The Harry Potter Movies

[GaT]

I want to see this movie, but I wish Eddie Redmayne wasn't in it because I don't like him. He's going to take away from me enjoying this.

[VCRTracking]

I think people who have an aversion to Eddie Redmayne should check him out in the Pillars of the Earth miniseries with Hayley Atwell. So many people like him from that.

Edited November 5, 2015 by VCRTracking

[Snow Apple]

I thought Americans having a different name for non-magic people was silly until it was pointed out that the word "mug" is British slang for "fool" so now it all makes sense to me. This is why I love this series so much. I keep learning something new.

[benteen]

Announcement trailer for Fantastic Beasts.  I think we're going to see a lot of these trailers before the new Star Wars.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj1devH5JP4

[Eyes High]

Announcement trailer for Fantastic Beasts.  I think we're going to see a lot of these trailers before the new Star Wars.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj1devH5JP4

 

Too many white people.

[Featherhat]

Really, that's what your take is after only two people had more than a second of screen time? Not particularly sure I want to see this at all but give it more than 1.30 mins before claiming it's racist.

Edited December 16, 2015 by Featherhat

[SnoGirl]

As an American, I selfishly want to know about our magic and the government on this side of the pond. Is the Ministry of Magic reflective of Britain's? Or does it reflect our government? Are there representatives from every state in that shot where I'm assuming we're seeing the leader of the US Minstry of Magic (different title? Who knows!)

I wish this was a book series. I know Rowing is writing this screenplay, but man, this is only going to make me want more then what the film is going to give us.

Personally, I hope we see different Wizards from other countries too in this movie. It's set in New York, it's a giant melting pot of cultures. I loved Goblet of Fire because you got to see how other people in other countries handled/respected/reacted to magic. So I'm hoping Fantastic Beasts will have the same ideas too.

[VCRTracking]

Are there representatives from every state in that shot where I'm assuming we're seeing the leader of the US Minstry of Magic (different title? Who knows!)

 

You can see behind who I assume is the President a seal with a phoenix and an American flag shield that says "Magical Congress of the United States of America" or 'MACUSA' as it's reportedly called for short.

[Rick Kitchen]

Black actress Noma Dumezweni will be playing Hermione in the upcoming "Harry Potter And The Cursed Child".  Watch racists' heads explode in 3 ... 2... 1...

[SeanC]

RIP Alan Rickman.

As a man once said, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.

[benteen]

RIP, Alan Rickman.  Sad, sad news.  I didn't even know he had been sick.

[Jewlmc]

Too many white people.

Did you miss the fact that the head of....whatever that is....was black?

And RIP Alan Rickman.

[Demented Daisy]

Another legend gone.  I hate cancer.  More than I can possibly say.

[mojoween]

I wanted him to get to 80 so we could have a pic of him reading HP so his quote would come true.

Fuck cancer. Two marvelous British 69 year olds taken in the same week? Fuck. Cancer. It destroys lives without impunity and I hate it.

[Browncoat]

RIP Severus.  His backstory was without a doubt one of the best bits of all the movies, and I can't imagine anyone else in that role.

 

Cancer sucks.

[VCRTracking]

RIP Alan Rickman you were great as Snape, Hans Gruber, Sir Alexander Dane from Galaxy Quest and so much more.

 

Add me to the "cancer can go to hell" train.

[Artsda]

So sad. :( RIP Alan Rickman.

[blueray]

I was suprised and sad when I heard about his death this morning at work. Nobody knew he had cancer. RIP Alan Rickman, you will be missed.

[Spartan Girl]

Man, even though DH part 2 cut up very significant aspects of Snape's unrequited love for Lily, Alan Rickman sold the hell out of that sequence.

If only there was a magical cure for cancer...

[BookWoman56]

Even though Rickman was technically too old to play Snape, he sold the hell out of the entire role and I cannot imagine anyone else playing Snape. I always thought they softened Snape a bit in the movies to make the character a bit more ambiguous. In the books, OTOH, it felt like at least the first few were variations on the theme of "bad stuff is happening at Hogwarts; Harry is convinced Snape is responsible for it; it turns out to be someone else." Two of my favorite scenes ever are when Snape uses his body to shield the trio from the werewolf in PoA, and then the scene (in GoF?) where he straightens out the cuffs of his shirt prior to whacking Harry and Ron.

