Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

[thegatorgirl00 she/her]

Watched the movie today and saw something on the tv tropes page that I wanted to mention here. 

An Obscurial is created when a wizard grows up in an abusive environment where magic is hated. This is all known in Harry"s time. Yet Dumbledore put Harry in that exact environment with the Dursleys. Think about how easily Harry could have become an Obscurial. 

I never liked Dumbledore before, but this made it worse. I know he was trying to protect Harry from Voldemort, but risking him tuning into a powerful, dangerous magiical creature  does not seem like the best way to do it. 

[Sunbird she/her]

1 hour ago, thegatorgirl00 said:

Watched the movie today and saw something on the tv tropes page that I wanted to mention here. 

An Obscurial is created when a wizard grows up in an abusive environment where magic is hated. This is all known in Harry"s time. Yet Dumbledore put Harry in that exact environment with the Dursleys. Think about how easily Harry could have become an Obscurial. 

I never liked Dumbledore before, but this made it worse. I know he was trying to protect Harry from Voldemort, but risking him tuning into a powerful, dangerous magiical creature  does not seem like the best way to do it. 

D= Whaaaaaaaat--*head explodes*

[Mestiv he/him]

11 hours ago, Shardbearer said:

Did anyone else get the distinct impression that Newt is autistic?

I wouldn't say he's autistic, he just really isn't that good around people and prefers animals. He's shy and adorkable, but if he wants too, he's perfectly capable of social interactions.  However, I have to confess that I don't know that much about autism and what are the less obvious symptoms.

3 hours ago, thegatorgirl00 said:

Watched the movie today and saw something on the tv tropes page that I wanted to mention here. 

An Obscurial is created when a wizard grows up in an abusive environment where magic is hated. This is all known in Harry"s time. Yet Dumbledore put Harry in that exact environment with the Dursleys. Think about how easily Harry could have become an Obscurial. 

I never liked Dumbledore before, but this made it worse. I know he was trying to protect Harry from Voldemort, but risking him tuning into a powerful, dangerous magiical creature  does not seem like the best way to do it. 

I agree that putting Harry in Dursleys home was a risky, stupid and cruel move. However, he had far better life than Credence and although Dursleys hated magic, they did they best to convince Harry that magic doesn't exist, not make him hate it. That's why Harry didn't suspect he has any kind of powers and as a result didn't try to suppress them like Credence did. He did grow up in an abusive environment, but it didn't really interfere with his random feats of magic. There was also Ms. Figg keeping eye on him and she would probably raise an alarm if something wrong started to happen.

Arianna Dumbledore however did try to suppress her magic and I think that she might have been an Obscurial.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

2 hours ago, Mestiv said:

I wouldn't say he's autistic, he just really isn't that good around people and prefers animals. He's shy and adorkable, but if he wants too, he's perfectly capable of social interactions.  However, I have to confess that I don't know that much about autism and what are the less obvious symptoms.

I agree that putting Harry in Dursleys home was a risky, stupid and cruel move. However, he had far better life than Credence and although Dursleys hated magic, they did they best to convince Harry that magic doesn't exist, not make him hate it. That's why Harry didn't suspect he has any kind of powers and as a result didn't try to suppress them like Credence did. He did grow up in an abusive environment, but it didn't really interfere with his random feats of magic. There was also Ms. Figg keeping eye on him and she would probably raise an alarm if something wrong started to happen.

Arianna Dumbledore however did try to suppress her magic and I think that she might have been an Obscurial.

Sure, but Dumbledore wasn't clairvoyant. He couldn't say, with absolute certainty, that the Dursleys would try to convince him magic wasn't real instead of trying to make him repress his powers; but he did know that Vernon Dursley was as anti-magic as you can get. So when Dumbledore placed Harry on the doorstep of Number Four Privet Drive, he knowingly took the risk that Harry would become an Obscurial. 

[Shardbearer he/him]

6 hours ago, Mestiv said:

I wouldn't say he's autistic, he just really isn't that good around people and prefers animals. He's shy and adorkable, but if he wants too, he's perfectly capable of social interactions.  However, I have to confess that I don't know that much about autism and what are the less obvious symptoms.

 

I brought it because I have 2 kids with autism, and it's something I started suspecting of Newt almost as soon as the movie started.

