Witch Willows WanderingsReview of TLC's "My Unique Family"
February 20th 2007 14:08
Bravo
So why should Rev. Kendra be looked at any different for what she wears? She is basically the same “level” as a priest or even a bishop, just in a different religion. And as far as I know, Catholics and Episcopalians or any other Christian group, does not own the full rights to wearing a collar as part of their holy uniform. So, even though people may have been offended by they way she dressed or thought it was “odd”, I say it’s no more “odd” than various catholic clergy wearing uniforms that look like dresses of different color (all which are men…in what looks like a dress).
Anyway, I thought the show was great. There were really no Pagan bashing, except by a couple of the town’s people that didn’t like the idea of witches living and functioning there. For the most part, many of the people actually began to understand what Wicca actually is and found it not to be as “scary” as they thought. I think one of the really great parts was the interview with their neighbor (the Catholics). The woman openly said how much she liked having them as neighbors and thought their religion was very peaceful and earth based. She even allowed her daughter to play with the witch’s daughter without any fear of damnation. It was pretty amazing.
I don’t want to give away EVERYTHING that happened because it airs again tonight at 10, but I will discuss some of the things I truly enjoyed. Really, it was kind of refreshing to see Wiccans portrayed in a positive light on national TV. I know they had to take 200 hours of filming and edit it down to fit into the one hour show, so I wonder if there were even more positive footage that was left out. I think all in all, TLC did a pretty good job keeping it positive though. They didn’t make the family out to seem nuts and feared by everyone in the town, so that’s a plus right there.
I also liked how Rev. Kendra got to speak freely about various things that have to do with Wicca and Paganism. She was actually able to talk about the “real” things and TLC didn’t edit it to make her sound wacko.
The only 2 things that I think actually “hurt” the show was: #1) When they showed her first and foremost wearing all black and a “priest” collar. I’m sure this didn’t set well with some people, like I mentioned before. But she was able to tell everyone why she wears it. So that was a plus. And #2) The way they showed her children virtually begging for her attention. They showed the kids talking about how much time she gives to the parishioners and not really to them. HOWEVER…keep in mind the fact of editing 200 hours down to less than and hour of show time. There could have been more to this than what they showed…there normally is when it comes to “real” TV.
But really, I think it was great. Very positive. And I think TLC did pretty good with the editing, not know what the rest of the footage was. The funny thing is, what if this was the “worst” of the footage they could pull together? What if there wasn’t any “oddities” for then to show so this was the worst they could do. Funny to think about how “normal” a wiccan family can be, huh? Kendra’s husband stated he does IT consulting and they had a very nice and NORMAL house. The family dressed completely normal, aside from her wearing the “uniform”, but that’s only because she is a high priestess. And trust me, I’ve seen some of the REALLY odd things a high priestess can stroll around the streets in. Wearing all black with a white collar is nothing. So they are just a normal everyday family, but just “Unique” enough to be put on “My Unique Family” on TLC.
If you didn’t catch the show last night, then try to catch it tonight on TLC at 10PM. Learn more about everyday Wiccans and see for yourself that we all don’t run around chasing garden fairies and magical invisible dragons.
Blessed Be
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Comment by Bhumika
Political Minds
Comment by Wendi
A few years back I went to an "alternative faith" festival. It was a fascinating experience with people from all walks of life. Of course there were the extremists who walked around with devil's horns, or dressed in elaborate costumes for effect, but there were tons of "normal" people enjoying the experience.
A reporter from the local paper stopped a few of us for interviews. He asked specifically about the necklace I was wearing (Eye of Odin), and you could almost see the disappointment in his face when I gave him a down to earth explanation: "It was a gift from a friend of mine who says the emblem symbolizes the storyteller - an appropriate gift since I'm a writer."
The next day, my friends and I hustled to get a copy of the paper, eager to see if we'd made the cut and were totally devastated to see the article portraying the event as a freak fest. Nowhere did it represent the "normal" people gathering, they just focused on the extremists and painted an ugly picture of the event.
Amazing how much power one journalist has over the public's view of a situation.
Comment by Francis
Passionate Apathy
I'm not surprised the Catholic neighbors were cool; Catholics are traditionally one of the more tolerant Christian sects. It's teh Baptists you need to watch out for! Heh.
Wendi,
That's been a media bugbear for decades. I recall Isaac Asimov describing how a reporter came to a World Science Fiction Con, talked to some highly regarded authors, and several real-life scientists who had been inspired by speculative fiction... and who then wrote about a bunch of freaks in Spock ears.
Just because some media are classed as "non-fiction" doesn't make them accurate.
Comment by CelestialAxis
Comment by Miss Faith
If that was you, you looked very relaxed in front of the camera. I wish they would have shown more of the initiation and Samhain ritual too, but at least they showed the amount they did...especially only having so much time to show. Maybe they should do a 2nd hour with some of the other footage they got the 200 hours! I bet if the ratings were high enough they would.
Comment by Ahmed
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
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Comment by CelestialAxis
Comment by wiccan spells
Brian
Really Long Link