Artykuły w czasopismach na temat „Supernatural on television”

This study explored preschool children’s television-related fears through a general study of children’s television-viewing habits. Based on semi-structured interviews with eighteen Estonian preschoolers, the results showed that young children’s fears were represented not only in adult programs but also in seemingly child-friendly cartoons through which children tended to see the fictional story as real. However, children were not passive victims: they took an active role in diminishing their television-related fears by using various coping strategies, including peer mediation. These results support the notion that children are second-level mediators who share with their peers both their own experiences and what their parents have taught them about television.

Supernatural shows are a type of film that is played on television media and contains mystical elements in it. The airing of supernatural shows so far contains many elements that are not educational, because many scenes are not suitable for airing. The purpose of this study is to determine the efforts to broadcast supernatural programs that develop on television media in terms of Islamic law and its impact on society. The type of research used in this study is using the type of library research (Library Research), which is research carried out by reviewing and analyzing books, scientific papers, journals, and articles of a scientific nature. Based on the results of data analysis, it was found that the process of airing supernatural shows on television media when viewed from Islamic law, then the process of airing is prohibited. Because. Supernatural shows aired on television media have a negative impact both in terms of psychology of people who watch them and from a social perspective. In terms of psychology, the airing of supernatural shows has an impact on the emergence of fear in a person and can affect child development. While from a social point of view, the process of airing supernatural shows affects the Islamic creed, namely one's belief in Allah can be disrupted and begin to obscure

In recent years, religious-themed media about the end of the world offering interpretations of the Book of Revelation have become popular. On television, the CW’s Supernatural featured a storyline that involved a fight between Heaven and Hell, leading to an eventual Apocalypse. We examine how television’s depictions of religion in modern American culture serve as contemporary Christian homilies by exploring this program’s Apocalypse story arc, informed by Revelation 6:2-8. The depiction of a Christian-based story that never featured Christ nevertheless provided the audience with a message about life grounded in Biblical lessons, essentially serving the purpose of a homily that one might hear in a church on a Sunday morning. In addition to broadening our understanding of how homilies function in a mediated world, we discuss how this religious-themed television show has managed to stay on the air when so many others have failed.

For years Supernatural (CW, 2005–) has gained the status of a cult series as well as one of the most passionate and devoted fandoms that has ever emerged. Even though the main concept of the series indicates that Supernatural should appeal predominantly to young male viewers, in fact, the fandom is dominated by young women who are the target audience of the CW network. My research is couched in fan studies and audience studies methodological perspectives as it is impossible to understand the phenomenon of Supernatural without referring to its fandom and fan practices. However, it focuses on the series’ structure in order to explain how this structure enables Supernatural’s viewers to challenge and revise prevailing gender roles. Supernatural combines elements of divergent TV genres, traditionally associated with either male or female audiences. It opens up to gender hybridity through genre hybridity: by interweaving melodrama with horror and other “masculine” genres the show provides a fascinating example of Gothic television which questions any simplistic gender identifications.

The Leviathans in the Television Series ‟Supernatural”The paper is an attempt to describe leviathans appearing in “Supernatural” TV series in ref­erence to their archetype known from Judeo-Christian tradition. Originally they were portrayed as a fearsome sea monsters which had extraordinary strength. Leviathans known from “Supernatural” are seemingly showing only slight resemble to monsters known from holy scriptures or legends. They look like people and — if they want to — they can blend in and behave like a normal mortal. However, they have a lot in common with archaic image of this monsters: cruelty, brutality and arro­gance that leviathans manifest to the human kind make them the epitome of chaos and the example of original Evil.

