The Craft

Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures

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Women have been the target of patriarchal oppression for all eternity, and when they begin to rise, those same oppressors make it their mission to bring them down. In the 1600s, it was accusations of witchcraft, and in the 21st century, it is attacks about false claims of harassment.

Following more than a decade of satanic panic in the 80s, The Craft tackled the abuse women face through a supernatural lens. The four main characters dealt with extreme yet realistic issues that the film did not shy away from. Ranging from sexual assault, abuse, racism, and physical body pain, they use their heir powers of witchcraft as a way out. While actual witchcraft may or may not be real, the struggles these young girls faced are far from fiction. The powers they possess through their bond together are a commentary on the power struggle of society and how women lean on each other when no one else will help them.

The film poses the idea that the only way out of these horrible situations is through supernatural means. Women have been powerless against their oppressors for centuries, so this film has become important to many young women who may relate to the character’s struggles. So the controversy of the film is something that intrigues me. Is the older generation’s fear of the threat of witchcraft OR the idea that women can take back their power what honestly scares them?