 

In the films overall, the adult actors were generally very solid and offset the inexperience of some of the younger actors. Jason Isaacs was wonderful as Lucius Malfoy. I have very fond memories of Robert Pattinson in GoF in his pre-Twilight days. Julie Walters played Molly Weasley exactly as I'd imagined her from the books. For the trio, though, they were all awkward in the first movie but Rupert Grint to me seemed the weak link in acting. It was like he had two expressions: scared and bored. Admittedly, I found Ron to be tolerable in the first couple of books, where his function seemed primarily to be exposition fairy to explain the wizarding world to Harry. But as the series went on, he became a very crappy friend. I hated the way he made fun of Hermione for studying, but would have been perfectly willing to copy her homework because he couldn't be bothered to do his own work. The way he treated Harry in GoF made me dislike him, and the final straw was in DH, when the trio are camping in the middle of nowhere trying to survive, and Ron deserts Harry and Hermione to run home to mommy's cooking, because he can't deal with the same physical discomforts that Harry and Hermione are enduring. I'm currently re-reading the books and find I dislike Ron even more than the first time through.

 

Over the course of the movies, I thought both Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson improved but Rupert never seemed to rise above adequate. He wasn't horrible, but nothing about his performances stood out in a good way for me. I thought the twins who played Fred and George were way more engaging; I could actually envision people wanting to be friends with them. I hated the epilogue in the books and movie that showed everybody paired up. I really don't care who Harry ended up with, but I can't stand the idea of Hermione being with Ron. Ginny was just a nonentity in the movies, whereas Luna Lovegood displayed compassionate quirkiness.

[VCRTracking]

The way he treated Harry in GoF made me dislike him, and the final straw was in DH, when the trio are camping in the middle of nowhere trying to survive, and Ron deserts Harry and Hermione to run home to mommy's cooking, because he can't deal with the same physical discomforts that Harry and Hermione are enduring. I'm currently re-reading the books and find I dislike Ron even more than the first time through.

 

 

In the movie though it really comes across more that Ron is more scared for his family, listening to the radio for the names of the missing wizards as Voldemorts forces are taking control and that's why he left. Also the horcrux locket was getting to him like the ring does to Frodo. I like Rupert in the tent scene in DH pt 1 where he explodes in anger yelling "No you don't know how it feels! Your parents are dead! You have no family!" before leaving and later when he comes back to apologize.

Edited January 17, 2016 by VCRTracking

[GaT]

Surprise! You’ll Get 5 Fantastic Beasts Movies. Yes, 5

[HunterHunted]

On 10/18/2015 at 6:31 AM, Browncoat said:

This probably isn't the right place to ask, but I wonder why ABCFamily never shows Goblet of Fire on their Harry Potter weekends.  Anyone know?

On 10/18/2015 at 7:05 AM, Spartan Girl said:

Maybe because they already played it so many times before they finally started playing the final 3 movies that rather figured they could skip it?

On 10/18/2015 at 10:58 AM, Browncoat said:

Maybe, but they still play Sorcerer's Stone, Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban.  Then they skip to Order of the Phoenix and continue from there.

 

 

I'm only answering because it's a Harry Potter weekend and they're showing Goblet of Fire.  So they'll air 2 of the following 3 movies, but rarely all 3: Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, and Order of the Phoenix. Part of the reason why Goblet of Fire isn't always aired is because Goblet of Fire is sometimes airing on HBO. When that happens, Freeform weirdly loses the rights to air the film.

As to the HP universe, I've always felt like it was a particular failing of the books and even more so with the movies that they never did a great job at indicating that some of the kids had an aptitude for one subject over another. They indicated that Neville was interested and skilled at herbology. Parvati was good at Divination. We know that Hagrid, Newt Scamander, and Charlie Weasley have an aptitude for working with magical creatures. Ginny was athletic and a good writer, which is why she ends up playing professional sports and becoming a sports writer. Considering their business, it's clear that Fred and George have a talent for charms, potions, and decent skills at dark arts defense. But there are so many subjects and no one else seems to have strong interests or skills in just one or two subjects of study. It's weird because it doesn't work that way for most people. When I was in high school, there some people who were better at math, science, history, English, sports, or arts. 

It's also funny that for the entire series Draco professes only contempt for Hagrid and magical creatures, but continues to take magical creatures classes. It would tickle me to no end if Draco happened to be a savant on magical creatures exams.