This study explores the controversial use of taboo language in Jinn, the first original Jordanian Arabic supernatural Netflix series. Taboo words uttered in each episode of Season 1 of the series (length=159 minutes) were compiled, quantified and categorised according to Ljung’s (2011) thematic categorisation. The results show that 75% of the taboo words fall under ‘major themes’ (scatological (31%), religious/supernatural (20%), sexual activity (12%), sex organ (9%) and mother (3%)) and 25% fall under ‘minor themes’ (prostitution (16%) and animals (9%)) in Ljung’s (2011) thematic divisions. Furthermore, the results show that the first episode has the greatest concentration of taboo words (55%). We argue that the writers/producers intentionally condensed the majority of the taboo words under investigation into the first episode in order to attract the attention of the largest viewership possible because they were aware of how polemical the issue of uttering Jordanian Arabic taboo words on screen was. Finally, it is evident that Jordanian society is still conservative when it comes to using/hearing taboo words in Jordanian cinema and television as demonstrated by the angry reaction of Jordanians in the press, television and social media.

Abstract The present study revisits one of American television’s most famous and influential shows, Twin Peaks, which ran on ABC between 1990 and 1991. Its unique visual style, its haunting music, the idiosyncratic characters and the mix of mythical and supernatural elements made it the most talked-about TV series of the 1990s and generated numerous parodies and imitations. Twin Peaks was the brainchild of America’s probably least mainstream director, David Lynch, and Mark Frost, who was known to television audiences as one of the scriptwriters of the highly popular detective series Hill Street Blues. When Twin Peaks ended in 1991, the show’s severely diminished audience were left with one of most puzzling cliffhangers ever seen on television, but the announcement made by Lynch and Frost in October 2014, that the show would return with nine fresh episodes premiering on Showtime in 2016, quickly went viral and revived interest in Twin Peaks’ distinctive world. In what follows, I intend to discuss the reasons why Twin Peaks was considered a highly original work, well ahead of its time, and how much the show was indebted to the legacy of classic American film noir; finally, I advance a few speculations about the possible plotlines the series might explore upon its return to the small screen.

Portrayals of mediumship in modern Western television narratives need to be seen as part of a broader phenomenon of the presence of religious elements in Western media, a phenomenon I argue expresses a longing for grand narratives in contemporary Western society. The portrayal and mediatization of religious elements in television narratives as well as their discussion in digital fan culture are part of what I would call a transformation process of knowledge and in particular knowledge of religious phenomena. More specifically, digital fan culture allows for an engagement with discursive transformation processes of knowledge and thus influences what is perceived as knowledge in society. Therefore, religious studies needs to pay closer attention to television narratives and the way fans interact with these narratives to create knowledge about religious practices. This article focuses on how the elements of “possession” and “mediumship” are being transformed by the US American TV series Supernatural and its fan culture. I argue that we can see at least two transformation processes here: the transformation and transplantation of religious concepts and practices (in the case of this article the idea of the human body as spirit medium) into a television context, and the transformation of these concepts and practices through digital fan culture. In its discussion of fan culture, the article looks at and analyzes fan based websites and how they present, discuss and imagine the body-medium.

Aim: To provide more insights about beliefs of witchcraft and supernatural means as causes of human immunodeficiency virus(HIV) among women in Senegal. Method: We included eligible women from the demographic and health survey conducted in Senegal during the year 2017. Results: We included 15335 women, of those 620 (4%) thought that they can get HIV through witchcraft or supernaturalmeans. After the adjustment of all available covariates, old age, receiving primary or secondary education, higher wealth index,more frequency of listening to radio, watching television for less than once a week and reading newspaper or magazine for atleast once a week were significantly associated with a reduction in the witchcraft and supernatural means beliefs (p < 0.05).Moreover, rural residence was associated with an increase in the wrong HIV beliefs (p < 0.05). Conclusion: We demonstrated many predictors of the wrong beliefs about getting HIV infection by witchcraft or supernaturalmeans in the Senegalese women. Policymakers should initiate health educational programs in parallel with increasing thesocioeconomic status to limit the HIV transmission. In addition, continuous monitoring of the HIV knowledge in the endemiccountries is crucial to decrease HIV burden. Keywords: HIV; infection; witchcraft; misconception; myths.

