I don't know if this will be any good, but I thought I'd post it for those
interested.
Subject: [SALEM-WITCH-L] "Witch City"
Resent-Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 06:33:15 -0700 (PDT)
Resent-From: SALEM-WITCH-L(a)rootsweb.com
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 09:32:52 -0400
From: Margo Burns <margo(a)ogram.org>
Organization: None.
To: SALEM-WITCH-L(a)rootsweb.com
A friend sent this along yesterday. I don't know if PBS stations outside
of the Boston area will also be broadcasting this program, but I thought
I'd alert everyone to watch for it!
--Margo, your list-keeper
======================
Public Television's WGBH, Boston, Massachusetts, USA., announces the April
20th 1999, airing of "Witch City", a contemporary documentary about Salem,
Massachusetts, Witches, government, evangelical Christians, merchants,
pilgrims, etc:
http://www.wgbh.org/wgbh/tv/viewpoint/witch.html
Witch City Production Web Site:
http://www.artsgloucester.com/witchcity/
Thank you to Tammy Todd, of Mining Co.'s Alternative
Religions:
http://altreligion.miningco.com/
Complete announcement is included.
"Witch City also looks at the religious battle brewing over Salem's
history, as contemporary witches, known as Wiccans, make their own
pilgrimages to Salem and are met with protest by evangelical Christians.
WGBH
Witch City features interviews with Arthur Miller, author of The
Crucible, Elie Wiesel, and Laurie Cabot, "The Official Witch of Salem," as
well as with local business owners, tourists, Wiccans, and Christians."
WGBH
"I think this is a well-crafted film, given the aesthetic constraints
of working on video.
It hits hard on both sides, but I do think the Pagan community appears
to have more integrity than the business-owners who are clearly out to
exploit the town's history to make a buck.
One moment in the film stands out for me as particularly chilling: two
young women, perhaps nineteen or twenty, are shown perched upon a
tombstone in the cemetery. They are dressed in typical Goth-like garb, and
one is pretending to stab the other with a knife. They say they are from
New York, and continue their mock-attack upon one another, one now
pretending to bite the other, acting as if possessed. Seeing the glow in
their eyes as they performed in front of the camera I was reminded of those
teenage girls three hundred years ago. In the public eye for perhaps the
only time in their lives, given license by the court officials to behave
scandalously, and willing to sell out their neighbors in
what to them seems to have been a hideous childhood game."
Peg Aloi, The Witches Voice:
http://www.witchvox.com/media/witchcity.html
Salem Witch Trials, Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.ogram.org/17thc/faqs.shtml
"Q: What is a spectre?
A: In 17th-century witchcraft terms, a spectre is an active agent of
a living witch.
The spectre can interact with others but cannot generally be seen by
anyone except the victim of the evil.
In contrast, a ghost is the active agent of a deceased person."
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/salem/digest.html
"Q: What is spectral evidence?
A: The afflicted children believed that they saw invisible shapes
(spectres) of the [live] witches who were [allegedly] torturing them.
No one but the children saw these apparitions.
In effect, the children became the accusers, judges, and jury."
http://school.discovery.com/schoolstore/videos/rediscoveringamerica-thesalem
witchtrials/discussion.html
"10. What are contemporary perceptions of witchcraft?
It is widely understood that witchcraft is a pantheistic religion that
includes reverence for nature, belief in the rights of others and pride in
one's own spirituality.
Practitioners of witchcraft focus on the good and positive in life and
in the spirit and entirely reject any connection with the devil.
Their beliefs go back to ancient times, long before the advent of
Christianity; therefore no ties exist between them and the Christian
embodiment of evil.
Witchcraft has been confused in the popular mind with pointy black hats,
green faces and broomsticks."
http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/learn.html
"Q: What are some differences between European and English/New English
witch-hunts? Who were the persecuted? How were they punished?
A: In England and New England, witchcraft was a civil felony, and
felons were hanged.
Generally English witchcraft was a harder crime to prove; in all,
perhaps 1,500 people in England and New England were put to death.
On the European continent, witchcraft was generally looked upon as a
heresy against the [Christian] church, and heretics were burned [alive at a
stake].
On the [European] Continent, there were massive witch-hunts which over
three centuries resulted in deaths of tens, or even hundreds of thousands
of people. "
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/salem/digest.html
"Q-Where do I get The Burning Times video?
A-"The Burning Times", Direct Cinema Ltd., Inc, 213-396-4774
A-'The Burning Times' [a 58 minute video put together by a group of
Canadian women to depict Europe's turbulent 15th-17th centuries] Video is
referenced under 'Women and Spirituality' and distributed by Direct Cinema
Limited, PO Box 10003, Santa Monica, CA 90410; ph-310-396-4774. "
http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~jup/witches/FAQ.html
********************************
WGBH
[Salem] Witch City
April 20th, 1999
In Salem, Massachusetts, witches are big business.
With everything from police cars to potato chip bags sporting the
hag-on-a-broomstick icon, the city is cashing in on the 1692 Witch Trial
tragedy in which 20 innocent residents were killed.
Witch City, a 60-minute documentary airing as part of WGBH's Viewpoint
series for independent producers, explores how Salem's history has been
twisted for commercial gain and religious promotion.
Witch City, made by a collective of North Shore filmmakers, airs on
Tuesday, April 20 at 10pm on 'GBH/2.
Witch City takes viewers on a darkly entertaining, educational, and
controversial ride through Salem. Director Joe Cultrera, a Salem native now
living in New York City, returns to his hometown during the city's "Haunted
Happenings" Halloween celebration.
He finds that among t-shirt hawkers, museum owners, and even city
leaders, capitalism and greed have overshadowed the town's history and
heroism.
Witch City also looks at the religious battle brewing over Salem's
history, as contemporary witches, known as Wiccans, make their own
pilgrimages to Salem and are met with protest
by evangelical Christians.
Witch City features interviews with Arthur Miller, author of The
Crucible, Elie Wiesel, and Laurie Cabot, "The Official Witch of Salem," as
well as with local business owners, tourists, Wiccans, and Christians.
Witch City was made by Joe Cultrera, Henry Ferrini, Phil Lamy, John
Stanton, Bob Quinn, and May Liao-all North Shore natives or current
residents-for Picture Business Productions and Ferrini Productions.
http://www.artsgloucester.com/witchcity/
--
Neal F. Carrier
Holland Patent, NY
WAGS #776
Listowner CARRIER-L Mail List