‘Snapewives’ and ‘Snapeism’: A Fiction-Based Religion within the Harry Potter Fandom
Journal Title: Religions - Year 2014, Vol 5, Issue 1
Abstract
The book and film franchise of Harry Potter has inspired a monumental fandom community with a veracious output of fanfiction and general musings on the text and the vivid universe contained therein. A significant portion of these texts deal with Professor Severus Snape, the stern Potions Master with ambiguous ethics and loyalties. This paper explores a small community of Snape fans who have gone beyond a narrative retelling of the character as constrained by the work of Joanne Katherine Rowling. The ‘Snapewives’ or ‘Snapists’ are women who channel Snape, are engaged in romantic relationships with him, and see him as a vital guide for their daily lives. In this context, Snape is viewed as more than a mere fictional creation. He is seen as a being that extends beyond the Harry Potter texts with Rowling perceived as a flawed interpreter of his supra-textual essence. While a Snape religion may be seen as the extreme end of the Harry Potter fandom, I argue that religions of this nature are not uncommon, unreasonable, or unprecedented. Popular films are a mechanism for communal bonding, individual identity building, and often contain their own metaphysical discourses. Here, I plan to outline the manner in which these elements resolve within extreme Snape fandom so as to propose a nuanced model for the analysis of fandom-inspired religion without the use of unwarranted veracity claims.
Authors and Affiliations
Zoe Alderton
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP25351
- DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel5010219
- Views 387
- Downloads 68
Kept in His Care: The Role of Perceived Divine Control in Positive Reappraisal Coping
A formidable body of literature suggests that numerous dimensions of religious involvement can facilitate productive coping. One common assumption in this field is that religious worldviews provide overarching framewor...
The Value of Money: Funding Sources and Philanthropic Priorities in Twentieth-Century American Mission
At the turn of the twentieth century, Western missionaries and mission organizations sought to develop financial strategies that would facilitate the further expansion of the Western mission enterprise. Three such stra...
Protocol for a Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial to Compare the “Taste & See” Programme—A Church-Based Programme to Develop a Healthy Relationship with Food—With a Wait-List Control
Background: Obesity is strongly associated with poor mental-health. Spiritual and religious wellbeing is associated with improved mental well-being and reduced emotional eating. “Taste & See”, a church based programme...
Ifa Fuyu’s Search for Okinawan-Japanese Identity
This paper focuses on the crucial role played by Ifa Fuyu, the “father of Okinawan studies,” in ¯ articulating ideas related to Okinawan-Japanese identity. Starting with a brief overview of Ifa’s life and work, especia...
The Canonical Black Body: Alternative African American Religions and the Disruptive Politics of Sacrality
“The Canonical Black Body” argues that central to the study of African American religions is a focus on the black body and the production and engagement of canons on the sacred black body within the black public sphere...