Witches are all-powerful beings. I don’t just say this because I am named after a witch. (Morgan le Fay, look her up!) Witches are a symbol for a number of things: hyper sexuality, decrepitness, devil-worship, tricksters, doom. The depiction of witches in cinema uses the sometimes juxtaposing facets of witches to perpetuate negative stereotypes about witches, while some begin to reframe the narrative around them.
The book, Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive by Kristen Sollee, examines the history of witches and the pop culture images of witches, their impact on how we view women, and the reclaim of our witchiness. If, like me, you grew up in the United States, you were likely academically introduced to witches thanks to the Arthur Miller play, The Crucible. The play, and the subsequent 1996 film version, follows Abigail Williams and her posse of adolescent girls who keep naming people as witches. The Salem Witch Trials were truly a miniscule part of history, but Miller made them infamous.
What The Crucible taught us was one of the ways we process the understanding of witches: old women. The Salem Witch Trials, and the witch hunts in Europe, frequently found women past a certain age being accused of being a witch. As a society, we do have difficulty allowing women to age. We demonize and vilify it. Just look at The Witches (1990). When the witches are seen in their natural state, the witches in the film are vile, ugly, and super, duper old. They strive for physical beauty. This isn’t the only film where women seek the gift of youth.
A Personal Journey Through Horror Movies – Part I
In Hocus Pocus (1993), the Sanderson Sisters are on the hunt for eternal beauty. The premise of the film is that they plan to suck the lives out of the children of Salem so that they can be young forever. When you have cheekbones like Bette Midler, I don’t understand why you would need to do such a thing.
Similarly, in Death Becomes Her (1992), Madeline (Meryl Streep) and Helen (Goldie Hawn) both take a potion to be young again. At one point, Madeline remarks at her transformation, “I’m a girl!” The irony in the film is that despite the fact Madeline and Helen have eternal youth and life, there is still upkeep and maintenance with their perfect bodies that they were not expecting.
On the flip side, when the witch is not the “old hag,” she is a beguiling, wicked enchantress. Sometimes, it is due to her wicked tongue. Look at Madeline and Helen in Death Becomes Her. Both characters push Ernest (Bruce Willis) around, trying to entrap him for their own motives. “Do you know what they do to soft, bald overweight Republicans in prison, Ernest?” Madeline hisses at her husband, attempting to manipulate him to do her bidding. Likewise, Helen attempts to steal Ernest back from Madeline years after she was scored by her supposed friend. How charming and conniving.
Likewise, Sarah Sanderson (Sarah Jessica Parker), who exclaims at one point, “I am beautiful! Boys will love me!”, is someone who uses her femininity to entrance and use men. In the film – a children’s movie I might add – it is hinted that Sarah used her womanly wiles to seduce her own sister’s boyfriend. Scorned, Winifred (Bette Midler) poisoned him and sowed his mouth shut.
A Personal Journey Through Horror Movies – Part II
In Practical Magic (1998), a pair of sisters Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) inherited their ancestor’s score – witches are also vengeful when not loved properly. Sally tries to never fall in love. However, Gillian is a bit more intrigued by love. In the film, Gillian finds herself falling in love with almost any man she meets.
Witch, when not used synonymously with “hag,” was also used as the Medieval version of “slut” or “slag.” And when the image of the witch isn’t being used to just denigrate women’s sexuality, it is used to declare pure evil and demonic intentions.
The Sanderson Sisters of Hocus Pocus were said to sell their souls to the devil. Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder) in The Crucible accused the so-called witches of demonic possession and speaking in tongues. When The Little Hours (2017) decided to take a turn into witchcraft – makes sense, it is based off of a Medieval piece of literature – it quickly turns into a demonic orgy.
Now, these films, and the many other witchy films, are not all inherently bad. There are just times in which the stereotypes that the original witch was crafted of, all used to control, belittle, and defile women creep their heads into cinema. Even with these original definitions, many films and television series have fought to reclaim the witch.
A Personal Journey Through Horror Movies – Part III
Yes, a witch may be sexually promiscuous, but she is powerful in the way she owns her body. Yes, a witch could be old and shriveled up, or hot, dumb, and blonde, but she is immensely powerful regardless of her age. Sure, a witch could be spiteful or scorned or afraid, but her bonds with her sisters could help her overcome that.
For me, there’s a little witch in all of us. Something about us may confuse others or make others judge us, but there is a deep power in every person. The witch is so scary because she is so powerful. Her agency in herself, her belief in herself and others, can chip away at any conformity or insecurity of those who bestowed superiority onto themselves. Here’s to all the witches out there!
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