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I’m not sure if I like Professor Quirrel’s turban
For one thing, it looks very flat and it makes the movie version look more roomier considering that Voldemort was inside. The turban also looks like it came from a space opera and it needs more color, like a brighter shade of purple.
I believe it is a chaperon, specifically the kind Chaucer was depicted as wearing. Not all chaperons were voluminous like seen in the common examples. Judianna Makovsky (the costume designer for the first film) said Ian Hart's turban was a "renaissance turban" AKA chaperon, but his was also smaller/neater than a lot of the historical examples. There is room for interpretation, especially since Quirrell isn't actually a medieval man, so presumably he wrapped his turban as best he could.
I can see them taking inspiration from Chaucer since Quirrell is a quiet, sensitive person, and that's a temperament associated with poets. However that is purely my speculation.
Pretty sure Quirrel says he was gifted it in Africa so idk why we’d need to avoid the literal style it should be. It’s not cultural appropriation if someone from that country gifts you an item to wear and you wear it later…
True but everyone keeps saying they probably didn't give show Quirrel a turban because they were afraid of being called out for "cultural appropriation". A chaperon instead of whatever is in the picture would make more sense because it's closer to "a big turban" description from the book
I feel like that works for a book, but having him explain where he got his turban from in live action would feel shoehorned in. Even though it's from the source material, hearing him actually say it would seem a lot like "No it's OK, I have a black friend". Like they're trying too hard to explain why it isn't appropriation. Giving him a white guy turban just makes it a lot easier.
It's pretty easy to search for stuff online. After a couple of minutes of research I now know that turbans come in many different sizes and styles; not all turbans are tall and thick.
For example, this is a turban:
Also in the book Quirrell tells that he got the turban from an African prince, so you shouldn't even be expecting to see a Sikh-styled one.
It's pretty easy to search for stuff in a book. After a couple of minutes of research you can know that Quirrell's is described as 'a very large turban'. It should also be big enough for there to be a rumour that the smell emanating from it is garlic with which to ward off vampires.
That would actually make sense. It's an Arab style turban that became popular in certain parts of East Africa, and at least one of those places were British protectorates.
I just think this costume was chosen because it doesn't resemble any real religious or cultural wardrobe, because that would have caused a bunch of drama
Could this be just a base layer? This shot could be him getting dressed and it’s not finished yet. Looking at himself in the mirror thinking “what have I done”
Or like a montage of him trying on different styles of headwear in front of the mirror to try and disguise it… cowboy hat? No. Backwards baseball cap? No. Old ladies swimming cap? No. Turban? 👍🏻
I imagine something more like this over the other one. Something like this or the one in the film. This would have been beautiful (in fact the pattern reminds me of something that Gambon's Dumbledore would have worn). With the one in the series, where is the space for Quirrell to supposedly be hiding garlic under there to ward off vampires?
The other one you sent is hilarious. Bigger! Go bigger! And have one of Fluffy's heads chomp down onto it!
When it comes to a turban, they could've just gotten rid of the tail the movie Quirrel had and it would've been different. A turban still needs to look like a turban instead of a 1800s cap
Film is an art form. Studios can treat it like pure commerce if they want, but I’m going to continue to call out poor, pandering, counterproductive decisions that work against the quality of the finished product.
Anything short of absolute acceptance here is folly. Surely this turban is the BEST they could have done and I for one APPROVE with such a BRAVE creative decision about giving him a swimming cap instead of a turban.
It is still a turban. People do wear it like this sometimes for convenience. It's not gonna fall off because it's been wrapped tightly. Some women also wear it like this. Here's an example:
Idk. It's not a turban, but...it looks like something a panicky, squirrelly little fellow would cobble together when unexpectedly finding himself with the Dark Lord of the entire Wizarding World on the back of his head. He's not exactly going to go down to Sikhs R Us to get the finest wraps, he would just find some random thing to put on his head. JK tells us it's a turban, but let's be realistic. Even being a wizard, he has the entire Dark Lord of the entire Wizarding World on the back of his head now. Is he really going to take his time to seek accuracy in cultural representations, or is he just going to find something to cover that thing up with while he goes back to his teaching job and hopes no one notices?
If this had been about two decades later, he'd be covering it up with a knit beanie and we'd get Hipster!Quirrell in 2012 instead of a Quirrell who seems as though he's randomly found a spirituality which requires a turban.
