Perception, Reclamation, and The Witch
Tara Nasr
Throughout history, witches have been understood as threats to patriarchal forms of power. Historians of witchcraft have revealed that the women who were most often accused and persecuted were those who did not abide by the strictly controlled gender roles of the time. However, within recent years, women have appropriated the term ‘witch’ and reclaimed it as a symbol of female power.
By tracing the various witch representations in film and popular culture, and by conducting a visual analysis of this image culture, this thesis exposes multiple visual weapons used to perpetuate negative connotations of witchcraft. How can design provide guidance in the reshaping of perceptions and reframing of the narrative around the witch archetype as a tool for female empowerment?
Capstone: Reel Witches
Reel Witches is a dynamic, living archive of witches in media. This website functions as an evolving collection that traces various witch representations in film, and visually deconstructs them. Reel Witches aims to understand the origins of these stereotypes and trace their history by gathering articles from various sources, both scholarly and popular. www.reelwitches.com
Broken & Exposed
“Reclaiming the witch is raising awareness about the wrongs that women have endured throughout history and challenging and breaking down the patriarchal structure.”
Tasseography
This project is an exploration of a divination practice associated with witchcraft, that has, along with the revival of the witch, also experienced a resurgence among contemporary young women. For this project, a cup of tea was drunk every day for 90 days, and each outcome was documented.