In the magical world, there exists a peculiar school called the Starlight Academy. But unlike other magical schools, this academy doesn't have a fancy castle or an enchanted forest surrounding it. Instead, it resides in a magic school bush. This magic school bush is no ordinary plant; it has the ability to transform into a mystical building that houses the students and teachers. Its branches extend like arms, welcoming those who are pure of heart and have a natural aptitude for magic. One sunny morning, as the students gathered for the day's lessons, they noticed a peculiar energy in the air.
Seeing the Wizard's might and uprising from the citizens, Evanora retreats to a passageway hidden in one of the columns, attempting to escape the city. However, she is confronted by Glinda in the throne room, wishing to end her reign of terror and put her father to rest once and for all. Evanora fires lightning at Glinda, but Glinda retaliates, levitates to the air, and deflects a subsequent blast. Although it appears Evanora has gained the upper hand, the charge explodes and sends the two witches flying back against the walls. Evanora, in a weakened state, tries to kill her with her magic but realizes her magic pendant is gone, Glinda having accidentally broken it. Horrified, Evanora falls to the ground and tries to crawl away. As she struggles, she turns into her true form. The real Evanora is revealed to be wrinkled, hag-like, and ugly without her magic. Without regret, Glinda banishes her from Emerald City. In anger of her fall, Evanora attempts to lunge at Glinda as a final attack, but Glinda fires a beam that slams her out of the window. However, she is saved by her baboon minions and swears revenge against Glinda and Oscar as she flies away with the remnants of her army.
Gathering the captured civilians to Emerald City s square, she taunts the chained Glinda of her failure to bring a wizard to save the people of Oz and tortures her with her magic. Rather than love and peace, the backdrop of Woodstock 99 was brimming with male sexuality and angst in films such as American Pie 1999 and Fight Club 1999.
One sunny morning, as the students gathered for the day's lessons, they noticed a peculiar energy in the air. The magic school bush was restless. Leaves rustled, and whispers filled the air, revealing that something extraordinary was about to happen.
Representations of Women in The Wretched (2019)
Let me start this by saying that representations in film matter. The prelude to this statement was me watching the documentary series on Netflix about Woodstock ’99, Trainwreck (2022). One astute journalist pointed out that if you want to understand the collective ethos of the time, one need only look to the biggest box office hits in that historical moment. Rather than love and peace, the backdrop of Woodstock ’99 was brimming with male sexuality and angst in films such as American Pie (1999) and Fight Club (1999). Popular culture reflects what mainstream society chooses…wants and enjoys consuming. Let us temporarily peer into our collective id.
Horror films often reveal the fears of middle- to upper-class (often white) men. Which makes sense since that is mostly who writes, directs, and produces horror films. While women producers, creators, and consumers are on the rise, the major audience continues to be predominately male. With that in mind, I hand you the 2019 Pierce Brothers film, The Wretched.
Whilst I do not presume to infer the intent of the creators, I can only say that The Wretched presents women as, well…wretched. Please don’t get me wrong, I did not hate this film: the plot was good, the intensity was thrilling, characters were intriguing, and the ending was okay. Alas, this piece is not a review but rather an unapologetic extended observation. If I had to sum it up, I would say that The Wretched shows an undercurrent of fear of and loathing for women. Look, I know these guys didn’t make up the archetype of woodsy witches who seduce men and eat children. That has been around since at least the 1300s.[i] But, come on, have we made no headway in male perceptions and depictions of women? It’s one thing to have the evil witch – but virtually no female character in this film was free from fault.[ii] Needless to say, The Wretched is told from the male point of view through the main characters Ben Shaw (John Paul Howard) and his father Liam (Jamison Jones).
But let’s talk about the women. The film opens in 1985 with teenager Megan (Sydne Mikelle) arriving at her babysitting job at the Gambles. What transpires first, prior to her meeting with the family, is a telephone conversation between Megan and her mother. What we hear is what may be called today a “smother” or a slightly overbearing mother who wants to make sure her daughter is not off having an illicit tryst because, as we come to find out, Megan’s aunt was pregnant by age sixteen. After that prelude, we abruptly meet a ghastly representation of a woman eating her daughter followed by Mr. Gamble shoving the babysitter in with the cannibal witch. It is no wonder that we see, soon afterwards, that the origin of this female incarnation of evil lurches forth from the damp crevasse of Mother Earth.
