Witches and Warlocks
Last year in October, my friend introduced me to the series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. We watched a few episodes at her house and after I went home I binged watched the whole part one on the series. I was interested in the show because it being so out of the ordinary compared to any other horror film. Although, throughout the whole show there is one female character that they based the whole show on. I am very unsatisfied about how they really don’t go full on about a warlock character. This research will show you my adaptations to the same show set in Dayton Maine and the dark side in the show. In my adaptations, I will be swapping the lead role to a male instead of a female and base it off of their perspective on the world. Yet, i still want Sabrina to be in the adaptation but shes set in the background like all the warlocks now in the show. By changing the adaptations it will show that not only females can be lead roles in this but also the warlock in the show can be shown a lot more. It will point out that there needs to be more powerful male characters background story in the show.
Annotated Bibliography
“Women Weren't the Only Victims of the Salem Witch Trials” *
This article focal point is on the Salem witch trials and how the people of the town was put on trial because they supposedly used witchcraft. Men were to blame for women getting accused for witchcraft but, that isn't the only people who got convicted in the trials. In searching for how the men and th woman got treated differently, Erin Blakemore indicates that,
“For most, the story of the Salem Witch Trials is one of women—wrongfully accused and convicted in a case of mass hysteria that’s still fascinating people centuries later. But scorned women weren’t the only victims of Salem’s angry mobs. No fewer than six men were convicted and executed. For the most part, the men of Salem Village were involved in blaming, trying, and convicting the young women whose unusual behavior and outlandish accusations were at the heart of the trials. But soon, men like Proctor were among those being accused, sometimes by neighbors who had longstanding resentments against them.”
Erin Blakemore excerpt will help my project with how the men and women were treated in the Salem Witch Trials. It will also help show how the men and women were treated very differently compared to each other, how they were punished differently too.
“GENDER ROLES, WITCHES, DEMONS AND HEREDITARY. A FILM ESSAY AND REVIEW”*
This article is about a movie called Hereditary and it gives little blurbs on other things too. The one part I am focusing on is where it explains gender roles in horror films. How females and males are treated differently in films and what they expect from them. It also states how the men treat the women poorly, Melissa Fox writes that,
“Often viewed as “crazy,” and spend most of the plot running from danger. This isn’t always the case, there are a few standouts. But for the most part, I think the above is true. Women are either victims or “witches,” in the majority of horror films. I also think it’s interesting how we treat women who are having spiritual experiences. In our stories, we are uncomfortable with female emotion. Therefore, if someone is having an extremely emotional experience, we are likely to view them as scary.
This helps my project with showing you how women are treated in horror films and how the experience things differently than men. It also shows how in horror films the women are portrayed in the film compared to others.
“In Sabrina's Second Season, Even Magic Can't Fix Toxic Masculinity”*
This article is about the Chilling Adventure of Sabrina and the show. It’s on the second season of the show and how the masculinity is over topped by sabrina in the show. How she wants to be top dog which is usually only for the men but she still runs for it. She’s overpowering the men in the show. Natasha Frost points out,
“Gender may be a frequent theme, but the show isn’t always clear in what it wants to say about it. For the most part, Sabrina comes down on the side of righteous indignation—that misogyny is wrong, and those who perpetrate it are clearly the baddies. But sometimes tangled plotting can muddy the message. Events set up as significant, such as Sabrina’s campaign for Top Boy, are suddenly abandoned, with no clear lessons or ostensible character development for anyone concerned. Things that were unfair continue to be unfair; no one learns from their mistakes; comeuppance never comes up.”
Natasha Frost’s article helps my project because she stated that gender is a frequent theme in the show. It says how the things are very unfair and how Sabrina in the show is very out there compared to the males in the show. You really don’t get that masculine side.
