← Back to Directory
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Movie

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

2018 • Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Woke Score
5
out of 10

Plot

In an effort to thwart Grindelwald's plans of raising pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings, Albus Dumbledore enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, though he's unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

Overall Series Review

The film shifts away from the whimsical adventure of its predecessor to focus on heavy-handed allegories for real-world social issues. It uses the wizarding world to mirror modern political divides, prioritizing subtextual romantic history and identity-based conflicts over clear storytelling. The narrative centers on a 'forbidden' bond between two men and depicts traditional human society as a source of inevitable destruction.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics6/10

The film uses 'pure-blood' wizarding ideology as a transparent allegory for systemic racism and white supremacy. Diverse casting for historically established families and roles, such as Leta Lestrange and Nagini, focuses on modern representation over historical or lore consistency.

Oikophobia5/10

The narrative frames the non-magical Western world as inherently violent and destructive. Grindelwald uses visions of World War II and the atomic bomb to argue that traditional human civilization is a failure that must be ruled by a magical elite.

Feminism4/10

Male leads are portrayed as sensitive or emotionally fragile, specifically subverting traditional masculine archetypes. Female characters often drive the emotional weight of the plot, though some are sidelined in favor of the central male conflict.

LGBTQ+7/10

The core motivation for the series' main conflict is the past romantic relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald. The plot centers on their 'blood pact'—a physical manifestation of their commitment—making a queer dynamic the most important historical element of the story.

Anti-Theism3/10

Traditional religion is entirely absent and replaced by a secular magical morality. The only hints of religious-style zealotry are framed as dangerous or repressive, leaving a spiritual vacuum where only personal power and choice remain.