The above video is a brief 50 second clip from the movie “He’s Just Not That Into You
I will say upfront that I have not seen this movie and I can’t say that I really intend to. Not because of this scene, but because I rarely watch much in the way of “chick flicks” preferring instead to spend my TV time with GamerDude who, while a sensitive soul, isn’t about to endure 2 hours of watching women bemoan the lack of a lasting love relationship.
I will also admit, upfront, that I am easily annoyed at portrayals of Wicca in modern media. I remember being more angry with The Craft
The above video is but a few brief seconds in a movie that most viewers, even fans of the movie, probably won’t even notice and almost certainly won’t remember for very long if they do. But I still found it a bit unsettling. Not so much Jennifer Aniston’s character Beth’s reaction to her table-mate’s revelation as by the portrayal of the Wiccan in question.
Those of my readers who are Wiccan, or some other Pagan persuasion, how likely would you be at a social function to jump right into identifying your faith right after introducing yourself for the first time? How likely would you be to reveal your full magical or initiatory name (if you choose to use one) to someone you just met? Would this be how you would want someone/anyone to hear about Wicca (or your own Pagan faith) for the first time – in an awkward oversharing moment? Would you want this man, fictional though he is, to be the first Wiccan many Americans meet?Because according to a recent survery most of the United States has little to no idea of what Wicca is and what they do know, scares them? Now, granted this survey was done by a Conversative Christian polling group but still …
Personally, I rarely identify myself as either a Wiccan or a Witch (unless asked a direct question) unless I know you to some degree. I do not necessarily need to know you well or intimately but I need to have allowed you to already have gotten to know me a bit so that, whatever the word(s) evokes for you, this revelation will be weighed against what you have come to know about me as a person. I hope that the impression I give is that perfectly average, intelligent, kind almost 40 year olds are Wiccan too.
How do you feel about the portrayal? How do you feel about Ms. Aniston’s character’s reaction? Please Let us know in the forum.
Blessings
Mama Kelly
Note: Please remember that youtube content, especially when copyrighted, tends to come and go quickly and without notice.
Related Posts:
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
By Celestite on Feb 10, 2009 |
This reminds me of someone who introduces themselves by their Warcraft identity. Something also only seen on TV, at least as far as I know. When I get irritated by something like this I just remind myself of all the bad representations of religion, sports, hobbies, gender, professions etc etc that I see on TV or in movies. And that’s just the ones that I KNOW are badly done.
Celestite´s last blog post..Full Moon, Storm Moon
By jackie on Feb 10, 2009 |
i saw that clip somewhere else and it pissed me off then too.
I haven’t seen a protrayal of a wiccan or a pagan yet that is correct or complementary…
jackie´s last blog post..LOL STUMBLES
By Kelly on Feb 10, 2009 |
I’m not pagan, though I have learned a great deal about pagan religions and I have respect for ALL religions.
I saw this clip and thought, that is going to tick some people off. The way he seems to be portrayed and her reaction.
Not having seen the whole scene, it could be that her reaction is to her his over sharing so quickly more than his declaration itself.
I don’t know anyone who belts out their religion unless asked. I do know that with movies like The Craft and shows like Charmed, there are a lot of people that claim to be Wiccan without really knowing anything about, they just think it’s cool to be different or to be a witch.
It, unfortunately, seems to be one of those religions, paganism in general, that is still safely allowed to be mocked without major backlash.
~Kelly
http://www.30somethingandsearching.today.com/
By Jaspenelle Stewart on Feb 10, 2009 |
Maybe I am alone in this, but it made me laugh! Reminded me of speed dating where people dump a lot of personal information at once in the hope to impress or to stand out. I know Christians and Pagans like that.
My spirituality tends to come up early in face to face conversations with people (especially when I was dating, you have to know all the parts of me to love me.) I am an extrovert and people come out of their shell easily with me so deeper topics are reach quickly. I like to think I am a little more subtle then that guy though.
