KARACHI:
Something evil is coming this way. Literally. John M. Chu’s Wicked is scheduled for release on November 22 of this year, and that deserves a celebration. The film based on a Broadway musical will explore the concept of the good witch and the bad witch, while linking them into a harmonious bond.
With this new take less than a month away, let’s look back at some of the best witches the 2000s have had to offer us so far. Spoiler alert! You may want to disconnect the roots of mythology and Shakespeare from your brain for this one, though keep them as you read on.
Teenage witches
As a child of the early aughts, my first exposure to witches was, unsurprisingly, through the Disney Channel. At the time, I was blissfully unaware of the crystal ball of clairvoyance that predicted my downfall to Hecate and the three witches of macbeth. However, what he did know was that he wanted nothing more than to be taken into the world of Wizards of Waverly Place.
My childhood crush on Justin Russo aside, I was deeply inspired by the antics of the mischievous Alex Russo. This was the era when “witch” was a term with bad connotations, almost like a bad omen in itself, while “wizard” was the preferred alternative. But I was too young to reflect on the feminist implications of that.
Instead, I was captivated by the rhyming incantations and the fact that a snap of the wash would give Alex access to almost everything. Overcoming her intellectual older brother and her inexperienced younger brother with easy wit, she was the only dominant potential who only associated with tricks and rogues, yet she ultimately emerged victorious in the magical inheritance race.
It’s unclear what message Disney wanted children to receive with that arc. Perhaps something akin to emotional maturity, though it should be noted that Alex’s pranks remained endless even after she became the sole possessor of her family’s magic, thanks to the helpful reunion movie. Alex grew into an indomitable but fun-loving adult, and that’s all that matters.
comic witches
With a more pronounced taste for media that will guide him through his adolescence, he can’t help but be captivated by the compelling Wanda Maximoff. Initially a reluctant member of the Avengers, the MCU’s favorite sorceress has evolved to unapologetically embrace her final form as Scarlet Witch, cementing her legacy as one of the most iconic witches the big screen has to offer.
Wanda begins as a gullible heroine, whose fear is felt in echoes as the audience wonders if she can protect what she loves. So when she loses everything, our hearts sink at her pain. We accept that this is a thematic circumstance, that a hero must always lose to become stronger and better. Except Wanda becomes a villain.
From clumsily untangling the knots of her powers to wielding the Book of the Damned, Wanda’s character development is exceptionally jarring and that’s exactly why one can’t praise it enough. If the descent into madness doesn’t convince you, imagine being trapped in generations of sitcoms in which you’re forced to play puppet for someone who’s desperate enough to defy reality to evade their pain.
If that sounds absurd, then I should inform you that it’s all part of MCU canon and there’s an entire series about it. That’s expert spellcasting. That’s power. That’s the Scarlet Witch. And the curious thing is that it was created thanks to a collective effort. Guided by Wanda’s villainy was someone as formidable as her, and perhaps even as powerful: Agatha Harkness.
Agatha Harkness’s beloved debut in WandaVision It wasn’t a seasonal thing. The seasoned witch earned her place in the dark corners of our hearts first with her brazen revelation through song, as a true nonchalant curse-caster, and then as a well-matched foe who reveals the true colors of Wanda, the caster. of curses, subduing the protagonist. to a crisis that had been building since the beginning of the season.
Agatha’s charm and the mystique of her rich lore earned her a spin-off series, Agatha All Along, named after the same song that thrust her into the spotlight toward the climax of WandaVision. She is enjoyed not only as an indisputably evil witch and power thief, but also as someone who tricks you into sympathizing with her despite depriving you of clear answers.
It’s a risky adventure, navigating the line between myth-compliant representation and stereotypes, but Kathryn Hahn’s character walks it with the grace of a self-assured sorceress. True to her roots, Agatha includes it all: ancient knowledge, blatant evil, evil laughter, you name it.
The witches turned
In pleasing contrast, the members of Agatha’s coven sport modern touches on their mythical roots. By existing no differently than any nuanced individual, they debunk unfounded theories and sexist stereotypes, while being wonderfully flawed themselves. They defend the fact that “good witches” also deserve fictional exploration, as do those who are branded “witches” after the disappearance of goodness.
Maleficent is a simple example that comes to mind. Although she is characterized ambiguously, she follows all the steps that characterize a witch, from cruelty to cursing. But if there’s one thing the 2014 film has taught us, it’s that nature is a retaliatory force. Everything Maleficent does is in the name of revenge, and in the end she is rewarded with the closure she has long awaited.
game of Thrones Fans also often see these bits of complexity in Melisandre. The priestess is admired for how devout she is. His loyalty to the Lord of Light is unwavering, as is his sense of purpose when it comes to aiding in the fight for the throne. Although she is considered a cultist in the world of the series, she is not intentionally malicious. Rather, she is an ambitious practitioner of magic who would forge a path in the darkness to a brighter world.
To back up, Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, also falls into this category. As for musical questions, is one born truly evil or is evil imposed on them? Elphaba reminds us that witches are essentially feared no more for their evil intelligence than for their appearance.
The trailers have offered a promising vision, but we hope the 2024 film puts more emphasis on how the outcasts become who they are, which doesn’t necessarily have to veer into villainy. If the Fae trickster can be reconfigured to have refined personalities, then there is no reason why witches should remain isolated. After all, magic always leaves room for more possibilities.
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