From a slap to a punch: preparing Hermione Granger for postfeminist Hollywood

Abstract

This article analyses corresponding scenes from the Harry Potter books and films to assess how the character of Hermione Granger, one of the three protagonists in the Harry Potter universe, changed through the adaptation process from book to film. Our analysis uncovered three interrelated themes. The theme Emotional Hermione shows that the emotions displayed by Hermione shift from more feminine-coded in the books to more masculine-coded in the films. In the process, she becomes a more powerful and independent character. This is also the case in the theme Girl Power, which is not present in the books but appears in the films from the third instalment onwards. Hermione is awarded more opportunity in the films to display both her intellectual and physical strengths. Through the Reallocation of Lines she also becomes a more fully-fledged character. As she takes lines in the films that were allocated to Harry and Ron in the books, Hermione gains more of a voice, even though this voice is not authentically hers. These changes arguably occurred as the Hermione from the books was not seen as an appropriate representation of a girl in postfeminist Hollywood at a time where Girl Power had just gained ascendance.