The 2016 film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them has just hit the box office, in fact, it was released three days ago. This film is loosely based off of J.K. Rowling's book of the same title, and was written by Rowling herself. While the film's story line is not directly related to the story line of its predecessors, the popular Harry Potter films, it is a part of the Harry Potter franchise—and many Harry Potter fans have been gleefully awaiting the day that the magic would return to the big screen. Some fans had hoped that with this new film saga, Rowling would be able to include a more diverse cast of characters; In the previous 8 films surrounding the “Potter Universe” only “0.47% of (the films) lines (were) spoken by people of color”
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Thus, the particular group that is referenced the most in this film is that of the Wizarding world. It is unfortunate that this world has come across as predominately white in the film, but there are other ways that Rowling brings up the issues of racism, prejudice, oppression, and segregation. The first instance of racial segregation that we witness is that of the segregation between the Wizarding world and the world of the No-Mag's or non-Wizards. Newt Scamander, our lead hero, does make a comment on the “backwards laws” surrounding the segregation of these two “races” or classes of people in the opening scenes of the film. In the Wizarding world skin color might not matter but purity of blood does. In the film, it is illegal for Wizards to interact with non-magical humans. This is supposedly for their own protection, but it is also made clear that the desire is to keep blood lines “pure” and magical is there. In the Harry Potter books and films, we hear the term “mud blood” meaning “dirty blood” in reference to a Witch or Wizard who has a muggle parent. This idea of their being “pure blood” and “dirty blood” mirrors the ideas reflected in the American Eugenics movement in the United States. These comparisons can stand as an important conversation starter for the issues surrounding
Thus, the particular group that is referenced the most in this film is that of the Wizarding world. It is unfortunate that this world has come across as predominately white in the film, but there are other ways that Rowling brings up the issues of racism, prejudice, oppression, and segregation. The first instance of racial segregation that we witness is that of the segregation between the Wizarding world and the world of the No-Mag's or non-Wizards. Newt Scamander, our lead hero, does make a comment on the “backwards laws” surrounding the segregation of these two “races” or classes of people in the opening scenes of the film. In the Wizarding world skin color might not matter but purity of blood does. In the film, it is illegal for Wizards to interact with non-magical humans. This is supposedly for their own protection, but it is also made clear that the desire is to keep blood lines “pure” and magical is there. In the Harry Potter books and films, we hear the term “mud blood” meaning “dirty blood” in reference to a Witch or Wizard who has a muggle parent. This idea of their being “pure blood” and “dirty blood” mirrors the ideas reflected in the American Eugenics movement in the United States. These comparisons can stand as an important conversation starter for the issues surrounding