Stereotypes of Witches in the Movies and on T.V.

Media Promotes Persecution and Prejudice by Misrepresenting Witches

Jul 30, 2009

Stereotype of a Witch on a Broomstick, Public Domain

Witches do not worship the devil, use eye of newt, or brew potions. Many Wiccans argue that the stereotype of the evil old hag who eats children is a form of persecution.

Society fears witches. Halloween commercialism portrays witches as spell casting women brewing up potions, casting spells, or making curses. The stereotyping of witches in the movies and on television have perpetuated a stigma on the Wiccan religion, a stigma on true modern witches.

Every real witch will agree that the stereotypes of witches in the movies and on television are unrealistic and downright false. A true Wiccan is a follower of a creed that states, "If it harms none, do what you will."

T.V. Shows Portraying Witches and Witch Stereotypes

T.V. series such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Bewitched have had comic value to some, but even the comedy does not do justice to conveying what witchcraft is truly about.

The drama t.v. series Charmed does give more detail about the ethics of good witches, and the demon-fighting gets intense and sometimes complicated. Do the interactions with demons reflect real life scenarios? Perhaps not, but perhaps the scenes are reflective of inner demons and real, chaotic, destructive forces in the universe and in people's individual daily lives.

Media Stereotypes of Witches and Witchcraft in Movies

The list of movies with witches as main or minor characters is long, but here is a partial list of witch movies:

Wizard of Oz. In this classic American movie there are both good and evil witches portrayed. The good witch plays a minor role, while the wicked witch is prominently characterized as a green-skinned cackling, scheming evil woman who was finally defeated by water melting her.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The evil witch in this movie is a jealous and vain Queen who brews a poison to taint an apple for her beautiful stepdaughter to eat and fall into a magical sleep.
Witches of Eastwick. This movie is sheer adult fantasy, with a star-studded cast portraying three local witches calling forth the "perfect" man who turns out to be the devil.
Hocus Pocus. Three ugly sisters are witches who seek immortality by sucking the life force of children. They worship the devil, a man dressed in costume on Halloween night, then cast a spell on all the adults in town to continue partying all night. The witches conspire to lure all of the town's children to their cottage and make them drink a potion that allows the witches to suck out their life force.
The Craft. Teenage witches learn lessons of casting spells without proper precautions, and the rule of three is demonstrated (some Wiccans believe that the rule of three is a universal law of energy that dictates any energy put forth returns threefold to the sender). The logistics of casting a spell are somewhat realistic, and the moral of the story is that spell casting is dangerous business.
Practical Magic features a family of witches, all women with magical powers of varying degrees. The spell casting in this movie is rampant, including bringing a dead lover back to life. While some white magic is portrayed in this movie, stereotypes of witches casting spells and dancing naked in the moonlight perpetuates misunderstandings.
Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. This movie portrays a white witch as a power hungry evil enchantress who has dominion over the entire world. Her cold heart has made the world an icy, cold place full of mistrust and hatred. She turns her enemies into stone statues.
Golden Compass portrays witches as beautiful, mysterious, semi-immortal women flying through the sky on broomsticks. These witches are feared by all and ready for an impending battle.

Fear of witches and the Wiccan religion is deeply rooted in cultural stereotypes. The fear comes from misunderstandings of what deities witches worship, and the nature of spells witches cast.

Witches do not worship the devil since they do not believe that a devil exists. Witches do occasionally cast spells, but most true Wiccans who follow the Creed of "do what ye will, yet harm ye none," will not cast any spells that cause harm or interfere with another person's free will.

The copyright of the article Stereotypes of Witches in the Movies and on T.V. in Religious Persecution is owned by Angela Schnaubelt. Permission to republish Stereotypes of Witches in the Movies and on T.V. in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.