Week 5: Witches

     I continue to be amazed by the dozens of different ways witches are characterized in modern literature and film nowadays. When beginning to read a book about witches or after flipping on the television to be greeted by a movie about witches, I never know what to expect. I feel as though many creatures and people who were previously considered to be monsters and villains years ago are being given a "second chance" by authors and directors today. From zombies, to vampires, to this week's theme - witches - audiences are slowly beginning to develop sympathy for these types of characters. Entertainers and writers are telling us that these figures are simply "misunderstood". Take the "Twilight" series, for example; since when were blood-sucking vampires a nice thing? Somehow the author of the books has managed to persuade her audiences into loving the characters, so much so that the Twilight series now has a major fanbase.
     The same is true of witches. These creatures have been evolving a lot over the years. Comparing the Wicked Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz", the teenage girl in "Sabrina the Teenage Witch", and the young witch in "Kiki's Delivery Service", it's easy to see how drastically different all three of these characters are.
     I've been following the television series "American Horror Story" for a while now. Season three followed a witch coven. When I first heard about the concept, I was a bit disappointed to be honest; I couldn't imagine the different ways the writers could mix up the character stereotypes in order to make the series interesting. It turns out that I was pleasantly surprised! Through each character, the writers revealed several different views on witches. Some were genuinely good, some were very evil, and others were just straight up crazy. Because of the many different takes on witches, the season stayed very interesting throughout its fourteen episodes.
     I also loved watching "Kiki's Delivery Service" during class. I haven't seen many of Miyazaki's films and this movie made me fall in love. I found it interesting how, as an audience, we found ourselves rooting for Kiki the witch rather than her human counterparts. In fact, at many points throughout the movie, Kiki appeared much more likable than the villagers. I also found it interesting that many of the main characters were women, demonstrating how feminine heroines are becoming more and more popular.