:41
    this fabricated diversity equity and
  • 00:04:43
    inclusion it makes you feel a little bit
  • 00:04:46
    off and I don't think it's going to
  • 00:04:47
    impact how well this show does it's just
  • 00:04:49
    to say that as a fan watching it you're
  • 00:04:51
    going to have to suspend your your
  • 00:04:52
    disbelief a little bit or get used to
  • 00:04:55
    something that you haven't been used to
  • 00:04:57
    because you were used to the actual
  • 00:04:59
    source material but that's the
  • 00:05:01
    unfortunate world that we're living in
  • 00:05:03
    now where Hollywood takes on something
  • 00:05:06
    says that they respect the source
  • 00:05:07
    material and then tries to switch it as
  • 00:05:10
    much as they possibly can whilst getting
  • 00:05:12
    by and making sure that they maintain
  • 00:05:14
    their numbers and if they can inject a
  • 00:05:15
    little bit of ideology into it they will
  • 00:05:17
    also do that and I think a lot of people
  • 00:05:19
    thought with this Harry Potter series
  • 00:05:21
    because JK rling is working so closely
  • 00:05:22
    on it that they wouldn't have to deal
  • 00:05:24
    with those issues she seems pretty
  • 00:05:26
    reasonable in in her personal life and
  • 00:05:28
    in her online takes when it comes to
  • 00:05:29
    culture and politics and they thought
  • 00:05:32
    maybe she wasn't going to have this
  • 00:05:33
    happen on her project but alas it has
  • 00:05:37
    happened we don't know with whether or
  • 00:05:39
    not it's happened with her green light
  • 00:05:40
    or or not but here it is and if you're
  • 00:05:42
    really caught on the Race part of of
  • 00:05:44
    this argument I'll give you another
  • 00:05:45
    example that has nothing to do with race
  • 00:05:48
    a really big box office movie that came
  • 00:05:49
    out recently was it ends with us this
  • 00:05:52
    was based on the Colleen Hoover film
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    women and young women in particular were
  • 00:05:56
    really excited to watch this romance
  • 00:05:58
    that was also about domestic violence
  • 00:06:00
    play out on screen and they were waiting
  • 00:06:02
    for the characters Lily bro Bloom and uh
  • 00:06:05
    Riley or Riley's whatever his name is
  • 00:06:08
    now when they saw the casting come out
  • 00:06:10
    they realized this is not at all what I
  • 00:06:12
    thought lily bloom looked like it is not
  • 00:06:14
    at all what I thought riy look like and
  • 00:06:16
    it's just something that when you go to
  • 00:06:18
    the theater you have to
  • 00:06:20
    go that's not what I was expecting but
  • 00:06:23
    now I have to accept this and uh go
  • 00:06:25
    about my business if I want to consume
  • 00:06:27
    this piece of media and that's exactly
  • 00:06:29
    what's happening here and not only is it
  • 00:06:32
    just something that the audience now has
  • 00:06:34
    to get over it's not exactly fair to the
  • 00:06:36
    actors that you're placing in this role
  • 00:06:39
    one you're placing them in controversy
  • 00:06:41
    um whether or not you believe that
  • 00:06:42
    controversy is rightful or not is is on
  • 00:06:45
    you I I can't uh you know change that
  • 00:06:48
    opinion for you I can only tell you how
  • 00:06:49
    I feel but on top of that there are
  • 00:06:52
    roles that are created with this
  • 00:06:55
    person's likeness with their talent with
  • 00:06:57
    their ability and if want diversity
  • 00:07:00
    equity and inclusion maybe we should
  • 00:07:01
    just start creating things that are
  • 00:07:03
    diverse and uh inclusive and Equitable
  • 00:07:06
    although I don't agree with that but if
  • 00:07:07
    that's what you want do it create it
  • 00:07:10
    make it and then cast characters in
  • 00:07:13
    those roles instead of putting them in
  • 00:07:16
    the hot seat and casting them with a
  • 00:07:18
    character that they don't fit the
  • 00:07:20
    description of and when it comes to
  • 00:07:22
    Harry Potter and the discourse around
  • 00:07:23
    this streaming series I saw a lot of
  • 00:07:24
    Fans Say please don't even make it I
  • 00:07:26
    don't need to see this it's too soon
  • 00:07:28
    you're going to make all these changes
  • 00:07:30
    and then another set of fans said you
  • 00:07:31
    know what this is an opportunity to get
  • 00:07:34
    deeper into the Harry Potter World we
  • 00:07:35
    can learn more we can expand on parts of
  • 00:07:38
    the books that we didn't quite get to
  • 00:07:40
    see in the movies and now I think that
  • 00:07:42
    second set of fans is feeling a little
  • 00:07:44
    bit of regret and I will say I feel less
  • 00:07:46
    strongly about this than I do about
  • 00:07:49
    people who are claiming to give
  • 00:07:50
    historical depictions of certain people
  • 00:07:52
    that actually existed and then
  • 00:07:54
    completely race swapping or gender
  • 00:07:57
    swapping them and I think there's a
  • 00:07:58
    gradient on these issues when we are
  • 00:08:01
    confronted with them when we see them
  • 00:08:03
    and particularly with entertainment that
  • 00:08:05
    we have you know a soft spot in our
  • 00:08:07
    heart for and we've liked and we've
  • 00:08:10
    grown up on and I think that's what
  • 00:08:12
    people are experiencing with this new
  • 00:08:13
    Harry Potter streaming series and I
  • 00:08:15
    completely understand it so those are my
  • 00:08:18
    thoughts let me know down below I have
  • 00:08:20
    not read the Harry Potter books I've
  • 00:08:21
    only seen a few of the movies so I'm not
  • 00:08:24
    deeply entrenched in this world if you
  • 00:08:26
    are how do you feel about this Sous
  • 00:08:28
    Snape casting do do you like it do you
  • 00:08:30
    dislike it and tell me exactly why as
  • 00:08:33
    always if you disagree with anything I
  • 00:08:34
    said in this video do get outp put you
  • 00:08:35
    so respectfully and if you like this
  • 00:08:37
    video like subscribe click the
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    notification Bell to be notified every
  • 00:08:40
    single time I post a video for you guys
  • 00:08:41
    which is every day and I will see you
  • 00:08:44
    tomorrow bye guys
Tags
  • Harry Potter
  • race-swapping
  • diversity
  • Hollywood
  • J.K. Rowling
  • Professor Snape
  • casting controversy