A black magic documentary is a film or video production that seeks to explore and delve into the realm of black magic, also known as dark magic or sorcery. Black magic is traditionally believed to involve the use of supernatural forces or evil spirits to manipulate, harm, or control people or events. In a black magic documentary, the filmmakers typically aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of black magic practices, beliefs, history, and cultural context. They may interview practitioners, experts, scholars, and witnesses to gather and present firsthand accounts, experiences, and theories related to black magic. The documentary may delve into various aspects of black magic, such as its rituals, spells, curses, symbols, artifacts, and the associated belief systems. It may explore the different forms and practices of black magic across cultures and civilizations, including ancient and contemporary practices.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 17: Editorial use only and no commercial use at any time. No use on . [+] publication covers is permitted after August 9, 2023. Taylor Swift performs onstage for the opening night of "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour" at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Swift City, ERAzona (Glendale, Arizona). The city of Glendale, Arizona was ceremonially renamed to Swift City for March 17-18 in honor of The Eras Tour. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
The new version of Fearless contained cameos from Colbie Caillat, Keith Urban, and Maren Morris, along with several previously unheard tunes originally written during the same time period; it debuted at number one on Billboard upon its release. And in doing so, she s been able to expertly explore these gorgeous, fictitious stories that she began to craft here as well as in folklore s sister album evermore after it.
It may explore the different forms and practices of black magic across cultures and civilizations, including ancient and contemporary practices. Furthermore, a black magic documentary may highlight the ethical and societal implications of black magic, including its potential for abuse, manipulation, and harm to individuals and communities. It may also address the role of black magic in popular culture, folklore, literature, and religion.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is that rarest of pop phenomena: a superstar who managed to completely cross over from country to the mainstream. Others have performed similar moves -- notably, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson both became enduring pop culture icons based on their 1970s work -- but Swift shed her country roots like they were a second skin; it was a necessary molting to reveal she was perhaps the sharpest, savviest populist singer/songwriter of her generation, one who could harness the zeitgeist, make it personal and, just as impressively, perform the reverse. These skills were evident on her earliest hits, especially the neo-tribute "Tim McGraw," but her second album, 2008's Fearless, showcased a songwriter discovering who she was and, in the process, finding a mass audience. Fearless wound up having considerable legs not only in the U.S., where it racked up six platinum singles on the strength of the Top Ten hits "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me," but throughout the world, performing particularly well in the U.K., Canada, and Australia. Speak Now, delivered almost two years later, consolidated that success and moved Swift into the stratosphere of superstardom. Her popularity only increased over her next three albums -- Red (2012), 1989 (2014), and Reputation (2017) -- and found her moving assuredly into a pop realm where she already belonged. Even when she scaled back her approach with 2020's stripped-down sibling releases folklore and Evermore, she remained atop the pop world, a position she maintained with re-recordings of her back catalog along with Midnights, a moody album released in 2022.
This sense of confidence had been apparent in Taylor Swift since the beginning. The daughter of two bankers -- her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, worked at Merrill Lynch; her mother, Andrea, spent time as a mutual fund marketing executive -- Swift was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, and raised in suburban Wyomissing. She began to show interest in music at the age of nine, and Shania Twain wound up as her biggest formative influence. Swift started to work regularly at local talent contests, eventually winning a chance to open for Charlie Daniels. Soon, she learned how to play guitar and began writing songs, signing a music management deal with Dan Dymtrow; her family relocated to Nashville with the intent of furthering her music career. She was just 14 years old but on the radar of the music industry, signing a development deal with RCA Records in 2004. Swift sharpened her skills with a variety of professional songwriters, forming the strongest connections with Liz Rose. Taylor's original songs earned her a deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, but not long after that 2004 deal she parted ways with Dymtrow and RCA, all with the intent of launching her recording career now, not later.
Things started moving quickly once Swift came to the attention of Scott Borchetta, a former DreamWorks Records exec about to launch Big Machine Records. Borchetta saw Swift perform at a songwriters showcase at the Bluebird Cafe and he signed her to Big Machine in 2005; shortly afterward, she started work on her debut with producer Nathan Chapman, who'd previously helmed demos for Taylor. Boasting original song credits on every one of the record's 11 songs (she penned three on her own), Taylor Swift appeared in October 2006 to strong reviews and Swift made sure to work the album hard, appearing at every radio or television event offered and marshaling a burgeoning fan base through the use of MySpace. "Tim McGraw," the first song from the album, did well, but "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "Our Song" did better on both the pop and country charts, where she racked up five consecutive Top Ten singles. Other successes followed in the wake of the debut -- a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist (she lost to Amy Winehouse), stopgap EPs of Christmas songs -- but Swift concentrated on delivering her sophomore set, Fearless.
