Ethical Consumption: Harry Potter
Practical Recommendations Based on Ethics
Now, let's apply what we have learned in the theoretical section in to practice. What are some things you can do that align with the conclusions we drew? Let us see them below.
The chart follows the consequentialist and potentially virtue ethicist view that it is impermissible to continue consuming Harry Potter in a way that benefits JKR (as those who adopted the deontological view would not need a chart for complete abstinence.) That means that any Harry Potter product or merchandize that is officially associated with an Intellectual Property (including WW - Wizarding World) that she owns will not be consumed directly. Below, we provide a lot of practical recommendations that follow this, such as finding them used.
Here's how the chart works:
Take this flowchart before consuming a Harry Potter or Wizarding World item. If your line of questioning ends, you are already consuming it royalty-free and you can go ahead. It is not meant to make you act in any specific way, but rather make you reflect on your potential purchase for a hot second. The only direct action this chart recommends is waiting for the item in question until you can find it used (or other royalty-free ways).
Enjoying Harry Potter Royalty-Free
Harry Potter books have been around since 1997. That was almost 30 years ago. The movies have been around since 2001. It's the best-selling book series in history, with over 600 million copies sold worldwide. This means a few things.
USED
(1) There are already many books, movies, clothing apparel, water bottles, props, games and other types of products and merchandize that have been produced. Therefore, if you wanted one of these things, it would be very easy for you to find them used. Many books and movies could also be found at the libraries, which requires no purchasing (though note that some libraries, such as the ones in the UK, offer royalties to the authors, which defeats the purpose). Repurposing old objects like this and buying used ones is not only great because it does not directly support JKR, but also great for the environment.
For an example, see Vinted.
FAN-MADE
(2) Because the series has been popular for so long across the globe, there is of course a lot of fan-made versions of the series or things related to the series. For instance, many podcasts discuss the series (see example), many YouTube channels that create Harry Potter deep dives/theories/readings, many fan-fiction writings (see the biggest two here: SCB & Movieflame), and fan-made movies (see example). Some of these even have their own merchandise. There are fandom-based charities that raise money through Harry Potter (and other fandom) merchandise. There is even a whole music genre called WRock that makes songs based on the Wizarding World/Harry Potter. Consumption of any one of these is a great way to enjoy the series without supporting JKR directly and supporting other fans who are artists or content creators themselves.
PIRATED
(3) As with everything that makes it online, the Harry Potter books, movies, and audiobooks can also be found in many places online like shadow libraries or BitTorrent. Pirating violates any type of intellectual property, which would also violate JKR's. The ethics of pirating is a discussion on its own, not the purpose of this website. However, this too, is an option. For legal purposes, let's say we do not recommend this :).
OTHER
(4) There are some other things to consider as well. For instance, Universal Studios makes up the largest percentage of JKR’s income nowadays. All Universal Studios ticket sales and food/merch sales from the WW section of the park add to her income, as well as the WB Studios tour. These experiences are not essential parts of consuming Harry Potter (like movies and books are), so these in either ethical theory would not be permissible, as there is no way to enjoy them in a royalty-free way.
References &
Further Resources
Blog
Some of the recommendations on this website have been influenced by Hashtag Ruthless Productions' Resource Guide and informed by the ethical theories we discussed. It is highly recommended that you read their website on firing JKR to gain further knowledge on this topic.
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YouTube
Natalie Wynn, or ContraPoints as she is known online studied philosophy, and now is a political commentator, and cultural critic on YouTube. She is a transgender woman and her videos are incredibly articulate, informative and entertaining. Here are two videos that she has on JK. Rowling, offers a very detailed account of the events, her perspective on them as a trans woman, and an amazing critic of the whole situation.
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More
Though these are my recommendations, there are many others out there. I would recommend looking for resources that are written by people that have gotten affected by all of these events. They are rarer, but often offer a very thought-provoking perspective (like ConstraPoints).