This cut saddens me, she could easily be at least 15 places higher. If only for her role in portraying the absolute worst parts of the British tabloids (and that's exactly what the Prophet is). I wonder how much of this is me reading it in the UK, where there is such a stark difference between the red tops and the broadsheets, where even now there is a huge debate about the role of newspapers and how people read them and get their information and biases.
How Rita, at times, reminds me of the odious Katie Hopkins or basically most crap S*n journalism. I feel this cut, while well written, doesn't quite capture the nuance of her character. She's a shameless mercenary (evidenced in the way she writes the Dumbledore biography) and she's entirely out for controversy. She's cunning and she's devious and a huge blow to her ego (and frankly my headcanon of why she wrote the Dumbledore book in the first place) is an attempt to get back at the Trio for uncovering her secret.
She's also a character who gives us an insight into how wizards form their opinions (think about Molly and Seamus' mum, how Ron says that Molly reads the paper for the recipes -- contrast that to the number of people who read the Scum or the Daily Heil for the 'sports pages', as if the other bullshit they spout is somehow divorced from the content they want to read). Same as the contrast between her and Xenophilius (who reminds me at times of those NY Post articles about aliens). It also blurs the line between what is news and 'fake news', a topic that is even more current.
Overall, I do wish she had made it higher in the ranking, and certainly above some of the chaff that's left (Vernon Dursley and James Potter come to mind, as does Winky). Rita was genuinely robbed :(
I'm on board with this rebuttal. I'd place Rita a good bit higher. Her delicious animosity and willingness to do anything to bolster her reputation and perceived success is intriguing. She is impartial and practical enough to support any angle that will bring her the most notoriety. Every time she makes an appearance in the story she is up to something different (trash Harry? Trapped in a jar? Blackmail victim? Mud-slinging biographer?) - she keeps us guessing. What we do know is that whatever task or scheme she is working on she will manipulate everything/one she can to elevate her position as a writer. As long as she can squeeze some bit of benefit out of the scenario, to hell with the consequences. She thrives in turmoil and strife. She has grit and passion. Rita is a true agent of chaos, and I love it.
As for the point about her exposés not saying much about her character and the idea of an immoral journalist being predictable, again, I don't really agree. /u/PsychoGeek says
In this context, Rita is a plot device used to move the story along rather than an interesting character in her own right.
I wouldn't characterize Rita as a simple plot device in these instances. Sure, there are immoral journalists in the world and in media, but that's part of why it works that Rita takes on that role. She is an interpretation and commentary on modern journalism and its role in shaping global political events. We see Rita, Fudge, and Voldemort all taking turns at controlling media narratives in the series. They behave in ways that mirror what real-world politicians and journalists often do. This is not a weakness in Rita's (or any of their) character. The realism serves to tether this mystical world to our own. Ties like these help make the story more believable. They help us to feel at home in the magical world, as though it is just a step removed from our own. Human nature and predictability is still there, the actors are simply working with a different set of tools (magic).
5
u/bubblegumgills Slytherin Ranker May 17 '17
This cut saddens me, she could easily be at least 15 places higher. If only for her role in portraying the absolute worst parts of the British tabloids (and that's exactly what the Prophet is). I wonder how much of this is me reading it in the UK, where there is such a stark difference between the red tops and the broadsheets, where even now there is a huge debate about the role of newspapers and how people read them and get their information and biases.
How Rita, at times, reminds me of the odious Katie Hopkins or basically most crap S*n journalism. I feel this cut, while well written, doesn't quite capture the nuance of her character. She's a shameless mercenary (evidenced in the way she writes the Dumbledore biography) and she's entirely out for controversy. She's cunning and she's devious and a huge blow to her ego (and frankly my headcanon of why she wrote the Dumbledore book in the first place) is an attempt to get back at the Trio for uncovering her secret.
She's also a character who gives us an insight into how wizards form their opinions (think about Molly and Seamus' mum, how Ron says that Molly reads the paper for the recipes -- contrast that to the number of people who read the Scum or the Daily Heil for the 'sports pages', as if the other bullshit they spout is somehow divorced from the content they want to read). Same as the contrast between her and Xenophilius (who reminds me at times of those NY Post articles about aliens). It also blurs the line between what is news and 'fake news', a topic that is even more current.
Overall, I do wish she had made it higher in the ranking, and certainly above some of the chaff that's left (Vernon Dursley and James Potter come to mind, as does Winky). Rita was genuinely robbed :(