Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Witching Hour

Home
Pagan
American Horror Story: COVEN Reinvents the Witch Archetype

American Horror Story: COVEN Reinvents the Witch Archetype

Last updated on: October 25, 2013 at 3:12 pm by Peg Aloi

American Horror Story: COVEN Reinvents the Witch Archetype 2013-10-25T15:12:46+00:00 Peg Aloi

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Media Witch has been bewitched.

No, I mean that. Two episodes into this season on American Horror Story (COVEN) and I am enamored of its slick arty look, its take no prisoners daring, its outrageous disregard for history, and its shameless envelope-pushing. I mean, hey. Why have a hot television show that’s not at least somewhat controversial?

I know, as a media critic and practicing witch and activist, that I am supposed to be overtly critical of media portrayals that trumpet the “evil witch” stereotype, but honestly, isn’t the over-the-top witch narrative something many of us were raised on and that we secretly love, crave, even?

But the show is not merely about witches (a school of them, in fact, a posh academy in New Orleans, founded to help hereditary witches—for don’t these stories always presuppose innate, inborn powers?), but also about voodoo.

I was not alone in thinking the new season of AHS would be set in Salem, and as news of cast members slowly trickled forth, first the name Gabourey Sidibe, then Angela Basset, well we all wondered which one would be Tituba, the Barbadian slave who was at the heart of the Matter of Salem, the hapless servant who taught the teenage girls of the village about love magic and potions.

But the show is set almost entirely in New Orleans, and Bassett plays Marie Leveau (both circa 1780 and the present day), while Sidibe is a teen witch named Queenie whose angry, working, urban working class background is barely offset by a portrayal that screams “OTHER!” Queenie is black, female, poor, a witch, and some would say, grossly overweight: not to mention, her “super power” (all these teenage girls at the school have them) involves being, in her words, a “human voodoo doll.” She can do anything to harm herself and feel no pain, but the target of her magic feels the horrible pain of being stabbed, cut, or thrust into boiling oil.

The other three witches (why are there always FOUR teen witches? It’s The Craft and Charmed all over again; we get it!) are white and from more privileged backgrounds: Madison is a movie star whose telekinesis comes out when her sense of entitlement is threatened; Zoe (the default protagonist, played by the excellent Taissa Farmiga of the first season) is a normal high school girl who happens to be able to kill boys when she has sex with them; and Nan/Annette, played by the developmentally-disabled actress Jamie Brewer, is clairvoyant and knows what others think, what they have done.

Then there’s Cordelia Fox (Sarah Paulson, the fascinating Lana Winters of AHS: ASYLUM), who oversees the school and may be inappropriately using fertility magic (phallic phantasmagoric snakes appear in the magic circle), and who lives in the shadow of her mother Fiona Goode (the inimitable Jessica Lange, whose past two seasons on AHS have proven her to be one of the finest actresses of her generation, if there was any doubt), known as “The Supreme,” or the most powerful of witches whose powers embody all the single super-powers of the girls, and more.

Fiona is in conflict with the modern Marie Leveau (Bassett); the former has lost her looks and youth, but has amassed great wealth; and the latter scrapes by running a salon in the 9th Ward, yet maintains her youthful beauty after two hundred years. Fiona frees the cursed Madame LeLaurie (Kathy Bates), a cruel slave owner imprisoned in an eternal grave by Leveau, as punishment for mutilating her lover, and offers her in trade to Leveau for the gift of youth. We’ll see how that turns out.

The willful betrayal of sisterhood is but one theme the show visits repeatedly, along with the insatiable sexual desire of women (didn’t Kramer and Sprenger have something to day about that? Indeed, they said “all witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable.” In other words, women are teh evil.) There is also a great deal of boundary pushing with racial stereotypes, which I will discuss in a future blog post.

There’s more to talk about: there’s herb magic and fried chicken, and pop culture references to everything from Kieslowski’s Three Colors films to Stevie Nicks to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. More anon, witchlings…

My friend Lilith Dorsey (of Voodoo Universe) and I have been hosting live chats every Thursday night; being able to discuss the show with a voodoo priestess who, like me, is also a media studies scholar, is a rich and rewarding way to process this delicious show, which, despite being occasionally predictable and frequently derivative of any number of witch narratives, has been thoroughly entertaining so far. I’m eagerly awaiting the rest of the season.

I hope you all, dear readers, find equally bewitching magics in watching this show. (Apparently, much of Patheos has already, as they are now featuring American Horror Story: COVEN in their Entertainment pages!)

For more on American Horror Story: COVEN from Patheos writers, check out the show’s topic page on the Patheos Entertainment channel.

American Horror Story: COVEN

Previous Post

October 18, 2013

Live Video Discussion! AHS COVEN Episode 2, "Boy Parts"

Next Post

October 25, 2013 Samhain, Hallowe'en...are both worth celebrating?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category American Horror Story: COVEN American Horror Story: FREAKSHOW Beltane Faery magic News & Reviews occult pagan festivals Paganism Review Reviews ritual Sabbats Samhain Satanic Panic Tuesday Muse News & Reviews TV Uncategorized Wheel of the Year witches in film witches on TV

Select a Month February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 October 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 August 2014 July 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much ____; apart from me you can do nothing.

Select your answer to see how you score.

Joy Peace Faith Fruit