sdn, look at this

[pastwatcher]

So apparently J.K.Rowling's speaking at my graduation.

Gah!!!

This brings me back to the usual dilemma about fantasy and sci-fi these days (I like that it's being publicized, but why does it have to be J.K. Rowling? I'm glad they decided to make a movie of The Dark is Rising, but why is it so terrible? And so on). So I'm actually happy that this is happening, though I suppose that depends on the kind of thing she says...I /did/ enjoy Harry Potter after all and I do like some of the messages it's sending even though for fantasy they're really stereotypical...but at the same time frustrated by it. I'd rather have someone like Tamora Pierce; or really I wonder how Diana Wynne Jones speaks.

Ah well--ophblekuwufu thinks it's a gateway drug, or in other words, people will start to like other fantasy more. I suppose the signs are already there what with movies being made out of The Dark Is Rising, Northern Lights (er, the Golden Compass if you weren't in Britain at the time), The Spiderwick Chronicles (though I haven't read those), Stardust and so on. So I hope she's right.

What /will/ JKR talk about? I am bad at listening to speeches--hope I actually hear this one.

Comments

[edjoesu.livejournal.com]

(You might enjoy this: http://www.countercurrents.org/arts-byatt110703.htm )

[sen-ichi-rei.livejournal.com]

I'm jealous, even if you're ambivalent. We had James Baker, who is a very contreversial politician who served in the elder Bush's administration as secretary of state, and did stuff in the Iraq war, and has said some anti-Semitic stuff. And he was a boring speaker, and if I remember correctly ended the speech with stuff about serving your country or something.

GM and I knitted during the speech, though we were knitting through all of graduation when we weren't marching around and whatnot.

(And the previous years had gotten Jodi Foster, Bono, and Kofi Anan. Why couldn't we have had Stephen Colbert?)

[tiamat360.livejournal.com]

Lowell has been protesting the choice (big shock: Lowell's complaining about something?). One of the tutors very wisely pointed out that, whatever you might think of the novels/movies/etc., J.K. Rowling has not only made herself ridiculously rich, she's kept control of the franchise the whole time, which is amazingly impressive.

[lowellboyslash.livejournal.com]

Dude, I think that's really cool. I'll be excited to hear what she says to a group of fairly mainstream (if lucky) college grads.

And yeah, I think she's doing a lot to improve fantasy/sf's image in the public eye, just by existing as a crossover--although I don't know how much that translates into an actual increase of readers in the genre. But hey, good PR is good PR.

What is "sdn"?

[ophblekuwufu.livejournal.com]

(An lj handle, I think)