While promoting recent seasons of supernatural Western horror series Wynonna Earp (2016), cable channel Syfy released several fan-style videos championing the show’s resident lesbian couple: the protagonist’s sister, Waverly, and police officer Nicole Haught (celebrated via the portmanteau “WayHaught”). In 2019, a network “shipping” its own queer characters in service of fans contrasts starkly with the televisual landscape twenty, or even ten, years prior, when viewers invested in lesbian characters and/or same-sex couples relied on subtext and fan paratexts to fuel their enthusiasm for mostly unacknowledged or thwarted relationships between female characters. In this article, I engage in a two-part interrogation of the representation of lesbian romance on cult television shows in the last twenty-five years, with a focus on Wynonna Earp and its historical antecedents—supernatural, sci-fi, and fantasy shows featuring women and their female companion(s) (whether close friends or lovers). This includes a historiography of the development of lesbian fan communities around certain shows from the late 1990s and early 2000s, as well as an analysis of the narrative stakes and character development in both historical and contemporary shows, like Earp, in order to interrogate their representations of subtext or main text romantic pairings.

Referring to the work of Julia Kristeva, this article seeks to perform a comparative analysis between Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter), as she appears within the remit of Joss Whedon and David Greenwalts’s Angel (1999–2004), and Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) in John Logan’s Penny Dreadful (2014–2016). Taking each character as a case study, this article seeks to elucidate the precarious subject positions of central female leads in a team/ensemble horror television series in order to assess whether or not and how the portrayal and characterisation thereof has changed over two decades. To do so, this article employs a theoretical framing that examines the question of agency and power by assessing both characters as what I will call “Choraic conduits”. As such, both characters’ relation, manipulation of/by, and mediation of the supernatural as envisaged and presented in their respective diegetic worlds are analysed in themselves and comparatively against one another. Key concerns here are the questions and problems surrounding each character’s agency over her powers and the supernatural/spiritual realm(s) from which they emerge, as well as the psycho-physical and symbolic consequences of not only the possession of their respective powers, but the micro and macroscopic consequences of how they are used in their respective diegetic worlds.

ABSTRACT Background: Epilepsy is a treatable chronic neurological disorder which is often linked to supernatural activities, due to lack of knowledge and awareness among the common people. The beliefs that outbreak of epilepsy as an unnatural or supernatural activities can be most frequently seen in rural population. One cannot say that the perception of urban populace is different from that of rural populace, but yes, they do differ at some extent. Objective: Knowledge, superstition, and myth toward epilepsy in North India. Methods: This is a questionnaire-based study (12 questions) conducted in neurology outpatient department of Banaras Hindu University, visited by more than hundreds of people from different province of northern India. This survey was also conducted in nearby areas of holy city Varanasi. People belonging to different socioeconomic background and educational level were surveyed to know their view regarding epilepsy. Results: In this survey conducted by our team, we came to the truth that urban population do consider epilepsy as an unnatural phenomenon and adopted different treatment tactics as given in this article. Conclusion: There is the urgent need of creating awareness among the common people through different means such as newspaper, television, organizing health camps, and training local health practitioners for epilepsy management.

This essay examines the fascination with bodily conversion that characterizes recent HBO programming. Dramas and comedies like True Blood, Veep, Silicon Valley, and True Detective describe human forms in various states of transformation: into a menagerie of supernatural creatures, polling data, digital information and, even, the landscape of the American South. These transformations anticipate and seek to rationalize the exchange of the programs in which they appear into and out of diverse forms of Time Warner brand equity – even as they rehearse anxieties that the network's famed “quality” diminishes in the face of such exchanges. Female characters bear the brunt of this reflexivity; their forcibly contorted and monetized bodies figure the temporary material form assumed by otherwise liquid equity as it moves within Time Warner and, ultimately, over Internet lines and into the viewer's home. The network's famed misogyny is, in this respect, self-conscious and idiosyncratic, and reveals something essential about the incoherence of HBO's parent company at the moment that the network discovers new pathways for the direct distribution of its product.

