Those of you who have read and loved the Harry Potter series might have been let down by the final showdown between Harry and Voldemort in Book 7. Personally, that's one sequence I hope the Hollywood script writers change around when making The Deathly Hallows. However, that's not the gayest portion of the Harry Potter series.Apparently, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is gay. Easily one of the best written characters in literary history ended up batting for the other team. In fact, with friend/rival Gellert Grindelwald according to author, J.K. Rowling.
I liked Dumbledore's style. I liked how he was portrayed. I liked how such a kind and wise man was seen as a polarizing character, and even questioned after his death. There was an air of realism in that piece of writing.
I don't like this revelation by Rowling, not because I'm a homophobe, but because this kind of topic should be left far outside the realm of children's books. Rowling kept it pretty "G" rated with the kids' romantic relationships, but this couches the whole series in a queer light that is definitely mature subject matter.
The way the language and the dark and sinister magic unfolded in the series, despite growing with the children, really pushed that line of being categorized as a children's book. Now, we have an elderly, single academic serving as headmaster of a British boarding school. Some of the more obsessed fans will be speculating on a Catholic Priest-like undertone to a story that was as non-sexual as it gets.
Let's not forget that Dumbledore is a fictional character; he's not the new spokesperson for the Arcus Foundation. It doesn't need to turn into a political statement to those on the conservative right that hated Rowling's writing anyway. Having said that, those who loved this series and now find themselves souring on the whole story have the right to hold Rowling in contempt. She's got their money already, so I would imagine she doesn't care.
I think J.K. Rowling is probably the best writer of our time. Her elegant style, erudite content, and ability to transport the reader into her world and imagination is second to none, but I find her an unlikeable, disdainful, and mirthless person. I would imagine her admirers and legions of readers who made her a billionaire keep her ego far above my picayune criticisms.
The current film Dumbledore, Michael Gambon, once joked, that he "used to be gay but stopped because it made (his) eyes water." Maybe it was the same with ole' Albus.