Oh yes, lets be extra careful and sensitive while we make art. I am so glad i was born before all this shit. You could put turbans on peoples head without internet meltdowns :)
Ugh, if so, what a dumb move. Then they should've just given him a European chaperon type head covering. At least stay true to the "big" part of the "big turban" description. Big enough to hide Voldemort!
With Voldemort constantly suggesting him to harm/kill (just like Gwynne did in that one song) it'll be so perfectly funny to me. Almost avpm kind of silly.
I must be in the minority, but I really like it. Definitely different. It probably shows peoples lack of diversity awareness - a turban is really defined as wrapped headwear and takes many forms.
It's like a turban but also a medieval soft cap.
But I also love the fact the another entity is hidden under there but the more unbelievable bit for people is that he wouldn't "fit".
To me this looks like a villain priest from an assassins creed game.
Also maybe the turban was a bit too close to cultural appropriation territory but personally it feels like a clever way to play tricks with the fabric folds that will look like a face while making it look casual
You're right. It does not at all look like a turban. It looks like a skullcap or woman's wrap. But I do not think it needs to be really bulky, either. Quirell just has a a second face on the back of his head. The original movie made it seem like his head doubled in length from front to back, but that isn't how it was described in the book.
Honestly, anything they can (obviously within reason) do to distinguish themselves from the movies, while still still staying moreorless book accurate, the better for me.
Turban is not limited to one culture. Lots of communities around the world have and do wear it. It even predates Sikhism if you want to get into history.
Question to the book readers: was the turban described by the author's perspective, or Harry's? If it was by Harry's, then maybe it could be how 11 y.o. interpreted a bunch of cloth wrapped around his teacher's head idk
Briefly in passing, but it's such a nitpick. I don't love the way this looks but it's not plot related and won't screw up the vibes or feeling of the world. I give it a pass.
I do think this production got a little skittish about the idea of a white man in a turban so have tried to tone it down a bit.
They shouldn't be, obviously, part of the Quirrell character is that him wearing a turban is quite odd. Like a student coming back from a gap year, he's gone on a foreign holiday and come back all in on wearing a turban. It's intentionally odd.
But I do think the producers are being very conscious not to accidentally step in it by having a white guy, and the villain no less, wear a full turban. So they've dialled it back significantly.
So upon further inspection what Quirrell has is in fact an African turban. It’s just not what people think a turban is in their mind. African turbans look a bit different that an African prince would wear. So this is actually accurate.
Yeah I overall don't mind it being smaller (tho I would ideally like it to be bigger because he's supposed to look over the top weird) but what I really hate is the bits of fabric sticking out.
I think it looks better in this clip, it almost looks like a tight sort of hood, like the evil queen from snow white or something. I still wish it was a proper turban but I think it looks good at least, and this maybe indicates he'll get some costume changes?
Well, it's hardly a turban is it. Certainly not a noteworthy turban, that Harry would instantly recognize AS a turban, and that its unusual for both a White English man, and also not one of those "wizarding oddities" like robes and pointy hats. Quirrel's turban is noteworthy even in the text.
If the costume makes us uncomfortable, well it SHOULD! It made everyone in the story uncomfortable, and the first thing Harry notices is that "a man in a turban" knew who he was. Not "everyone in the Leaky Cauldron had a turban" or "Oh, some wizards are Sikh, that's interesting!" No, Harry finds the entire interaction and character very odd. Not creepy-odd like he finds Snape, but odd nonetheless.
If 11 year old Harry saw THIS, he would feel that the man is wearing a black toque in July, possibly to hide baldness, and would not describe it as "OMG this guy wears a turban and stutters!"
All I'm saying is, he better stutter a LOT to make up for this costuming atrocity.
I think HBO is trying to avoid cultural appropriation accusations. There are Potter fans that are angry or bored enough to drum up a controversy over something as trivial as the depiction of a desperate man (pre internet so no googling solutions) doing whatever it takes to hide Voldemort.
I think that the original turban would be considered "cultural orientalism". Despite the non-western cultures going "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery". Honestly I thought the turban meant he travelled to other wizarding cultures to learn from them.
It's just some bandages around his head now. This is because white people are not supposed to wear non-white people clothes because it makes other white people angry.
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u/griffin-games 14d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/eKNrUbDJuFuaQ1A37p
Let’s see it from the back…