What have they enabled you to “see” in the text you hadn’t noticed or realized before?
1. In what ways do your sources help you to answer your research question? What have they enabled you to “see” in the text you hadn’t noticed or realized before? What do you understand that you didn’t upon first reading/watching?
SOURCES
Collins, Brian. “The Witch Film. Directed by Robert Eggers. Parts and Labor Productions, 2015.” Religious Studies Review, vol. 42, no. 4, 2016, pp. 277-277.
Collins explores the film The Witch and how Thomasin is accused of being the witch by her siblings but her fate was already sealed. Collins explains the events in the film that leads to the characters beleiving their is a witch among them who is causing all the misfortunes.
Godbeer, Richard. The Devil’s Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England. Cambridge University Press, 1994.
According to Bodbeer, in the early years in England, people used magics for good (healing proetcion against harm) and in other cases, it was used to inflect pain. In the film The Witch, the witch is causing pain and suffering within the family as people are dissapearing and no one knew who did it. Bodbeer believes the Puritans believed strongly in predestination, some destine for salvation from God and hellfire for others.
MacDonald, Michael. “Religion, social change, and psychological healing in England, 1600–1800.” Studies in Church History 19 (1982): 101-125.
MacDonald focus on religion and the social changes that takes place. In his work he co-relates with the film The Witch where the family has been exiled from their home and in the new village which is away from religious protection (the woods), the family starts experiencing demonic events where the witch comes in snatches people. The family experiencing physical, emotional, and psychological torture- healing is not possible as many of them are not close to churches even if the parents are still strong beleivers. From the film it is clear the witches activities targeted the family because they revoked the protection of their community to practice their personal values. MacDonald explains that healing comes with religous involvement and beliefs.
