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jazz
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The Blair Wiccan?
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Aug 5 14:13 UTC 1999 |
Although it's only hinted at in the movie by the presence of a
pentagram ring, which could've been easily overlooked, it seems that the
filmmakers chose to elaborate on the mythology behind the _Blair Witch
Project_ and include what seems to be references to Heather Donahue's practice
of witchcraft herself, and not in the usual hollywood sense.
Though it's a bit of a spoiler for the movie, the character's journals
are listed on http://www.blairwitch.com/legacy.html, and contain some
obvious references to what seems to be Garderian-variety Wicca.
Interesting that Hollywood's finally accepted a Wiccan character who
isn't an "evil witch" or a variation on Bewitched's Samantha.
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| 47 responses total. |
kami
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response 1 of 47:
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Aug 14 19:54 UTC 1999 |
OK, I actually went and looked at a web site- yes, Rob, really...<g>
You know what? It looks like fun! Like a creative approach to movie making,
like a fun movie, like a fairly believable snapshot of a college student and
young Wiccan. From "Heather's Journal", yeah- she's an unusually well
educated Wiccan; not Gardnerian, perhaps Alexandrian-- they use more
ceremonial magic/alchemy. The stuff on the meaning of number, on the planet
Saturn, etc. is sort of medieval alchemy. Neat!
And yeah, it's a really reasonable, non-sensationalist view of a Wiccan
character. She has no particular ability to fly, charm men, or wiggle her
nose, beyond what's reasonable. Yay!
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brighn
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response 2 of 47:
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Aug 14 22:29 UTC 1999 |
Since Kami doesn't see many movies, she probably doesn't have much of a sense
of "spoilers":
It's poor etiquette to talk about certain details of movies until they're out
of the first run, or they've been out a month and a half, whichever comes
first... even if you got these details through some other source. (Certain
movies, I should say.) The current movies with "spoiler" status are, probably,
Eyes Wide Shut, Blair Witch, and Sixth Sense.
In other words, don't tell me what's in Heather's Journal! I'm avoiding the
website for a reason!
=}
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robh
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response 3 of 47:
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Aug 15 02:32 UTC 1999 |
In fairness to Kami, I've read the journals from the Web site,
and the stuff she mentioned isn't discussed in the movie.
The word "Wicca" isn't even uttered once in the movie - or is
that a spoiler too? >8) The filmmakers are going for a multimedia
approach, and using the Web site to add material to the whole
Blair Witch "mythology".
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brighn
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response 4 of 47:
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Aug 15 04:01 UTC 1999 |
oh, ok then...
the problem with spoilers in this day of Websites for every movie, is you need
someone who's seen the movie to know whether something's a spoiler or not
=}
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robh
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response 5 of 47:
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Aug 15 05:23 UTC 1999 |
Maybe we could set up a new Web site? www.iknowwhicharespoilers.com ?
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jazz
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response 6 of 47:
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Aug 15 22:58 UTC 1999 |
Hollywood's already taken care of all of the spoilers for us. :)
Anne and I did notice the pengagram ring on the character Heather, and
both of us were impressed that Hollywood - well, in this case independent film
Hollywood - had a realistic human portraral of a Wiccan. I won't say it was
a positive one - read the website for some of the character's flaws which make
her about the same as a Christian-offshoot fundamentalist in terms of her
beliefs and their affects on those around her. This wasn't explored in the
film, and I believe it was spun out of whole cloth after the movie became
popular.
Nonetheless, the ring was there before all of the hype.
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otaking
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response 7 of 47:
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Aug 16 21:54 UTC 1999 |
I didn't notice the ring. Thanks. I'll look for it the next time I see the
movie.
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kami
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response 8 of 47:
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Aug 17 20:04 UTC 1999 |
Those character flaws didn't particularly jump out at me, except as being
fairly typical of a young person of her apparent age and degree of experience;
the wide eyed optimistic belief, perhaps to the degree of unrealistic
optimism, or the black and white demands for perfect virtue or justice, are
pretty common. Been there... <sigh>
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jazz
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response 9 of 47:
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Aug 18 00:57 UTC 1999 |
In your observation, when does that normally stop? :)
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brighn
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response 10 of 47:
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Aug 18 05:44 UTC 1999 |
the first time you're kicked out of your own coven
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jazz
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response 11 of 47:
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Aug 18 13:34 UTC 1999 |
Those savage skyclad fuckers!
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kami
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response 12 of 47:
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Aug 26 02:09 UTC 1999 |
Varies. Some folks go away before they'll take the risk of having to shrink
their poor little egos. Some "get it" within a matter of months or years.
Especially if they end up in responsible- as opposed to prestige- positions
such as organizing a student group. And for others, some time in the first
ten years or so, they mature and settle into a maintainable and dynamic
process of growing, learning and eventually leading.