Core incidents and motifs in retellings and adaptations of Korean folktales about supernatural foxes, known as Gumihos, have coalesced into a common, readily recognised fox-woman script. Since the end of the 1980s, the fox-woman script has become a focus for cultural conflict. The traditional stories are acknowledged to be part of Korea's intangible cultural heritage, and as such have been retold conservatively to preserve that heritage (especially in picture books) or have undergone major reinterpretation in attempts to reshape that heritage and imbue it with contemporary significance. According to the fox-woman script, the Gumiho is humankind's monstrous other, but a variety of works in film or television drama have challenged the assumptions about alterity and monstrosity. This challenge first emerged when moral awareness was attributed to the Gumiho character, especially in conjunction with the narrative strategy of aligning perspective with her, of transforming her from object to subject, and demonstrating that humanity is evidenced by behaviour and not by race or social privilege. Subsequently, general audience television drama and children's film have explored homologies between a reworked fox-woman script and ethnic otherness, and have transformed the script into a narrative about cultural otherness that advocates an open and other-embracing society.

Nyi Roro Kidul, Nyai Loro Kidul, or Nyai Ratu Kidul is a character of folk legend which has existed all along south coast of Java land: from East Java, to Middle Java and Jogjakarta, then to West Java and Banten. People along the south coast of Java island believe to myth of this legendary character as a beautiful and supernatural woman who has authority of devil realm in Indonesian Ocean (Indian Ocen) or Segoro Kidul (South Sea). The popularity of Nyi Roro Kidul has also become motivation for national film-making and TV media to produce many films and drama about this character. Although there are many similarities about the revelation, among regions, legend and mass culture (film, TV); the representations of Nyi Roro Kidul show differences in theme emphasis. In East Javanese people, Nyi Roro Kidul is emphasized on the intention of people seeking wealth pesugihan (with the helping from devils) by sacrificing human soul for antidote. In Middle Javanese people, Kanjeng Ratu Kidul is representated as the take turn-wife of Sultans from Mataram, Sultan Panembahan Senopati to Sultans of Jogjakarta in the present time. The west Javanese people represents this figure as the princess of Pakuan Pajajaran Kingdom who is betrayed and abused, and throw away herself to jump into South Sea, then she incarnates as a beautiful and undefeated supernatural queen. On film and television, Nyi Roro Kidul is presented as a beautiful, sexy, cruel and sexual adventurer woman.

Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock is currently Professor of English at Central Michigan University, where he has been teaching a variety of courses on American literature and popular culture since 2001. He’s a scholar of the Gothic with a vast academic production, in particular on supernatural fiction, film and television. His research interests span topics related to, among many, monsters, ghosts, vampires, and the female Gothic. He is also an associate editor for the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts and, besides a long list of published essays, he edited three collections of tales by H.P. Lovecraft and has published over 20 books, among which Spectral America: Phantoms and the National Imagination (2004), The Vampire Film: Undead (2012), and The Monster Theory Reader (2020). He was as well the editor of the Cambridge Companion to the American Gothic in 2018.

The Aotearoa New Zealand television anthology, Beyond the Veil, offers stand-alone horror and supernatural shorts from Māori, Sāmoan, Filipino and Chinese New Zealand storytellers. Focusing on the Sāmoan found-footage horror episode ‘26:29’ and drawing from internal government agency documentation, this article suggests that the state-funded series leverages the strengths of short-form storytelling, and the unique textual features of the anthology format, to offer a playful, often pointed counter to dominant (i.e. Pākehā/New Zealand European, Anglo-American) cultural and horror narratives, while creating much-needed opportunities for culturally responsive stories and production practices. These concerns are contextualized within an account of genre-led storytelling and the emergence in recent years of the anthology form as a powerful political site of Indigenous, immigrant and diaspora-led filmmaking practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.