Edited January 3, 2017 by HunterHunted

[Browncoat]

Thanks, @HunterHunted -- I'm actually watching it now.  :)

As for the classes, I suspect certain ones are required through a particular level.  Draco, for example, may not have had a choice in taking Magical Creatures until later in his Hogwarts career.  And who knows what courses were taught during that final year, when Harry and company were off roaming the wilds of Scotland.

[DarkRaichu]

On 12/31/2016 at 5:31 PM, HunterHunted said:

Ginny was athletic and a good writer, which is why she ends up playing professional sports and becoming a sports writer.

I did not know that, but I thought Ginny was a talented witch.  Upon re-watching Order of Phoenix, she was (almost always) the first to master the spells that Harry taught the other kids.  Also, she was the one who casted a spell to blow up the prophecy storage room

On 12/31/2016 at 5:31 PM, HunterHunted said:

But there are so many subjects and no one else seems to have strong interests or skills in just one or two subjects of study. It's weird because it doesn't work that way for most people. When I was in high school, there some people who were better at math, science, history, English, sports, and arts. 

I got the impression each subject takes years to practice and master and the kids only have so much time in school.  Also to me the subject areas seem to be so widely different that it would be hard to be competent in more than 1 or 2 areas.  For example, divination is so different than animagus whereas math and science share the same basis in logic.

[VCRTracking]

On 12/31/2016 at 3:31 PM, HunterHunted said:

When I was in high school, there some people who were better at math, science, history, English, sports, or arts. 

I wonder if teachers wish and if it really would be better if they could devote all their time and attention to students who are genuinely enthusiastic about their subject instead of having to try to reach others who absolutely have no interest or aptitude for it. I get it's important for kids to learn basic math and reading and even typing(man that actually has paid off made my life easier) but the majority of them aren't going to be interested in things like biology or history or have any use for it later in life.

Edited January 3, 2017 by VCRTracking

[Sharpie66]

From what little I know of the British educational system, the A-levels are equivalent to the NEWT-levels in the HP-verse. Students take much fewer A-levels then they do what used to be called the O-levels (the high-school-equivalent required classes everyone takes before A-levels), but are now the GCSE, usually taken at age 16. I know that the federal government determines which A-level courses are offered for testing, and that there has been a big brouhaha recently because they decided to eliminate the archaeology A-level course along with a few others.

If Hogwarts had continued with Umbridge's "reforms," you just know that the Magical Creatures classes would have been eliminated first.

[HunterHunted]

2 hours ago, DarkRaichu said:

I did not know that, but I thought Ginny was a talented witch.  Upon re-watching Order of Phoenix, she was (almost always) the first to master the spells that Harry taught the other kids.  Also, she was the one who casted a spell to blow up the prophecy storage room

I got the impression each subject takes years to practice and master and the kids only have so much time in school.  Also to me the subject areas seem to be so widely different that it would be hard to be competent in more than 1 or 2 areas.  For example, divination is so different than animagus whereas math and science share the same basis in logic.

Ginny plays professional quidditch and then ends up being a sports writer for The Daily Prophet.

I should have changed an and to an or. My point still stands that I find it odd that none of the other kid characters save a handful of exceptions seems to have any particular affinity or talent for particular types/areas/subjects of magic over others. That's not how I remember high school. You knew who was really good at math, science, history, English, sports, or arts. We never get a good sense of that. Even if I accept that post-secondary education and training is done through mentorship, it should be clear that some students excel in certain subjects, while others don't. 

It's also clear that some of the subjects are related. Divination, arithmancy, and xylomancy are related. Runic Studies and Ancient Studies are probably related. It's also clear transfiguration, charms, and parts of potion-making are things that any half competent wizard or witch can do. Even with those subjects, I wish there was more of a distinction between an advanced course and the regular course.

[angora]

On 12/31/2016 at 5:31 PM, HunterHunted said:

It's also funny that for the entire series Draco professes only contempt for Hagrid and magical creatures, but continues to take magical creatures classes. It would tickle me to no end if Draco happened to be a savant on magical creatures exams.

I bet some of the kids consider Care of Magical Creatures to be a blow-off class.  The real question is why Draco's DAD would let him keeping taking classes from a disgraced half-giant without kicking up more of a fuss.

[DarkRaichu]

16 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

Ginny plays professional quidditch and then ends up being a sports writer for The Daily Prophet.

