I would like to say not all media representations are bad, and even the darker ones may not be inherently bad. This is specifically about the way the “other side” perceives us due to some media representation, and what that can lead to, or how it can happen. This is not to say these pieces are bad in any way, just a breakdown as to why we may see this. I also go into misinformation on both ends, and how it can affect us as a community as well, but this is still not an attack at the media that provides it.
Lack of Positive/Neutral Representation
I feel like there are a lot of issues that come about certain ways media portrays witchcraft. And that in itself is not the problem. I feel like the problem comes from the lack of positive/neutral representation in media.
If you look at a lot of media that portrays witchcraft, paganism, or sorcery there is a lot of “bad” compared to the amount of good. Or more so, the bad is very loud compared to the good. I always stand by the idea that “Quiet and Calm doesn’t make the news.” Meaning we will always see the outrageous, bad, and loud because it calls for attention.
For an example, look at series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The show itself, not my taste, but not bad. However, the uproar I heard about witchcraft when this show first came out is what I’m focusing on. Many people saw witchcraft and satanism and ran with it. It was a “confirmation” that not only were all witches satanist, but that satanist were bad. Which obviously, that’s a belief society has held for a while. This show has done nothing but dramatized witchcraft for entertainment-but because of the negative opinions of satanist and satanism, mixed with a bad opinion of witchcraft… the public had us even more in a negative spotlight.
Moving on from that, the ways that witches, wiccans, pagans, and sorcerers (from here forward; “witches” for simplicity) are often shown in media can be… less than desirable. Some combination of old, subjectively ugly (read: not conventionally attractive), selfish, and cruel.
If we look at a newer show, The Witcher has many different personalities in the sorceresses of the show. However, the one we see most often, Yennifer, is often displayed acting solely for self-gain. Power, wants, pride. Amazing show, I personally have played all of the games in the Witcher series and love the show, and have read the books! And I actually liked that they showed each of the sorceresses having separate personalities, even Yennifer had her moments of “let’s do right.” But even the (in my opinion) sweetest of them, Triss, had moments of (arguably) self-preservation that had little care for others affected in mind. I would say this is one of the better representations. We see many different personalities, across many people. Which most fit wonderfully in character development!
If we go further back, which I will argue is not fair due to the time frame and overall controversy, look at most Disney movies. We see evil and devious “hags” working for self-gain.
The Effects of Negative Representation
Obviously, there is a pretty large negative opinion of witches in society due to contrasting religious beliefs, and misunderstandings of the practices we use. But, just as any group, a large amount of negative representation can worsen or give confirmation bias to those who already have one, as well as implant those views in those who may not already have them.
Confirmation bias is the idea that people will use new information to strengthen their beliefs. For an example of this, we go back to the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Witchcraft is Satanism, Satanism is Bad, so Witchcraft is Bad. Because while many people can accept that producers or other media creators will stretch, dramatize, or alter concepts for a bigger and better show-some people will not do that. I’ve seen people argue that this show wouldn’t portray witches this way if it weren’t “true.” Which I’m not entirely sure what these people think goes on when we’re at our altars-but they will not believe actual practitioners because they’ve seen their “proof” of what we “really do.”
Now, this isn’t solely limited to people that already have a negative opinion. People who are not likely to hate others for being different, aren’t going to do some because of media. However-there is a group of people who are riding a thin line, and confirmation bias of others can cause them to sway. Think of children, friends, or others close to someone with strong bias.
Theres also the concept of “Othering.” This is essentially when a group makes the “opposition” out as the “other guys.” The best way to describe this is imagine your high-school football team, and their rivals. The Yellow Jackets are clearly not going to like the Bulldogs, and are going to go out of their way to “other” the Bulldogs anyway they can. They’re the other side, so they are bad. Instantly, no exceptions.
Now let’s apply this on a stronger scale than high school rivals. Intended or not, being given so many “bad” examples it would not be hard to give someone the resources to other us. We are no longer people, employees, friends. We are “the other team.”
“Positively” Negative Effects
Now, it is also important to talk about the negative effects of these forms of media that are seemingly positive to some.