As for my spiritual name, it is such a part of me that people think it is my real name. So I guess I don’t find this clip too strange. Exaggerated of course but all stereotypes in the movies are.
Jaspenelle Stewart´s last blog post..Helping Mommy Pack
By SacredAngel on Feb 10, 2009 |
I don’t think him identifying himself as a Wiccan was intended to be a portrayal of Wiccans but more a portrayal of a desperate dater.
SacredAngel´s last blog post..Chris Brown and Rihanna
By Mama Kelly on Feb 10, 2009 |
I think Jackie sums up best why this scene – albeit funny, albeit not intended to be realistic – annoyed me so much.
“I haven’t seen a protrayal(sic) of a wiccan or a pagan yet that is correct or complementary”
My hubby tells me that I’m too sensitive. He says that I should be happy to at least have the word Wicca “out there” for people to get used to hearing it and perhaps be curious enough to google, learn more, and understand better. I think he has too much faith in mankind LOL – most people believe what the media shows them.
When “we” have a few honest moments on film then I’ll be a little more likely to let the rest roll off my back. Until then, its just my way of venting.
Blessings
Mama Kelly
By Lady Amaranth on Feb 10, 2009 |
I am not one to tell about my being a Wiccan right up front. Usually it is something that comes up when someone mentions something that ties into Wicca or when someone asks me directly what faith I am. Other than that, I don’t usually mention it.
I usually wear a pentacle necklace and I have had comments about it, but generally speaking they are positive.
However, I too get very annoyed by the way Wicca is portrayed in Hollywood. I believe in a lot of ways that the writers do not research what Wicca is about before they actually add anything to a show or movie.
Lady Amaranth´s last blog post..Wander the Web Wednesday
By Steph on Feb 13, 2009 |
This is one of those really fine lines I sometimes wonder how to walk; I have the added bonus of being bisexual, so I spend a lot of time trying to figure out how/when to come out of closets!
The thing is, I am one of those people who believes that it’s important to be out. Because right now people aren’t familiar with paganism or Wicca, and if all they see is Hollywood, we’re not going to make a lot of progress. But at the same time, I don’t think that introducing myself as “Hi, I’m Steph. I’m a bisexual witch!” is the best idea either.
To me, lately, being out is more about not hiding. I’m heading to PantheaCon this weekend, and I was chatting with coworkers about ordering too much Chinese food, and mentioned I was going out of town to San Jose this weekend. They asked why and I hesitated–but just said, a pagan conference. And it was fine–my workplace is extremely liberal–but I was worried about oversharing. But why lie? I don’t know; maybe it was too much info, but it seems like keeping quiet isn’t the answer.
Steph´s last blog post..Sweet Dreams
By Lilysgramma on Feb 14, 2009 |
I’m not a Wiccan, and this has nothing to do with religion, but is related to the piece in that there was a moving, some comedy with Rob Sneider (I think) being a male gigalo, a comedy, there was one women he dated who had tourettes syndrome. Well my son has tourettes and I was very offended by the show. Yes, tourettes people do SOMETIMES have the swearing tic, but it was really put to the extreme in this movie. I didn’t want my son to watch the movie, but he was 21 so what could I say. I thought it was going to set off a bout of anger and anxiety attack (one of many symptoms of tourettes), but to my surprise, he loved the show and thought the tourettes part was hilarious. He is fortunate enough to have a great sense of humor and is able to laugh at himself as well, I think this has become one of his defenses when he is ridiculed. He has since learned how to mask most of his tics or to laugh them off (he does NOT have the swearing tic, but he does have some very strange audibles. Anyway, my point is that they really need to learn a little compassion in these things. Thanks for letting me vent. Even though I am not Wiccan, I really enjoy reading your blog, it gives me alot of insight and perspective, and if I wasn’t so fearful that God would ‘strike me down’, I might be willing to convert. I am not very religous so to speak, but I do have a belief in a higher being. Anyway.. Thanks for your time! Keep up the good work!
Lilysgramma´s last blog post..Life Is Grand Because….