I should have changed an and to an or. My point still stands that I find it odd that none of the other kid characters save a handful of exceptions seems to have any particular affinity or talent for particular types/areas/subjects of magic over others. That's not how I remember high school. You knew who was really good at math, science, history, English, sports, or arts. We never get a good sense of that. Even if I accept that post-secondary education and training is done through mentorship, it should be clear that some students excel in certain subjects, while others don't. 

It's also clear that some of the subjects are related. Divination, arithmancy, and xylomancy are related. Runic Studies and Ancient Studies are probably related. It's also clear transfiguration, charms, and parts of potion-making are things that any half competent wizard or witch can do. Even with those subjects, I wish there was more of a distinction between an advanced course and the regular course.

Ok I got what you meant.  The movies never spent more than a few seconds on other students to highlight their characters much less talents.  Plus when you have a multi-talented witch like Hermione, there was no need to ask other students for help :P  Wait, actually I never got what Ron's talent was from the movies, except for eating :P

Also, there was distinction in potion class, the advanced class used textbooks that straight up gave wrong step by step instructions on how to brew potions. :P  That was the part that I did not get from Half Blood Prince, why used faulty textbooks when they knew mistakes could cause explosions ??  

[Browncoat]

But Seamus caused nearly everything to blow up.  "Boom!" 

I suspect that potions textbook was simply long overdue for a new edition.  Science-type books are being updated all the time.

 

What I always wondered is if Hermione could un-obliviate her parents.  I felt bad for her, having to give up everything.  And what of her parents?  How did they react when neighbors and patients asked about their daughter?  Perhaps she should have just changed their memories so that they could at least tell their friends that Hermione was away at school.

[VCRTracking]

40 minutes ago, DarkRaichu said:

Wait, actually I never got what Ron's talent was from the movies, except for eating :P

Wizard's chess. To be good at regular chess is impressive for an 11 year old.

Re-reading the first Harry Potter book recently and JK Rowling is of course a great writer with a talent for writing really amusing prose which has a charming quality the movies only capture a percentage of. However, describing complicated action scenes isn't really her forte. There's the part where the troll attacks the trio in the girl's bathroom. She writes:

Quote

"Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind."

Now Rowling had earlier described the troll as being twelve feet tall and the average 11 year old is just under five feet. Harry is shorter than Ron who in the books is tall for his age. Even with a running start there is no way Harry could ever jump up that high! The movie gets around this by having Harry grab the troll's club which he lifts over his head and then Harry jumps on his back.

 

29 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

What I always wondered is if Hermione could un-obliviate her parents.  I felt bad for her, having to give up everything.

That's what annoyed me most when Harry broke the Elder Wand in half and threw the pieces off the bridge. You could have used it to unobliviate Hermione's parents and restored their memories!

Edited January 3, 2017 by VCRTracking

[Eeksquire]

Quote

What I always wondered is if Hermione could un-obliviate her parents.  I felt bad for her, having to give up everything.  And what of her parents?  How did they react when neighbors and patients asked about their daughter?  Perhaps she should have just changed their memories so that they could at least tell their friends that Hermione was away at school.

I think this is one of the areas where the movie did a grave disservice to the story - in the book, she changed her parents' memories so that they thought their life's ambition had been to move to Australia with different identities; in the movie, she just erases herself, which, as you point out, wouldn't really work unless she changed everyone around's memories as well.  I also thought that it was possible to recover the lost memories - I believe Dumbledore did it to get some of the memories of Voldemort in HBP (of course, that movie did what I consider a great deal of violence to the plot of that book by not really showing all of the memories or discussing how they were acquired).

[blueray]

I've always thought Hermione reverses it. In the book it makes more sense (but is mentioned in passing). In the movie they show it, which was really powerful and sad. I still wonder why she couldn't have told them they had to flee for their safety, as they would be targets for where the Trio could hide. At the same time it would have been interesting if they did hide there, as it would have been a chance to see more of her parents.

[GaT]

6 hours ago, Browncoat said:

What I always wondered is if Hermione could un-obliviate her parents.  I felt bad for her, having to give up everything.  And what of her parents?  How did they react when neighbors and patients asked about their daughter?  Perhaps she should have just changed their memories so that they could at least tell their friends that Hermione was away at school.