“Retelling Salem Stories: Gender Politics and Witches in American Culture”*
This article is about different stories in Salem and gender in the stories. How each gender is portrayed in the stories and the differences between the two. It tells life stories of the american society. Marion Gibson states,
“The upright, moralistic conservative Felicia Gabriel is murdered by her husband after the witches decide she‘ should be put out of her misery’ (1984: 128), but most horrific is the hexing of her daughter Jenny, their former friend, whom the witches kill
by giving her incurable multiple cancers.All this comes about because the three women have allied themselves with Satan, in the shape of their new neighbour and lover Darryl van Horne. How much their increasing malignity springs from this manipulating male figure is debatable. It is van Horne’s marriage to Jenny that drives the witches to kill her – which suits van Horne, for he then takes up with her brother. When two of them try to reverse the harm done to Jenny, they find it is impossible.”
This helps my project is shows real life stories and the gender contrast between the two. How they treated each other and the witches. It kinda relates to the show i’m watching for this paper and how there is a dark side in the show and also in this story.
“Horror and Gender: What Is It about the Treatment of Women”*
This article is about is horror film and how men are over the women they get to do more stuff. The woman isn’t really known to be doing the dirty stuff in the horror films. Overall this article is about how women are treated in horror films. It states,
“Throughout the history of horror cinema, for the most part, women seem to be on the end of a knife rather than the one wielding it. They are the sacrificial victim, the innocent virgin, the temptress, and so on. I should say that men in this genre are stereotyped, and not always in a positive manner, but it seems to be women who get the raw end of the deal. Men get to do the killing, or get to be the protector from the other guy doing the killing, and usually the women get to die.”
This helps my project because it shows how women are treated over men. Also it shows that they are more powerful in the film industry because they get to go more things compared to the women. Therefore, woman is more girly in a sense compared to men.
A Monstrous(Ly-Feminine) Whiteness: Gender, Genre, and the Abject Horror of the Past in American Horror Story: Coven”*
This article is about the show American Horror Story and how they portray the gender in that show. It is another horror show and it mentions the treatment on the genders and how they are so different.
“While gendered representations always prominently factor in horror genres, American Horror Story consistently frames its horrors as American cultural norms that terrorize women. Along these lines, the third season of American Horror Story (2013–14), which concluded with the show's highest ratings at the time of its airing (O'Connell), delves into the violent past of the United States by intertwining two story lines. In both narrative strands, the fierce combat between women reveals the undying legacies of the country's brutal past.[ 1] In this essay, I focus on the depiction of Madame Delphine LaLaurie (Kathy Bates), whose atrocious actions from the 1830s constantly resurface and "haunt" the present-day US setting. By manipulating imagery associated with horror and exploitation cinema, the season reveals how LaLaurie's terrorizing of African-American women threatens to make them thoroughly monstrous also; ultimately, however, the show neatly expels this female monstrosity.”
This helps my project because it shows the feminine side and how they are treated in American Horror Story. Also the characteristics the woman can go in the the show and how it is used in episodes.
Works Cited
Blakemore, Erin. “Women Weren't the Only Victims of the Salem Witch Trials.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Oct. 2017, www.history.com/news/women-werent-only-victims-of-salem-witch-trials.
Fox, Melissa. “GENDER ROLES, WITCHES, DEMONS AND HEREDITARY. A FILM ESSAY AND REVIEW.” Medium, Medium, 22 Aug. 2018, medium.com/@melissafoxmedia/gender-roles-witches-demons-and-hereditary-a-film-essay-and-review-ff846c7c5c94.
Frost, Natasha. “In Sabrina's Second Season, Even Magic Can't Fix Toxic Masculinity.” Quartzy, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2019, qz.com/quartzy/1585208/season-2-of-sabrina-has-a-new-focus-on-gender-and-equality/.
Gibson, Marion. “Retelling Salem Stories: Gender Politics and Witches in American Culture.” European Journal of American Culture, vol. 25, no. 2, June 2006, p. 85. EBSCOhost, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edb&AN=22404041&site=eds-live.
“Horror and Gender: What Is It about the Treatment of Women?” - MAGAZINE, 31 Oct. 2017, storgy.com/2017/10/31/horror-and-gender-what-is-it-about-the-treatment-of-women/.
King, Amy K. “A Monstrous(Ly-Feminine) Whiteness: Gender, Genre, and the Abject Horror of the Past in American Horror Story: Coven.” Women’s Studies, vol. 46, no. 6, Sept. 2017, p. 557. EBSCOhost, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edb&AN=125979258&site=eds-live.