The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies Presents:
Sky Room Talk with Author Kristen J. Sollee
MISKATONIC: WITCHES, SLUTS, FEMINISTS
Thursday, September 17 at 7:30pm
Members $12 / Public $17
The Sky Room Cafe will be closing at 5 PM the evening of this event.
In art, literature, and film, the witch is a shapeshifter.
She is a gruesome villain and a studious heroine, a spiritual guide and an
enchanting seductress. The witch’s narrative can shift effortlessly,
transforming her from vixen to hag and healer to hellion based solely upon who
decides to tell her tale. But despite these disparate depictions, the witch’s
presence is inextricably tied to patriarchal anxieties about powerful women and
unruly female bodies: her representation always reflects or refutes societal
perceptions about femininity. In this illustrated talk, New School faculty
member and author of Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive
Kristen J. Sollée will trace the witch in visual media from the early modern
era through the present, examining her legacy as an icon of female power and
persecution, and as a potent feminist symbol.
Beginning with the 1922 Swedish
film Haxan to offer perspective on the historical origins of the witch, the
talk will include clips and analysis of Mario Bava’s 1960 film Black Sunday to
examine what film theorist Barbara Creed calls “the monstrous feminine,” and TV
classic Bewitched to offer visions of the “good witch” as the women’s
liberation movement begins to coalesce in the early 1960s. Sollée will also use
aspects of George Romero’s Season of the Witch, anime classic Belladonna of
Sadness, Lair of the White Worm, The Witches of Eastwick and The Craft to
analyze conceptions of female sexual expression, and Anna Biller’s The Love
Witch to undress the witch through the female gaze. By juxtaposing leading
scholarly research on European and American witch hunts with art and pop
occulture artifacts, this talk will delve into the complex legacy of the witch
from past to present, exploring how the divine and demon feminine have been
harnessed to both frighten and inspire diverse audiences for decades.
This class originated at The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies. Founded in 2010 by film writer and programmer Kier-La Janisse, The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies offers classes in horror history, theory and production, with branches in London, New York and Los Angeles, as well as hosting special events worldwide. www.miskatonicinstitute.com
Kristen
J. Sollee is a writer, curator, and educator exploring the intersections
of art, sex, and occulture. She is the founding editrix of Slutist, a sex positive feminist
website, and lectures at The New School and across the US and Europe. Sollée’s
signature college course, "The Legacy of the Witch" follows the witch
through history, pop culture, and politics. Her critically-acclaimed
book inspired by the course, Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the
Sex Positive was published by Stone Bridge Press in 2017. Her second
book, Cat Call: Reclaiming the Feral Feminine will be published by
Weiser Books in the fall of 2019.
