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Catch-All/Student Discussion Questions

Religious Freedom in “The Witch”

While watching The Witch, I was impressed by the many ways in which the film portrayed Puritans of the time. There was a great effort to capture the clothing, the setting, and the dialect of the Puritan people in North America. Specifically, however, I feel that the film did an especially remarkable job depicting the Puritan religion and the idea that those who practiced beliefs outside of the religion were condemned and viewed as immoral. During the time in which the movie takes place, belief in witches was common and there was intense paranoia revolving around the idea. This is reiterated by the Salem witch trials which occurred shortly after the time period of this film. 

After watching this film, the discussion in class about the values of American identity have become more clear. While many believe religious freedom is a reason for the settling of the American colonies and an important value of Americans, in reality, these people only wanted religious freedom for their particular religion from England. All others were deplored. In the film this is portrayed in two ways. Originally, the family leaves their colony after a religious disputation. They are exiled from the community for refusing to adhere to their specific religion. After settling in another place, they find themselves cursed by a witch. The connection between these two events shows that there are reprimands for straying from the dominant Puritan religion. Also, in current times, the belief in witches is far less common, showing that religious freedom has increased since the time of this film, but it is imperative to note, as discussed in class, that America was not built on this value.  

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