Media Watch

"First and foremost, it is a fantasy show, therefore concepts in it will be based on non-realistic portrayals. The writers have also made attempts in the past to show that the "witches" in the show are NOT indicative of practitioners of the Wiccan religion... Therefore, my issue is not with the content of the episodes, nor with the writers, Joss Whedon, or the staff of Mutant Enemy. What I am finding offensive is the promotion that UPN has created for the finale. UPN and their promoters... seem to have ignored the pains that the show itself took in order to delineate fantasy witches from practitioners of pagan religions and NOT to offend them. The show has made pains to NOT label the character (Willow) a Wiccan, and I find the wording to be inappropriate (they most surely would never run a promo that says "hell hath no fury like a Muslim scorned"). Also, because this IS a promo, UPN viewers who do NOT watch the show and therefore may not be familiar with the content, and the delineations that have been made could very easily garner ill impressions. As an avid Buffy fan, I frequent message boards and forums pertaining to the show, and have found that the majority of them have had posts regarding this promotion. It seems that even non-pagan viewers of the show seem to see that it could be seen as offensive, and have asked questions if they are not knowledgeable about the subject. I just wanted to point this out, because I am extremely impressed with the general viewership of this show."

"I have lost all trust in Joss after hearing lie after lie ... from these people all year. They told us that Tara would not be killed. They told us that Willow would not turn evil. These were not the lies of people protecting their story. These were the lies of people trying to instill false hope in their viewers to cover their rapidly shrinking market share... This is just one more attack done by ME against the people that supported them the most."

"I have watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer since it re-emerged on UPN, and have been increasingly upset with the path that the show was taking regarding Willow. Even thought I was upset, I continued to watch, because, like you I felt that the show was one of the best horror/fantasy shows currently being shown. However, since the last episode, and the preview for the season finale, I am now officially mad as hell. How dare they use the name of the Wiccan religion in conjunction with evil, death, and chaos! I am a member of several Wiccan/Pagan web groups... and I posed my frustrations to these groups, hoping for feedback. Well, I certainly got it. Many of the Wiccan members feel the same way I do, and a couple of them, including myself, are wondering what we can do. We are good and tired of seeing our religion misrepresented in the media. We have strived long and hard to try to educate the public on Wicca, but for every baby step we take, the media does something like this and knocks us back a mile!"

"My feeling is - it's Joss Whedon's world. He's already made it quite clear that his world is not ours, and his references to Wicca proper have been few and far between. In fact, the only specific reference to Wicca that I can recall was in the episode in which Tara first appeared. (I think that was "Hush, " wasn't it?) That, of course, would be Willow's encounter with the rather hideous UC Sunnydale Wicca group. Granted, we weren't really cast in the most flattering light, but I'd say it's somewhat better than saying Willow is a Wiccan when she has repeatedly violated our most basic, universal tenets.

The promo for the Season 6 finale DEFINITELY bugged me. Hell hath no fury like a Wiccan scorned? That's not just insulting and untrue - it's also corny! Nevertheless, I detect the pungent scent of the UPN village idiots - aka Marketing - on the breeze. I rather suspect that such things are beyond Mr. Whedon's control...

And another thought: magic has had consequences for Willow. Her spells haven't really blown up in her face or anything, but there have been consequences. The memory charms she cast convinced Tara to leave her. On a more dramatic level, when she hit rock-bottom with her magic addiction, she pulled a demon off some other plane and nearly got Dawn killed. I think there are going to be severe consequences for her latest actions. I don't know if everything she's done has come back three times over, but there have been consequences every time she's used magic to harm or affect another's will.

To be honest...I find this to be a minor annoyance at worst. Do I think the "Wiccan scorned" bit is fairly stupid? Yeah - Willow isn't a Wiccan, and while it is technically true that Hell would hath no fury like a Wiccan scorned, that's only because (at least ideally) we wouldn't be using our abilities in some rage-fueled quest for revenge. Would I like to hear an apology from UPN? Well, yes, I would. But I'll keep watching Buffy whether I get one or not.

Incidentally, I don't really feel that this will affect anyone's opinion of Wicca - not beyond repair, at any rate. The unreasonable will believe what they will, and won't be swayed. The reasonable will find enlightenment sooner or later. I suppose we might get some practitioners of Buffy-Wicca for a while - but if they're serious, they'll learn, and if not, they'll get bored. And on the other hand...I haven't heard of any Buffy-Wiccans yet, though I am admittedly pretty new to all this.

I will add one more thought first: it seems to me that it should be fairly obvious by now that we are NOT "as seen on TV". After all, if we could move knives with our minds, turn people into rats, etc., and weren't morally obligated to, well, not do that - it seems to me there'd be a whole lot of rodents with telekinetically-inflicted stab wounds. Most notably about half of all politicians. ;-)

As I said - the unreasonable will believe what they will. The reasonable will understand simple logic. Thus, I wouldn't worry about the impact of shows such as Buffy, Charmed, etc. on our community."

"Most people of course know that show is fiction, but what about the incredibly stupid and intolerant people out there? I can imagine some idiotic right wingers looking at Willow right now and saying, "So that's what those Wiccans do!" (Well, not that extreme, but you get the point.)"

"But shows like that still serve a purpose....many teens I'm sure became rapidly tired of "the craft" when they started to grow up, or they realized that there is real work involved in becoming a witch...those that started to look beyond the glitz and glamour of the show possibly saw a way of life or religion that truly spoke to them and they pursued in truth....how many of this list's members started if not in that exact manner, but in a way similar.