In a story as old as the witch trials, nontraditional women invite associations of witchery. The three main female characters are Mallory (Piper Curda), Sara (Azie Tesfai), and Abbie (Zarah Mahler). Overall, Mallory is one of the more positive depictions: she is quite different from the local girls who frequent the docks. She curses, doesn’t wear a bikini, speaks her mind, and she doesn’t take Ben seriously when he tells her about the witch. Nonetheless, spoiler alert…even the best representation of womanhood (according to The Wretched) can fool you and suddenly transform into a witch. Sara is the interloper in Ben’s life and he lovingly refers to her as the bitch that his father is sleeping with. She is the scariest thing of all besides the new (younger) woman in Liam’s life; she is, wait for it….a vegan! (clutches pearls) Most notable in The Wretched, is Abbie, who becomes the primary vessel for the witch. She is a bit of a badass: Liam immediately identifies her as an outsider, a vacationer; she is aloof, doesn’t care how others perceive her, drinks beer, guts a deer, and is immediately on Ben’s radar. The audience learns quickly that the witch (notably Abbie) can make people lose their mind. As she leans in and whispers her spell, her target is rendered mindless and submissive to her will. We get the sense she can do this to anyone, but it seems as if she prefers to brainwash men, as we see her husband Ty (Kevin Bigley) float throughout the narrative unconsciously covering her tracks.
Fast forward to the men. We meet our main character, Ben Shaw, and his father, Liam. Ben is an angsty teenage boy who moves in with his hard-working father after getting in some trouble for breaking and entering into a neighbor’s house searching for Vicodin. Ben’s mother gets minimal screen time outside of her bookending the plot. What do we know about mom? Well, it seems like Ben’s parents had a bit of a contentious divorce – and the audience is positioned to judge his mom, Nora (Amy Waller), after working-class Liam buys his son a bicycle to get around and Ben dismisses the gift because his mother is giving him a car. Overall, Ben’s mother is absent other than our knowledge that Liam folds her out of photos, her son was popping pills in her care, she sends Ben away, and she gives him a car (and a nice one at that). Her larger purpose is to stand in opposition to Liam, thus lionizing him as one of our modest heroes. Ben and Liam are the only ones who eventually recognize the curse, fight back, and protect others as only a true patriarch can.
Alone in a world of dangerous women. Surrounded, their defenses diminished by the words and wiles of women. All males are in danger from the women around them, especially those closest to them. Not only do witches beguile grown men, but they also try to eat the young ones. Neighbor Ty is quickly under the spell of his wife Abbie, so much so that he forgets he has children. His infant son, Sam, is consumed by the witch and replaced by a bundle of sticks without his so much as batting an eye. Next on the menu, son Dillon (Blane Crockarell), who seeks asylum from his mother in the arms of men as he befriends his neighbor, Ben. While we come to find out that both Ben and Liam are vulnerable to the brainwashing of women, with each other’s help they are able to break the spell, thankfully in time to fight off the witch and save Ben’s brother (hmm, sensing a theme here).
And now for stereotypes. This apple doesn’t fall too far from the Garden of Eden. Women get close to men, brainwash them, tempt, and use them, and therefore, they cannot be trusted. But look, this is not to man-bash at all. We women can be pretty discourteous with one another too, and we see this when Mallory calls JJ (Gabriela Quezada Bloomgarden) the “local ho” after Ben falls victim to her advances after she cajoles him into skinny dipping so the local, more privileged kids can literally catch him with his pants down for a laugh.
So, what do we make of all this? If The Wretched was a success at the box office amidst a pandemic, can this be indicative of the acceptance of negative female stereotypes in that particular moment?[iii] Perhaps not coincidentally, this US horror film rose amidst the emergence of the #MeToo movement – a time when political heads made overtly misogynistic comments, women staged one of the largest one-day demonstrations in US history, more women ran and won seats in Congress, battles were fought for the Supreme Court and the right to govern women’s bodies, several rich women paid to gain elite college entrance for their children, and the battle of the sexes raged on. By definition, a stereotype is a widely-held, oversimplified, and fixed perception of a person or group often rooted in prejudicial thinking. If that’s the case, we should consider intently what it means if popular culture that depicts women poorly is widely produced and voraciously consumed without question. Who, then, is truly wretched?
