#WhereisTinaGoldstein

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Tina Goldstein appreciation video

Happy birthday to our queen, Porpentina Esther Goldstein!

Happy birthday (August 19, 1901) to Tina Goldstein! And a hearty thanks to Katherine Waterston for bringing such a complex and nuanced woman and character to life. (If WB & You-Know-Who put out another FB film, here's to Waterston actually -- you know -- being in it...? #whereisTinaGoldstein.) Made for the fan event #AugustNineTeenie2023.

Music by the inimitable Dessa. Lyrics here.

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Thoughts on Fantastic Beasts Franchise: Why am I upset? (But still a little hopeful)

I've been reading everybody else's opinion on the trailer and the future of the franchise for the past two weeks, so I thought I could write something about it myself. I'm not as happy as I expected to be, and there are some reasons for it. I’m going to start with a short overview of what the first two FB movies left, and what I think about recent news.

I watched Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in November 2017, a year after its release. As someone who grew up reading Harry Potter, I was curious about the movie but didn't expect much from it. Even if it offered an opportunity to go back to the magical world, I wasn't sure I could love a whole new set of characters as much as I had loved the HP ones, or find their story as compelling as the one I knew. But I wanted to give it a chance.

During the first half of the movie, I was lost. There were wands, magical creatures, and adventure, but it felt unfamiliar. It wasn't until the death cell scene that I started to find it interesting. For me, it's the film's breaking point: The moment when Newt and Tina start to trust each other, and when along with Queenie and Jacob, they become a team; one that can go through impossible and dangerous situations together. A little like Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but different. These characters were not kids in a school, dealing with the typical problems of teenagers while saving the world; but adults facing real-life (magical and non-magical) troubles the best they could. I could connect with that. From then on, I started to enjoy myself.

I think the reason I loved the film so much was that it brought back to me the excitement I felt for HP as a child. For some years these books and movies were my entire world, and even years later, they hold a special place in my heart. For two hours I had the strange and wonderful sensation of being an eleven-year-old all over again. But it also made me emotional in ways the HP movies never managed to. My favorite scene is the one where Newt releases the thunderbird, obbliviating New York, with all the wizards walking around and reconstructing the city. Watching it always makes me feel strangely emotional. It may be that as we grow up we start to need more magic in our life, or at least, be able to imagine a world when magic can solve problems and make things better.

By now, I must have watched the film like a million times, and it still makes me feel that childlike excitement. As the credits rolled that first time, I remember I ran downstairs to take my copy of fbawtft and make sure that Newt indeed, married Tina.

I watched it again a few days later and put special attention to detail. I think one of the biggest assets of the film was that the HP references were subtle: If you were a fan you could get excited by identifying a spell, or remembering a creature from Hagrid's lessons, or wondering why the obscurus description sounded familiar. But someone who had no idea, could easily ignore all those things and enjoy it as well. It was a perfect balance between nostalgia and surprise, the old and the new.

I only had a year of waiting before Crimes of Grindelwald. When I started to read the HP books, most of the movies were already out, so I've never followed the promotion for any of them. 2018 was a tough year for me, and keeping up with the trailers, the posters, the interviews, gave me something to be cheerful about. It was fun. I must confess my expectations were high. It was also the first time I was going to watch a release. I grew up in a small town, and the cinema didn't work regularly.

But watching CoG my disappointment was immense: After the promotion, I expected something big, but the movie wasn't much more of what we had already seen in advance. Everything that made the first one great, was taken away. Instead of our four beloved protagonists, there were three hundred new characters that did not have much screentime; some didn't even have much relevance to the plot. Most things regarding Newt, Tina, Jacob, and Queenie were not even explained, as if they lacked importance.

The most painful omission was the situation between Tina and Queenie. Queenie's storyline in CoG confused many fans, not because the twist in her fate was not interesting, but because it was never correctly developed.

In the first film, we're told that the sisters raized each other and are incredibly close. They would not "stop talking" just because Tina disagrees with Queenie seeing Jacob, unless that conflict, for some reason, turned more serious in those months previous to the Paris incident. This is important not only to see Tina's point of view, but also to understand the events that led Queenie to be desperate enough to think Grindelwald was her only option. If we consider that Queenie feels the most important people in her life, and her government are not supporting her, then her making a radical choice could make sense. Explaining all of this was of huge importance to three of the main characters' storylines, and so, to the general plot. Big mistake.

Tina's storyline made no sense either. The first film introduced us to a female character that was strong, independent, and brave, but also insecure, lonely, awkward; someone who has had a difficult life, and had to do the best she could. A character with the potential to grow and change throughout the five movies. In CoG they turned that character into just a love interest, someone who had no story of her own, and no mission apart from turning the protagonist's head. Queenie's character arch, even if poorly developed, had the advantage of being "cool": The sweet and innocent sister who joined the bad guys. Standing with the "good ones" is not that interesting. True to life: Doing the right thing is for boring people only.

The HP references were everywhere. It looked wonderful in the trailers, but most of them didn't make a significant contribution to the story. Characters and elements "magically" appeared where the plot needed them, ignoring of it made sense or not.

There was no emotion. The bigger scenes didn't feel moving. I watched the ending on a big screen and not a single emotion went through my body. I left the cinema trying to figure out what the hell had happened to the franchise. Suddenly, instead of making the most of what had been built in the first installment, it was about bringing HP back. And that was not what I wanted to see.

I suspect the people making the film believed that if they gave us enough HP references and special effects we wouldn't realize there was no plot.