Appearing in November 2008, Fearless was certified gold by the RIAA in its first week of release, and the record gained momentum throughout 2009, earning several platinum certifications as "Love Story," "White Horse," "You Belong with Me," "Fifteen," and "Fearless" all scaled the upper reaches of the country charts while "You Belong with Me" nearly topped Billboard's Hot 100. Along with the success came some headlines, first in the form of an infamous appearance at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards where her acceptance speech was interrupted by Kanye West, who burst on-stage to declare that Swift's rival Beyoncé deserved the award more, but her romances also started gaining attention, notably a liaison with Twilight star Taylor Lautner, who appeared with the singer in the 2009 film Valentine's Day.
Her flirtation with the silver screen proved brief, as she then poured herself into her third album, Speak Now. Released in October 2010, Speak Now was another massive first-week smash that refused to lose momentum. Hit singles like "Mine" and "Mean," which won two Grammy Awards, played a big factor in its success not just on the country charts but on pop radio as well. Following a 2011 live album called World Tour Live: Speak Now, Swift turned toward following a pop path on her fourth album, hiring such mainstream musicians as Dan Wilson, Butch Walker, and Britney Spears producer Max Martin. This mainstream pulse was evident on "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," the first single from Red. Upon its October 2012 release, Red shattered expectations by selling over a million copies in its first week, a notable achievement that was doubly impressive in an era of declining sales. Once again, Swift's album had legs: it was certified platinum four times in the U.S. and its international sales outstripped those of Speak Now. She supported Red with an international tour in 2013 and more hits came, including "I Knew You Were Trouble" and "22."
As Swift geared up for the release of her fifth album in 2014, she made it clear that 1989 was designed as her first "documented, official" pop album and that there would be no country marketing push for the record. "Shake It Off," an ebullient dance-pop throwback, hit number one upon its August 2014 release. When 1989 appeared in late October 2014, it once again shot to number one and became her third straight album to sell one million copies in its first week (a new record for any artist).
Swift gathered many awards during the subsequent year, including Billboard's Woman of the Year, the Award for Excellence at the American Music Awards, and a special 50th Anniversary Milestone Award from the CMAs. Her 1989 World Tour included Asia, North America, and Europe during the last half of 2015, and she won three Grammy Awards at the 2016 ceremonies, including Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Music Video for "Bad Blood." At the end of 2016, she released "I Don't Wanna Live Forever," a duet with ZAYN from the soundtrack for Fifty Shades Darker. The single reached the Top Five across the world. Swift returned with her sixth album, Reputation, in November 2017. Preceded by the number one hit single "Look What You Made Me Do," Reputation debuted at number one, and while it didn't replicate the success of 1989, the album did help underscore her popularity while also pushing her toward mature musicality.
Reputation was Swift's final record for Big Machine. In November 2018, she signed with Universal Music Group, which distributed her new albums under its Republic Records banner. The first album in this contract was Lover. Released in August 2019, Lover was preceded by two singles, "Me!" and "You Need to Calm Down," which both reached number two on the Hot 100 and helped push the album to number one. The acclaimed LP and two of its singles received a total of three nominations at the 62nd Grammy Awards.
Swift's plans to support Lover with a tour in 2020 were scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With some unexpected time on her hands, she wrote and recorded a new set of songs, many in collaboration with Aaron Dessner of the National; Bon Iver and longtime Swift associate Jack Antonoff also contributed. The resulting album, folklore, was released in July 2020, and went straight to the top of the Billboard 200. Less than five months later, Swift released a companion album to folklore called Evermore. Featuring many of the same collaborators as its predecessor, the Grammy-nominated Evermore debuted at number one upon its December 11, 2020 release. Altogether, the sibling LPs planted Swift atop the U.S. charts for a combined 11 weeks, and folklore became the best-selling album of 2020.
