Practical Magic
Practical Magichas become a Halloween classic since its 1998 departure , when it was adapted from the1995 novel of the same name written by Alice Hoffman . The picture show featuresSandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in starring roles as Sally and Gillian Owens , sisters who come from a long line of Massachusetts witches . Practical Magicoffers a heartwarming look at the stick out bonds of sistership , while including campy repulsion and whimsigothic aesthetic choices . However , despite its generally uplifting tone , Practical Magichas a dark-skinned joining to some horrify substantial history .
The film ’s chess opening scene discover that Owens family matriarch Maria Owens narrowly escaped the Salem Witch Trials , where she was condemned to last after take an affair with a married man . After outlive and accept banishment to a remote island , her lover never returns to her , and she casts a enchantment on herself to never fall in making love again , sparking a generational curse upon any humans who loves an Owens woman in her family argument . While this plant a key patch point , it also links the motion-picture show with one of the darkest and most bestial chapter in American history .
How Practical Magic Incorporates The Salem Witch Trials
The Owens Family Ancestor’s Persecution Still Speaks Volumes Today
The Salem witch test are reference in the hatchway fit , and go under one of the central themes of the pic – thatwomen are often used as a whipping boy in societies dominated by men . The motion picture was shot on Whidbey Island , Washington , but the story is arrange in Massachussetts , a state with a fertile American chronicle and the situation of the Salem Wiccan trial run . The opening scene does picture time period accurate Puritan settler costume , and the woman convict of witchcraft were sentenced to expiry by hanging from 1692 - 1693 .
While not filmed in Massachusetts , some of Whidbey Island ’s puritanical era computer architecture does mirror the overall historical saving of several local communities in Massachussetts , though the state tends to boast more compound epoch than Victorian architecture . While Maria Owens ' write up is fictional inPractical Magic , the Salem witch trials did primarily engage women ( except five men ) . None of the accused were banish to nearby island , but or else taken to the Boston Gaol , the city ’s primary prison house at the time . Historians have since confirmed that many died in prison house due to the poor conditions ( per theSalem Witch Museum ) .
The Real History Of The Salem Witch Trials
Teenage Girls Lead the Charge In Accusing People Of Witchcraft, Though Few Young Women Were Executed
The charm of Practical Magic is peppered with an unsettling impression , as can be obtain in several inverted comma throughout the cinema .
one C after , in Salem , Massachusetts , the religious fervor stay on , as the Puritans perpetrated vicious executions due to their strict religious order of Christianity . Puritans sought to reform the Church of England to more strictly adhere to the Bible . religious belief aside , the rumour twirl around witchcraft were for the most part bear out of land dispute and neighborly feud , often involving woman property owner . 12 - year - old Ann Putnam and several other tween girls sparked the inquisition by blame incubus and closed book illnesses on witchcraft , beginning with an enslaved cleaning lady appoint Tituba ( perSmithsonian ) .
TheSalem Witch Museumalso substantiate that one male victim call Samuel Wardwell was convicted of being a destiny - teller for his custom of guessing the sex of unborn baby to couples in Andover , Massachusetts , penny-pinching to Salem . The grownup remainder between popular medium portrayal of the trials ( let in Arthur Miller’sthe Crucible ) and the true level is thatfew unseasoned women were put to death , with the youngest victim being in her late 30s .
How This History Ties Into Practical Magic’s Themes
The Film’s 1990s Setting Proves That Misogyny Was Always The Enemy In The Witch Trials
AfterGillian and Sally lose their parent to thePractical Magiccurse , they are kindle by their Aunts Frances and Jet , who encourage them to apply deception for good , as they often do to serve the women of their community . However , the young little girl before long face up intense bullying and ostracization from their match over their family ’s reputation for being witch . This motivate Sally to consecrate to never use magic trick , as she fears judgment from her residential area . The closing off the girls experience isemblematic of the social discussion of women who dare to introduce or not live a conventional modus vivendi , even in the film ’s contemporary setting .
The film apply the history of witchcraft to instance that woman are ofttimes punished for being different or innovating young resolution …
While the Owens womanhood are not targeted for country ownership or predict the sex of their neighbors ' unborn babies like in the real Salem , they are criticized for their unique way of life of life , from their herbal practices to literal conjuring trick and live within an all - womanhood community . The film use the history of witchery to instance that charwoman are oft punished for being different or innovating raw solution , or for the ruin of men in their lives .
Custom image by Yailin Chacon
Such is the case when Sally Owens misplace her husband to the curse , and the town immediately suspect disgustful play . One of the most heartwarming aspects of the film is that she soon falls in dearest with bighearted tec Gary Hallet ( who she dream up as a spell as a minor , as she figured an notional human being could not be afflict by the curse ) . Gary is at once taken with the Owens ' unequaled way of aliveness , instead of being threatened by it . Even the cinema ’s rom - com elements point to the same trueness – that misogyny was the real witch hunt inPractical Magicand beyond .
generator : Salem Witch Museum , Cambridge University , Trinity College , UK National Archives , Smithsonian
Your Rating
Your comment has not been saved
Cast
pragmatic Magic is a romantic fantasy pic send by Griffin Dunne , have Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sister Sally and Gillian Owens , bear into a family of witches . hold out under a curse that dooms any humanity they fall in passion with to an untimely destruction , the sisters navigate love , loss , and their wizardly heritage while confronting family closed book and social prejudice .
Practical Magic is a romantic fantasy film directed by Griffin Dunne, featuring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, born into a family of witches. Living under a curse that dooms any man they fall in love with to an untimely death, the sisters navigate love, loss, and their magical heritage while confronting family secrets and societal prejudices.
