Tag: Salem

Happy harvest moon! In this episode, we dance all night to the classic Halloween flick Hocus Pocus (1993).

Our theme song is “Moon and Spruce” by Sarah Littledrum.

Here’s a listening guide for the episode. (For a description of our segments, go here.)

Introduction (0:00 – 3:10)

Which Craft? (3:15 – 15:06)

• Our nostalgia for the 1990s
• Characteristics of 90s movies: likable anti-heroes, high-stakes comedy, frame story
• CGI and practical effects
• Faux 17th-century accents, time travel, and funny anachronisms
• Comedic subversion of horror tropes
• Parallels to other stories/ films

“Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?” (15:13 – 29:20)

• Lots of awesome, dynamic female characters and only one (or two?) male protagonists
• Max’s non-toxic performance of masculinity (especially after the girls teach him to be better)
• Sibling relationship as the main focus; trio of heroes working as a team
• Max’s transitions as a character
• Portrayals of sexuality: Max as virgin/ ingénue, girls are more knowledgeable/ comfortable in their bodies, Sarah’s relationship with her sexuality
• Portrayal of the children’s parents

“Bald Heads and Queer Noses” (29:25 – 48:30)

• The witches’ bodies as the source for the film’s plot/ conflict and their feelings about their physical appearance
• Significance of Billy the Zombie (man silenced by a woman, no blame assigned to Sarah for Billy’s infidelity)
• Male characters lose their clothes (or they get torn) while the girls’ clothing remains intact and functional
• Bodies as text: the spell book made from human skin (with an eye, possibly sentient);  marking your identity on your body or through your clothing
• Mary’s sense of smell

Related Links

“What if We Cultivated Our Ugliness? or: The Monstrous Beauty of Medusa”

“‘Toddler Grandma Style,’ The Fashion Approach That Will Set You Free”

“Round About the Cauldron Go” (48:35 – 1:14:42)

• Importance of the New England setting (maple leaves and fall)
• Origins of Halloween and the intersection with Salem and colonialism
• Binx the cat
• The witches’ relationship with nature (plus speculation about the witches’ origins, their mother, and their relationship to immortal figures like Hecate and the devil)
• Discussion of symbols and how the meaning of signs is dependent on context
• The film’s portrayal of the afterlife and the soul
• The witches’ psychosomatic pain
• Clash of belief systems: science and technology  vs. magic and nature
• Max’s witchcraft and Alison’s witchcraft
• The preservation of the Sanderson house as a museum

Related Links

History of Halloween

Final Spells ( 1:14:46 – 1:20:00)

• The title of the film
• The witches’ adaptability