- In the 50's, Disney made almost every witch ugly, mean, homicidal, & ego maniacal. I guess we're supposed to thank them for the fairy godmothers, but, that just wasn't enough. (Don't get me wrong, I like Disney & they used established fairy tales with already set plot lines, but, couldn't at least one witch be attractive & cool & possibly debate her choices for a second?
- In the 60's & 70's, every witch movie seemed to follow these lines: puritanical girl wrongly executed in Salem haunts from the grave to kill unsuspecting people wandering the woods OR possesses/haunts some socialite in a future life who is already plagued with drug & alcohol problems & then goes mad.
- In the late 70's & 80's, Hollywood tried to make witches cool and appeal to teens but did even more harm. Every film I can recall was teen is hurt, scorned, dumped, etc. & turns to witchcraft to either, kill, maim those who don't like her, or seduce her studly English teacher. Uh huh, that helps. Teach people erroneously that the craft used is to do harm & get even....great! (P.S. Most real rituals don't include sex or have I been missing something??)
- In the 90's & 2000, we finally started to get a little help, but, even Practical Magick is supernatural, unrealistic, & doesn't portray the ethical path one walks when practicing magick. (I do admit, I like the movie though, it was a start on the right side. The witches were the good guys for a change. Not to mention, Nicole is a great actress.)
- I won't even start on TV which thinks all witches are some kind of genie that can poof anything that they want ala Bewitched, I Dream of Jeanie, Sabrina the Teenaged Witch, Charmed, Buffy, or X-files, etc.
Drawing Down the Moon-
Ok, I can't stress enough how much I LOVE this movie!! This fictional account is a positive, accurate portrayal of what being a witch is all about. If that's enough for you, go buy it on video!! Otherwise, feel free to read on.....
If you're like me, you grew up disgruntled with how witches were portrayed in the media. Even as a child in a non-Pagan household, I was disgruntled!!
So, realizing my rant is out of control, I at least hope that you can see why a witch would be disgruntled. It's hard to get acceptance in a Judeo-Christian mainstream culture based on past religious bias as it is. When the media fuels the populous with images of witches like these, that problem is made even worse. It's scary to consider that many people think that's what witches are like or what they do. They think we suffer the same delusions about what powers we might gain on the path & so either fear us or think we're daft. So, it's wonderful to have a movie you can take out and show your friends and saw "NOW DO YOU GET IT?"
Until I viewed this tape, I had yet to see a film that portrayed a real witch as we really practice! "Drawing Down the Moon" (not related to book of this title) does that and more! It is the story of a realistic, everyday witch (Karina Krepp as Gwynyth) with a dream, to build a homeless shelter, & help people to give back for all Goddess has given her. Unfortunately, unscrupulous business men try to stop her. Pretty simple plot, no demons, no ghouls, no slime & drool, etc. If you want the supernatural, this is not your movie. This is about the real kind of evil, money, corruption, & self interest, not the supernatural kind of evil. However, if you want to feel empowered by knowing you share this path, then this is your movie. The movie is real, gritty, artsy, down to Earth & ENGROSSING. I sat and watched it and didn't notice where the time went. Why? Because I watched a realistic heroine (if the actress isn't a witch, you'd never guess it which helped). She dressed normal, looked normal, & did every day activities. She was not a Baywatch babe half dressed, all clad in black! She was like you and me. Normal, comfortably dressed, little make-up & glitz, etc. She tried her best to live life faithfully each day and coped with attaining her dream & helping the town's homeless despite numerous obstacles. The town was realistic & all the people looked homeless, not glamourous. It was believable. This really sold it for me. Also, the scenario was believable. Some in the town liked her, others wanted the witch gone, some came around, some didn't. I was not the perfect fairy tale. I also liked that I didn't recognize anyone on the movie except Walter Koenig (Star Trek, Babylon 5) and even he played a normal, down to Earth bad guy (his best role ever & not just because I'm a mathematician either!). I really couldn't find anything NOT to like about this movie. Look, feel, music, everything was just PERFECT!
NOW, why the long rant, because I want to see more movies like this. And I hope that I can help movies like this one do well (in my small way) so that more like this will be made. I don't ask that every movie be about witches. There are many diverse beliefs on this planet. I don't expect all movies to be about us. BUT, if you portray us, please do it correctly and responsibly so I don't cringe if my family/friends watch it. I bet if you made a movie that incorrectly displayed the beliefs of any other religion, people would be outraged. But, why is it ok if it's "just witches?" And I do admit, I like seeing movies about us when it's done well. Don't we all love movies about things we are passionate about? Maybe if more such movies were made, people would learn about the path and someday not think it was any big deal if the person next door were Pagan, etc. This is a movie people should want their children to see, not the goth vampire wannabe stuff! Ok, we've got a long way to go, but, this is a start and a DAMN good one!
This title is on video, not in theaters. So, go to your video store and request it. Maybe if they get a lot of requests they'll display it prominently & order a lot of copies increasing it's circulation. $5 says most video stores, if they even have it, it will shove it incorrectly under horror just because the front cover says it's about a witch! It's more a drama/action-adventure. Even if you've seen it, ask anyway just so that they order it!
You also can buy a copy directly from the production company at: http://www.drawingdownthemoon.com and it's really worth the $20! Plus, there's a lot of neat info on their website too!
Woo hoo! Hooray for Chaos Entertainment! I plan to make everyone I know watch this!!
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Feel free to write us with movies you'd like reviewed here. E-mail us at molly@moonlovers.com.
