https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc Powerful Ambiguities and the Cinematic Imaginary en-us 2022-04-05 19:24:10 UTC 2025-11-20 13:32:10 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f52e.png oliviadittmann https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2135111042 An overview of what I think of when hearing the words witches and witchcraft.]]> 2022-04-07 18:16:28 UTC https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2135111042 oliviadittmann https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2145021415 The scene shows a demon calling for a woman.
 
In the course, we talked about different lighting techniques that are used to emphasize certain areas.
In this specific scene from the movie Häxan, back lighting is used to separate the shown demon and woman from the background, by placing the light behind them.
The focus and attention of the viewers lie now on the shown characters in the front.]]> 2022-04-15 16:25:23 UTC https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2145021415 oliviadittmann https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2207688701 I liked the movie and how it showed that a person can change for the better.
It was also interesting to see how the powers of the witch could be used not only in a bad way but also in a good way (helping Wallace win the campaign) and that it is up to the witch how she uses her powers.


At first, the witch Jennifer approaches Wallace to get revenge on him, for something that his ancestors did to her and her father decades ago. She tries to live up to her father's expectations of being a bad witch by seducing Wallace. But throughout the movie, we can see the process of a witch turning from wicked to vulnerable (domestic housewife), because of love being stronger (even though it mainly happened through a love potion). After this, she wants to use her powers to help Wallace win an election. ]]> 2022-06-01 15:35:23 UTC https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2207688701 oliviadittmann https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2207724045 The movie was really good and illuminated different topics such as friendship and (anti-)feminism. It also had a modern way of how the characters dressed and thought.
It was also interesting to see how the three witches turned against the devil because stereotypically it says that witches get their powers from the devil in the first plays, so it was a nice turn. I also liked that it had humoristic elements.


Friendship:
Throughout the movie, the Three can be seen as a trio and show a strong bond overcoming different obstacles (girl power).
Decide to "love/ share" the same man in the beginning.

Feminism:
Even though they first fell for the devil Daryl, they get back to their senses and fight him. A key scene can be seen at the end, when they, after fighting him, still miss him but decide to cut him fully off (turn the TV he appears on, off).
Something interesting is that all three had their powers before meeting Daryl, even though the stereotype is that witches get their powers from the devil. They only need him to realize they have powers and in reality, it's Daryl who needs their powers to widen his own. The witches also only use their powers for good things. In the end, they also take possession of his house and servant.

Anti-Feminism:
On the other side shows that Daryl has a financial impact on the women (buys figurines or one woman gets fired).
The women also stick to their lives before meeting Daryl (taking care of the children and household).
Throughout the movie, they mostly react to Daryl's actions, so they rarely act on their own.
They also decide to give birth to Daryl's children after everything that happened (a woman died because of him or he almost killed them).]]> 2022-06-01 16:03:10 UTC https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2207724045 oliviadittmann https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2207781372 Disney is known for their fairytales and great counterplays between good & bad. Especially their portrayals of witches are close to the expectations we have of them, in case of appearance and characteristics.

In the movies, the witches are portrayed as either: old, selfish, manipulative, users of black magic, or envious. Villains from the movies Snow White (1937), Little Mermaid (1989), Hercules (1996), and Sleeping Beauty (1959) are only a few examples.


In the 90s, Disney tried different variations of the portrayal of witches in live-action movies.

The movie Hocus Pocus (1993) combined the wickedness of the three witches with humoristic elements.
In this movie, they also show a clear distinction between the two sides good (the children) and bad (the witches).

Disney also tried to switch the image of the witches being seen as only bad, with the movie Halloweentown (1998) by presenting a good witch.]]> 2022-06-01 16:52:41 UTC https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2207781372 oliviadittmann https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2207985219 The movie presents two sides that a witch can have. It was a nice change to see the good and bad sides portrayed in the same movie, as well as showing the possibilities of how a witch can look like/ behave and that it doesn't need to follow the stereotypes of how we view a witch (presented by the Witch of the West).


On the left side, we see the bad witch of the West, Almira Gultch, appearing in a black dress and pointy hat, with green skin and a pointy nose. She owns a broom, which she uses to fly. She has a wicked personality and tries to steal the red shoes that Dorothy (middle) wears.

On the right, we see the good witch of the South, Glinda, appearing in a light-colored and glittery dress, with golden hair and a beautiful appearance. She also travels by bubbles through the sky and owns a magic wand. She has a friendly personality and helps Dorothy on her journey.]]> 2022-06-01 20:07:52 UTC https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2207985219 oliviadittmann https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2220687822 I think the movie was ok, it had a modern touch to it which I liked, and also that they spoke about relatable real-life topics like bullying, racism, jealousy, and insecurities. The plot itself was rather boring and there wasn't really an especially funny, sad, or scary scene.


