engleski

She is so old and dangerous: witch, (popular) culture and feminist gerontology

The witch is a polysemic and multiple encoded heroine whose semantic transformation is interesting to analyze particularly from the perspective of cultural and feminist gerontology as well as the study of popular culture. In patriarchal perspective, witches are coded as the Other (mythical or concrete) persons that, by their appearance, dressing, lifestyle choices, preferences or chronological age, fit into the various sexist, ageist and gender stereotypes that have permeated the traditional, pre-modern culture but to a certain extent (in more or less modified form) exist even today. The notions of witches in popular culture of the last century experienced a significant metamorphosis. The traditional concept of witches as physically unattractive, sometimes deformed old women in the entertainment industry has undergone a radical visual makeover – she became a young and physically attractive, emphatically sexualized temptress. The central place in the analysis is occupied by the movie Snow White and the Huntsman (2012, dir. Rupert Sanders), who through reinterpretation of the famous fairy tale offers postfeminist presentation of the evil stepmother obsessed with eternal youth and beauty as a major life capital. This feminist ambivalent film interpretation proves to be highly problematic and opens up a range of feminist gerontology crucial issues. Given that the witch as a social construct points out the complex connections of aging/old age and culture, the paper examines the possibility of new codings and interpretations of the character of the witch beyond ageist and sexist logic (Ray, 2003), where this interesting figure is re- thought in relation to two romanticized, stereotypical and restrictive ideas – good, dear, sweet granny and wise, proud and powerful old woman (crone) (Cruikshank, 2009).

ageing, femininity, witch figure, feminist gerontology

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