A friend sent this along yesterday. I don't know if PBS stations outside of the Boston area will also be broadcasting this program, but I thought I'd alert everyone to watch for it! --Margo, your list-keeper ====================== Public Television's WGBH, Boston, Massachusetts, USA., announces the April 20th 1999, airing of "Witch City", a contemporary documentary about Salem, Massachusetts, Witches, government, evangelical Christians, merchants, pilgrims, etc: http://www.wgbh.org/wgbh/tv/viewpoint/witch.html Witch City Production Web Site: http://www.artsgloucester.com/witchcity/ Thank you to Tammy Todd, of Mining Co.'s Alternative Religions: http://altreligion.miningco.com/ Complete announcement is included. "Witch City also looks at the religious battle brewing over Salem's history, as contemporary witches, known as Wiccans, make their own pilgrimages to Salem and are met with protest by evangelical Christians. WGBH Witch City features interviews with Arthur Miller, author of The Crucible, Elie Wiesel, and Laurie Cabot, "The Official Witch of Salem," as well as with local business owners, tourists, Wiccans, and Christians." WGBH "I think this is a well-crafted film, given the aesthetic constraints of working on video. It hits hard on both sides, but I do think the Pagan community appears to have more integrity than the business-owners who are clearly out to exploit the town's history to make a buck. One moment in the film stands out for me as particularly chilling: two young women, perhaps nineteen or twenty, are shown perched upon a tombstone in the cemetery. They are dressed in typical Goth-like garb, and one is pretending to stab the other with a knife. They say they are from New York, and continue their mock-attack upon one another, one now pretending to bite the other, acting as if possessed. Seeing the glow in their eyes as they performed in front of the camera I was reminded of those teenage girls three hundred years ago. In the public eye for perhaps the only time in their lives, given license by the court officials to behave scandalously, and willing to sell out their neighbors in what to them seems to have been a hideous childhood game." Peg Aloi, The Witches Voice: http://www.witchvox.com/media/witchcity.html Salem Witch Trials, Frequently Asked Questions http://www.ogram.org/17thc/faqs.shtml "Q: What is a spectre? A: In 17th-century witchcraft terms, a spectre is an active agent of a living witch. The spectre can interact with others but cannot generally be seen by anyone except the victim of the evil. In contrast, a ghost is the active agent of a deceased person." http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/salem/digest.html "Q: What is spectral evidence? A: The afflicted children believed that they saw invisible shapes (spectres) of the [live] witches who were [allegedly] torturing them. No one but the children saw these apparitions. In effect, the children became the accusers, judges, and jury." http://school.discovery.com/schoolstore/videos/rediscoveringamerica-thesalem witchtrials/discussion.html "10. What are contemporary perceptions of witchcraft? It is widely understood that witchcraft is a pantheistic religion that includes reverence for nature, belief in the rights of others and pride in one's own spirituality. Practitioners of witchcraft focus on the good and positive in life and in the spirit and entirely reject any connection with the devil. Their beliefs go back to ancient times, long before the advent of Christianity; therefore no ties exist between them and the Christian embodiment of evil. Witchcraft has been confused in the popular mind with pointy black hats, green faces and broomsticks." http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/learn.html "Q: What are some differences between European and English/New English witch-hunts? Who were the persecuted? How were they punished? A: In England and New England, witchcraft was a civil felony, and felons were hanged. Generally English witchcraft was a harder crime to prove; in all, perhaps 1,500 people in England and New England were put to death. On the European continent, witchcraft was generally looked upon as a heresy against the [Christian] church, and heretics were burned [alive at a stake]. On the [European] Continent, there were massive witch-hunts which over three centuries resulted in deaths of tens, or even hundreds of thousands of people. " http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/salem/digest.html "Q-Where do I get The Burning Times video? A-"The Burning Times", Direct Cinema Ltd., Inc, 213-396-4774 A-'The Burning Times' [a 58 minute video put together by a group of Canadian women to depict Europe's turbulent 15th-17th centuries] Video is referenced under 'Women and Spirituality' and distributed by Direct Cinema Limited, PO Box 10003, Santa Monica, CA 90410; ph-310-396-4774. " http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~jup/witches/FAQ.html ******************************** WGBH [Salem] Witch City April 20th, 1999 In Salem, Massachusetts, witches are big business. With everything from police cars to potato chip bags sporting the hag-on-a-broomstick icon, the city is cashing in on the 1692 Witch Trial tragedy in which 20 innocent residents were killed. Witch City, a 60-minute documentary airing as part of WGBH's Viewpoint series for independent producers, explores how Salem's history has been twisted for commercial gain and religious promotion. Witch City, made by a collective of North Shore filmmakers, airs on Tuesday, April 20 at 10pm on 'GBH/2. Witch City takes viewers on a darkly entertaining, educational, and controversial ride through Salem. Director Joe Cultrera, a Salem native now living in New York City, returns to his hometown during the city's "Haunted Happenings" Halloween celebration. He finds that among t-shirt hawkers, museum owners, and even city leaders, capitalism and greed have overshadowed the town's history and heroism. Witch City also looks at the religious battle brewing over Salem's history, as contemporary witches, known as Wiccans, make their own pilgrimages to Salem and are met with protest by evangelical Christians. Witch City features interviews with Arthur Miller, author of The Crucible, Elie Wiesel, and Laurie Cabot, "The Official Witch of Salem," as well as with local business owners, tourists, Wiccans, and Christians. Witch City was made by Joe Cultrera, Henry Ferrini, Phil Lamy, John Stanton, Bob Quinn, and May Liao-all North Shore natives or current residents-for Picture Business Productions and Ferrini Productions. http://www.artsgloucester.com/witchcity/