Perceptions of Poverty in Geek Culture: A Weasley Case Study

Pop culture has a weird relationship with poverty. You’d think that geek culture would be pretty good at portraying poverty; we’re seeing more and more strides towards inclusivity and greater representation of all people from all backgrounds. Yet socio-economic issues are heavily charged with politics, and our political beliefs shape the way we perceive reality. They shape the kinds of pop culture media we create, and as David Wong’s recent Cracked article explains, popular culture doesn’t seem to believe that actual, real-world poverty really exists, just a sort of nebulous feeling of being poor while occupying the middle class, and actual financial consequences of a character’s actions aren’t ever really addressed. Most of the time, shows don’t even acknowledge any of the consequences of property damage, let alone address the financial ones. We’re happy when the superhero defeats the monster, but who’s going to pick up the tab now that the city looks like it’s been bombed?

This real lack of proper representation of what it means to live in poverty in our media is at least partially responsible for many political biases against the poor, especially among young people. To put it generally, the influence of pop culture makes younger people more likely to embrace the idea that the poor just need to work harder in order to be not poor, because being not poor is the ultimate goal.

Now, there are a lot of tangled, complex issues when it comes to poverty and its portrayal in geek culture. I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot recently, all because of a specific example I came across and previously wrote about. So to show you what I’m talking about, I’m going to show you how that example both supports and fights negative perceptions of poverty in geek culture. Who am I talking about? The Weasley family from the Harry Potter series.

Fanfiction Fridays: Hogwarts School of Prayer and Miracles ) by proudhousewife

MadameAce: So for those of you who haven’t yet seen it in all its glory, there is now a Christian-safe version of Harry Potter that you can enjoy. Our author, proudhousewife, wanted her children to be able to read Harry Potter, without the fear that the story would turn them into Satanic witches. And let’s face it: this is a pretty legitimate fear. After I read the first couple books, I immediately bought myself a wand and ran around screaming “Avada Kedavra” at people. Clearly, the devil has taken hold of my soul.

My face when I first realized that.

If only there had been a Christian-friendly version of the books I could have read back then. One that preferably condescends to small children, teaches girls that being both beautiful and in the kitchen is what glorifies God, insinuates that non-Christians and Catholics are incapable of love and achieving salvation, and tells us that evolutionists are stupid.

Hagrid laughed wisely. “Evolution is a fairytale. You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“Yes, I do!” Aunt Petunia screeched.

“Well then prove it!”

Aunt Petunia could only stare at him; and her big mouth hung open dumbly. Here she thought she was so educated; and she always demanded that Christians prove what they believed in; but she couldn’t even prove her own religion. It was then that Harry knew who the smart one here was!

Oh, thank goodness. All these years, I believed in evolution. I now know how wrong I was!

I have no idea whether Hogwarts School of Prayer and Miracles )—yes, there is actually a half parentheses in its title for some reason—is a parody or genuine. I’m also not sure that I care. I have finally seen the light.

In Brightest Day: Homesickness

A common theme that pops up in fiction is the idea of homesickness. It’s a feeling that we’ve all probably felt at some point. When I went to college, I spent two weeks hiding in my bed and going to class, nothing more. I did the same thing when I moved from my small town to the big city of Pittsburgh.

When I think about how I dealt with my homesickness, I realize that homesickness can be considered a form of temporary depression. But for the heroes of works of fiction, it seems to be more of a driving force to succeed.

In Brightest Day: Ronald B. Weasley

Ron’s a ginger, just like the rest of his Muggle-loving family.

Now that that’s out of the way…