The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

 
Uh, I'm mostly here to grumble, but I will say that Supernatural differentiates between the witches the hunters hunt and Wiccans/Pagans pretty well. I still despise their treatment of Pagan gods, but no CGI when it comes to Wiccans. So that's not...horrible? I still can't watch any of the episodes that handle that, though.

But yeah, it's gotten to the point where I just can't watch anything witch-related because I end up yelling at the computer.

I love a good fantasy story, but all the tv and movies witches and Wiccas I see out there all have Hollywood magic.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Charmed
Bewitched
Supernatural (? I haven't watched much of it, but it probably fits the type)
Practical Magic
The Craft
Switch
TWitches
The Wizard of Oz...

I love them dearly and enjoy watching them but where, oh where are the Wiccas and Witches being represented on-screen without the help of CGI?

I've even contemplated WRITING one of my own and seeing if friends can't help me produce my own web-series at least but I can never think of the right story to tell that just happens to be about witches (And that in itself is generic - what about any shows or characters who are openly Pagan?). The closest I've come is writing stories that include a character (who happens to be a witch, herself).


Are there any obscure ones out there that put my complaints to rest? Anyone else feel like grumbling?

Ask anybody whose Profession has been the subject of a t.v. show and you will mostly get the same response ( possibly even more cringes and groans).

The law of LCD ( lowest common denominator) will always exit in things like T.V. because in order to get and keep sponsors, they have to appeal to the widest possible audience .
Very, very few (demographically speaking) people are aware of let alone involved with pagan issues. That being the case, the writers/producers take what little is in the common culture and try to make it exciting/sexy/immediate to their audiences.

So I just enjoy what's out there realizing it's fiction and I don't try to draw comparisons between what I watch on popular media and my real life.

Ask anybody whose Profession has been the subject of a t.v. show and you will mostly get the same response ( possibly even more cringes and groans).

The law of LCD ( lowest common denominator) will always exit in things like T.V. because in order to get and keep sponsors, they have to appeal to the widest possible audience .
Very, very few (demographically speaking) people are aware of let alone involved with pagan issues. That being the case, the writers/producers take what little is in the common culture and try to make it exciting/sexy/immediate to their audiences.

So I just enjoy what's out there realizing it's fiction and I don't try to draw comparisons between what I watch on popular media and my real life.

 
I wonder how many people went into archaeology because of Harrison Ford?

True. Although a program that centers around a witch doesn't have to center around witchcraft. (Did that make any sense? I'm having a weird day where nobody understands what I'm trying to say).

I get what you're saying. Usually on TV any kind of deviant character is defined by their deviance and their part of the story revolves around it because it's the deviance that's exciting to the audience, and it's generally refreshing to see a character whose deviance isn't a Big Deal, and who is a well-rounded character rather than one defined by one unusual trait.

I think sometimes the realism of TV magic depends on how one interprets what one is seeing. Sometimes (when people aren't getting thrown across the room etc.) it's possible to view the CGI effects as something you are seeing through the character's eyes or as the character's feeling converted to visual form, like natural sounds are converted to words for the purpose of writing. I think there are much better ways to say this, but I'm failing to find them right now.
 
As far as Supernatural witches go, there was an episode centered on a coven in which Dean said something like "I hate witches! They're always getting their bodily fluids everywhere!", which gave me many giggles because in my case this is pretty true.

What about Holly and the coven in season 4[?] of TrueBlood? I thought the scene where Holly did a spell for Arlene was decent. Of course, it wouldn't have been very entertaining without Arlene there to have comic misunderstandings and such.

I think sometimes the realism of TV magic depends on how one interprets what one is seeing. Sometimes (when people aren't getting thrown across the room etc.) it's possible to view the CGI effects as something you are seeing through the character's eyes or as the character's feeling converted to visual form, like natural sounds are converted to words for the purpose of writing. I think there are much better ways to say this, but I'm failing to find them right now.
 

I get how you're putting it.

I'd like to see TV that shows us different things based on which character's "viewpoint" we're watching from.
 
Jeezum, now I want to write a script.

I love a good fantasy story, but all the tv and movies witches and Wiccas I see out there all have Hollywood magic.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Charmed
Bewitched
Supernatural (? I haven't watched much of it, but it probably fits the type)
Practical Magic
The Craft
Switch
TWitches
The Wizard of Oz...

I love them dearly and enjoy watching them but where, oh where are the Wiccas and Witches being represented on-screen without the help of CGI?

I've even contemplated WRITING one of my own and seeing if friends can't help me produce my own web-series at least but I can never think of the right story to tell that just happens to be about witches (And that in itself is generic - what about any shows or characters who are openly Pagan?). The closest I've come is writing stories that include a character (who happens to be a witch, herself).


Are there any obscure ones out there that put my complaints to rest? Anyone else feel like grumbling?

 
I watched "The Good Witch's Garden" a while back, and found it to be pretty realistic...in fact that is one of the things I liked about it.  Apparently there is a whole series of Good Witch movies.

I agree, that while I do really enjoy some of the fantastical witchy movies, it would be nice to see a more realistic portrayal.

Where'd you find that? I'd like to watch it.

 
I watched it on Netflix, but it looks like it is no longer there  It looks like the first movie is on Hulu (it seems to be in the free for everyone category)  I'm not familiar or comfortable with other sites that let you watch online, but you might be able to find it around (I didn't see a way to watch it on the Hallmark site)

Apparently they are Hallmark movies (and I just read that Hallmark is planning on turning it into a tv series with 10 episodes in the first season...and that the 7th movie is coming out on October 25 on Hallmark)