Over these past three years since CoG, I have re-watched it many times, and even though I don't consider it a good movie, I've found some things that made it worth watching (Mostly Newt, Tina, and Jacob scenes, but some of Grindelwald's as well)

When FB3 was first pushed back, in 2019, I knew it was probably the best thing to do. They promised us a bigger and better movie, and I imagined they were going to learn from their mistakes. For me, the solution was obvious: They had to go back to the things that made the first one great. They had to go back to the four main characters, to the magical creatures, and stop trying to fit so much HP into the plot.

After all the troubles the third film has gone through, I was happy to have all the little news we could get. But when they released the title...I felt uneasy. The Secrets of Dumbledore. More HP. The leaks going around bothered me, but the trailer was the thing that really upset me.

The worst thing is that the trailer was good. There are so many things in there that I wanted to see! Newt and Theseus behaving like brothers, Pickett being adorable, Jacob being Jacob. But there was a single point that monopolized my attention: Tina's absence.

Of course, I was disappointed because she is my favorite character, but it's not just about Tina, it’s about what she represents to the story.

We know Tina marries Newt at some point, but that's not the only role she plays. Tina was the person who risked everything to help Credence, the first one to notice him. Tina is Queenie's older sister, the one who raized her. Queenie and Credence are on Grindelwald's side, and the third movie may be the one when the conflicts surrounding both characters are solved. And Tina is not gonna be there? It makes no sense to the character, but most importantly, it makes no sense to the plot.

Tina is as important as any of the other three protagonists, but she has a particularity that makes her indispensable: She is the one that connects all the characters. In fbawtft she is the reason the four protagonists meet, and the reason they got involved in Credence's path. In CoG, even if I do not appreciate what they did to her character, she is again the point where many of the stories connect: She is in Paris looking for Credence, and that makes Queenie and Newt end up in the city as well, along with a very confused Jacob.

If we think about it, in CoG the only thing left standing from the first film was Newt and Tina's relationship. So, apart from messing the plot in an unspeakable way, taking Tina away would feel like severing the last tie this franchise has with fbawtft. From now on, it's about Dumbledore and Grindelwald. And honestly, I'm not interested in that. I want a fbawtft sequel, not a HP prequel.

I know it's the first trailer, and the only thing we are hearing are speculations, most with incorrect information. Sadly, some of these "speculations" are being fuelled by fan pages that have several followers; and that's how the rumors start to spread. Even the "leaks" seem to be from the same source, a screentest that happened months ago (And we're talking about a movie that is still very much in post-production, so the leak is not the movie we're gonna watch in April) We can't tell for sure, but I confess I'm worried.

In CoG, character development, or having a sensible plot were not the main concern, that's why I don't trust either JK, Yates, or WB when it comes to presenting a flawless story anymore. But what I do believe is that they wouldn't do something that could potentially harm the production's image. They cannot take another scandal: FB3 needs to do well if they want the franchise to subsist. If this goes wrong, not only will it be over, but they will lose a lot of money. This is why I find the situation with Tina is very suspicious. Let me explain.

I want to believe that the ones making the movie are not stupid, and can tell that reducing a leading character's role without an excellent explanation is a very bad move, one they cannot afford to make right now. I also suppose they know that not showing Tina in the trailer would make people talk. So I wonder: If they are reducing Tina's role so drastically, wouldn't it be smarter to make her appear two seconds in the trailer so we don't suspect it? Wouldn't it be silly to take her off the story if fans can get upset over it? (And the situation requires those fans to be pleased?) Wouldn't it be weird to put the spotlight on her like this if she is so irrelevant to the plot? Because this is what's happening right now: The spotlight is on Tina. And this goes further than the trailer: the little official material that has been released features every character except Tina. It looks like they are making an effort to conceal her.

Besides, I have the feeling that if there was some reason that escaped the production's control (something like covid restrictions or scheduling conflicts) and could easily explain Tina’s “disappearance”, they would let us know instead of allowing fans to imagine anything that makes WB look bad.

Since the trailer dropped, people have been relentlessly asking about Tina and making theories on her absence. She is receiving more attention than ever before. WB must have seen it coming, I just can’t believe they would make that kind of mistake. If this ends up being a strategy to increase the level of attention around the movie, I'm going to admit it's smart. I wouldn't like the alternative.

Maybe part of the problem is that we keep comparing the promotion for this film, with the one for CoG. But the situation in the world (And in the fandom) was very different back in 2018. If they're trying to keep everything under wraps so we can find out in the cinema, I don't think that's bad. Last time they gave away too much while promoting, and in the end, it wasn't beneficial.

So, even though I'm bracing myself for a huge disappointment, I'm still hoping for a surprise. I'm relying on WB common sense. Because common sense is very important to make films, but even more important for business.

I want the movie to be good, and for that, I need it to make sense. I've lowered my expectations in the past weeks, but I won't consider this a lost battle just yet. I hope the movie is not a disaster, that I can like it (at least a little), and that it saves the franchise. What makes me sad, is that I'm not as excited as I used to be. And I miss feeling excited. Promotion time used to be fun, and it's not anymore. Whether this Tina situation is resolved to the fans' satisfaction or not, I'm concerned about where the franchise seems to be going.

What I'm trying to say with this very long text, is that in their eagerness to catch the eye of every HP fan in existence, the ones making these movies are losing the respect of the FB fans; the ones that love these films, not as an intent to extend a successful franchise, but as a wonderful and different story all on its own.

I want Fantastic Beasts (And my excitement) back.