3min chapter

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In conversation with John Vervaeke and Christopher Mastropietro #4: Reinventing Art

Parallax

CHAPTER

The Interplay of Art, Virtue, and Process

This chapter delves into the significance of the creative process over the final product, examining the intertwined nature of art, virtue, and wisdom. The speakers celebrate the transformative power of dialogue and shared experiences in artistic exploration, ending on a note of camaraderie.

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Speaker 1
That's so real, Meg though. Like you popped off at that one. Honestly, it's. Yeah. That's what I feel. I know it's just, it's a gift. Honestly, Meg, you just like have the best takes and the best one liners. My collection of head cannons. So did anyone else have like a Harry Potter Pinterest board where they like saved or like your tumbler? I did on tumbler too. Where you like saved or reblogged your head cannons. I'm sure you can find mine out there. Reblogged a lot of spicy and weird takes, I'm sure. Well, I wanted to be sure before we get into wrapping up this episode to give some love to fandom forward and leaky con as organizations that are largely female led that are doing great work in fandom. So fandom forward is actually formerly known as the Harry Potter Alliance. It is not exclusively led by women. It also wasn't founded by women, but many of its leaders at this point are women and non-binary people. It was initially founded to raise awareness about the genocide happening in Sudan in 2006. But fandom forward now focuses on making activism accessible for everyone and is committed to LGBTQIA equality, gender equity, youth advocacy, racial justice, education and libraries, media reform and climate change. They have really extended the reach of the issues that they focus on. I love that they have a focus on making advocacy accessible and sustainable for people to be part of so that they can allow their creativity and their participation in fandom to also have a positive impact in some of these other issue areas. Tell us about leaky con, Chloe. Oh, well, Melissa, Anelli obviously started leaky con and we know her, but it's run by a woman and has a majority woman team and you're also going to see Meg and I there. So shout out leaky con. Look, you've gone through it. I've never been to Portland before. I know we're going to be roomies. We're going to have a sleepover. It's going to be so much fun. I'm anticipating a lot of really fun TikToks and like fun pics for the social Maggie is willing to do that. I'm happy to do it. The content will be good. Absolutely. You're such a good sport, Meg, because I am the bane of Chloe's existence because... No, you're not. No, you're not. I love you to death. The feeling is mutual for sure, but like I'm very much the roomie who would be like, no, we are not recording a TikTok. I am not doing roomies. And then I would be like, okay, I'm doing it alone then. Yeah, you and Andrew, man, you're like, no pictures, please. No paparazzi. Thank you so much. No can do. Micah and Eric are such good sports about it. Yeah, they are. And I really, really, really appreciate it. Especially Eric. He's like, oh yeah, you want a picture? Absolutely. And they're like, I love it. So it's always fun. Last weekend they filmed a little leaky-con teaser. I held the camera. I know. I love it. Oh, I bet the camera work is impeccable, Meg. I'll pay very close attention to that. There was one moment where I was not paying attention and I fell off the curb, so it shakes a bit. But other than that, it's real good. No, that's good though. That's character. That's character. I was glad they were together. And the second I saw them together, I hit them with a send-pix. Well, to bring us home on the second installment of Girls Take Over Muggle Cast, I wanted to chat briefly about where the Harry Potter fandom has been successful in amplifying the voices of women and other underrepresented groups. And maybe where we think there's still some work to be done. Well, I just want, I know you guys aren't going to to your own horn here on Muggle Cast, so I'll do it for you. I think that you guys have done a really good job of bringing on women guests in the last few years specifically. I know that Andrew and I have talked about that privately because I've also said that I think it's really good that you guys do that. And he's also mentioned to me privately that if there is an open spot, you guys try to add more female voices in because everybody's well aware that there are a lot of male voices that are amplified in the fandom. So I think that's really great. And I also think it's really great that you guys have been having more BIPOC guests on. That's always going to be my soapbox because minorities are BIPOC people are just not really represented in the series. But I feel like those fans have such interesting and unique takes. And a lot of times whether it's because of the algorithm or other powers that be, I feel