For this assignment I chose three movies about witches because it was the topic I found most interesting from this class. The first movie was Black Sunday (Mask of Satan), directed by Mario Bava, the second was Warlock, directed by Steve Miner, and last was The Crucible, directed by Nicholas Hytner, based on the play by Arthur Miller. Witchcraft was once and still can be a very controversial topic, as it challenges other’s religions and beliefs and is against Christianity. Each movie was based on the witch and took place in the 17th century. The beliefs were similar for the most part but differed from each other due to the places they occurred.
In Black Sunday, also known as The Mask of Satan, the story takes place in Moldavia, a country in Europe. A witch, Asa, and her partner Javutich are sentenced to be burned at stake for sorcery by her brother, but just before they die Asa curses her brother saying she will come back to haunt all of his descendants. This shows the belief that woman had an evil power over men. The first religious symbol in the movie then appears; it is the mask depicting the face of Satan. This mask was nailed to the face of the witch because it was believed to be their true face. The mask also ended the “urge” that women created because one could not see her eyes.
Almost two centuries later, a doctor and his assistant are on the way to a medical conference and their carriage breaks down near the crypt in which the witch is buried. They decide to be curious and discover the tomb of the witch which has a glass window above the face, another religious symbol. The glass had a cross engraved in it so that the witch was forever facing it, unable to resurrect herself. While striking a bat, Dr. Kruvajan accidenta...
... middle of paper ...
...nown one was, the safer they were. People who were poor or already in trouble were usually the ones that got convicted of witchcraft. One of the symbols of witchcraft was the poppet. Mary Warren’s poppet was seen as a sort of voodoo doll because supposedly the needle was used to stab Abagail because she appears with blood coming from the same spot. The movie was just extremely strange because it showed that the only way to get out of being a witch was to confess that they were a witch.
Each of these movies had the same common theme of witchcraft but they had different symbols in each to portray them. The reason behind all of these movies and witches in general was always Satan. It was believed that they were there to perform the duties that Satan commanded them to do. The movies showed the religious symbols and themes that history has used to categorize witchcraft.
The superstition of witchcraft started with the teaching of the Bible. The Puritans believed that Satan was present and active. The Salem Witch Trials were driven by the superstition of general paranoia. The fear of witchcraft dove the Puritans to hysteria, causing the Puritans to hang their own citizens.
In the following paragraphs I am going to show how Hollywood portrays the Salem Witch Trails and the 1690’s compared with what actual happened in history and that in the film "The Crucible".
is what got the girls started on their accusations, as they were afraid to get in
Witchcraft had always fascinated many people and been a very controversial topic in North America during (seventeenth) 17th century. Many People believe that witchcraft implies the ability to injure or using supernatural power to harm others. People believed that a witch represents dark side of female present and were more likely to embrace witchcraft than men. There are still real witches among us in the Utah whom believe that witchcraft is the oldest religion dealing with the occult. However the popular conception of a witch has not changed at least since the seventeenth century; they still caused panic, fear and variety of other emotions in people…………………….
Arthur Miller’s political allegory of McCarthyism, in the form of The Crucible, has been adapted into a faithful companion to the play that is able to incorporate the emotions and atmosphere that may not have been available to some in the play. Miller’s screenplay is very faithful to the book, having many of the same lines and situations the character in the play experience. Because of this, we are able to make an active connection to the play, thus expanding our understanding of the play. Lead by Daniel Day-Lewis, The Crucible’s plot is portrayed by a solid cast, who, for the most part, are able to engross the viewer into the story. The film contains many captivating scenes that exemplify hysteria meant to be depicted in the play, that demands the viewers attention while also immersing them in emotions. The film adaptation of The Crucible is a well produced version of the play that not only serves as a companion to the play, but an entertaining and though provoking experience.
In today’s times, witches are the green complexed, big nosed ladies who ride around on broomsticks at Halloween. Back in the 1600’s, witches looked like average people, but they worked alongside the devil. Salem, Massachusetts, was a religious town of Puritans. They were strong believers in God, and had believed that witches were the devils workers. Everything was usual in Salem in 1692, until, 9-year-old Elizabeth Parris and 11-year-old Abigale Williams had sudden outbursts of screaming, contortions and convulsions, the doctor came and diagnosed witchcraft (Blumberg, Jess) And from this time on, the people of Salem believed there were witches all around them.
Karlsen, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1987. Print.
