Disney VS Wicca: The Misconceptions of Wicca in "Hocus Pocus"
When one thinks of Wicca, the word witchcraft is synonymous. Wicca has over the years come to be known as an evil religion due to many misconceptions that have been conceived by numerous people. Wicca tends to get its bad name from other religions who think that their religious practices are of an evil nature. Wicca has been around for thousands of years and the most famous era of Wicca can be seen in the Salem Witch Trials, where women were killed for just being accused for practicing witchcraft. Popular culture has had a hand in giving Wicca a bad name by providing us with TV shows and movies that make portray Wicca as evil, such as “The Blair Witch Project”. Although there have been shows and movies produced that have aided in the misguiding of people in the truth about Wicca, there have also been some shows produced that show Wicca to be a good thing. “Charmed” is one of those shows which show the good in the religion. In saying that popular culture has had a hand in giving a preconceived notion of Wicca, one company in particular is the focus of my research today. The Walt Disney Company has on numerous occasions used witches in their movie as the villain. We have seen witches in “Sleeping Beauty”, “The Little Mermaid”, and “Hocus Pocus”. My focus will be on the movie of “Hocus Pocus”. In doing this webpage I hope to compare and contrast the witchcraft as seen in the movie, with the true Wiccan religion in hopes of clearing up any misconceptions that may have been formed by the portrayal of Wicca in “Hocus Pocus”. I will also include a background on All Hallows Eve for this is when the movie takes place, and will give a background on the Salem Witch Trials for this is where the movie is taking place.
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Salem Witch Trials Hocus Pocus A brief History of Wicca
All Hallows
Eve
Disney VS Wicca
