About this Event
<h4>The screening of The Witch is part of the Sociology department at Lancaster University's summer school</h4>
Witches, Bitches, Bimbos and Huns: Feminism and Monstrosity<h4>
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The summer school draws on the long and rich history of feminist work on monstrosity and mess; exploring a range of feminist and anti-feminist monsters - witches, cannibals, bimbos, huns, tradwives and monstrous mothers - their political, emotional and psychic life, and the politics of the feelings they generate, incubate and inscribe - disgust, resentment, envy, optimism. We think about how monstrous figures are used to police and punish, and how they are or might be reclaimed as celebratory, subversive figures of resistance.
During on these themes Dr Dany Girard who will introduce the film. Dr Girard works as a Senior Teaching Associate in Media and Culture Studies at Lancaster University. They are currently working on a monograph on Queerbaiting in Film and Television and an edited collection on New Queer Television. They will also be introducing our screening of Elieen, book a place here.
About the film
In the New England of the 17th century, a banished Puritan family sets up a farm by the edge of a huge remote forest where no other family lives. Soon, sinister forces then start haunting them.
"On the surface, it is the story of a puritanical 17th-century English family enduring an American nightmare, tormented by a wicked witch who steals their children and their souls. But beneath that surface lurks something more disturbing – a tale of God-fearing folk whose terrified belief in the twisted fantasies of folklore hides their own darker secrets." - The Guardian
Discussion points
- why does the figure of the witch continue to provoke and fascinate?
- how do histories of witchcraft practice and witch persecution get represented in films and other cultural texts - how important is historical accuracy and authenticity? how much artistic licence do we think is acceptable?
- what can the representational life of the witch tell us about gender, power, gossip and marginalisation, then and now?
- has there been a reclaimation or mainstreaming of the figure of the witch and what might be the effects or impacts of this?
The event is free to attend but if you would like to contribute a cash donation towards the running costs of Feminist Movie Monday there will be an opportunity on the night. We ask everyone in attendance to respect one another, the organisers, and the Gregson Centre volunteers.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Gregson Arts & Community Centre, 33 - 35 Moor Gate, Lancaster, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00