he way Harry Potter took over our lives and consciousness in the ‘00s was unprecedented, at least for the kids growing up and older at the time. There were midnight release parties and queues, and wishing we could watch something other than the bootleg DVDs of the first three or four films. We sorted ourselves into Hogwarts houses, and let Pottermore, the website, sort us into houses. We felt the books grow darker as the years went on, and we sympathized; the world was growing darker too. Then the series ended.

J.K. Rowling, beloved author of the very, very famous Harry Potter franchise and all spinoffs, turned to regular fiction for one book (Casual Vacancy) and then penned the first novel of the Strike series, The Cuckoo’s Calling, under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. The book series really took off once it was revealed that it was none other than the beloved Rowling behind it, was turned into a TV series for HBO/BBC One, and its sixth installment, The Ink Black Heart dropped last month.

But all was not well in Rowling’s world. In 2020, she took offense to women being referred to as, “people who menstruate”, wondering why the word ‘women’ was not allowed anymore. This stirred up a storm of outrage at what allegedly was Rowling’s transphobia, and left her, we think, several million fans short, but several million trolling haters richer.

You don’t have to agree or disagree with Rowling’s stand on what being a woman constitutes, but since she can spin a tale and is a worldwide bestselling author, J.K.Rowling can make the journey of the ‘trollee’ known in the way she knows best.

The Ink Black Heart largely focuses on a fandom for the animated series of the same name, created by Edie Ledwell and Josh Blay, the former of whom finds herself at the receiving end of fans’ wrath when she comments that the way fans interpreted one element of the game wasn’t how it was intended. The series also gets picked up by Netflix, and talks with Maverick (the big studio that churns out superhero films in the book) occur, further convincing fans that Ledwell is selling out.

As Cormoran Strike and his partner, Robin Ellacot, dive deeper into the history of the hate campaign against Edie Ledwell, they find all sorts: the OG fans who can’t believe she would dismiss their interpretations, the blog that analyzes every character to be some kind of racial/sexual/political stereotype, and the people who simply egg Ledwell on to go ahead and kill herself.

While fandoms of the sort that bigger franchises gather haven’t had the chance to grow in Pakistan, the closest we come to idolizing anyone are the characters actors play on television. That being the most widely-available source of entertainment, fans have always fixated on stars, and with the advent of social media, that fixation can be expressed more openly and frequently, and it’s not always nice.

While fandoms of the sort that bigger franchises gather haven’t had the chance to grow in Pakistan, the closest we come to idolizing anyone are the characters actors play on television. That being the most widely available source of entertainment, fans have always fixated on stars, and with the advent of social media, that fixation can be expressed more openly and frequently, and it’s not always nice.

The most recent example of this would be the feedback Mahira Khan received for her outfit and persona at The Legend Of Maula Jatt premiere in Lahore. Again, whether you liked the shiny pink co-ord the actor wore as she danced and spun for the cameras is another matter, how anyone felt like they could tell Mahira Khan how she behaved and dressed was inappropriate is beyond human reasoning.

Pakistan’s sweetheart, Khan has previously come under public fire for being photographed behaving in (completely normal) ways that her adoring public didn’t think was becoming. A much bigger person than we ever will be, Khan apologized for disappointing her fans.

“We like the simplicity of dramas Mahira,” commented one fan under the premiere video. “Why did she have to wear that,” commented another. While Mahira Khan never engages with trolls, being talked at negatively (and positively - she is Pakistan’s sweetheart) can’t be a boost for mental health and wellness.

Actors, especially of the female variety, usually are scrutinized more for their behavior than their male counterparts. If one dared to cross borders or oceans to act, the scrutiny can treble. In the ‘80s and ‘90s and early ‘00s, the likes of Anita Ayub, Meera, and Veena Malik were bashed in the press and at the most would be fatwa-ed against by the more religious-minded, or later made fun of or debated about on Twitter and in YouTube videos.

Instagram and Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok put the stars at our fingertips rather than at a suitable distance where they can be safe and revered, and we can mind our own business.

But unfortunately, such is not the case. We have the access, and they need the clout. The debate for and against separating the art from the artist is a long and complex one, and everyone will have the line they draw at things they simply do not find acceptable. For some this will be physical and sexual violence, for others it just might be the fashion faux pas made on a red carpet. For some people though, just expressing a personal opinion that may or may not intend on marginalizing one community or glorifying a problematic one would be the line. For Rowling’s partners and fans, it was what was perceived as her bias toward trans women that did it.

The Ink Black Heart is engrossing, should you look past Rowling’s gender politics and pick it up, and like every Strike book draws you into the good old-fashioned whodunnit.