Скачать или смотреть How witches became feminist icons

Are witches villains, empowered women, or somewhere in between? Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/subhistoryextrayoutube

In this final episode of her witchcraft history series, Marion Gibson, professor of Renaissance and magical literatures at the University of Exeter, explores how the figure of the witch has evolved into a modern cultural icon, role model, and scapegoat. The video traces the witch from folkloric villain and victim of persecution to a feminist symbol of empowerment – and a recurring character in literature, film, religion, and even political rhetoric.

Gibson begins with how the term “witch hunt” is frequently (and often inaccurately) used today in political discourse. She explores the enduring presence of witches in popular fiction, TV, and film, showing how magical women have been reimagined – from evil threats to independent and powerful heroines.

The episode dives into 19th-century anthropological work, like that of folklorist James George Frazer, who treated magical belief as a survival of primitive thought. It follows 20th-century popular histories and novels that shaped the public’s understanding of witchcraft – both romanticising and sensationalising it.

Trace the history of the witch in popular culture, as Gibson dissects cinematic portrayals from the 1940s onward – starting with romantic comedies like I Married a Witch, through Bewitched and Practical Magic, all the way to darker, more complex portrayals like American Horror Story: Coven and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. She discusses how modern witches on screen often grapple with themes of gender, power, and rebellion.

Finally, dig deeper into Gibson’s sobering reminder that witch hunts still happen today. Across the world, hundreds are accused, persecuted, or killed each year under accusations of witchcraft, often in informal or extrajudicial trials. The witch remains, Gibson argues, a powerful and dangerous cultural figure – still scapegoated, still feared, still reinvented.

Find more episodes in this HistoryExtra Academy series at https://www.historyextra.com/academy/...

#HistoryExtra #witch #witchcraft

00:48 How is witchcraft seen today?
02:41 How did the Victorians view witchcraft?
08:01 How are witches portrayed on screen?

▷ Like our page on Facebook:   / historyextra  
▷ Follow us on Twitter: https://x.com/HistoryExtra
▷ Follow us Instagram:   / historyextra  
▷ Follow us on TikTok:   / ucy4hmtkf5afzrltchpwrc_g  

Subscribe to our Substack for Life Lessons from History with Dr David Musgrove: https://historyextra.substack.com/

🏰 BBC History Magazine
Step into the past for only £12! Get 6 months of the UK's best-selling history magazine—packed with gripping stories, cutting-edge research, and insights from the world’s top historians.

https://www.buysubscriptions.com/prin...

BBC History Extra
Love History? Download the HistoryExtra app for ad-free episodes, exclusive long-read features like the History’s Greatest series, and interactive courses led by experts in the HistoryExtra Academy. Download now!

https://historyextra.onelink.me/MJpt/...