The Witch: Recasting a feminist icon
We grew up with the image of the witch as old, ugly, shabby, hysterical, vicious and dangerous. Think of the Disney witch alone in for example Snow White where an older, scary looking lady offers Snow White the deadly apple. Throughout the course of history the word ‘witch’ has become the very worst seal of shame, which in the end has caused the torture and death of tens of thousands of women, starting with the 16th century witch hunts and sadly still continuing to plague feminists to this day.
Misogynists have been using the figure of the witch in a more negative context. For example, the song ‘Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead', sung in the Wizard of Oz - which celebrates the Witch of the East's death – was dug out by critics after the defeat of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential run. The same jingle was also revived in 2013 in the UK after the death of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Both Clinton and Thatcher, two female figures that could have been perceived as strong, smart and willful women, were cast into the stereotypical perception of the “dangerous and vicious” witch.
But today, this misogynistic perspective on the witch has taken a more positive turn. Feminists of the 1970s and 1980s already perceived the witch as a feminist icon in their fight against the patriarchy. Young feminists today – a group that includes a wide range of women, men, gays, trans and non-binary people – have comfortably proclaimed their use of witchcraft. Feminists that practice witchcraft today, have grown up with portrayals of more modern, young, powerful, charming, smart, caring and progressive witches such as the three sisters in the Charmed series that have shown what true sisterhood means and of course Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sabrina the teenage witch. These modern witches have also caused a turnaround in the portrayal of the witch in North American and European popular culture and society today.
Based on these findings, Witch Way Now? provides a space to discuss themes related to social inequality and oppression based on gender, sex, skin color and sexuality. Simultaneously, the program offers an extensive insight into the horrific history and many historical accounts of witchcraft persecutions that are often overlooked and underexposed in our society.
Witch Way Now? offers a new take on the witch as a feminist icon and will cast the witch into a more modern and magical future.