Over time there has been a steady shift in how we define a
witch, the roles they play in our society, and the groups of people, social,
and religious movements they tend to represent. Around the same time as the
show “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” there was another show that dealt with a trio
of witches and their lives in modern society, “Charmed.” While Sabrina was
targeted towards a younger demographic with the show revolving around the main
character and her adventures in high school, Charmed was targeted towards
adults with their characters all being well past their high school years and
dealing with issues of love and women holding positions of power and authority.
The sisters in Charmed are meant to be the most powerful witches ever known
already setting them up to mirror the struggles of women in society as more
career paths open up for them in the professional world with a decrease of
sexism in the work place and the fight for equality that has become ever more
prevalent in the 21st century.
Looking back on the writings of Palmer and Otten it is
evident that the aspect of the witch was used as a tool to alienate women who
lived differently and fulfilled roles in society that contrasted with social
norms. As time went on society started to change their views on various things
such as women’s roles in society, separation of church and state (where it was
no longer a law to violate church doctrine), and what is and is not acceptable
sexually. The sisters in Charmed allowed women to fulfill their desires by
living vicariously through the lives of three sisters who are supposed to be
the most powerful witches, more powerful than men or the warlocks, and have
numerous romances with characters within the TV show.
In the end it can be seen that witches were more or less
used to describe, as previously mentioned, a group of people, specifically
women, who lived on the fringe of society; as what has been determined as being
the “fringe” of society has changed, and that being different doesn’t
necessarily mean evil, the witch has evolved from describing someone as an
outcast to be hunted and tried for their evil crimes to a representation of what
can be when the rules and boundaries of society are stretched. Although not
literally witches in real life, women who now fill the seats where once only
men stood, pose a problem to the age old traditions of man. By deeming them
witches it is an attempt to oust those seen as a threat, but this is no longer
a crime punishable by death and now represents an evolution in society and a
way of coping with changes brought on by the development of new ways of
thinking.
I like your focus on the shifts in society. I think this is what allowed witches to change the most. We now live in a society where men aren't absolutely terrified of women who hold power. They are no longer being attacked by men and the government for being something they aren't. Witches are a perfect example of monsters being a product of society. They are created based on what is feared and what will get people going. Poor people are often seen as a threat to the way we live our everyday lives and when you turn on the TV, more often that not its poor people committing all these heinous crimes.
ReplyDelete