On April 12, a documentary called Witches in Hollywood will be broadcast on OCS. Immersed in a myth that has fascinated as much as frightened.
Adulated, hated, transgressive … The character of the witch, her myth and the aura she embodies, has fascinated Hollywood since the dawn of time. The American film industry has captured this figure many times. However, Hollywood is far from having invented this icon and social phenomenon. We told you about it in our selection of special containment books. Mona Chollet explains the origins of the witch in an exciting book. This figure is the result of a witch hunt that lasted two centuries and spawned the murders of thousands of people across the West. For the most part, it is women who have been victims of this scourge. Since the Middle Ages, the power of women has been suppressed, their independence and ambition have frightened patriarchal society. Hollywood has not hesitated to seize these archetypes in many ways through the ages, evolving its point of view on these women at the same time as manners around the world. Focus on a fascinating documentary, Hollywood witches, available on OCS from April 12th.
From the transgressive figure demonized by patriarchy …
First, there is the archetype of the witch. The one we all grew up with. First of all, cartoons come to us and he is scary, he wants to hurt the gentle and kind hero. Snow White was one of the first flagship feature films to highlight this. Besides that, Disney reveals a double figure of this mysterious myth. Here, the witch is at once attractive, vain and superficial, but also old and ugly. Mona Chollet, once again, is right. The pressure on women is such that they are trapped between two chairs and the image it conveys, so little nuanced through the eyes of the man is never the same. Because in early Hollywood, the "male gauze " is considerable, the evidence being that the production of Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs is only made up of men.
… to the next door witch?
Then, the years pass and the character of the witch becomes the "girl next door". In the movie My wife is a witch, actress Veronica Lake embodies the first "next door witch". The character is anchored in reality and in everyday life, wobbling between the image of the housewife of the time and that liberated and decompléxé which destabilizes so much the patriarchal society of the time. This will also be the case with the arrival of MA beloved witch. Samantha is overwhelmed by her role as a housewife. Loving, of course, she has trouble keeping a house without using her magical powers. Here, the wife has much more capacity than the man of the house. The series shakes up the codes of the family home of the time and sends a peak to the patriarchal system that we still enjoy today by watching the reruns of this cult series on television. It’s post-war. Women contributed so much during the war that it is difficult for them to return home, and Samantha is an illustration of this. But all of this was before the feminist movement of the late 1960s took hold. We finally see what is available to women!
An inclusive and inspirational model
The 90s, for their part, saw magical characters with whom we could identify. Teenage witches arrive and they are badass. With for example Dangerous Alliance, released in 1996, witches represent sorority. They are part of the outsider clan. Often rejected, they form a group of four adolescent girls here. Witchcraft is seen as something wonderful, benevolent and also a way of taking revenge on the executioner. Witchcraft in pop culture from the 90s to today often denounces racism, it is inspiring, benevolent. We discover black female characters, queer, powerful and even sometimes deeply wounded. Witchcraft, previously suppressed by partriarchy, is today a sign of inclusiveness and freedom of speech. A shameful character at first, the witch is now an uncomplicated individual who we all want to look like.
Witches in Hollywood will be released on OCS on April 12.