Hogwarts Professor

By Chris Calderon

It seems the Wizarding World has a new Hero.  On November 18^th, 2016, Potterphiles around the world will get their first glimpse of J.K. Rowling’s latest champion.  That person is…

Well, he’s this sort of funny little fellow with a ridiculous name and, judging from his looks, he suffers from what the late Richard Attenborough would call “a distinct lack of personality”.  Who is he, though?  What is it about the character of Newton Scamander that makes Ms. Rowling feel he’s so darned important?  There are answers to that question, and when taken together the overall picture they present may come as rather a pleasant surprise.  Let’s find out! [Read more…]

The Allegory of Fantastic Beasts 2: Rowling and the American Gothic

by Chris Calderon

In discussing the American Puritans as J.K. Rowling’s latest target in her upcoming Fantastic Beasts film, it’s important to realize just why she chose such an obscure group of Christian sectarians for her satire.

The Puritans have long since passed into memory in America, yet they’ve left behind an artistic legacy whose impact has proved beyond measure.  It is this legacy, I’d argue, and that Rowling is tapping into in with her latest outing in the Wizarding World.  In order to understand what kind of artistic tradition the Puritans have left behind, it’s important to know a little bit about the Gothic Tradition in fiction, and in particular how the history of the early American Colonies shaped its modern form of expression.

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The Allegory of Fantastic Beasts 1: Rowling and the Puritans – Some Preliminary Background

By Chris Calderon

The call themselves “The Second Salemers.”  They are a group of non-magical reactionaries modeling themselves on the participants of the Salem Witchcraft Trials.  Their one goal is very simple: the outlawing, and gradual abolishment of all magical persons (and perhaps also beings) more or less across the globe.  With such a description in mind, it’s not too difficult to see exactly what kind of target J.K. Rowling will be going after for her latest outing in the Wizarding World.  It seems that with Fantastic Beasts Ms. Rowling will be setting her satirical sights on the Puritans, the earliest known settlers to the New England Colonies, and who, for better and/or worse, were the ones to really get the ball rolling on the establishment of a truly American identity.

However, what is the nature of her latest target, anyway?  Can anything be learned at all about Ms. Rowling’s goals for these characters by examining the history of their real life counterparts?  Is it possible that, by putting a (sometimes) recognized target in her sites, Ms. Rowling (an English citizen) is nonetheless taking part and participation in a long established tradition in American Literature?  I believe there are answers to these questions.  I also think that looking into them will reveal some interesting thematic resonances in her upcoming film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

In order to answer these questions, however, requires covering a lot of ground, for there a lot to discuss and talk about when it comes to Rowling’s target of satire. The simple fact is that the Puritans, though long defunct as a collective, have managed to cast a long legacy over our Nation’s history.  I would argue that it is an examination this legacy, and it’s implications for the Country, that Rowling will be taking up as the second major theme of her movie.  First things go before Last, however, and in order to gain as comprehensive an idea as possible about her latest target, we’ll have to start at the beginning.

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