 

4 hours ago, Eeksquire said:

I think this is one of the areas where the movie did a grave disservice to the story - in the book, she changed her parents' memories so that they thought their life's ambition had been to move to Australia with different identities; in the movie, she just erases herself, which, as you point out, wouldn't really work unless she changed everyone around's memories as well.  I also thought that it was possible to recover the lost memories 

 

1 hour ago, blueray said:

I've always thought Hermione reverses it. In the book it makes more sense (but is mentioned in passing). In the movie they show it, which was really powerful and sad. I still wonder why she couldn't have told them they had to flee for their safety, as they would be targets for where the Trio could hide. At the same time it would have been interesting if they did hide there, as it would have been a chance to see more of her parents.

I never understood why she did it in both the books & the movie because it makes no sense. If someone wanted to get to Hermione through her parents, how would them not remembering her help them? it wasn't like they didn't know about the wizarding world, she should have told them exactly what was happening & either given them something to protect themselves, or someone to contact who could help them. Once she wiped their memories, they wouldn't even know to look out for trouble, she made them completely vulnerable.

[scarynikki12]

She gave them completely new identities and sent them to the other side of the world. Hunting down the Grangers wouldn't have been a top priority for the Death Eaters at that time.  Instead, there were enough close calls before the Battle of Hogwarts for the Death Eaters to know that they were still together and in the UK to keep them uninterested in finding the Grangers. And then they would have lost all interest once Voldy realized what they were after. 

One of Rowling's Potter Post Mortems included her saying that Hermione found her parents, restored their memories and identities, and brought them home. It's just not in a story at this time. 

[DarkRaichu]

11 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

Wizard's chess. To be good at regular chess is impressive for an 11 year old.

Ahh that's right, it was shown once and used once to reach the hiding place of Phillosopher's Stone, never to be mentioned in later movies :P

[Browncoat]

It still bothers me that they didn't remove the chains from the Gringott's dragon's neck.  It should have been easy enough to do, either while still in the bank, or while the dragon was briefly basking before taking flight, or even just before they dropped into the lake.

[derriere]

On 05/11/2015 at 9:56 PM, GaT said:

I want to see this movie, but I wish Eddie Redmayne wasn't in it because I don't like him. He's going to take away from me enjoying this.

I thought this too, because I hate him, but I found both him and the film delightful. It was a nice surprise!

[GaT]

21 minutes ago, derriere said:

I thought this too, because I hate him, but I found both him and the film delightful. It was a nice surprise!

I was kind of "meh" on his performance, I don't like the way he didn't look people in the eye when he talked to them, I felt like he was playing Newt like he had Aspergers. 

[HunterHunted]

On 3/21/2017 at 2:09 PM, GaT said:

I was kind of "meh" on his performance, I don't like the way he didn't look people in the eye when he talked to them, I felt like he was playing Newt like he had Aspergers. 

I know that Eddie did some training with animal trackers and handlers. Additionally, I think he was trying to allude to noted animal behaviorist,Temple Grandin, who is autistic. She doesn't necessarily come off exactly like Eddie as Newt, but you can see that she's on the spectrum.

I have a super unpopular opinion. I think that "Always" and Snape's love for Lily is the cheapest laziest redemption. He was at best mildly troubled or ambivalent by all of the atrocities Voldemort and the Death Eaters perpetuated until they came for Lily. The fact that Snape decided to do right because Voldemort and the Death Eaters were targeting something Snape cared about displays such unbelievable lack of empathy. It's grossly sociopathic. He didn't seem to be particularly troubled by all of the torture, terror, and murderers that preceeded Lily's murder. For me, Snape earns that redemption in the movies when Alan Rickman has this horrified face after learning that Dumbledore needs Harry to die at the right time. He's been on both sides of this war and seeing both sides talk about death in a slightly cavalier fashion seemed to finally shake loose how monstrous all if this was.

[SnoGirl]

1 hour ago, HunterHunted said:

I know that Eddie did some training with animal trackers and handlers. Additionally, I think he was trying to allude to noted animal behaviorist,Temple Grandin, who is autistic. She doesn't necessarily come off exactly like Eddie as Newt, but you can see that she's on the spectrum.

