Feature
A Kind of Magic
Ailsa Longmuir discusses how Paganism has been portrayed in cinema.
When The Da Vinci Code (2006) opened in cinemas, hundreds of protesters across the world demonstrated against the film's supposed blasphemous content against the Catholic church. In 2008 one thousand protesters joined in Amsterdam to condemn right-wing film maker Geert Wilders and his short film Fitna because it openly associated Islam with violence. And when Mel Gibson infamously screamed, "the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," he was met with overwhelming public outcry and was shunned by virtually all of Hollywood. Despite this, there is a religion which remains a constant target for negativity within public consciousness, yet whose hundreds of thousands of followers almost never make their feelings heard. Pagans have been the butt of jokes and the recipients of persecution for thousands of years, but are the movies doing anything to challenge this, or do they just re-enforce the status quo?
Paganism is a broad term, used to encompass a whole spectrum of non-Abrahamic, usually polytheistic religious traditions, conventionally associated with rural dwellers. Monotheistic religions have tended to associate deprecatory connotations to the word "Pagan", similar to "heathen" or "infidel", rendering the whole movement somehow inferior, and based on the assumption that un-educated country folk couldn't formulate a complex belief system. In fact, Paganism is a hugely rich and diverse faith with beliefs concerning ethics and the afterlife, complete with complex rituals and religious festivals. Contrary to Abrahamic tradition, Paganism embraces both the masculine and feminine aspects of nature, and openly celebrates women's role in society. Modern Pagans, including Wiccans, Neo-Druids and Thelemites still struggle against cultural bias and the continued fascination with that most sensational aspect of their religion: the practice of magic.
Pagan magic should not be confused with the sort of theatrics espoused by camp classic The Devil Rides Out (1968), as the faith contains no notion of a Satan-like figure in the first place and blood sacrifice goes against Pagan ethics, or "Wiccan Rede", which states, "an it harm none, do what ye will." Thelema founder Alaister Crowley called magic, "the Science and Art of causing change to occur in conformity with Will," which is not dissimilar to the light-hearted fluff peddled by Dale Carnegie's best-selling book How to Win Friends and Influence People. Still, the myth persists that Pagan magic is a subversive force, designed with the sole intent of destabilising Christian society, bringing danger and disease, and whittling away at the Patriarchal structure of Christianity itself.
The Crucible (1996) takes place in 17th Century Salem, Massachusetts where, in the woods with her friends, Abigail (Winona Ryder) kills a chicken and wishes for the death of her lover's wife. The girls are discovered and begin a web of lies and power games in an attempt to cover their actions and intent. The Crucible outright shows the Christian church attempting to crush anything it views as heathen, and a stern, male-dominated society trying its utmost to stamp out the voices of women. At the start the girls are shown laughing and smiling, close to nature and revelling in the freedom of expression denied to them at home. This positive image is marred by their later lies and self-serving attitudes, re-enforcing the superiority and moral authority of the men and the church. Abigail might have been a scheming harridan regardless of her situation or religion, but nevertheless the girls are literally put on trial and found guilty of being different.
The Wicker Man (1973) on the other hand shows an entire Scottish island cheerfully practising their own brand of Celtic Paganism, much to the horror of devout Christian Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward). The dour and celibate Howie is repulsed yet intrigued by the islanders' open attitudes towards sexuality and in particular the lascivious behaviour of the women. Their benevolent master Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) nonchalantly informs Howie that the Christian God is "dead" and compares his people to animals, commenting that animals never kneel to one another. In the climactic scene, Howie is stuffed into a wicker construct and set on fire in an attempt to secure a good harvest for the coming year. This time it is Howie's Christian prayers that are drowned out as the islanders enclose him and sing a traditional folk tune. Once again we see the stereotypes of blood sacrifice and selfishness on the part of the Pagans, but it's hard not to admire their care-free attitude.
Sadly, Pagans are too-often pigeonholed as "baddies" by movies and any of their redeeming qualities quashed by the over-emphasis on black magic in an effort to secure bums on cinema seats. A few attempts to redeem the faith have surfaced recently such as The Craft (1996), where a bunch of dozy teenage girls in eyeliner use magic to enhance their lives, Sleepy Hollow (1999), where a young girl uses magic to protect her beloved, or King Arthur (2004), where the Pagans are shown as brave, noble warriors. Despite this, modern society persists in demonising the Pagan faith and its peace-loving followers, to the extent where many feel uncomfortable acknowledging their religion in public, which perhaps explains the lack of protest. For an industry that so publicly denounces religious intolerance in all its other forms, Hollywood's continued maltreatment of Pagans is a shameful stain on its record.
Ailsa Longmuir