like those voices often don't get amplified as much as some other voices do in fandom. So yeah, I love hearing from BIPOC fans always. And their perspectives are just so valuable. So I'll extend that a bit further. And I don't like me to make you blush or anything. But I think Laura, you've been that for a lot of women. You have been that representation in the Harry Potter space and the person that they can look up to and really see themselves in. And you are always so welcoming and kind to guests and you really make them feel like a part of it. And I think that episodes where guests are on, when you're on as well, I can always tell a big difference because you make people feel just so comfortable. And I think that with a fandom that is majority woman and has been released since the beginning, you have been a huge part of making people feel comfortable. I also think like beyond women, the Harry Potter fandom and fandom space in general has been much more accepting and inclusive to the LGBT QIA plus community before it was mainstream. And I'm now thinking of like the fandom offshoots like the Marauders and like House of Black and like all these offshoots of Harry Potter that are tied that are based in queer and LGBTQIA plus representation. I'm really proud to be a part of this fandom despite the author and despite, you know, a difficult maybe history because I think that it is so inclusive and so welcoming. You feel that at in-person events, you feel that listening to Muggle cast, you feel that on Harry Potter TikTok, you feel the heart and soul that this fandom has and it is a beautiful thing to be a part of. And I'm just so grateful for it because it has brought me so much joy since I was little. And I don't think I would be the person I am today without the Harry Potter fandom and the women who are a part of it and all of you. Yeah. I mean, I go thinking I was talking about Muggle Net in 2005 and I was, you know, a teenage girl who loved Harry Potter. My friends were teenage girls who loved Harry Potter and I go on Muggle Net and listen to Muggle cast and it was primarily these boys. But then Laura was there and I was like, oh, I seen myself there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I'm gonna be crying. You just started to hear it though. Like so many people feel it. And everyone listening knows too that like it's because of you that there is a female voice on the panel, you know, like I know you've told the story many times that you said, why don't you guys have a girl on? So I mean, if you'd never done that, you see that none of them thought of it before though. Boys. It was like boys. Yeah. You're just gonna boys. I loved the Hermione moment there, Meg. Boys. I mean, in their defense, they were only a few episodes in. Yeah, it's true. Yeah, they were still getting their footing and I think they would have gotten there. But I was definitely the abrasive one in the staff forums being like, let's make sure this happens in season one. I don't know how abrasive it is to be like, hey, maybe get a woman on. I don't know. Crazy. No. Googling that as idea. But no, the price of them because like they could have just been like your psycho. Yeah. That's true. So like the environment was already welcoming to begin with to your point. So yeah. Yeah. 100% That's great. But they always were. Yeah. What am I'm curious though? What are some areas where y'all think the fandom might still have some work to do? I still just think like amplifying. I hate to say this again because I feel like. No, I knew you. I was just saying it. I didn't say it. Really? I just think that we really need to like make space for more Black creators, more Latino, Latinx creators, more Asian creators, anybody that fits in that BIPOC category. I think that those are the voices that we hardly hear from. And it sucks that a lot of times the algorithm does not favor creators that look like that. And I just love seeing more people pop up on my feed. But I know that like it happens because every time I see a creator of color talking about Harry Potter, I'm automatically like hitting the like, leaving a comment so that I see more of that. I feel like the biggest Harry Potter creators right now are BIPOC people. And it makes me really happy. Like I'm thinking of the people that come up on my 4U page all the time. And they are part of minority groups. And I think that is freaking awesome. And I think it does show how far we've come. Obviously, there's so much more work to do. And you're right. Like this fandom was started by white men. Like in my opinion, like just the big fan sites and the people that we were amplifying in the beginning. And I mean, I think that is true of anything, if I'm honest. So we have a lot of work to do in terms of making sure that women are seen and BIPOC creators are seen. And different perspectives are seen too. Like I feel like it's really important to also have diversity of thought when it comes to this fandom and not be in like a constant echo chamber. Yeah. And that's true