After the release of the final trailer earlier this week for the new 'Harry Potter' saga spinoff, 'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald', fans have gone wild with anticipation. The trailer teased many exciting teasers about the upcoming film, including one revelation in particular which has diehard Potter-fans in raptures: Nagini, the deadly snake servant of Lord Voldemort, once was a woman. Rowling revealed on Twitter that Nagini, instead of being an Animagus (a wizard or witch who has the ability to transform into an animal out of choice), is a Maledictus, who has the gift to transform into a snake, but is cursed to one day remain as one. She went on to explain that, unlike Werewolves, Maledictuses are always women, and they carry the curse in their blood which is passed on to their daughters, and additionally claimed that she had been planning this for "around twenty years", presumably since the character was first written.
However, despite the many positive reactions to the plot twist, many fans and critics have been quick to point out the problematic undertones of casting the role as an Asian woman, Korean actress Claudia Kim, accusing Rowling of thoughtless racism. Many took issue with the fact that Nagini, now apparently an Asian woman, would later become the slave and pet of the white tyrant, Lord Voldemort, and is destined for a bloody end at the hands of Nevil Longbottom. One Twitter user pointed out that this type of casting a plot line can be seen to pertain to the common western trop of presenting Asian women who "exist to mainly serve white men's interests" (@oxford_kondo), while another pointed out that Nagini in the books is treated like a monster: "She is not humanised, she eats people and Voldemort milks her for food. To say that she was suddenly a real human person the whole time is really gross. To add that she is one of the very few POC in the HP series, I think, is despicable" (@J_A_Moulton).
Ok, this is gonna be the last thing I say on this.
? The Headless HorseVinh ? (@Supervinh47) 26 de septiembre de 2018
I just want to say that I'm impressed with J.K. Rowling, it takes a LOT of confidence to go 2/2 on racist Asian stereotypes.
Cho Chang being the demure "gentle flower" and #Nagini being the sexually attractive "dragon lady".
This is not the first time that the Potter author has come under fire for her lack of representation or mis-representation of ethnic minority characters, and many have pointed out in the past that Hogwarts seems to have an exceptionally large majority of white students. Twitter users have also claimed that this apparent back tracking, to try and include more people of colour, is "clumsy".
I actually would greatly prefer an all-white setting as opposed to a clumsily "diverse" one. Truly equal diversity is great but needs extreme care. A white majority that gives itself the power to play club bouncer with POC are creating major divisions in POC communities.
? Oxford Kond? (@oxford_kondo) 26 de septiembre de 2018
Rowling's Response
In the face of this backlash Rowling chose not to sit quietly and let the storm blow over; instead she replied to one Twitter user, justifying her choice of casting as she claims to have taken inspiration for the character from the Naga mythology, which comes from Indonesian culture. Thus Rowling suggests that to cast a actress from an East Asian background seemed appropriate.
The Naga are snake-like mythical creatures of Indonesian mythology, hence the name 'Nagini.' They are sometimes depicted as winged, sometimes as half-human, half-snake. Indonesia comprises a few hundred ethnic groups, including Javanese, Chinese and Betawi. Have a lovely day ?
? J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) 26 de septiembre de 2018
Rowling has also received backlash in the past for the complete lack of LGBTQ+ characters in her 'Harry Potter' series, and in response announced years later that Dumbledore was actually gay. Many fans were eager, then, to see this side to the character explored in the new 'Fantastic Beasts' film, as it features a young version of Dumbledore (Jude Law). When director, David Yates, then announced that his sexuality was not a key feature of the upcoming film fans were more than a little disheartened. The author, however, has reassured her Twitter followers that while the topic is merely touched on in the latest release, it will be explored further in the final installment in the trilogy.
It seems that the Potter pen master is trying to amend the oversights she made in terms of representation in her original series in these new spinoffs, although her efforts appear to be misplaced in the eyes of many.
The new 'Fantastic Beasts' film will be released in cinemas on November 16th.
