Reflections on Witchcraft Portrayal & the State of Criticism

For my first blog of the semester, I want to spend a little bit of time reflecting on some main points and questions that jumped out at me while reading the "Witches on Screen" PDF. To start with my reflections on "Witches on Screen," I had never previously considered the real distinction between "historical witchcraft" and "literary witchcraft." After reading the "Ancient Roots" chapter of A History of Magic, Witchcraft, & the Occult, I was able to see much more clearly how sharp the contrasts can be. I find it interesting that the historical roots of magic and witchcraft are reduced to a few mainstream symbols: brooms, pointy hats, long noses, and Halloween.

More applicable to my life, one thought that arose in my mind while reading was how there is always room for criticism. Or rather, people can always find something to be critical about. It does not matter whether the work is The Wizard of Oz, Bewitched, or Harry Potter, for people who want to find something to criticize, that door will always be open. Don't get me wrong: I think it cannot be overstated how important it is to live a life that is discerning, thoughtful, inquisitive, and even critical regarding information, our experiences, and existence itself. Nonetheless, reading the criticisms of some of these works made me realize that anything can be criticized until the end of time. What do we do with this reality? Though I need to spend more time reflecting on the implications of this "phenomena of criticism," one takeaway is recognizing how much of academic literature-- and even literature at large (media, politics, etc.)-- is invariably influenced by the dispositions, proclivities, and biases of the authors. Yes, the ethos of authors is important: I trust an academic's perspective on second-language acquisition more than an banker's, but it is necessary to remember that all works are always colored through the lens of some belief system or point of view. There is no view that exists in a vacuum.

Though this reflection deviated from witchcraft itself as a topic, I find it interesting to spend time contemplating how we interact with knowledge at large. Sometimes, people absorb information without taking time to even consider the merits of what they're accepting, but on the other hand, there are people who are always looking for something to be critical about without considering what they might instead agree with or appreciate. I am curious about motivations for those who have a natural bent toward criticism. However, being one who can lean that way too heavily myself, I don't have to look very far to find a couple explanations that might be applicable. First, exercising constant criticism can be born out of pride-- wanting to dismantle or reveal the weaknesses of others' arguments. Criticizing can feel like an exertion of knowledge beyond the initial author's capabilities. And, for those of us who can get caught up being self-centered, it is much harder to appreciate something from someone else than it is to criticize it. Second, criticism can be used as a defense mechanism against opposing points of view. If you can criticize part of an argument, then oftentimes you feel justified in tossing the baby out with the bathwater, even when it is wrong to feel that justification. In this way, criticism can be used to maintain siloed forms of beliefs, usually stemming from insecurity in your original beliefs to begin with.

So, how do we move forward? We ought to exhibit intellectual hospitality and generosity. Let us be generous to the claims and comments of others, airing on the side of giving the benefit of the doubt to the author. Let us also be welcoming, appreciative of the insights and comments that we read. At the same time, we must exhibit intellectual rigor and thoughtfulness, examining arguments diligently and critically.

Being critical isn't bad. We just also must be critical of our own critical natures.