The Blair Witch Project

For much of post-World War II America, the image of the witch in pop culture had been largely tamed. Often credited to the series Bewitched, the domestication of the “witch” had nullified many of the adverse perceptions society had of the witch. The first major image of a witch in pop culture was the Wicked Witch from the classic film, The Wizard of Oz. The grotesque character played on many of the long-held images of the witch. The truly evil character has morphed since then and with each major pop culture iteration, the image became tamer and tamer. Whether it was Harry Potter or Samantha, the witch became a marketable character because although many of the aspects of the original horrifying figure existed, it was presented in a way that made the witch relatable to America. Much of this domestication is due to American’s growing sense of comfort and high standard of living that persistently increased with each decade of the twentieth century. It is very clear that the image of the Salem witch had largely been changed into witches that, although still powerful, were simply misunderstood characters. However, with every change in culture comes a change in counterculture. It is worth noting that I am simply referring to witches in pop culture, and not actual people who claim to be wiccans and practice religious witchcraft.

Largely seen in the 60s and 70s, American counterculture was embodied by pacifist sentiments towards the ongoing war in Vietnam. Yet, images of the witch remained largely similar. It wasn’t until the advent of the internet that the image of the witch took a turn to become a multifaceted figure that can be digestible to society or a figure that is both scary and feared. Thus, The Blair Witch Project was born. Released in 1999, this sleeper hit is largely credited as the first film to be fully marketed on the internet. The internet was largely a tool for younger Americans to use forums to discuss and connect. This is far from the traditional social media society has come to embrace today. This is what made the film so revolutionary, not just from a filmmaking standpoint, but in a way that it was shaped by counterculture sentiment. The film did not release any major advertisements and had little to no outdoor marketing campaign. Its marketing was done by acting as if its three main character were actually missing in real life and using the internet to generate buzz around it. After the films release, it was a hit, much to the shock of traditional America. The film follows three missing students investigating the Blair Witch legend. The film is shot documentary style and the premise is that all of the footage had been “found” after the events of the film took place. The film being shot in first-person added to the horror of the mysterious witch that inhabited Burkittsville, Maryland who had a pension for killing. Not actually seen in the film, the Blair Witch is only described as a demonic women whose feet never touched the ground. In the end, it is implied that the three main characters are brutally murdered by this witch. What does this have to do with pop culture’s image of the witch? The film was a massive success and was one of the most talked about films for years following its release. It metamorphosized the horror genre into one that could be marketable to segments of the market that spanned age and culture demographics. The film’s release was so unconventional that it allowed for American counterculture’s influence to allow this drastic image of a witch to become one that is now mainstream. Witches for years were portrayed as housewives or misunderstood students, but the Blair Witch was one of mystery, horror, and fear beyond the Wizard of Oz depiction. It was a tangible witch that literally was as evil as the image of the witches the residents of Salem were deathly afraid of. This film embodied a change in the depiction of the witch in pop culture because it was based on a part of American society that wanted something different than what had been depicted for decades and it used the newly discovered internet to reap the benefits of this “counterculture” that has reshaped American internet culture to what it is today. To put it in perspective, if a film doesn’t market to all or certain aspects of culture of social media in today’s society, the film will fail. The Blair Witch is stuff of legend and stands out of the crowd of all the pop culture images of the terrible creature humanity has feared for generations.