In modern culture, the witch has become a more celebrated figure. She is still a subversion of patriarchal power, but that subversion is no longer as threatening--instead, the figures opposing the witch (i.e., the men in power) are seen as oppressive, dominating tyrants. In this way, the witch is, in many contemporary cases, a champion of the people, a sort of folk hero that assaults misogynistic, greedy leaders.
Consider Leslie Knope from the popular NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. Knope's relentless optimism and tenacity makes her a threat her to rivals, an assortment of sleazy and corrupt male politicians. Knope's devotion to a fair and balanced state legislative body is like witchcraft to these men, who can't seem to wrap their heads around the idea of idealism in government. They're also frequently threatened by her status as a powerful woman. The show takes this to a humorous extreme when her fellow city council representatives (all male) make a calendar following her menstrual cycle. Like the political leaders of the early modern era treated the threatening women of their day, these men treat Knope, as a woman, with extreme prejudice in order to suppress her thoughts, leadership, and attitude.
Knope even goes so far as to conscript other women into her crusade against corrupt male politicians, proclaiming her doctrine of positivity in the face of total cynicism. She sculpts her best friend, Ann, into a politician despite Ann's insistence that she isn't cut out for the work. Similarly, she squashes the negative attitude in her female intern, April, by teaching her the power of hard work, a strong will, and clever thinking. These concepts are so foreign to Knope's adversaries that they might as well be considered witchcraft. Through these concepts, Knope taps into a power her enemies simply cannot use.
In the modern era, the witch's ability to siphon power away from male leaders is not feared, but revered. This is because these leaders use their power incompetently. They are not omnipotent representatives of God or the State. They are fallible, and in the current political climate, they have proven their incompetence time and time again. Leslie Knope as a character promises that there is an alternative to these leaders. She, like the witch, provides an antithesis to the way her society is structured.
The witch is, in modern society, an appropriate champion of the people, a figure that promises revolution and change. A witch represents a freedom from the roles that society places on an individual, whether those roles are political, gender-specific or racial. When the status quo doesn't work, the witch provides a seductive alternative.
When I initially read your post, I was skeptical as to the witch being a figure of political change. However, the more I think about it in terms of the boundaries you established for identifying a witch as such, I think I agree with you. I find myself fighting against the idea that Leslie Knope is a "witch" per se, but in these terms she certainly has witch-like powers. With this definition of a witch, I also find myself thinking about other powerful, influential women, both fiction and non-fiction. Oprah Winfrey, for example, has not only set new standards for the field of talk-shows, but she has inspired and changed the world in many different aspects. Is she a witch? It certainly seems that she has some other-worldly power that seduces humanity into believing, loving, and following her, but is she a witch? What about already-established witches, such as the Wicked Witch of the West; under these boundaries, is she a witch? While she may not have used her powers to create political change, she used them to instill fear, which subsequently created political change among the people of Oz. I could go on with more examples, but I think I agree with your argument: the witch IS a figure of political change!
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