In 2021, she began the process of re-recording her back catalog after her Big Machine masters were sold off in 2019, starting with 2008's Fearless. The first of these tracks -- "Love Story (Taylor's Version)" -- arrived that February, with Fearless arriving in April. The new version of Fearless contained cameos from Colbie Caillat, Keith Urban, and Maren Morris, along with several previously unheard tunes originally written during the same time period; it debuted at number one on Billboard upon its release.
Swift next revisited Red, releasing Red in November 2021. Another chart-topper, this revamp of the 2012 album featured new duets with Phoebe Bridgers, Chris Stapleton, and Ed Sheeran, along with a ten-minute version of the ballad "All Too Well." Another re-recording, "This Love (Taylor's Version)" (originally off 1989), arrived in May 2022 and was included in the soundtrack to the coming-of-age drama The Summer I Turned Pretty.
At the same time she was revisiting her past work, Swift opened up another chapter in her career with the October 2022 release of Midnights, an album co-produced by Jack Antonoff and featuring a duet with Lana Del Rey on "Snow on the Beach." A moody, electronica-tinged album loosely conceptualized around songs the singer purportedly wrote in the middle of the night, Midnights topped numerous global charts, including the Billboard 200. In late 2022, she also had a supporting role in the David O. Russell film Amsterdam, and sales of her ensuing tour broke the record for the most concert tickets sold in a single day. By early 2023, Swift's career-spanning efforts had converged when she took home the Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Film for her ten-minute version of "All Too Well." Soon after, on Valentine's Day, she released Lover Live from Paris, which captured highlights of a September 2019 performance at the Olympia on limited heart-shaped vinyl.
Next up on the re-release schedule was Speak Now , which arrived in July 2023 with six additional songs that were written for but not included on the 2010 LP. Fall Out Boy and Paramore's Hayley Williams, both cited influences for Speak Now, appeared on two of those songs. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Taylor is at peace with her life, after all of the turmoil and betrayal she’s faced. She’s now surrounded herself with people who only serve to bring light into her life and has found a love worth leaving it all behind for. And in doing so, she’s been able to expertly explore these gorgeous, fictitious stories that she began to craft here as well as in folklore‘s sister album evermore after it.
The purpose of a black magic documentary is often to educate and inform viewers about this intriguing and controversial subject, providing them with an opportunity to gain insight into a topic that is often shrouded in secrecy and mystery. It may aim to dispel myths, debunk misconceptions, and offer a balanced and objective perspective on black magic. Through interviews, visual effects, historical references, and expert analysis, a black magic documentary can engage viewers and encourage critical thinking and discussion about the topic. It may pose philosophical, psychological, and scientific questions about the nature of belief, the power of suggestion, and the boundaries of human knowledge and perception. Ultimately, a black magic documentary serves as a platform for viewers to explore, learn, and form their own opinions about black magic and its various dimensions. It offers a window into a world that is often dismissed or stigmatized, enabling viewers to expand their horizons and gain a deeper understanding of the diversity and complexity of human beliefs and practices..
Reviews for "Beyond the Veil: Investigating the World of Black Magic"
1. Susan - 1 star
I was extremely disappointed with the "Black Magic Documentary." Not only did it lack depth and substance, but it perpetuated harmful stereotypes about practitioners of black magic. The documentary failed to provide any nuance or understanding about the various cultural practices associated with black magic, instead choosing to present it as some sort of evil and malevolent force. It is clear that the filmmakers were more interested in sensationalism and scare tactics rather than educating their audience. Overall, I found the documentary to be exploitative and disrespectful towards the subject matter.
2. James - 2 stars
I must admit that I had high hopes for the "Black Magic Documentary." However, I found it to be quite underwhelming and misleading. The documentary focused heavily on the negative aspects of black magic without providing a balanced view or exploring any positive aspects or cultural significance of these practices. While I understand that black magic can be a controversial topic, I believe that a documentary should strive to present different perspectives and encourage critical thinking. Unfortunately, this documentary fell short on that front, leaving me with a feeling of dissatisfaction and missed opportunity for education and understanding.
3. Emily - 1 star
I found the "Black Magic Documentary" to be nothing more than a cheap attempt at shock value. Rather than providing any meaningful insight or analysis, the documentary relied on jump scare tactics and spooky visuals. It felt more like watching a poorly made horror movie than an informative documentary. The lack of credible sources and expert opinions further contributed to the overall disappointment I felt while watching it. I would not recommend this documentary to anyone genuinely interested in learning about black magic; it simply fails to deliver any substantive content.