Friday, November 19, 2010

white is might?

Not the best picture, but it's the "Magic is Might" statue from the Ministry of Magic in HP7: an elevated witch and wizard sitting on a throne, crushing naked Muggles (non-witch/wizards). Interesting how status and racism comes across in many cultures - even those that are mythical. The statue is supposed to represent that pure-blood witches and wizards are superior to Muggles or half-bloods, and the other creatures like House Elves, goblins, giants, etc. It's similar to the idea that whites felt superior to black slaves, or the Native Americans in early colonization, and how Hitler felt the Aryan race was superior to pretty much everyone. These "superior" groups wanted to oppress the "inferior" and elevate themselves to be more important and have more power and control. Our reading last night and discussion in class today were interesting, realizing that slavery wasn't always about racial superiority, but more about economic reasons that then turned into prejudice and racism.

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