Luke Skywanker
[film] oh no I have another class idea...
Luke Skywanker
Witches in film as a means of patriarchal control!
mo
ooh
Luke Skywanker
I just watched I Married a Witch and Bell, Book and Candle because I'd watched S1-3 of Sabrina really fast and got curious
Luke Skywanker
oh and also, I think The Witch is great
Luke Skywanker
and I love Samantha!
Luke Skywanker
But it's like... all about the lessons AGAINST being sexy and independent
Luke Skywanker
All about the uncontrollable yearning for "normalcy"
Luke Skywanker
OR it's about society judging you etc etc, obviously depends on whether it's a romantic comedy or a horror or whatever
tronja307020
l o l bell, book and candle will never not be Good Omens to me, but I'd never heard of that until GO, so I'm probably well out of the loop.
Luke Skywanker
It's a movie, based on a play, with James Stewart and Kim Novak
tronja307020
Though if you're interested in exploring how it pertains to tv media, as well, that might be something to look into if you haven't seen it. It handles witches vs patriarchy a bit, too.
Luke Skywanker
In which a very sexy and independent lady decides she wants Jimmy Stewart and makes him fall in love, but when she falls in love, she loses her powers
Luke Skywanker
because that's what it means to be a witch
tronja307020
Oooh, ok, that's an old one, then, huh? Could be a fun watch!
Luke Skywanker
tronja307020
: oh I've seen/read GO, multiple times
Luke Skywanker
I don't think it's as much about the female experience, tho
tronja307020
Yeah, they don't really address the Being A Lady side of things too much except for in more subtle ways when it comes to Agnes and her sass against the witchfinders and then kind of just gloss over the underlying themes re: Anathema and Newt. I just didn't know there were quite that many good movies about witches that could be used.
Luke Skywanker
I'm sure I'm missing some! But mostly I'm thinking about how stories of witches often are about telling women NOT to yearn for power.
Luke Skywanker
The moral is usually, "true happiness is a family."
Luke Skywanker
Or at least, it was.
Luke Skywanker
And I find that very interesting.
Luke Skywanker
Or it's, "step outside the norm, and be punished."
tronja307020
Yeah. I think "bewitched" is kind of the oddball in that, since it more...tried to balance her being a witch with being a wife? Which always left me a little surprised that it was allowed on tv, at the time.
Luke Skywanker
i.e. The Craft
Luke Skywanker
soooo yeah, I have a MAJOR problem with the whole premise of Bewitched.
Luke Skywanker
Because while the show is usually about Sam using her powers, the premise is that she's promised to give it up for Darrin.
Luke Skywanker
And that's the whole issue--and they were aware of it, too. So it both reinforces the idea, and fights against it! Which is what keeps me interested in that particular show.
tronja307020
ahhh, yeah, see, that checks out more for what I would have expected for the times. Honestly, I never got to watch it much, so I didn't know about that whole thing.
Luke Skywanker
Elizabeth Montgomery also said they were references closeted gays
Luke Skywanker
Yeah he's always berating her for being powerful
Luke Skywanker
he sucks
Luke Skywanker
and you're always like, how did they end up together? She's worth so much better!
tronja307020
See, I'd just thought it was more of a case of her powers causing weird shenanigans and him being like "Oh So-and-so lawl" /Happy Sitcom Freeze-frame Laugh/
Luke Skywanker
Like I think that is often what the audience is supposed to get? But it's explicit that she's promised not to be a witch and it's obvious her power is threatening to his manliness!
tronja307020
Booooo.
floofdoodle
+++++++++
floofdoodle
Weird. Sorry bout the randomness
Luke Skywanker
floofdoodle
: hahaha