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jazz
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response 13 of 47:
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Aug 26 13:04 UTC 1999 |
That sounds more like a reaction to something that's happened recently
than to what you were originally saying in #8, Kami ...
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brighn
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response 14 of 47:
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Aug 26 18:29 UTC 1999 |
Actually, few people ever seem to get beyond the black-and-white demands for
justice, in or out of the neopagan commuity.
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kami
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response 15 of 47:
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Sep 6 02:48 UTC 1999 |
Pardon me if I've drifted or encouraged drift. The progression seems to
have been -"is Blair Witch a reasonable portrayal?" "Yes, of a young pagan"
"When does one stop being that young?" "Depends..." Which, as the characters
in that movie die or disappear or something before they get to grow up and
settle, is less than relevant to this item. Sorry.
Jazz, nothing recent, except perhaps my own ongoing efforts to get beyond
whiny puppiehood, just a few years' observation.
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brighn
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response 16 of 47:
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Sep 7 00:23 UTC 1999 |
Having seen the Blair Witch Project now, I can say that it doesn't portray
much of anything enough to say whether it's an accurate portrayal of anything.
*is thoroughly disappointed by the movie*
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jazz
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response 17 of 47:
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Sep 7 15:33 UTC 1999 |
Re #15:
It's the kind of drift that I'd hoped for when writing the item - if
the item author's views count for anything once the item itself has gotten
rolling. :)
I'm not sure youthful optimism is necessarily a product of youth, or
is as bad as it seems to be portrayed here. "The trutful are loveless / like
oysters their eyes", no?
Although the classic error of paganism in the Ann Arbor area is to
place too little emphasis on formal heirarchy - leading to the high priestess
without a coven in ever dorm room - the systems of formal heirarchy tend to
make concrete and rationalize the same irrational reasons informal heirarchy
follows - charisma, confidence, and the ability to play the social games.
One who is wise is wise whether they are an independent with no heirarchy at
all, or whether they are a leader, or a student, are they not?
Re #16:
Whether you enjoyed the movie or not, it's significant that a
character was portrayed (primarily in the web site, though the web site in
this
case was designed along with the movie and before it was originally released
in independent circles, and is not a marketing after-thought) as Wiccan
without
any sensationalism or Christian "heathen-bashing".
It's good to see - it's something closeted practitioners might notice
and feel comfort in.
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brighn
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response 18 of 47:
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Sep 7 17:19 UTC 1999 |
What portrayal? I haven't been to the website, so from a perspective of
someone who has only seen the movie, it's not obvious that she has any
religion at al. Gratned, I missed the first twenty minutes or so, but all I
saw were three whiny college students lost in the woods. (I saw it at the
drive-in, and we'd gone to see The Haunting, so we passed on the opportunity
to see the beginning of Blair Witch.) Her reaction to seeing clearly witch-y
charms was to get scared and cry. More. And then some more.
There wasn't a shred of Wicca, good or bad, in the hour-plus that I saw.
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mneme
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response 19 of 47:
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Sep 7 20:49 UTC 1999 |
Actually, I rather like the (fairly normal, in most paganism I come into
contact with) utter lack of heirarchy, causing the only measure of respect
being what you've done and who you are, not what a single person (or a small
group) thought of you. This is a feature, not a bug.
Haven't seen Blair Witch (though I'd like to; it raises all my amateur
critic instincts), but I like that there's something on the verge of the
popular media which treats paganism as just a mundane -thing-, not something
unusual (as much as many of us may wish it to be, if only in our case).
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brighn
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response 20 of 47:
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Sep 7 21:55 UTC 1999 |
But there isn't something like tat, Joshua, at least, no the film "The Blair
Witch Project." That's my point.
Actually, I think te TV series Buffy tVS does about the best job currently
of depicting witchcraft as "no big thing."
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jazz
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response 21 of 47:
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Sep 7 22:18 UTC 1999 |
Re #19:
I don't think I've ever seen a system where one is really judged on
merit; there're always abbreviated tests for merit (as scholastic performance
is judged on test scores), combined to one degree or another with social
ritual and personal charisma. I'm skeptical that such a thing could exist.
Just pointing out that informal rankings and formal heirarchies often
judge on exactly the same critera; the latter simply take longer and are more
resistant to change and to the odd exceptionally charismatic fellow.
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kami
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response 22 of 47:
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Sep 8 02:37 UTC 1999 |
Brighn, I'm given to understand that the cinematography- if it can be called
that- on Blair Witch is sufficiently wobbly and vertigo provoking that I would
do well to avoid it. Was that your impression?
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robh
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response 23 of 47:
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Sep 8 02:42 UTC 1999 |
If you are at all prone to motion sickness, I'd advise you
to stay away.
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kami
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response 24 of 47:
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Sep 8 02:43 UTC 1999 |
Yeah, thought so. Actuall, I don't get "sea sick" except at movies. <sigh>
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