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Get your own Free Home Page"The Craft" movie has caused a lot of controversy.... many Pagans screaming "bloody murder" (so to speak) of their beliefs. But how "horribly" done was "The Craft"? How do you judge this movie? There are two was to approach these question, and both depend on what the viewer was interested in; smoke, mirrors, and special effects? or accuracy and "truth" about Paganistic practices? What the Producer was interested in also deserves a closer look.
Special Effects? Absolutely! Those boys and girls at Hollywood did an excellent job of jazzing up the movie with interesting flashes of light, lots of exaggeration, and even more kewl additions of their own imagination. The movie remained interesting to the end.... special effects combined with Witchcraft, a topic that will catch the publics interest and has not been done to death, creates an excellent atmosphere for excitement and intrigue. Well done Hollywood!
Accuracy? Most Pagans scream about their mocked beliefs and how much The Craft has damaged the publics interest in Witchcraft; especially those who were just getting involved when the movie came out. The question should now become: how accurate are these upset Pagans? Truly, it is not difficult to get "blinded" by the special effects and exaggerations in this movie. Again, Hollywood did an excellent job there. But the coordinating producer of The Craft is Wiccan, so how far out did the movie take the public from Pagan/Wiccan beliefs if Hollywood did indeed have a practicing guide? Not too far...
On an initial point, the Pagan's love of nature was displayed in a lovely barrage of butterflies manifesting during a ritual in the woods. Beautiful scene, and quite enchanting... can it happen? It hasn't to me, but why not?
Now, moving on to "bigger" issues... While the spells were exaggerated (i.e., a Glamour spell that could physically alter you entire face or the invocation that ends with a strike of lightning hitting one of the girls, who lives and walks on water) the Principles of Wicca, and to a small extent Witchcraft, were well presented. The older woman who owned the Craft Store was the mirror of "real Witches." She centered the beliefs and presented them in a matter-of-fact way to the audience (and she was a good actress too). The Three-Fold Law was stated: All which you put out comes back to you three times over. True, the language could have been a little flashier, like many Pagans enjoy, but it would then have been a bit less clear to the non-Pagan public. KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) and the producer did just that.
The "nature" of Magick was also addressed in a very accurate manner. Again, the store owner states Magick is neither good nor evil, but it is the wielder that denotes its intent (not an exact quote). Don't get much clearer than that! Magick is no more evil than a gun... it's not the gun that kills maliciously, but the person squeezing the trigger. Is this where the "truth" ends... In my opinion.... no!
However, this is where the Non-truth begins... For instance, the deity Man'al (sp?) was an invention of the Producer. I've heard lots of complaints about this, how "foolish" she is, she's full of "BS," etc etc... For the people who are of this opinion, I ask you to stop a moment and stand in her (the Producer's) place! It is well known most Pagan despise this movie: How would YOU have felt is the God/dess represented in "The Craft" was the one you honored? If she had used an established deity or belief system, she would have had even MORE complaints than she has a present, not to mention how many "hexes" and "curses" she'd have knocking at her door. Possibly a murder attempt? We would hope not, but it's not completely unheard of in these times.
The film mentions little verbally on the practices and beliefs, but symbolically and through the acting, it continues to express an excellent, realistic structure. Invocations do not end with lightning striking your body, nor does it endow walking on water, nor does it kill sharks and put them on the beach for you to "fawn" over. How many stop here and don't take it a step further? Invocation does provided added Power, and this power is indeed dangerous in the wrong or untrained hands. Nancy (the most "evil" of all the girls) becomes corrupted by the power and abuses it, using it for personal gain with no regard to others health or wishes. ACCURATE!!! Power corrupts! and the film does a great job of showing it.
Furthermore, it is portrayed that there is more than one type of power. Nancy rules over two other girls through Fear! A very potent type of power, indeed. They do what she says, because they feared her magickal power. This happens, and it is important not to get mixed in a Gang type situation.
The Love spell... Miss Producer... Great job!!! While it is a bit "over done," it excellently portrays how binding a love spell can be. In truth, many are not "Love Spells" but "Slave Spells". Dangerous Territory, and very much akin to psychological rape. The film shows this in its extreme, but will undoubtedly deter some half-way magick users (these are the most dangerous kind of "Pagans" in my opinion -- Markus) from using them. The effects can often go over-board... just don't mess with the possibility.
Another excellent moral.... KNOW THE PEOPLE YOU ARE GETTING INVOLVED WITH!!! The star of the movie got involved with these girls that everyone said watch out for. "Everyone," however, was judging them on the propaganda surrounding "witches." She did not judge them on "Everyone," but she also didn't take the time to get to know them before joining the Circle to make the 4th participant. Important, Important, Important! Don't call someone "friend" and drop your guard simple because they claim to be "one of us." The end of the movie was the battle for the star of the film to save her own life from these power corrupted girls.
Will a Glamour spell really change your eye color or hair color or even entire face? Not physically, but it can indeed in the mind of the person perceiving you. Unfortunately, most of the public would think this even bigger BS than the special effects of the movie. Today's non-Pagan society isn't looking for "accuracy" they are looking for "REAL" magick.
On the other hand.... However YOU Pagans rant about it (and you know who you are)... This film has brought "Truck loads" of interested people into IRC #Witchcraft and #Wiccan channels, as well as overwhelming amounts flipping through every Pagan web page they can find on the Net. Paganism wasn't dying before this film, but it wasn't Booming as it is now!!! I send out a great big THANKYOU to the Wiccan Producer of "The Craft"!!! She has sparked the interest of the public without completely shrouding the truth in special effects, lights, and smoke.
GUESTIMATED AVERAGE
NON-PAGAN RATING: B+
GUESTIMATED AVERAGE
PAGAN RATING: C-
WITCHCRAFT DAWING
ANALYTICAL RATING: A+!!!
(Based on the standard American Educational Institution grading style of A-F)
Blessed Be,
Markus
Witchcraft Dawning Webmaster
witchdawn@hotmail.com
"If you’ve found God and no one claims Him in 30 days, you can keep Him"
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