Many autistics do learn to cope pretty well in social situations. They may still find it difficult to express themselves, or to make eye contact, or have awkward body language and mannerisms. Or not, depending on how well they've learned to cope and how severe their ASD is.

Another common sign is highly specialized interests, often coupled with the ability to see the world differently as it relates to that interest. Newt's interest in, and affinity with, magical beasts reminds me somewhat of Temple Grandin. She is a famous autistic who advocates for the humane treatment of cattle prior to slaughter. Based on her unique ability to see how cattle might see, she was able to design corrals that basically lead cattle peaceably to their deaths, without panicing.

Autistics also can experience sensory overload from sights, sounds, and sensations that neurotypical people can easily filter out. At the end of the movie when Newt is awkwardly saying farewell to Tina before he gets on the boat (and why doesn't he just apparate back to England?) he hears a foghorn and kind of cringes and turns his head in that direction. Tina doesn't even seem to register the noise.

So yeah, I'd say there are plenty of clues pointing in this direction.

[Mestiv he/him]

@Shardbearer that's interesting and it would be really cool to have your theory confirmed!

[skaa he/him]

On 11/26/2016 at 1:28 AM, Shardbearer said:

(and why doesn't he just apparate back to England?)

Apparition becomes more difficult the farther your target location is. He could've used a Portkey, but those are regulated by magical governments so he'd have to obtain authorization from the Ministry of Magic in the U.K. and perhaps obtain an official portkey from MACUSA. He probably considered the boat ride less of a hassle.

I agree that Newt seems to be on the autism spectrum. That's a good theory.

(Edit: Found this interesting alternative theory on Newt's behavior on Reddit.)

As for my thoughts on the movie, I liked it over all but I have a couple of complaints. First, Katherine Waterston's acting felt a bit awkward at times, which was unfortunate given her significant screen time. Though she tried, her Tina Goldstein simply lacked the fierceness that I imagine an Auror (even an ex-Auror) ought to have. She is very cute, though.  I think some of the blame can be placed on the directing and editing, anyway.

Speaking of which, I thought they could've cut or changed some of the New Salem Philanthropic Society scenes. I mean, I know they needed to show how Credence and Modesty were being raised badly by their mother but some of those scenes were just odd, and they just made the movie more confusing than it needed to be.

Edited November 28, 2016 by Ookla the Insipid

[Lost Owl Needs Tea]

The idea about Dumbledore leaving Harry with the Dursley is true, but I think Dumbledore was taking a chance either way and it's not like he didn't keep an eye out. Harry would be without the protection of Lily's sacrifice if he didn't live with them, leaving him vulnerable if Voldemort did return. 

I thought Tina was cute too. I didn't like Newt's character, but only because he reminded me of someone I know and not on particularly good terms with. Great acting from Eddie Redmayne to make me cringe from his awkwardness (and I am pretty awkward myself). The reddit link about his behavior as a zoologist was interesting! All the main characters were well fleshed out, I thought, though I didn't buy the Tina and Newt romance at all either and was surprised at the departing scene. 

I do wish the MACUSA was a better explored as well. I feel like there's a dystopian thing going on where every person working in a fictional government is either bland or evil, in this case the former. I wish they'd introduce and show some leaders who actually aimed to do good, or tried to be a moral and decent like Dalinar. I really didn't like the casting for Grindalwald, hoping I get proved wrong there. I'm a Potter fan, so I loved the movie for the nostalgia. In summary, the best thing was the Niffler. 

 

[Mestiv he/him]

5 hours ago, Lost Owl Needs Tea said:

the best thing was the Niffler. 

Upvote for that!

[Orlion Blight he/him]

Couple thoughts:

Spoiler

The Big Reveal that Gray was really Johnny Depp was poorly executed and Scooby-Dooish. Pretty much ruined what was at least an entertaining movie for me.

I know what character Depp is suppose to be, but he wasn't established as being that character before that scene. He doesn't even show up until then. Add a result, instead of, " gasps! It's Grimwald!" It's "Gasp! It's Johnny Depp!"

As far as the swift sentencing to death, that's done in relation to terror caused by Grimwald. This appears to be, as a result, some poorly executed criticism of how the CIA treats terror suspects in an extra judicial matter.