A distinct strand has differentiated itself in television programming in the twenty-first century: television series that feature female protagonists travelling between parallel worlds. The worlds in most of these series are on the edge of destruction through terrorism, war or another traumatic event. The female protagonists, who share the special ability to travel between the worlds, have a unique role to play – they serve as mediators between the universes. Their inbetweenness enables their autonomy and resistance to violence, death, and appropriation. This role is played by Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) in the fantasy/supernatural drama Haven. Audrey’s task is to travel through an interdimensional portal to the town of Haven every twenty-seven years to help as a police officer to protect the inhabitants who are plagued by “the Troubles,” that is, supernatural abilities, which finally threaten them with imminent destruction. The uniqueness of Audrey resides not only in her special status as a traveller between the worlds but also in her identity, which consists of many segments in which different consciousnesses inhabit the same non-ageing body over five hundred years. The essay will analyse the unique temporality of the character, governed by female patterns of travel and her nomadic subjectivity, proposing that her figure links human lifetimes to geological aeons, symbolised by aether, the primary substance of the Void, located between the worlds. That link makes Haven a show of the Anthropocene, the geologic time period defined by humanity’s influence upon the earth. The Anthropocene challenges us to think beyond the usual temporality of a human lifespan, and so does Haven. The imminent destruction as a result of individual egotism leading to the misuse of aether in the show is a trope for the destruction of our planet. Haven uses the figure of Audrey Parker to represent a network of connections and repercussions dispersed over centuries to illustrate how our cumulative actions impact our planet. The show’s anti-linear strategies thus address the environmental concerns of an increasingly unstable environment to propose new ways through which to figure and address imminent threats concerning ecological disaster.

One of the most iconic television series of the 1990s, The X-Files drew on religious and folkloric traditions regarding supernatural phenomena for many of its plotlines. Among the themes that the show’s writers turned to repeatedly was witchcraft, using it as a major plot device in six episodes over the course of the series’ eleven season run. While drawing on longstanding ideas about witchcraft arising from European and European-American culture(s), these writers also had to contend with a social environment in which fears of witchcraft had resurfaced in the form of the Satanic ritual abuse hysteria and where various forms of modern religious witchcraft had arisen, often claiming proprietorship of the concept of the witch itself. How the show’s writers chose to portray this topic and navigate around the social issues it posed offers insight into the nature of beliefs about witchcraft present in American culture, especially at the close of the twentieth century.

This research is motivated by a reality that is concerning and requires attention, namely television shows that contain scenes that are not educational, not entertaining, contain pornographic action and pornography; violence, sadism, mystical and supernatural, unfair and balanced information, not informative, and does not respect the private lives of others. The purpose of this study is to explore how the contents (messages) of the da'wah broadcast program on local television, the impression of the public who witnessed this program and discuss the obstacles and obstacles to the process of producing and broadcasting the Da'wah Musicalization program. The results of this study show that the contents (messages) of Da'wah Musicalization broadcasts are about faith, shari'ah, and morality. The public's impression (image) of the media, sources and messages of the Da'wah Musicalization program is very good and positive. Watching this program can bring changes to the audience's perspectives, attitudes and knowledge of the Islamic religion as well as motivate viewers to improve their behavior in everyday life. So that Musicalization of Da'wah can be an alternative solution and shows worth watching for the community. The inhibiting factors for broadcast production come from human, natural and technical resources. Meanwhile, the obstacle in the field lies in the scheduling of resource persons, which must be different for each broadcast. Furthermore, this method cannot be enjoyed by viewers who are far from the center of Jambi City, such as Kerinci.