In this scene, the four witches summon Manon (!?) the power of nature, if you can describe it like this, which provides the girls with the necessary energy to fulfill their wishes and make their spells work.

What differentiates this movie from previous ones, is the source of where the witches get their powers. Normally/ according to stereotypes, the source of power is coming from the Devil/ Satan, whom they have a contract with. In this movie nature itself is the focus and is described as the biggest power (even bigger than God and Satan).

On top, each of the witches represents one element: Sarah as the earth (the north), Nancy as the air (the east), Bonnie as the fire (the south), and Rochelle as the water (the west).
Before they have the ritual (which can be seen in the picture above), they mention that their power comes from nature (which can also be seen in another ritual in the forest in another scene) and that they have, therefore, a strong connection with it.

Throughout the movie, certain nature colors are highlighted, namely: yellow, green, blue, gold, red, and brown.]]> 2022-06-14 11:35:40 UTC https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2220687822 oliviadittmann https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2223254495 I liked that the viewer had Rosemaries perspective. During the movie, we only knew as much as Rosemarie and everything she found out about - besides the rape scene which I didn't understand at first but got clearer later on and also found quite disturbing - helped us to understand the ongoing of the movie.
Sometimes during the movie, I had problems with following the plot, because there were a lot of questions but I think that's what made the movie interesting.
There were also many scenes I found uncomfortable to watch, for example when Rosemarie lost a lot of weight, was screaming because of her stomach ache, or just looked really tired, on the edge of going mental because no one understood or tried to help her.


What differentiates this movie from the others is the focus, namely, the focus here is not on witches but on satanism in general.
During the movie, we learn about the different satanistic beliefs.
Guy, Rosemarie's Husband, for example, promises their unborn baby to Satan (without her knowledge) in exchange for a promising acting career.

Satan shows his capabilities when Guy was promised a big role but another actor called Donald Baumgart gets it. Through a "coincidence", Donald goes blind and Guy gets the role.
Through this is Guy blinded by Satan's powers that's why Guy allows Satan to rape Rosemarie so that she gives birth to his baby.
The baby is said to destroy the world when he grows up and that he has Satan's eyes.
The pregnancy puts her through many difficulties, including stomach aches, causing her to lose a lot of weight.

Hutch, a friend of Rosemarie, loses his glove and shortly after falls into a coma and dies. After his death, Rosemarie gets a gift from Hutch, which he sends to her before his death, a book about witchcraft, where she reads that Satanists can use the personal belongings of their victims to cause them harm.]]> 2022-06-16 17:05:28 UTC https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2223254495 oliviadittmann https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2223284791 Although I'm not a fan of the horror genre, I liked the way how we had the different perspectives of the students when they were using their cameras:  Heather had the colored one and Josh had the black and white one. It was really interesting to see the movie from these perspectives and I felt like being part of the movie (which increased the scary factor).


The Blair Witch is said to be, according to legend, the ghost of Elly Kedward, a woman banished from the Blair Township for witchcraft in 1785.

The witch is described as a woman who doesn't touch the ground (appears to hover). She has supernatural powers and kidnaps/ kills people as an act of revenge. 

Throughout the movie symbols can be found: wood figures in the forest (can be seen in the picture above), bloody hand prints on the wall in the basement, children laughing, and "possessed" behavior by the people who got captured by staring at the wall.]]> 2022-06-16 17:50:39 UTC https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2223284791 oliviadittmann https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2223295638 I found the movie quite difficult to understand, especially the beginning with all the colors and "weird" cuts, as well as the music choice.


In the movie, the focus doesn't lie on the witches themselves but rather on their stereotypical behaviors.

They show that they can change the course of events and people's lives by harming them and letting them suffer from sickness and even death.
Their goal is to gain great personal wealth through, again, harming others.
A real witch is someone with a talent for doing evil.]]> 2022-06-16 18:08:45 UTC https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2223295638 oliviadittmann https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2234229144 What I liked about the movie was the strong woman aspect and how she used her powers for her own benefit.


In the movie, the protagonist witch Elaine (girl on the left) does everything she wants when it comes to men. When she likes someone she uses her power to seduce them and the moment she doesn't have a use for them, she dumps them.
Now the thing that makes her strong is that she does everything for her benefit and acts selfishly.

A similarity can be seen in "The Craft" (1996) movie, where the four witches use their powers to take either revenge on their bullies or the boy who played with their feelings.]]> 2022-06-30 11:23:37 UTC https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2234229144 oliviadittmann https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2237167477 I found the movie very boring because there was no dialogue, besides some text information and you had to pay close attention to what was going on. 

Besides that, the movie showed how people, mostly women, who looked suspicious, were accused of witchcraft back in the day and tortured until they would confess, even though they were innocent.]]> 2022-07-05 10:11:06 UTC https://padlet.com/oliviadittmann/b737hdjarfjxe5lc/wish/2237167477