From Boston.com: Web-based reality series about Salem witches set to begin filming in August.
From the article alone, I might not think anything of it. The producer sounds like a reasonable enough man who wants to dispel some negative stereotypes about (eclectic) Wiccans.
But I saw the commercial for this months ago. I thought it was for a store.
I can never not laugh when it gets to the third woman. (To her credit, I think she's being funny on purpose.)
Honestly, they all seem like pretty nice gals. And they're certainly better dressed than Fiona Horne. I'm just not expecting anything other than the standard fare.
The whole Salem media machine is just plain ridiculous. I know they really really really want those tourist dollars, but the fact is that there are a lot more Wiccans in my home town of Minneapolis (aka "Paganistan") than there are in Salem, and for the most part the Halloween "clown shoes" crap isn't anywhere to be seen here.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice to think that this program is going to promote more positive images of Wiccans in the media, but the very fact that it's about "Salem witches" makes me doubt that.
I'm pretty much with you on that one. I had no idea about Minneapolis, to tell you the truth. That just makes it even more farcical, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteAs a Trad, I try to check my kneejerk reactions to this stuff, because the tradition of seeking out media attention and making a fool of yourself goes back to Gardner and Sanders. But that doesn't really make it any less foolish.
Oh god, I cracked up at that third girl. Part of me wants to watch the series just out of the hope that she'd inject some humor into it and keep the whole thing down-to-earth. Because, you know, if there's one thing the "Salem scene" isn't, it's down-to-earth.
ReplyDeleteMinneapolis has a big Pagan scene that goes back to the 1960's, in part due to the Twin Cities being the home of Llewellyn Publishing - for good or for bad ;-). There's even a Wikipedia article about it!
ReplyDeleteI currently live right on Powderhorn Park, which is the original epicenter of "Paganistan." To this day the May Day Parade that ends at the park is really something - it supposedly draws 35,000 or so people every spring. Granted, not all of them are Pagans and Wiccans, but a lot of them are.
The entire population of Salem is around 40,000, for comparison.
On a positive note, I saw a Facebook conversation on this series last night and it turns out it's not being done by the eyeliner abuse folks, but by somebody a lot more reasonable. I was positive they were behind it when I first saw the trailer, though looking at it again the girls do look a lot less gothy than Christian Day and his buddies.
ReplyDeleteIt still could turn out pretty silly, but at least with a different bunch of folks running the show it might prove less overtly mockable.
That's definitely a plus. At the very least, I don't think this will be as outrageous as Mad, Mad House or the clown shoes brigade.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'll have to see that May Day Parade for myself some day! Sounds stupendous.