Literature Review #5

 #MagicResistance: Anti-Trump Witchcraft as Register Circulation

Fine, Julia C. “MagicResistance: Anti‐Trump Witchcraft as Register Circulation.” Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, vol. 30, no. 1, 2020, pp. 68–85, doi:10.1111/jola.12249 https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jola.12249

Summary: 

    Fine interviewed five magical practitioners who decided to take part in a ritual in an attempt to stop Trump from causing harm during his presidency. She asks them what brought them to decide to take part in witchcraft and why they wanted to pursue political activism. She also talks about the importance witchcraft can have on the self and communities like LGBTQ. It can be emotionally uplifting and can help practitioners take control of situations when they may feel helpless. 

Author:

Julia Fine was a graduate student in the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She specializes in Linguistic Anthropology which gives her experience when it comes to studying cultures and human behavior. She studied why witches decided to take part in political resistance and how that affected American culture. 

Key Terms:

-Resistance: challenging a person or idea in order to fight for what one believes in

-Empowerment: The rituals performed described in this article can be empowering for the world and for the self. 

Quotes:

  “Feminist indexicalities are further reflected and instantiated through epicenes uses of the traditionally female-gendered term witch… He [interviewee N.C.] goes on to describe how men have oppressed ‘uppity’ women by ‘turning them into evil’ and ‘turning the pitchforks against them,’” (Fine 78). 

"However, most practitioners do not frame magical activism as a calculated political tactic, but instead place the emphasis on more immediate outcomes. These outcomes include not only anticipated political effects but also the emotional experience of performing anti-Trump rituals, which practitioners characterize as one of catharsis and empowerment,” (Fine 70).

"...the multiple faiths that practitioners acknowledged as part of American witchcraft--including Conjure, Wicca, and Paganism, among others (Hughes 2018, 11-40)--are often eclipsed by reductive pop culture images of Salem witches, Macbethian crones, and devil-worshipping Satanists" (Fine 70). 

Value:

This article can help with the entire theoretical frame. It speaks about how these rituals are empowering for the world, and can also be empowering for the self. It helps young witches feel empowered as they can have control when they otherwise may feel powerless. It also speaks on the condemnation of witchcraft which can be used as a counterargument. 


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