Bothered, Bewildered, and... Ya Know, All the Rest

This week, in my clamoring quest to hold my annual Halloween film festival at a more considerable loss for time and resources than in previous years, I stumbled upon "Suspiria," Dario Argento's 1977 surreal classic about an evil European dance academy.

Here's my problem with it.

Of all the films, TV series, books, et cetera to ever "brutilize" (brutalize/utilize in one word) the idea of witchcraft, it has by far used the most ridiculous, sensational view I have ever seen. Even Oliver Stone's 1991 biography "The Doors" (with its blood-drinking, Bacchus-invoking exaggeration of real-life witch Patricia Kennealy) did it better. Heck, even "Harry Potter" had the idea closer to right!

"Suspiria" posits, in no uncertain degrees, the idea that witches are all crazy, evil, destructive women who can manipulate time and events, but only to produce harmful effects for others. According to ideas explicitly stated in one of the most boring dialogue scenes ever filmed, a witch's only goal is to increase her own personal fortune.

Actually, that whole idea sounds like the opposite of witches. Witchcraft has always been a substantial source of paranoia, hatred, closed-mindedness, and very bad entertainment, and I believe the root is a single passage in the King James Bible: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." What people don't realize or don't want to realize is that the phrase is a dreadfully bad translation of "Thou shalt not suffer a poisoner to live." That's poisoner-- not witch. Yes, there is a difference. A poisoner is someone who deliberately turns people's minds off hearing good things and, by so doing, doing good things.

A witch, on the other hand, is a person-- man or woman-- who subscribes to a belief in the essence and supremacy of nature. Witches (known by many names-- Pagans, Wiccans, etc.) may have many goals in life, but real witches are not the ones who harm others, let alone make it a life's pursuit. As a matter of fact, witches practice a kind of Magick (spell it with a "k" or it becomes one big joke) that cannot be seen, heard, smelled, touched, or maybe even felt. Magick never, ever involves beams of energy or bolts of lightning. Magick, more often than not, involves prayer, meaning, feeling, and a powerful desire to do something good-- and that last one is not an option, but a requirement.

If you want a really thorough view on Wicca (Magick and real, non-sensationalized witchcraft), I can personally recommend a fantastic author on the subject: Silver Ravenwolf, whose books have helped countless people learn the truth about a subject so often ridiculed. Her writing helped me at a time in my life when there were few who could, when I was struggling to find my own faith. The Craft wasn't for me, exactly as it is, but it was a key factor in making the decision.

Now we come to what is perhaps the bigger issue: why was I so easily offended (yes, I'll admit it) by something out of a movie? If I can hear Archie Bunker's racist, sexist, homophobic, and outlandish comments on "All in the Family" and still shake them off, why has this stuck in my mind for so long?

The answer is: because it's about time people started learning the truth. I cannot stand intolerance in any of its forms, and one of the longest-festering bigotries in human history has always been the animosity between people of differing religious backgrounds.

My belief is that if a religion preaches love and acceptance (and I mean real, unconditional love and acceptance), it is valid, and I refuse to mock anyone for following their beliefs. It's time to stop this kind of hatred now, because, as I live and breathe, it is the one that is most likely to destroy everybody.