The origin of this or that character in works of fiction has been the subject of controversy for ages. And Fantastic Beasts – The Crimes of Grindelwald was no exception to the rule when it was released in 2018. Indeed, the film had aroused a very particular controversy, due to the ethnic origin of the actress playing Nagini… J.K. Rowling had to intervene in order to put the dots back on the "i".
We talked about it in a previous article: the origin of Nagini (Lord Voldemort's famous snake) was revealed in the latest trailer of Fantastic Beasts 2. it was therefore confirmed that before being this dangerous animal, Nagini was a young woman. We also mentioned the controversy caused by the Asian origin of actress Claudia Kim who plays this role. But what really happened?It all started with a tweet from a certain Jen Moulton, who said:
https://twitter.com/J_A_Moulton/status/1044898830444105728
"Listen to Joanne (Editor's note: J.K. Rowling), we understand, you didn't include enough representation (Editor's note: ethnic) when you wrote the books. But suddenly turning Nagini into a Korean woman is disgusting. Representation as a way to gain popularity is not good representation."
A very vindictive message from this "fan" vis-à-vis the mother of our favorite magical saga. However, Joanne did not let herself be stepped on in this way and had responded in a surprising way, clearly justifying this casting choice:
https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1044907311058358273
"Naga are mythical snake-like creatures from Indonesian mythology, hence the name Nagini. They are sometimes described as flying, sometimes as half-human/half-snake. Indonesia has a hundred ethnic groups including the Javanese, Chinese and Betawi. Very good day."
This is a simple and effective answer from the world-famous author.
We can note that this kind of scandal reminiscent of ordinary racism is not new in the cinematographic sphere. While it is true that studios have tended to flirt with Asian audiences in recent years to inflate their admissions, the fact remains that many controversies continue to circulate as soon as an actor of non-Caucasian origin is propelled to the headliner of a blockbuster. The American actress of Vietnamese origin Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars 8 – The Last Jedi), had even had to leave social networks following the incessant racist insults from disgruntled "fans".
The least we can say is that the issues of ethnic representation in cinema have not finished talking about them.Which is very sad and removes all the magic of the films that should bring us together. However, it wasn't a few hateful remarks that kept us from enjoying Fantastic Beasts – The Crimes of Grindelwald despite the film's flaws.
It should be noted that the shooting of the 3rd episode is currently suspended because of the coronavirus, as for many films. However, if you are a Harry Potter addict, you can discover our rankings of the saddest deaths, movie version & book version.
Trailer: Fantastic Beasts – The Crimes of Grindelwald
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T_vQ-saeLU
