Sunday, October 4, 2015

Witches: Wicked, The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Wicked is a behind the scenes story of the witches the merry ol' land of Oz. Focusing mainly on the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, and her life growing up green and how she became the Wicked Witch we are all to know now. The Wicked Witch is, well, known to be wicked. But we learn the story of Elphaba from her as a baby, and into college. She is different than everyone else because she is green. This story takes the wicked witch and turns her into a person with heart. We all can relate to her in some ways, and it sensitizes her.

This story has many witch stereotypes and archetypes, the broom, the hat, green skin/ being "ugly", and in this story you go to school to start practicing magic. 

In some witch stories women in power are made to be evil, but in this story we find how the evil is justified. A woman with such great power of being a witch can be related to. 

I have watched many shows on witches, such as The Witches of East End. Which is a story of a mother and two daughters, and her sister. All who are witches, the mother is immortal, the sister has 9 lives like a cat, and the two daughters die and come back in many different lives. They have been around for centuries and each life time seems to tie into the next. Sadly the show was canceled after the last episode ends with a huge cliffhanger. But I think that this show ties in with the women in power and how they an even be sexualized by culture. 

In most fantasy shows there are witches involved, even in American Horror Story: Coven. This is another great example of witches in modern culture. Especially when it comes to power. All different types of women of power come together to learn how to deal with their powers. Being the 'supreme' is the highest power of being a witch in the coven, and that power drives some of the witches insane, especially Jessica Lange's character. A woman fantasy character can be taken in so many ways, as a sexual object, a bitch, or as a heroine. All of which are represented in that season of AHS.