Semester of Graduation
Spring 2020
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Geography & Anthropology
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
This thesis works to understand the relationships witches and conjurors have with the film and television depictions of them. Employing the method of film critique, I argue that the witch stands as a cultural symbol in the US of women and femmes with power, and that their stories serve as lessons to these populations about what it means to be an acceptable woman or femme, while simultaneously creating and perpetuating stereotypes of magic practitioners. Then, using the combination of hashtag ethnography, in-person and video interviewing and internet surveys, I argue that #witchblr and #witchesofcolor, as well as the space of an interview with another practitioner, serves as a counterspace where the counternarratives against oppression, of resistance, and of personal identity work can take place. I connect the language practitioners use to describe themselves and witches and conjurors in film and television to the embracing and distancing marginalized communities engage in when crafting their identities around stereotyped notions of their group, and argue for the need for a simpler, softer, more diverse witchcraft in United States film and television.
Recommended Citation
Tarleton, Andreana, "Night of the Witch: Alternative Spirituality, Identity and Media" (2020). LSU Master's Theses. 5128.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/5128
Committee Chair
Mary Jill Brody
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_theses.5128
Included in
African American Studies Commons, American Film Studies Commons, American Popular Culture Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, New Religious Movements Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons, Other Religion Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Social Media Commons, Television Commons, Women's Studies Commons