The Problem With The Idea of You

The Problem with The Idea of You

There’s a new movie coming out on Thursday this week and I have a huge problem with it. It’s based on a fanfic of Harry Styles and if that doesn’t turn you off then there’s more to come. There are many reasons I have a problem with this movie. I am a Harry fan and I adore the goofy, silly cupcake who dances on stage, smiles and laughs with his whole chest. 

I have no problem with those writing fan fics or in fact those reading them. I’ve been known to read a few myself, but my problem is when this is taken too far. Using a book that was based on a fanfic has been done before. Fifty Shades of Grey was originally based on the Twilight series and was written as a darker version of the story of Bella and Edward, so it’s not a wholly new concept that a fan fic can be turned into a book which can then be turned into a movie. 

Fan fics based on TV shows, or movies or other books are to my mind absolutely fine, however a line is crossed when a movie is made, based on a fan fic that is actually based on a real life person, especially when this person has stated multiple times how uncomfortable he is being sexualised. Harry is a person, a real living breathing, walking, talking person whereas Edward Cullen is a fictional character in a book. 

Making a movie about this fan fic which actually pushes a narrative that Harry’s management gave him when he was seventeen years old is where I have a problem. Harry was given a short term PR relationship with Caroline Flack and as a result there were many jokes made, over many years about Harry likes older women and how he’ll sleep with your mum if you’re not careful. 

This image is sick and actually incredibly damaging, but Harry’s label didn’t care because it got them publicity and because Harry was the baby faced, cheeky charmer of One Direction, this image of him being a womaniser was born. Harry has been linked with hundreds of women and his public image is so distant from the person Harry actually is, that it’s appalling. 

This image started at 17 and continues to this day. He’s still given PR relationships, see Olivia Wilde, for example. This is another example of a push in Harry’s heterosexual image when they used Olivia and Harry together as a promotion tool for Don’t Worry Darling.  

The movie was all but a flop and even Harry’s star couldn’t save it because fans of Harry’s knew they were being used. Many fans saw through this ‘relationship’ and saw how miserable and upset Harry was while he was being paraded around LA, New York, London and Italy. Fans watched as Harry became slimmer and would walk as far away from Olivia as he could manage, yet some fans still bought into it because seeing through this farce isn’t something many are willing to do since it would challenge their world view and cause then to reexamine other celeb couples. 

The problem with pushing the womanising narrative for Harry is that a lot of his fans listen to his music and he writes about long term love, about being with his one and about how someone is the love of his life. Yet in public Harry’s never had a proper long term relationship, the longest being Olivia and that was for around the two year mark, so who could his songs possibly be about? Another issue with the womanising narrative is that Harry has stated over and over he’s a private person and I honestly believe that if Harry was dating someone, the fans would know nothing of  it because he wouldn’t want the speculation on his relationship because it’s private to him and his partner. Being papped coming out of restaurants, on bikes around London and coming out of an apartment in New York isn’t private at all and remember celebrities call the paps on themselves. Paps don’t just show up randomly at people’s doors. 

Another of my issues with this film is the involvement of Savan Kotecha. Savan was actually involved from very early on in the 1D days and was extremely critical of Louis and his voice. Savan being one of the writers on What Makes You Beautiful and on a lot of the first two One Direction albums gives this film a sort of nod of approval  in my eyes that should and could have been avoided, especially since Savan is writing the score for the movie.It’s just not something that I think fans of Harry’s should be comfortable with especially since he actually personally knows Harry and has worked closely with him in the past. 

The use of Harry’s image is a further issue I have with this movie as it’s selling itself by linking itself with him and Anne Hathaway, who in my eyes is an incredibly talented actress, stated that it was based on female pleasure. Where have we heard that before? Oh yeah, when Olivia Wilde said it in an interview while promoting Don’t Worry Darling. This hits too close to Harry for me and I dislike the fact that they are once again trying to use Harry to sell something. We as fans know that a number of people attach themselves to Harry for PR because Harry is a PR goldmine, but not like this. This isn’t okay and although they did step down their attempts to coerce Harry’s fans to see it, the damage for me was already done. 

Why are the fandoms reacting negatively about the story being based on Harry?

Harry’s fandoms are varied and believe different things about Harry. You have Larries who believe he’s closeted and with Louis, Harries who believe Harry has no morals and will sleep with almost anything with a pulse and Hairballs, Harries who take it too far and idolise every single stunt girlfriend Harry has, sometimes to the point they like the girls more than Harry. There however is one thing unites all sides of Harry’s fandoms, we do not like to be used and we will boycott everything relating to a product if it’s sold on the back of Harry’s fame. 

Harry has worked himself to the bone since he was sixteen for the fame he has and using him for marketing and PR is lazy, ridiculous and frustrating. If you want to sell something, then do it on your own merit without attaching Harry’s name to a project he A. has nothing to do with and B. would most likely be disturbed by, to say the least. 

If you are a fan of Harry’s and you want to see this movie then go ahead, but remember who  your fave is and remember he hates being sexualised or called a womaniser. He is so much more than his image and hopefully more fans will open their eyes and see the person behind the ™ in future. 

BTC