WARNER Bros. is in big trouble. Apparently, in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," Harry is shown riding a broomstick the wrong way. In response, the British White Witches - a group headed by high priest Kevin Carlyon, the leading authority on white witchcraft - have cast a spell on the movie last week, dooming it to failure at the box office.
If they know what's best for them, the producers will correct their mistakes and try to appease the witch community at large to save the November release from failure. But will that be enough? We need to address the larger issue, that the media mocks and stereotypes many groups, not just the witch community.
In order to truly understand what some "strange" groups think about their misrepresentation in the media, I had to explore the unholy world where such unconventional groups dwell: the Internet. There, I found many groups who claimed to be abused by the "mainstream media" just as much as the witches. All the quotes were taken from interviews with verified members of their respective communities. The interviews were conducted over AOL Instant Messenger.
Devil worshippers
The devil worshipping community is another victim of misrepresentation and distortion. In an interview, a devil worshipper using the pseudonym "Cindy X" claimed that the media has made the pro-Devil community out to be "bloodthirsty, child-stealing cat-killing psychos."
Research shows this stereotype is incorrect. According to the Official Church of Satan, the ninth Satanic rule of the Earth is "Do not harm little children." But the extreme leftist media wants to paint devil worship as wrong merely because it glorifies evil.
The anti-devil agenda wishes to hide behind a rhetoric of facts and documentation. They point out examples of mass suicides, animal torture and ritualistic killings, all of which have been tied into devil worship.
But these stereotypes won't put a dent in the Satanists' agenda. "We have more little Goths and Marilyn Manson worshippers running around than in the past," quips Cindy X.
Hillbillies
The hillbilly community is also the victim of false portrayals in the movies and news media. According to "John," hillbillies are portrayed as "scum bags, low lifes, and pieces of racist trash." When asked what perpetuated this stereotype, John inquired "What does perpetuate mean?"
By delving into the hillbilly community, one can easily see that there is little intolerance evident. After denying the prevalence of racism, "Mary" explained that "just because I hate most black people, doesn't mean I hate all black people." And when asked about homophobia, John asserted that "rednecks are not gay." It's easy to see that the hillbilly community is just misunderstood.
But many in Hollywood have unfairly taken aim at hillbillies. John complains that movies such as "Ghosts of Mississippi" inaccurately portray his brothers and sisters as Klan members. The film, based on a true story, has the gall to show the racist, Klan-member killer of Medgar Evers as a racist member of the Ku Klux Klan. Obviously, the out-of-control media must stop perpetuating lies, making generalizations, and using big words that only stereotype and confuse hillbillies.
Witches
While all these groups have been wronged, the witch community remains by far the most misrepresented group. Everyone from Halloween enthusiasts to Elizabeth Montgomery on TV's "Bewitched" has grabbed the broomstick from the wrong end. "The broom goes handle to the rear," says "Merlin," a self-proclaimed witch. Obviously, the incorrect method of flying, rather than the rampant association of witchcraft with evil, is the course of all the witches' woes.
Merlin believes, along with several witches' groups, that witches really can fly. Who cares if all the physical evidence points to the contrary? "Some have worked their craft to perfection," he claims.
But with the stereotype of black pointy hats and backward brooms, witches consistently are misunderstood. Merlin stresses, "I think witches should be portrayed as any other cleric in a religion. Do we dog out nuns, or priests or rabbis or any of the other religious figures?"
But comparing witchcraft to mainstream religions is inaccurate. The fact is that these fringe groups don't have or deserve any legitimacy.
These groups have the right to rant, rave and complain all they want. But those who ignore logic, reason and science have no right to be taken seriously.
(Brian Cook is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at bcook@cavalierdaily.com.)
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