Hermione in the Movies: Too Glamorous to be a Role Model?

This is a very interesting article looking at the evolution (or de-evolution, depending on how you see it) of Hermione Granger’s character in the Harry Potter films.  It argues that writers and directors have given her too much of the typical “girly” quality and have minimized her braininess and logic to an unacceptable degree.  Of course, as a devout loyalist to the books, I cannot earnestly argue for the virtue of "film Hermione" over "book Hermione", but I do think some of the accusations made here are a bit inaccurate and unfair.

While I agree with some of the points made, most particularly the fact that yes, Emma Watson has grown more physically beautiful with each film and in the world of Hollywood/starlets/etc there is no way filmmakers would hesitate to use that to their advantage, I would argue that the film’s depiction is not quite as evil as The Guardian seems to believe.  They take issue with the fact that Hermione hesitates to destroy the horcrux in the final film, saying that she “can’t.”  The author asserts that the “real” Hermione would never say such a thing, and I wholeheartedly disagree.  Hermione Granger as we know and love her from the novels is very very intelligent and her ability to think critically under pressure saves many lives over the seven books, but she knows her limits.  Hermione is very dismissive of and at times insecure about her own bravery, particularly as compared to Harry and Ron’s more obvious boldness.  She has several significant moments of insecurity during the series, and those moments serve to not only teach her a lesson about herself but to show us as readers that she is not, in fact, superhuman.

I don’t think we can dismiss Hermione (even film Hermione) as a feminist character simply because she is physically attractive and occasionally doubts herself.  It’s what she does in the face of those doubts that really counts— she ultimately does destroy the horcrux in Deathly Hallows, not to mention kicks ass in the Battle of Hogwarts. And in the film Hermione’s bravest action comes later, when she sends Harry, her best friend and pseudo brother, off to die for the cause, something she has long suspected he would have to do.  Anyone who can take that kind of emotional blow in the midst of everything else going on is absolutely strong in my book, perfume and tight jeans or not (though for the record, I do think the perfume thing was a silly and unnecessary addition).