for everything, right? I think people existing in their own personal echo chambers is just a really big problem in general right now. And I think it's something that as a fandom, we can definitely work to avoid by continuing to be more inclusive and more welcoming. So I totally agree. Also just different views about Harry Potter. Yeah. Like genuinely. Yeah. I think that's important too. Perspectives that represent the world. Because the world can't. Harry Potter, the fans are from all different backgrounds, races, genders. Yeah. I was thinking about that because I'm listening to the Harry Potter books and French right now. And just listening to the exact same like story in a different language, I get a completely different feeling. And I wonder, Pam, if you felt this like with Spanish books, it's like reading them. There's a different, you get it almost a different layer. And I'm sure that's true. Like living in different countries, reading it. I'm sure it's a very different experience for my friend, Zucanya, who is from London, reading the Harry Potter books. Like she probably gets a lot more of the nuances that we don't and like understands the schooling system and all this stuff. Just like I'm sure it's different for someone who is in Italy or wherever else. Yeah. It's for me, like part of the fun and having read the part of the series is Spanish, not all of it. Because I read a lot slower in Spanish than I do in English. It's just seeing how certain words get translated. Like I think that like for definitely how like the title, Deathly Hallows literally translates to relics of death. And like having that like, I don't know if you guys remember, I'm sure you guys remember like all the theorizing that was happening was like huge deathly hallows meant. It's like, what the heck does that mean? And it's like, but in Spanish, it makes a lot more sense. A relic of death, you can work towards some kind of like conclusion. Deathly Hallows is almost like shrouded in mystery. No, that's real. Yeah. So I think that that is really fun. But like also to that point, like just seeing like the again, like going back to like the content that's being created on spaces like TikTok. And like the way that that has really kind of added a new layer to exposing you to like fans from maybe different parts of the world that you wouldn't have interacted with or seen had you not been on a platform like that. Yeah. It's like, it's so much fun for me to see like content being made for Harry Potter in Spanish because like the jokes are different too. And I'm sure you've seen that too with like French creators, for example. One thing that really cracks me up is when I'm listening is Wanda's baguette. Yes. In French. I read the first book in French. Yeah. It is. So there's a lot of like really funny things with French that just like crackly up as someone who also speaks English because Harry's like, right? Double door is like, Ellie, don't baguette. And he's like, it's a very serious moment. That's the magic of being like an 11 inch baguette. Like that is the funniest visual. So funny. So funny. And some of the like teacher's names are like so crazy. Like Snape's name is Grog, which is like so like, she's only like, feel it, you know? Like Grog. Like even Sega, you're like, oh, you know. That's so funny. I mean, when I think of Harry Potter and French, I think of Voldemort's name being Tom Elve. Voldemort's name is Thomas Elve. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that is pretty funny. That's right. I forgot about that. The things they had to do to make it make sense in different languages. Yeah, they had to make it make sense. So it was the anagram would work. Oh, that's so funny. That's so funny. Yeah. I'm sure I think that had to, that had to be a thing in the Spanish edition too, right? I'm trying to remember. Yeah. I'm trying to think for most languages. They had to do all that. Yeah. It's probably like combinations online that you could find. Oh, and Hufflepuff, you guys. Poof, poof, poof, soof. Oh, apparently it's El Senorosguro. Oh, yeah. Oh, wait. His acronym spells El Senorosguro. Is that what someone said? Okay. It's just right away in Senorosguro. His muggle name in French is Tom Elves. Je d'Eussur. That's right. Yeah. It's Spanish. It's Tom Sorvolo. Riddle, but Riddle is spelled with a Y. 20, 24 of them. Yeah, I know. It's like a thing spelled a Riddle with a Y. Oh, true. Oh, man. That's so great. He and the Lenny old parents and the Spanish. Fuck. That's so fun. Oh, wow. This is a fun little rabbit hole. It really is. I will go down any rabbit hole any day, any time. With y'all, this has been amazing. So fun. I really feel like we could go on and on and on. But I think Andrew will murder me if this audiophile gets to two hours. So we're going to go ahead and wrap this discussion up. But there will be a girl's takeover part three. Next time we will actually be doing a chapter by chapter episode. So keep an eye out for that.

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