https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/new-movies/harry-potter-movie-the-secrets-of-dumbledore-censors-gay-references-in-china/news-story/be44212178049e2789bee3a3904a22bc

So it appears that 6 seconds of dialog (2 lines) in the latest
incarnation of the Harry Potter based "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" [most recent release of the franchise] had to be cut out of
the film to appease the China CCP government's censorship requirements.

(why is ANYONE surprised by CCP censorship? It's what evil oppressive totalitarian tyrranical gummints DO as part of their oppression and
control and domination over everyone's life, but I digress).

Apparently, as revealed over a decade ago, Dumbledore is gay. He's not flamboyant nor in your face, much like gay people I have known and see
and hear in the media (conservative media and Fox News at any rate).
People are who they are AND their sexuality does NOT define them, not
really [unlike what THE LEFT wants].

Surprisingly, the CCP is anti-gay. Or then again, maybe not. The left
just wants to control and I guess that level of control is ARBITRARY.

So in 2 lines in the movie (referenced in the article) Dumbledore
reveals a somewhat important detail, a prior gay relationship with a
specific character [spoiler alert]. In some ways I can see how this is actually an important detail, which is probably implied throughout the
movie anyway. And since it is NOT lampshaded, stuck in your face,
preached to you, nor beaten into your psyche in a "you must acceopt this
or you are a BIGOT" kind of way (and the movie IS intended for older audiences), I would imagine that this "gay reference" is as inoffensive
as possible in the way it has been done [which in my view IS the best
way to handle this kind of important life detail with a character in a
film or book].

So I'm sure I will be purchasing this when it comes out on DVD/BluRay as
I really do not like going to movie theaters that often any more.
Having a nice big TV and the ability to PAUSE IT when you need a head
break or wanna get some munchies (a thing I would not be able to do in a theater) _IS_ a reason to wait for home release.


So what is it about Dumbldore's gayness that is SO important to his
character? Not much, really. He is not married. He has a devotion to
the students at the school, and is apparently somewhat 'progressive' (in
a good way) regarding school policies. He keeps his personal life kinda secret, which a tabloid reporter in the Harry Potter universe (and a
book author) take advantage of in their writings after his death.

In a few ways, Dumbledore is a bit like Turing. Turing was well
respected until the 1950's, when his war record and academic
accomplishments were outweighed by accusations of homosexuality.
Apparently hysteric people believed he was either grooming young boys or somehow influencing them to be gay [both of which we now realize is NOT generally the case about gay people], and so he was prosecuted for
'homosexual acts'. And Turing was then subjected to "chemical
castration" (apparently) in lieu of further prosecution, and it may have actually lead to his eventual (alleged) suicide in 1954.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing

Dumbledore, in my opinion, was portrayed as keeping his personal life
separate from his educational duties which is the right thing to do for
ALL teachers REGARDLESS, In My Bombastic Opinion. So that's a GOOD
thing. His being gay was known to the "Harry Potter fandome" and not
shoved into anyone's face. And like other TV shows in which "oh by the
way I am gay" comes up at some point for a character, if it is NOT
followed up by tasteless in-your-face-activist "like this or something
is wrong with you" preachy/woke/activist CRAP, then I think people just
see the character like they always have, and the 'gay' thing is like
"oh, ok, that explains, but doesn't matter all that much". Or similar.


Anyway J K Rowling probably wanted to portray a beloved character, who
dies tragically (like Turing?) as a "gay normal". Not flamboyant, not
preachy, not irritating, not nauseating, not going to Pride Parades
wearing a strap-on and hot pants with no shirt, nor using makeup and
sporting a bizarre effeminate hair style and strutting and winking like
the lead singer of "Dead or Alive" in that "Round Round" video from the
80's...


And as far as I am concerned, those 6 seconds should stay in the film.
They seenm unoffensive to me and parents can explain it all later when
kids are old enough. It seems to have been handled in good taste,
without activism, and is just a part of the world we live in that people
should deal with fairly, without activism.



--
(aka 'Bombastic Bob' in case you wondered)

'Feeling with my fingers, and thinking with my brain' - me

'your story is so touching, but it sounds just like a lie'
"Straighten up and fly right"

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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