Full disclosure: I have not yet seen the film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and prior to reading this article, I did not have much interest in doing so. My interest, however, is now piqued.
Having read all of the Harry Potter series, and seen all the films, I cannot help but be frustrated by the traditional tropes of [toxic] masculinity embodied by Harry and many of the other characters. Hermione was always a more interesting character to me, and I found great joy in this “retelling” of the series through her perspective: Hermione Granger & The Goddamn Patriarchy. In reading this Bustle article on the new film, Fantastic Beasts, I am quite interested in the ways Newt Scamander, a Hufflepuff, embodies healthier, non-toxic masculinities. The article also makes connections to the ways Hufflepuffs are derided throughout the series, largely because they reject typical ideals of masculine heroism.
I always saw myself as a Ravenclaw–Gryffindor without the ego–I am curious if I were to reread the series, which I have not done since before the last book came out 9.5 years ago, if perhaps I would now relate more to Hufflepuff. This article provides both an advocation for the new film, as well as an important critique of Harry’s heroism throughout the original series. We can only hope that future authors and filmmakers will see the value in telling more stories about and through the perspective of characters like Newt Scamander and Hermione Granger.
– Brett Goldberg
Read the full post via Bustle.
