This a small but a very important update regarding posts moving forward.
In the past I have tried to separate the word usage of Romani and the Romani characters in Hugo’s novel and various adaptations of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. My thought was that for the collective group of people I would use “Romani” and when referencing characters like Esmeralda I used the word that the adaptations and Hugo’s novel often used.
I no longer feel it is appropriate to use the “G-word” in this or any capacity anymore and I will just not be using that term in any posts moving forward. I will just call any Romani character as such. (Edit- the words I will use will be either “Travelers” or “Nomads.” )
I was on the fence about using the term for direct quotes like if I was quoting a lyric like from Hellfire for example but I think I will censor the word if I’m quoting something. Which I don’t often do but could come up.
This also extends to any and all Facebook and Twitter posts I make and Hubpages articles I write on Hunchback. The point of the matter is I will just no longer use that derogatory word again in blogging, a social media capacity or in my daily life.
I don’t know if I will edit past posts at this point but I might. The possibility exists. I have been editing my Hubpages articles that are Hunchback in content albeit slowly.
I’m making this post for transparency. It’s not for “kudos”or to show that I’m a oh so enlightened white person. It’s a hateful, ignorant word and shouldn’t be used. No one can change how the word was used in past versions or the book but we can move beyond it.
I’m not a filmmaker so I don’ know how future versions will handle using that word but I do hope they air on the understanding side with regards to the Romani.
(Regarding Comments, in the past I have kept them turned off due to mental health issues. I’m allowing them right now on this post for the moment (3 months as I have the setting on right now.) I really don’t think I will get any comments since the blog has been in a state of hiatus since 2019. If you do leave a comment be respectful. I will delete and ban any troll/out-right rude comments.
Have you read the new “Claude Frollo” book?
No, I haven’t unfortunately. I guess I have another book to add to my “must read list.” ^^’
Your amazing, just wanted you to know that.
I think it’s a nice thing to be considerate of minority issues, but I’m not entirely sure if it would be apropriate to call Esmeralda and people who live with her Romani.
Despite being portrayed as a G*** girl or Romani girl, she is not, she is actually french. At best, since we do not know who her father is, we assume she is white. And all the others, who kidnapped her, they do not act like Romani people at all, they don’t have the traditions and some of their actions are ofensive to Romani people, they don’t have romanipen. Their marriage tradition (as seen with Gringoire) is all wrong, weddings are meant to last for life, women aren’t actually free to roam around after gadjo men (Phoebus, I am looking at him now), they are meant to serve their husbands and children, Esmeralda, was she truly Romani, would probably be married at the tender age of 10 or 12 by the time the story is set. It would be wonderful if she decided to keep her virginity not to find her lost mother, but because Romani people value chastity untill marriage and in the book they are shown as a community of debauchery. And there is the horrible concept of kidnapping which has been associated with them for ages and is reinforced by the story.
The accurate use of the term can also reinforce the bad image. I think it would be nice for new editions to be writen with the original word and add a note that not only the word is degradatory but also the deciption of romani in the book is inaccurate and does not reflect reality. Better would be to change the story a bit in the movie version and either have them representing Romanipen and adapting small things from the story to make it closer to the reality (it would be a nice touch for Esmeralda to actually be Romani and not a kidnaped kid) or perhaps they could be regarder as other terms than G*** like travelers or nomads os something like this that doesn’t have to do with ethnic backgrounds. Besides, I’d like to remember you that there are some groups, even if small, of Romani people that call themselves the G word and don’t mind being called it because for them it comes from Egyptian, and while we originated in india, there are those who consider Egypt to be the place that birthed the many groups and where the traditions still practiced today where more or less settled (so it’s a home/origin of choice, like white americans who say they are america, and not british).
Still, I think it is lovely you’ll be using what the majority of Romani people consider the right word, it shows you care. Sorry for the long post, I am Romani born, I learned some traditions trough history of my elders, however we don’t live with our community and have integrated with the Gadje, in my home we retain the food, music and dances but we don’t practice other stuff because my level headed parents see it as backwards and bad, I had and aunt married at 12 against her will, I saw a cousin cast of the community for refusing to marry a Romani man and getting involved and pregnant from a gadje boy. It has pretty things, but for women is especially hard. Still, these are tradition, and very important to our people, so to represent a group that doesn’t practice them as them it is probably more unsettling than the use of the word.
Sorry for the long post, I actually love Notre Dame de Paris and Esmeralda is one of my all time favorite heroine, but it bothers me that they also somehow set an idea for the gadje of how Romani people live or act.
I hope you are doing well now, your blog is really coll, keep posting and have a wonderful day.
PS: (I don’t know where you are from, but if you understand portuguese or at least spanish, there is a brazilian soap opera that is one of the few works that represent the lives of modern day Romani people and their values and traditons – it varies a little from group to group, but the foundation of values are there – the soap opera was made consulting real life Romani people and is regarded, at least in Brazil, as accurate in most parts – funny fact, Brazil is a country with lots of miscigenation, still, the Romani keep to their own people and see it as bad, a marriage between gadje and Romani is frowend upon). The soap opera is called Explode Coração (or corazón gitano) – the mexican telenovela Amor Gitano is not the same, and I have not watched nor can I vouch for it. There are small dancing clips of it on youtube that are really great. The dance scenes with Dara (the protagonist) are fantastic.
Thank you for enlightening me on this matter more. I do feel woefully uneducated on the matter of the larger modern Romani people. I do know there is a lot of culturally diversity but again I’m very uninformed on the matter so I am very happy you left your long post.
It’s hard to figure out the word usage as it pertains to a nearly 200 years text and modern sensibilities. I agree with you that there should be something in the book on the word.
I will try to take your advice and refer to the book characters as “Travelers” or “Nomads” since clearly Hugo didn’t have a meaningful understanding of the Romani people and Esmeralda is not one in the book. Though in many of the film and musical versions she is so her backstory is completely different than in the book
Thanks again ^^
unfortunately my Spanish language skills are very basic at best
I’ve got something for you to review, if you’re still doing that:
https://kimcartoon.li/Cartoon/The-Magical-Adventures-of-Quasimodo
That one has been on my list, lol. I watched the first episode a while back. Probably should watch more of it.
Thank you for the suggestion ^_^
I think it’s avail on either Tube or Roku channel.
I’m always glad to see a post! I still check daily for posts…it is unfortunate that the NDDP/HoND fandom doesn’t generate much buzz. But hopefully with the Disney live action adaptation in the works, hopefully soon we’ll get more news and who knows, maybe Disney will do more/create more merch toward the conventional holiday season.
OMG thank you <3 for your daily visits. Sorry I have been posting.
The only news about the live action movie is that is coming soon. At least that is something because most of the other versions that have been announced there has only been radio silence.
There have been some new merch, like recently a MagicBand with Esmeralda and Quasimodo. And there was a pin for pin trading. I know that merch is very Disney Park specific but it still good to see.
Hopefully with the with the release of the live action movie there will be some more stuff.