What could Dolores Umbridge possibly be thinking?

Note: We first released this video with a different title and question. We got a lot of feedback that it seemed like we were defending Umbridge's actions. That's absolutely not what we wanted to do. Thus, we're re-releasing it here with a new title and framing question. Thanks for helping us be better.

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What evil do you justify in your life?

In Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, we meet one of Harry Potter’s most hated character, Dolores Umbridge. Umbridge is a cruel bully. She does everything in her power to undermine Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and the resistance movement.

She also is an ambitious woman who thinks she’s doing what’s right for Hogwarts.

Can we imagine ourselves into her point of view? Can we understand what she makes the choices she does? Would we, in other context, do the same?


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Harry Potter and the Sacred Text is a weekly podcast reading Harry Potter, the best-selling series of all time, as if it was a sacred text. We believe that reading fiction doesn’t just help us escape the world, it helps us live in it.

Season five, on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, launches on August 23, 2018.

www.harrypottersacredtext.com

Animation: Hannah O'Neal
Writers: Vanessa Zoltan, Casper ter Kuile, Ariana Nedelman
Voiced by: Vanessa Zoltan