The Wretched is streaming on Netflix.
Notes:
[i] For a fun history of the witch archetype check out this piece by Lillian Stone on The Takeout, A not-so-brief history of witches cooking and eating children (thetakeout.com)
[ii] The only female free from any culpability was the younger sister of Mallory, Lilly who played almost no part other than needing to be saved by Ben.
So, what do we make of all this? If The Wretched was a success at the box office amidst a pandemic, can this be indicative of the acceptance of negative female stereotypes in that particular moment?[iii] Perhaps not coincidentally, this US horror film rose amidst the emergence of the #MeToo movement – a time when political heads made overtly misogynistic comments, women staged one of the largest one-day demonstrations in US history, more women ran and won seats in Congress, battles were fought for the Supreme Court and the right to govern women’s bodies, several rich women paid to gain elite college entrance for their children, and the battle of the sexes raged on. By definition, a stereotype is a widely-held, oversimplified, and fixed perception of a person or group often rooted in prejudicial thinking. If that’s the case, we should consider intently what it means if popular culture that depicts women poorly is widely produced and voraciously consumed without question. Who, then, is truly wretched?
As the students settled into their classes, a powerful surge of magic pulsed from the bush, causing the ground to shake and the sky to darken. An excited murmur spread throughout the academy. What could be causing this commotion? Inside the classroom, Professor Morgan, a wise old sorcerer, tried to regain control of the situation. He knew that the magic school bush sometimes responded to the emotions of its students. Curiosity took hold of the pupils as they awaited an explanation. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew open the doors, revealing a new student standing at the entrance. Her sparkling eyes and vibrant aura indicated her natural talent for magic. The students gasped in awe. The mysterious new student introduced herself as Aurora, a witch from a faraway land. She had heard of the remarkable magic school bush and felt the call to study at the Starlight Academy. Aurora's arrival seemed to intensify the magic within the school bush even further. As Aurora settled into her classes, her presence stirred up a storm of magic energy within the academy. Spells went awry, objects floated in mid-air, and even the school's famous floating library spiraled into chaos. Realizing the connection between Aurora and the chaotic events, Professor Morgan decided it was time to investigate. Through careful observation and research, he discovered that Aurora possessed an extraordinary power - the ability to manipulate storms and control the forces of nature. With this revelation, Professor Morgan devised a plan to help Aurora control her unruly magic. He organized special training sessions, taught her ancient spells, and guided her in understanding the source and scope of her power. As Aurora gained control over her abilities, the storm within the academy subsided. The magic school bush regained its composure, and the chaotic incidents came to an end. The students and teachers marveled at Aurora's progress, grateful for the tranquility that prevailed once again. Aurora's journey at the Starlight Academy became an unforgettable chapter in the school's history. Her magical prowess and the storm she brought with her taught everyone the importance of self-discipline, control, and the extraordinary potential that lies within each individual. And so, the magic school bush continued to be a beacon of knowledge, welcoming new students and spreading its enchanting aura throughout the land..
Reviews for "From Leaf to Spell: The Magical Properties of a School Bush"
1. James - 2 stars
I was really excited to read "Magic School Bush Kicks Up a Storm" based on all the hype, but I must say I was extremely disappointed. The plot was predictable and lacked any real depth. The characters were one-dimensional and seemed to have no growth throughout the story. It felt like the author was just trying to cash in on the magic school trend without putting much effort into creating an engaging narrative. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone looking for a captivating magical adventure.
2. Emily - 1 star
"Magic School Bush Kicks Up a Storm" was one of the worst books I've ever read. The writing was so amateurish and full of clichés that I couldn't even finish it. The dialogue was cringe-worthy, and the attempts at humor fell flat. The magical elements were underdeveloped and seemed to be thrown in just to make the story more interesting, but it ended up making it feel even more disjointed and poorly planned. I would advise readers to skip this one and look for a better magic school book.
3. Sarah - 2.5 stars
While "Magic School Bush Kicks Up a Storm" had its moments, overall, it just didn't meet my expectations. The pacing was uneven, with long stretches of boredom followed by unnecessary action sequences. The protagonist was unlikeable and made questionable decisions that didn't align with their supposed intelligence. The world-building felt incomplete and left many unanswered questions. Overall, I felt let down by this book and wouldn't recommend it to fans of the genre.