The relationship between film and music is a deep and intricate phenomenon that significantly shapes the viewer's experience by blending visuals and audio to create a beautifully captivating ambiance. This synthesis is especially crucial in genres such as drama, supernatural, and fantasy when music serves as a channel to the imaginary worlds depicted on television. The 2016 Japanese fantasy animation film *Kimi no Na wa* (Your Name) demonstrates the connection between well-crafted music and a film's narrative and emotional depth. It showcases character design by Masayoshi Tanaka and a remarkable score by the Japanese rock band RADWIMPS. The tale centers around a schoolgirl hailing from rural Japan and a student residing in Tokyo who inexplicably swap bodies, creating the backdrop for a very emotional story. This research underscores the importance of the soundtrack, namely RADWIMPS's utilization of piano, in evoking emotional and imaginative reactions. The study highlights the intricate influence of music in films, impacting psychological, visual, emotional, and imaginative processes. Music enhances the cinematic experience by setting the mood, intensifying feelings, and providing a captivating background, transporting the viewer to different worlds. This study aims to explore the optimal utilization of music in fantasy and supernatural films to enhance storytelling and engage spectators in response to the growing output of such films. This study employs a qualitative research approach to examine the recurring utilization of piano motifs in the music of *Kimi no Na Wa* and its influence on the cinematic experience. The findings illustrate that particular musical components substantially impact how the audience perceives and emotionally responds, offering vital insights for filmmakers and researchers. This study emphasizes the multifaceted function of music in improving storytelling and its significant influence on viewers' emotional and psychological involvement

Several summers ago, the album Chant, a collection of plainsong performed by the monks of Santo Domingo de Silos, hit the top of the popular music charts, triggering the release and reissue of more chant albums by other groups. These included Greatest Hits—Chant, Mad About the Monks, and Chill to the Chant. In the meantime, the monks of Santo Domingo de Silos have followed up Chant with several other albums (Chant Noel, Chant II, Easter), and there is also a Chant video (see Chant, Visions, and Requiem). Though it may seem that plainchant has only just been discovered in popular culture, it has been heard for many years in film, a medium with strong ties to popular as well as "art" audiences. Some chants have become standard melodies for films, in particular the "Dies irae" from the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead. The "Dies irae" is, in fact, one of the most frequently heard chants in film, used in television theme songs, commercials, and even a Christmas film (It's a Wonderful Life). Death, danger or the supernatural are invariably part of the story or visual situation where it is used.

Philosophers of all times and peoples tried to describe the mystery of magic, each time giving humanity their own images of magical practices, on the one hand, and the attitude to magic from the side of public consciousness, on the other. Turning to the problem of magic even today, in the era of worldview pluralism and the crisis of traditional ideas about the world, turns out to be quite relevant. Magic, which actually originated with humanity itself and passed through centuries and millennia, continues to exist in the consciousness of modern human.Some researchers talk about the onset of a «new magical era» and the formation of a whole subculture of magic followers. Yes, today in the individual and mass consciousness there is a sharp increase in interest in everything mysterious and supernatural: on the pages of newspapers, magazines, and social networks there are many ads from magicians and fortune tellers who promise to fulfill almost any wishes of people for a fee, television channels actively broadcast projects that talk about some magical events and phenomena, and even celebrities in their interviews tell how certain mysterious events happened to them, or how they personally turned to the mystery of magical practices. That is, we can say with confidence that the thinking and behavior of modern man is rightfully considered magical. Therefore, magic is not a relic of the past, but an integral part of the consciousness of a modern people. The aim of the publication is to analyze the influence of magic and magical practices on the consciousness and behavior of modern human. Research methodology. Research methods are comprehensive and based on a philosophical-anthropological and philosophical-cultural analysis of magic as an integral part of human consciousness. Discussion. Magic in the mind of a modern people exists in the form of: something prohibited, anti-social, anti-religious, dangerous and harmful; one’s native achievement of a certain goal or fulfillment of desires; everyday rituals and superstitions, which, although some do not associate the direction with magic, somehow have a strong connection with it.Conclusion. Magic is an integral part of the consciousness of modern human. For some, it is something dangerous, frightening, anti-religious and anti-social, and for some, magic appears to be an excellent means of learning about the surrounding world, a tool for subduing supernatural forces and obtaining certain benefits or fulfilling wishes. One way or another, each of us consciously or subconsciously performs certain magical rituals every day. Magic is so firmly entrenched in human consciousness that some philosophers speak of the onset of a «new magical era», which is associated with the open promotion of magical practices, supernatural forces and phenomena in modern society and the formation of such a phenomenon as a «magical worldview», which will perspective of our further research.