Now, by this I mean more positive and popular media that sways public opinion. The best way I could explain this is sometimes the most people know of witches comes from popular media. Harry Potter for example, highly liked and popular movie (would you believe I haven’t read nor seen Harry Potter? I’ll get to it… eventually…) but many people hear “witchcraft” and jump to ideas of wands throwing bolts or battle against the evil forces. The only problem here is these people often think that we believe this is what we’re doing. You and I know a spell isn’t waving our wand and saying “Fire” and fireballs fly everywhere. But sometimes these people really think this is how we view ourselves.
On the same side of that coin-we also see overzealous people who see things like Harry Potter, find out there are real witches, and think we are actually throwing fireballs around. Which isn’t necessarily the worst and often is done by kids who just don’t know any better. This isn’t so much an effect of the media itself but more so overactive imaginations and child-like hope at play. This is really only harmful if there is someone hoping to abuse that magical mindset which is why I bring it up here.
Misinformation on All Sides
And sadly, the misinformation. This isn’t limited to one side or the other though. A good example of this is the Salem Witch Trials. The trials in Salem were not related to actual witchcraft. This isn’t to say that the practitioners are wrong, but that they weren’t practitioners. What happened then was pretty much a bad case of hysteria and manipulation of the law.
During this period, there were many things that were just off the table. Dancing, and being in the woods being two of them. Another big factor is the courts accepted spectral evidence. This meant that someone could simply say “They’re using a spirit to attack me!” while flailing a bit and the court would accept this as cold hard evidence that the accused is in fact a witch. Other mundane things such as freckles and birthmarks could be held against you as proof of witchcraft as well. It was extremely hard to prove you were not a witch, and sadly most of the “proofs” of innocence involved death.
The Salem Witch Trials pretty much boiled down to people feeling slighted by others and trying to pass their own misdoings to the others around them and accused them of being witches. This often led to their deaths in one way or another. But the Trials were not based off of actual witchcraft, and movies/plays like The Crucible are simply based off the events as they had known them in the moment.
This is just the biggest example I see on both ends as misinformation spread by media. I wanted to show that the media portrayals and misinformation don’t just affect the “other” side. They can affect us as well. When information is widely available and inaccurate people who are just stepping in and researching for themselves are going to find it-and they won’t know how to tell what’s good and what’s not just yet.
Another big example can be found in video games based of major pantheons. Often times they’re not an accurate representation of deities, but if it’s the only exposure someone has it will be what they expect. Pop culture witchcraft is a valid practice, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, if you take a game based of a pantheon that omits or alters key parts of the mythology itself, that’s where the issues may come from. The best example I can think of would be if a game completely erases a part of a deity’s important history for the story. This is fine for entertainment-but not as good if it’s how you plan to learn about the deity because you may be missing a key part. Say if a game said Hades and Aphrodite were married, instead of Persephone. This would be a key part that’s omitted/changed in exchange for story elements and would not give the consumer the information they need on the Hellenic Path. However, a game like the Elder Scrolls series that makes its own Pantheon would be the best source on the pantheon!
Conclusion
Ultimately, people who do not agree with us will not be swayed by positive portrayals of us in media. And the media doesn’t dictate who we are and how we practice. However, with very limited positive or neutral representations the “other” side will always see us as the bad. The loud, dark, and “evil” imagery that is popular will take root and can sway those who can be swayed. The negative representations can also give people ammunition against us, so they can sway others.
Media itself is not the problem. The lack of representation is. And there’s many forms of media on both sides! Overall, while we shouldn’t let bad portrayals affect us and how we feel about ourselves, it’s important to know how it can affect how other people view us. If we don’t know the why’s and how’s, we don’t know how to combat it.
Media is never going to have a perfectly accurate portrayal of us. We simply need to know how and why these things happen. Whether it be othering, confirmation bias, or misinformation. And sometimes the media with the best intentions can do us harm as well.
No matter what though, when we are aware of what’s going on, we have a better chance at combating not only the negative opinions of others, but the negative opinions we internalize because of it. Without the proper tools to see what’s going on it’s easy for even us to have doubts and concerns about our paths.
Thank you for reading this far. Hopefully, I was able to give you some tools on why and how media can affect us and the best ways to combat it in your own circles, as well as understanding it when you see it in more widespread internet dramas.
It is often demons will be at the bottom of any and all bad in the world, any and all evil of the world will be chalked up to demonolatry, even if there’s no real tie. Do not let it discourage you or hurt you.
Share your thoughts!