Nicholas Hytner 's adaptation of Arthur Miller 's The Crucible provides an interesting look into the life of the Puritans. The Crucible follows the small town of Salem as they are engulfed in the mass hysteria of witchcraft. A group of young girls is caught dancing in the woods, and thus fearing punishment claim that they were possessed by the devil. Soon the accusations run wild which resulted in the arrest of two-hundred peoples, and the execution of twenty. Today the film is regarded as an allegory for the McCarthy hearings, though it also provides an intimate look into the closed societies of colonial America. The film displays some of the themes presented in Scupins book Anthropology of Religion. Hytner’s work has become an excellent contemporary depiction of the leviathan-like power the Puritan Church had over the community, and their ability to rule through fear. Furthermore, Salam was a small, isolated town and was not exposed to outside ideas, this coupled with the Church 's power worked to demonize any outside forces. The film also depicts women 's relationship with witchcraft, and how accusations were used by the patriarchy to maintain their power over women, and how the young girls were able to gain power and influence through the act of accusation.
There have been various explanations by different historians for why the majority of Witches accused were woman. One of the first models concerning Witchcraft and gender to be produced was the ‘Witch-cult‘ idea. This theory was devised by Margaret Murray in the early 20th century and revolved around the idea of Witchcraft being an actual pre-Christian religion. This pagan woman-based religion centred around ‘The Horned God’ who from the Christian point of view was Satan. Murray writes that the ‘God of the old religion becomes the Devil of the new.’ This religion concerned woman in that it was being supressed by the Christian Church which was a male dominated organisation with an exclusively male hierarchy. In effect the whole Witch-hunt affair was a persecution of woman by men, both being polar opposites even in religion. Murray’s thesis proved very popular with radical feminists from the 1960s onwards, providing the feminist movement with a sort of rallying point, further exaggerating the sex specific elements in the Murray model. Murray’s thesis however, was attacked from day one and continues to be discredited to this day due to the lack of evidence in support of it and th...
Witchcraft is said to be the most widespread cultural phenomenon in existence today and throughout history. Even those who shun the ideas of witchcraft cannot discount the similarities in stories from all corners of the globe. Witchcraft and its ideas have spread across racial, religious, and language barriers from Asia to Africa to America. Primitive people from different areas in the world have shockingly similar accounts of witchcraft occurrences. In most cases the strange parallels cannot be explained and one is only left to assume that the tales hold some truth. Anthropologists say that many common elements about witchcraft are shared by different cultures in the world. Among these common elements are the physical characteristics and the activities of supposed witches. I will go on to highlight some of the witch characteristic parallels found in printed accounts from different parts of the world and their comparisons to some famous fairytales.
Arthur Miller’s book The Crucible, based on historical people and real events demonstrate the witch hysteria that unfolded in Salem, Massachusetts in the seventeenth century. The story is set in a Puritan community, where the belief that witchcraft is Satan’s work and that there are people serving him amongst the Puritans creates a paralyzing fear of witchcraft. This eventually leads to the witch-hunts that take place in order to cleanse Salem and reaffirm their devotion to God. Since the events that took place are acknowledged as some of the most tragic events in American history, it is fitting, then, that the book follows the classic model of a tragedy. In Bennett and Royle’s book An introduction to literature, criticism and theory, tragedy
Witchcraft is a belief that is rooted deeply in the country of Africa. In the film, women of Ghana are accused of being witches and are exiled to ‘witch camps’ where they will likely live the rest of their lives, having been torn apart from their families and some were even abused by their own family.
In Salem, during the times of the Salem witch trials, the church and the people were very close. This is what led to the hysteria and chaos which was the Salem witch trials. It also led to many conflicts between the characters in this book, because anyone who was against the church was considered a criminal. Some of these conflicts were between; Abigail and the other children, Danforth and the town folk, and John Proctor with himself and his wife.
Since the beginning of time, children have heard stories about the evil witches that cast spells on anyone who crossed them. These stories have been told with a sense of fantasy, making people believe these were just mythical creatures, when in fact they actually existed and thrivedd. In (time period), the beliefs and traditions of witchcraft became highly popularized and have continued into the 21st century despite the harsh actions and persecution taken against the ones who practiced it. Many were accused and killed during this time period and all of the people lived and thrived on fear. Were these witches harmful or harmless? And were the actions taken against them justifiable?
HIST303 Witch Hunting 1400-1700 Essay 1: Describe the nature of "witchcraft"and explain why it was threatening to Christianity. Prepared by: Sikiki Angela Lloyd Due: 4 April 2014 Student Number: 203139861 Image: The Witches' Sabbath.