I have a super unpopular opinion. I think that "Always" and Snape's love for Lily is the cheapest laziest redemption. He was at best mildly troubled or ambivalent by all of the atrocities Voldemort and the Death Eaters perpetuated until they came for Lily. The fact that Snape decided to do right because Voldemort and the Death Eaters were targeting something Snape cared about displays such unbelievable lack of empathy. It's grossly sociopathic. He didn't seem to be particularly troubled by all of the torture, terror, and murderers that preceeded Lily's murder. For me, Snape earns that redemption in the movies when Alan Rickman has this horrified face after learning that Dumbledore needs Harry to die at the right time. He's been on both sides of this war and seeing both sides talk about death in a slightly cavalier fashion seemed to finally shake loose how monstrous all if this was.

I liked Eddie's performance because it was different. Newt wasn't the typical big damn hero, he was socially awkward, quiet and an outcast doing what he loved and didnt give a damn what other people really thought. Really, he's a grown-up Luna. I loved his and Jacob's friendship, I thought it wad definitely earned.

I will join you on that small boat of your opinion about Snape. I never liked him nor how he was awful to Harry. I get he was bitter about Lilly, but man, he could have done more. Make better choices, be a better person.

[benteen]

I think Eddie's performance could have worked for me if he hadn't whispered all of his dialogue.

[Lugal]

16 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

I have a super unpopular opinion. I think that "Always" and Snape's love for Lily is the cheapest laziest redemption. He was at best mildly troubled or ambivalent by all of the atrocities Voldemort and the Death Eaters perpetuated until they came for Lily. The fact that Snape decided to do right because Voldemort and the Death Eaters were targeting something Snape cared about displays such unbelievable lack of empathy. It's grossly sociopathic. He didn't seem to be particularly troubled by all of the torture, terror, and murderers that preceeded Lily's murder. For me, Snape earns that redemption in the movies when Alan Rickman has this horrified face after learning that Dumbledore needs Harry to die at the right time. He's been on both sides of this war and seeing both sides talk about death in a slightly cavalier fashion seemed to finally shake loose how monstrous all if this was.

I've always thought that casting Alan Rickman was the best and worst thing for Snape.  Alan Rickman was an incredible actor, but on the other hand, it was his performance that gives Snape a certain admiration or respectability that the character really doesn't deserve.

[VCRTracking]

[DarkRaichu]

17 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

I have a super unpopular opinion. I think that "Always" and Snape's love for Lily is the cheapest laziest redemption. He was at best mildly troubled or ambivalent by all of the atrocities Voldemort and the Death Eaters perpetuated until they came for Lily. The fact that Snape decided to do right because Voldemort and the Death Eaters were targeting something Snape cared about displays such unbelievable lack of empathy. It's grossly sociopathic. He didn't seem to be particularly troubled by all of the torture, terror, and murderers that preceeded Lily's murder. For me, Snape earns that redemption in the movies when Alan Rickman has this horrified face after learning that Dumbledore needs Harry to die at the right time. He's been on both sides of this war and seeing both sides talk about death in a slightly cavalier fashion seemed to finally shake loose how monstrous all if this was.

I am going to argue his sociopathic tendencies were exactly why he was so good at being a double agent.  He was able to show just enough / minimal empathy for either side to believe in him.  Just like when Draco's mom asked him to protect her son in ep 6.  There was no sign of remorse or hesitation when he accepted the vow.
Snape only showed emotion on the matters concerning Lily and Harry    

[HunterHunted]

On 12/16/2015 at 3:46 PM, SnoGirl said:

As an American, I selfishly want to know about our magic and the government on this side of the pond. Is the Ministry of Magic reflective of Britain's? Or does it reflect our government? Are there representatives from every state in that shot where I'm assuming we're seeing the leader of the US Minstry of Magic (different title? Who knows!)

I wish this was a book series. I know Rowing is writing this screenplay, but man, this is only going to make me want more then what the film is going to give us.

Personally, I hope we see different Wizards from other countries too in this movie. It's set in New York, it's a giant melting pot of cultures. I loved Goblet of Fire because you got to see how other people in other countries handled/respected/reacted to magic. So I'm hoping Fantastic Beasts will have the same ideas too.

I really wished JK had worked with an American writing partner when she was conceiving what the American magical community might look like. She just doesn't understand enough about this country.

There is a tradition of alternative groups just isolating themselves from the rest of society like the Amish, some Mennonite communities, the Mormons, and other groups that I'm sure forgetting about. It's quite likely that the magical community would likely be really isolated from nomajs. There is a strong thread of isolationism in America.

