In the first few years after the Harry Potter book series came to an end, I would hungrily lap up any and every new information or revelation that J K Rowling threw at fans. However, with the franchise growing incredibly, over the years, I’ve come to regard the orignal HP books as sacrosanct, and anything beyond that as something that distorted my favourite story.
The Fantastic Beasts movie franchise, surprisingly, turned out to be a delightful exception. It was beautifully shot, had an incredible cast, and told a different story without tampering much with Harry Potter canon.
That was until the final trailer of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald came out, confirming a long-standing fan theory with huge implications. Nagini, Voldemort’s pet snake, horcrux, and possibly only BFF, was in reality, a human. More accurately, a witch.
South Korean actress Claudia Kim, who’s casting caused major speculation about who she might be playing, revealed for the first time that she was indeed playing Nagini, the snake.
Exclusive: Watch @FantasticBeasts actress Claudia Kim reveal her character's name publicly for the first time: https://t.co/xPOlHDkxpR 🐍 #FantasticBeasts pic.twitter.com/SDMNsDKkKu
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) September 25, 2018
J K Rowling has described Kim’s character as a Maledictus—a woman with a blood curse that causes her to transform into an animal, in this case, a snake.
The Maledictus: Aiding a Fugitive #FantasticBeasts pic.twitter.com/7AvfyKXanT
— Fantastic Beasts UK (@BeastsMovieUK) September 25, 2018
While many fans have been ecstatic to get this popular theory confirmed, the casting of an Asian actress as a submissive snake to a white male, who eventually dies at the hands of another is being termed somewhat racist.
Broke: Asian women as love interests for white male protagonists.
Woke: Asian women brainwashed, transfigured into a giant snake and kept as a pet/slave for 60 years by white male antagonists, then decapitated by a teenager.#FantasticBeasts #nagini pic.twitter.com/mkNA6wniD9
— Vinh, the Dad of Boi (@Supervinh47) September 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/SolivagaSerpent/status/1044972630191812609
The decision to cast an Asian woman could be seen as jumping on the inclusivity wagon, which is a growing rage in Hollywood right now. However, the question miffed fans are asking is “Why cast them as a snake?”
Author J K Rowling decided to jump into the debate by clarifying that the supposed Indonesian roots of the Nagas, the inspiration for the character of Nagini. This was meant to explain the casting of an Asia actress for the role.
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) September 26, 2018
Unfortunately, Rowling’s explanation might have been a tad bit flawed.
Amish Tripathi, author of the Shiva Trilogy, clarified that while the Nagas might have their place in Indonesian mythology, their origins were in fact Indian.
Actually @jk_rowling the Naga mythology emerged from India. It travelled to Indonesia with the Indic/Hindu empires that emerged there in the early Common Era, with the influence of Indian traders and Rishis/Rishikas who travelled there. Nagin is a Sanskrit language word. https://t.co/cXHSlDD7Kc
— Amish Tripathi (@authoramish) September 26, 2018
When a fan tried to point out how Indians might find this misrpresentation offensive, Amish very gracefully pointed out that there was nothing to feel offended about and his clarification shouldn’t be twisted into something that it is not.
I'm not offended, @lalisa_you. I was just clarifying something to @jk_rowling. That's all.
And Indonesia is a cousin culture of India's. We have learnt many things from them too. Both our countries tend to like each other.
My limited point: Naga traditions have origins in India. https://t.co/ZxdqcXLeKt— Amish Tripathi (@authoramish) September 27, 2018
Amish’s approach seems like one of the few sensible voices who just want to make sure that the right facts are represented.
As the following tweets explain, this issue should spark a healthy debate rather than spewing hate for a beloved story.
https://twitter.com/ElloEllenOh/status/1044639577791758336
Hear hear!