Invoking Practical Magic: New Social Movements, Hidden Populations, and the Public Screen

Abstract

This essay explores the relationships between mass media and new social movements with hidden populations. The Neo-Pagan Movement and the film Practical Magic are examined to identify possible relationships between media and movements' identity constructions. Using the concept of polysemy I argue that social movement scholars need to consider the active interpretation and incorporation of media by social movement actors, not only the interpretation and incorporation of the movement by the media. Previous studies primarily examine what the culture industry does to social movements. This study explores what members of movements can do with texts provided by the culture industry.

Keywords:

• Hidden Populations
• Media
• Neo-Pagan Movement
• New Social Movements
• Polysemy
• Public Screen
• Witches

Notes

1. I capitalize Neo-Pagan, Witchcraft, and Wicca because these words refer to religions.

2. A witch describes a person (male or female) who is a member of the religion Wicca, also known as the Craft (Adler, 1989).

3. I use the term “new” social movement to describe contemporary movements that operate within the postmodern condition/late capitalism.

4. In much of the media coverage about The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown claims that his book is a fiction but the public and its critics keep treating it as nonfiction. This is further evidence of the conflation between news and entertainment in addressing alternative spiritualities.

5. It is clear that Sally is referring to a man because she references her previous happiness with Michael.

6. One possible exception to compulsory heterosexuality in media depictions of witches is the lesbian character Willow on Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

7. Most Witches subscribe to the threefold law, stating that they should do whatever they want to do with their spirituality/ritual as long as it does not hurt anyone. If they do hurt someone they should be prepared to face the consequences because whatever they have done will come back to them increased threefold (Adler, 1989; Griffin, 1995).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Julie Kalil Schutten

Julie Kalil Schutten is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah. The author wishes to especially thank Richard Rogers and Danielle Endres for their continued dialogue and helpful suggestions about this essay as well as Tarla Rai Peterson, Vicky Newman, Craig Rich, Helene Shugart, and Amber McKee for their continued support. She also wishes to thank the two anonymous reviewers and Cheree Carlson for their suggestions and guidance. An earlier version of this essay was presented at the Western States Communication Association conference, Rhetoric and Public Address Interest Group, Palm Springs, CA, February 2006.