ronandhappiness:

headcanonsandmore:

ronandhappiness:

headcanonsandmore:

I haven’t actually watched AVPM the whole way through just yet (haven’t found the time), but I’ll post my thoughts about it when I do. 

So far, I like it, since it pokes fun at the way the fandom perceives him. Also, I like how many BROTP moments him and Harry get.

Thanks for the ask, anon!

Ron Weasley’s portrayal?

• His b(romance) with Harry
• Getting background music every time he came on stage.
• His romance with Hermione.
• His rivalry with Draco
• His bromance with Snape.
• Basically the entire, “Sidekick,” performance.
• “That’s Lavender Brown! RACIST SISTER!”
• “I see myself in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Hermione’s turning into a blueberry and I want to eat her.”

Just look at this…

Or maybe this?

Or how about this?

Just look at these cuties…

the love of my life with the love of his life…

This precious unicorn…

And this pretty much sums up Ron…

Joey Richter is an angel on planet earth and anything that he does is perfection. Therefore, his portrayal of Ron Weasley is perfection. Minus the casual sexism in Starkid, starkid!ron was perfect.

Was the casual sexism supposed to be ironic? Or was it just a product of the time it was made (the late 2000s/early 2010s)? 

I guess it’s a bit of both. I haven’t seen AVPM in a while now (mostly, I just listen to the soundtrack and rewatch some of my favourite scenes) but some of it can be problematic. They whitewashed Cho Chang. Some of the Mama Umbridge jokes were vaguely transphobic, even though I noticed a little later because I was too busy admiring Joe Walker’s muscles. They had Dumbledore call an underage Harry a “sexy little bitch.” Most of these are just silly jokes that shouldn’t be taken seriously, but they do leave a sour taste in my mouth. 

Some of the lyrics could be sexist. For example:    

Different as can be:

Voldemort: (singing) You’re a sissy. A twat. A GIRL! I’m the darkest of lords.

Yes, it’s Voldemort singing, but still.

Get Back to Hogwarts:

Hermione: (singing) This year I plan to study a lot.

Ron: (singing and being a dick) That would be cool if you were actually hot!

Harry: (singing) Hey, Ron, come on. We’re the only friends that she’s got!

Seriously, Darren Criss? How could the same genius who wrote the masterpiece that is, “Coolest Girl” have written this line? 🤔

I guess it depends on how you want to interpret it. It’s true that Ron never insulted Hermione’s looks, but have you noticed that, in the books themselves, Ron spewed these random, OOC lines that made him appear shallow? For example, “No bloke in his right mind is going to fancy Tonks when Fleur’s around,” mocking Eloise’s Midgen’s acne, and not wanting to end up with a “pair of trolls.” That felt very OOC imho, so maybe, they were parodying JKR? Granted, every character could be shallow at times; Hermione insulted Viktor Krum’s appearance, Harry was an ultimate savage when describing people’s looks, Fred and George could be shallow as well. 

Maybe I’m overestimating Starkid, but yeah. I’ve always felt like the musical was poking fun at the fandom and the films’ perception of the characters (Draco having a crush on Hermione, Lucius’s beautiful hair, Harry being full of himself, Ron eating all the time, Ginny being excessively weepy, etc etc) so maybe they were mocking the fandom who only perceive Ron as this sexist, and vulgar dude? That line still makes me cringe, though. (And so do those lines from the books.)

That being said, for me personally, the good moments of AVPM outweigh the bad moments. That doesn’t mean I’m going to turn a blind eye on those problematic moments, of course, but that won’t stop me from enjoying the musical. It’s also good to note that the Starkids are really cool and liberal and they are getting better. I’m sure I could’ve mentioned more aspects that annoyed me, but I didn’t want to spoil it for you.

I see what you mean. Yeah, that’s pretty problematic. I have noticed the casual expression in the bits of AVPM I’ve seen so far. I hope it’s ironic, but it does seem quite in-keeping with the time it was made as well. 

I always thought that those weird lines of Ron’s in the books (like the ones you mentioned) were due a few reasons; 

• JK Rowling was very deliberately writing Ron as a teenage boy, who (in the 90s) weren’t exactly known for being progressive in their attitudes to girls. 
• While it does seem odd that the normally-tactful Ron would say those lines, Rowling had to create some form of reason as to why Hermione didn’t automatically suggest to Ron that they go to the ball as friends. 
• Rowling didn’t have any first-hand experience of being a teenage boy (for obvious reasons) and as a result, took inspiration from how teenage boys are expected to act in those situations (i.e with not much tact)
• By GOF, Rowling was starting to take inspiration from Steve Kloves version of Hermione, and (as a result) got rid of most of Ron’s tact and emotional sensitivity in GOF. Meaning that Ron behaves like a douche who’s only interested in what a girl looks like. After-all, it couldn’t be Hermione’s fault that Ron didn’t pick up on her hints that she wanted to go with him. 

Also, I think the Eloise Midgen thing was something of a running joke in the books. We never actually meet her; all we know of her is that she suffers with appalling acne, and isn’t considered physically attractive (at least, from the male population). 

It’s weird that Ron would say those things, but those are just my thoughts on the matter.