America has a profound amount of bigotry built into the culture and our laws. There is no way that a Black woman would be the head of the magical Congress unless there was a very extensive floo network. There were a whole host of places where people of color and some other immigrants (Irish, Italian, Greek, Jewish) were not allowed to be within a half mile. Those people naturally cause suspicion by being near those places. A Black president would have been harassed at least a half dozen times before she managed to walk into the magical entrance. There were a decent number of sundown towns in New England and even into Ohio. Additionally, Lousiana had a whole series of laws about what a person's rights were depending on the percentage of their Black ancestry.

The culture is so different throughout the country. The food is different, the accents are different, the culture is different, and sometimes the laws are different. Louisiana still has parts of the Napoleonic Code in their laws. It's much more likely that there would be several magical schools in different regions. At the same time, America doesn't have the tradition of boarding schools for secondary education. It's much more likely that American schools of magic would be day or weekend schools in small ethnic communities.

1 hour ago, Lugal said:

I've always thought that casting Alan Rickman was the best and worst thing for Snape.  Alan Rickman was an incredible actor, but on the other hand, it was his performance that gives Snape a certain admiration or respectability that the character really doesn't deserve.

Alan brought a lot of nuance to the role when textually there isn't a ton.I

6 minutes ago, DarkRaichu said:

I am going to argue his sociopathic tendencies were exactly why he was so good at being a double agent.  He was able to show just enough / minimal empathy for either side to believe in him.  Just like when Draco's mom asked him to protect her son in ep 6.  There was no sign of remorse or hesitation when he accepted the vow.
Snape only showed emotion on the matters concerning Lily and Harry    

It did probably make him a good spy, but I still think he's a pretty terrible person.

[supposebly]

I liked this take on the character of Newt Scamander a lot. And its explanation why critics didn't much like his portrayal.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, HunterHunted said:

I really wished JK had worked with an American writing partner when she was conceiving what the American magical community might look like.

I really wish she had come up with a better word than "nomag"

[Lugal]

3 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

I really wished JK had worked with an American writing partner when she was conceiving what the American magical community might look like. She just doesn't understand enough about this country.

There is a tradition of alternative groups just isolating themselves from the rest of society like the Amish, some Mennonite communities, the Mormons, and other groups that I'm sure forgetting about. It's quite likely that the magical community would likely be really isolated from nomajs. There is a strong thread of isolationism in America.

America has a profound amount of bigotry built into the culture and our laws. There is no way that a Black woman would be the head of the magical Congress unless there was a very extensive floo network. There were a whole host of places where people of color and some other immigrants (Irish, Italian, Greek, Jewish) were not allowed to be within a half mile. Those people naturally cause suspicion by being near those places. A Black president would have been harassed at least a half dozen times before she managed to walk into the magical entrance. There were a decent number of sundown towns in New England and even into Ohio. Additionally, Lousiana had a whole series of laws about what a person's rights were depending on the percentage of their Black ancestry.

The culture is so different throughout the country. The food is different, the accents are different, the culture is different, and sometimes the laws are different. Louisiana still has parts of the Napoleonic Code in their laws. It's much more likely that there would be several magical schools in different regions. At the same time, America doesn't have the tradition of boarding schools for secondary education. It's much more likely that American schools of magic would be day or weekend schools in small ethnic communities.

 

I've heard people say that JK doesn't really get any country outside of UK, but there was definitely stuff she missed about America.  Different regions were founded by different peoples at different times: the Spanish in the Southwest in the 1500s, the English in New England and Virginia in the 1600s, the Germans in Pennsylvania in the 1700s and so on.  It makes sense there would be a lot of different magic schools at different times and places.  Not to mention the flack she got from Native Americans for their portrayal.

I agree that the magical community could be really isolated, like in some remote desert or mountain range (call it Godric's Holler).  I could see less bigotry within the magical communities themselves but outside it would definitely be a big deal outside the community.  And she mentioned how small the wizard community is in Britain, and how the pure-blood families are intermarried, I think it would be similar here, like how most Amish have the names Beiler, King or Stoltzfus.

Plus it's a general thing that annoys me to connect all things magical back to Salem (and Rowling is hardly the only one guilty of it) when there are other folk-magical traditions in America she could have drawn on (powwow doctors, curanderos, traiteurs, hoodoo men, etc.)