Shows like Buffy, Charmed...Movies like The Craft, or Practical Magic and to some extent The Witches of Eastwick and authors like Ravenwolf, Buckland, Cunningham and so on do serve a purpose... they open doors."

"OK, I think it's obvious to any real Wiccan that Willow is not one. Duh. Nothing whatsoever to do with religion. And I do think that she's going to be evil next episode. First Spike, then Willow. I'm going to go pout now."

"I've seen the show only rarely, but I need to ask all you regular Buffy viewers: What's the problem with Willow being evil? Personally, I LOVE the evil characters in just about every story, and I'm almost always delighted when one of the "good guys" smartens up.

I would imagine that most of the stupid right-wingers you're referring to already consider "Buffy" satanic. They aren't likely to watch such programs to begin with. Besides, eight o'clock is generally past such people's bedtimes. I also find it hard to believe that many terribly serious and straightlaced and unfun (non-Pagan) religious people of whatever persuasion would watch the show regularly.

I don't watch the show on a regular basis, but objectively speaking, I can't believe they're doing anything that would bother me. I don't think such media have an obligation to do anything but entertain. I remember how sick and tired I got of all the gays and lesbians protesting "Basic Instinct" b/c the probable villainess was bisexual. I really didn't care, and I thought it was a fabulous movie that kept me on the edge of my seat most of the time, which is what (and all) a thriller is supposed to do. Same goes for "Last Temptation of Christ" and all those lyrics and cartoons Tipper Gore has done her damnedest to censor (gotta love those Democrat liberals!).

Witches are a commonplace of horror, just like the Catholic hocus-pocus. It's gruesome and fun, and that should be the end of it. To feel defamed is to have the Catholic priests as bedfellows, and I, for one, have done my time as an altarboy." (editor's note: So has Fritz!)

"But what about teenyboppers who watch "Buffy" and think that by becoming Wiccan they can do what Willow does? That happened with "The Craft" -- many teenagers thought and think that becoming witches would let them do the things that the witches in that movie did... "

"I don't see the depiction causing any great damage -- certainly nothing more than any other media-type witch. I think the mainstream is so use to seeing these depictions that it doesn't register consciously - most likely they slough it off along with the teen aliens in New Mexico (vbg). I think the depiction more often sticks out more to us pagan types.

Saying that, I've wanted to give Willow a good shake now n' again over the course of the entire series. I like the character, but she constantly makes the same mistake -- just to worsening degrees. I.e., she goes flying off in an emotional cloud and grabs the first grimoire that comes in reah & throws the first spell that comes to mind. She doesn't pause long enough to think what would really be the most effective way of remedying the problem. Most seasoned practitioners have more self control and can better handle and direct their energy for maximum effect. And think in the long term, not just instant gratification/results.

Newbies often approach a goal in black n' white terms rather than sensing/intuiting/knowing to examine a situation from various angles. Willow always screws up magickally when she forgets to engage that rational, high IQ brain of hers and lets her emotions run the show. And so, she gets burned and sometimes takes others with her. That casts bad lighting on witches in general, not just Wiccans and fuels the same mentality among potential seekers as "The Craft" is often accused of doing.

I like that Willow & Tara generally infer that "real Wiccas" work magick, take it quite seriously & study hard. But the show also implies that they're not the norm, most "Wiccas" are a bunch of white lighter, goddess smooching, fund raising tree huggers who couldn't do magick if it were a prize in a cracker jack box. Sorry, given that Sunnydale is a hell mouth it's extremely unlikely that the only local magick users are Tara, Willow, Giles (formerly) and the occasional do-baddie. It didn't become a hell mouth over night and it's not likely that no other magickal collective hasn't formed at one time or another.

Alas, the intolerant could be presented with an accurate representation and they would still find a way to interpret as something that it's not. :-\"

"Lots of people became Catholic after things like "The Song of Bernadette." Big deal. I'm sure the filmmakers didn't mean to make a piece of proselytization. It's a good movie, though, and any good movie, book, TV show, play, you name it, SHOULD have characters who intrigue us--for good or ill--and pull us into their psyche.

The writers, directors, and actors are paid to tell a good story. If we're going to avoid the terrible likes of Tipper Gore and the Christian Right, I think we need dear Oscar's credo of art of art's sake. It isn't and shouldn't be their job to think for us or tell us what to think. There are, always have been, and always will be pathetic and stupid people who will re-enact The Craft or scenes from the Roadrunner and Coyote cartoons and hurt themselves--good riddance, it's the Law of Darwin! The problem with making artists and entertainers responsible for their viewers' thoughts and actions is that it deprives brilliant people like you and me of some jolly good fun. If, for example, you can find the Roadrunner on the tele, you're not likely to see some of the better Coyote explosions I saw as a child. Thanks, Mrs. Gore! I would hate to think of people not seeing a good character turning evil, on Buffy or any other show, Wiccan, Catholic, Jewish, whatever. I LOVED it when Marlena was demonically possessed on Days of Our Lives: BEST SOAP SWEEP EVER!!!"

"IMHO, I feel that Buffy (read Willow here) is doing pretty much the same for Wicca what Charmed did/does for Witchcraft...nothing when you come right down to it. @:)

If anyone takes either show too seriously, then they most likely had some issues before hand and the show is just one more cord of wood on their fire.

Sides, Willow possibly showing us the "Evil" side of Wicca is laughable...perhaps she will show some wannabes that Wicca isn't all gloryand sparkle and light...that there are deeper moral issues to it...that thereis something more important to Wicca than spells and it's called responsibility....or maybe not...Dunno...all in all, Willow and Buffy and Spike are all pretty hot and make for nice eye candy."