The article substantiates that the current problems related to the translation of texts of various styles from English into Ukrainian, the problem of adequately transferring the content of English titles into Ukrainian, taking into account the characteristics of the target audience, are especially important. The material of the study was the titles of episodes of two modern television series, “Supernatural” and “Bob’s Burgers”, which were analyzed from the point of view of their perception by potential recipients. The main methods of research were: translational and comparative, contextological, elements of quantitative analysis. In the process of analysis, we singled out the following categories to which the links and references present in both projects can be attributed: 1) in-universe (the name of the episode is based on a character, plot, place or situation in the series itself); 2) references to a book, film, TV show or musical composition; 3) references to religious texts, use of fixed expressions, idioms, proverbs, etc.; 4) the use of fixed expressions, idioms, proverbs, etc.; 5) references to everyday, historical, geographical realities and personalities. The results of the analysis show that the translation of headline texts from English into Ukrainian is influenced by the addressee factor. The specifics of the addressability of the studied texts means taking into account the social and psychological characteristics of the intended recipient.

I don't remember the very first time I watched The Wiz (1978). Growing up in a black household during the 1980s, the film was as much a part of my upbringing as the countless hours I spent removing my Jheri curl activator from the sofa, practicing the moonwalk, or listening to my mother and sister's annual Thanksgiving argument about how much salt should go into the collard greens. What I do remember is how much I enjoyed watching The Wiz. Each Thanksgiving Day my six sisters and I would gather around the television set and watch our heroine Dorothy (Diana Ross) travel from her aunt's Harlem apartment to the magical land of Oz. We celebrated the fact that Dorothy ultimately vanquishes her seemingly more powerful foe Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West (Mabel King). As young black girls, we identified with Dorothy's plight. While we were not battling powerful witches, we were constantly resisting our mother's attempts to socialize us into “respectable” young women. As such, we were fascinated by Evillene, the most oppressive force within Dorothy's life. The gargantuan size of Evillene's body, the hideousness of her face, and the force of her supernatural powers both excited and repulsed us. We eagerly anticipated her first appearance in the film, bursting through the doors of her sweatshop belting, “Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News.” We reveled in drawing comparisons between Evillene and our mother, hoping that one day we too could defeat her.

Binge watching culture can be much defined with the growing up craze of streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. As per a study, streaming services have now more subscribers than traditional pay Television services. “Netflix and Chill”; propaganda have more viewers cast nowadays. Netflix is the biggest player of binge watching in the market for streaming shows online. In early days when Netflix just started back in 1997, only licensed content was used to stream but with the due course of time; Netflix came up with its Originals to heat up the binge. Undoubtedly, Netflix is the game changer and biggest king of the industry. Even the biggest competitors of Netflix like Amazon Prime doesn’t even comes approximal in the overall race. What strikes up the mind over here is ‘whether Netflix subscription by its viewers is because of its licensed content or Originals’? To our great astonishment, 7Park Data analytics platform showcases that only 20% of viewing is going around in Originals but a colossal of 80% share of viewers are in licensed content area. Out of which 18% Originals dominant range lies in U.S. With the time encompassment; most in vogue Originals were Stranger Things Season 1, 13 Reasons Why, Orange is the New Black Season 5, etc; In collation to the most popular licensed titles like Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Supernatural, etc. According to a recent study by The Economics Times, India; ever since the launch of Reliance Jio in 2016; top three mobile applications out of 10 downloaded were of video streaming which offers capacious assortment of content upon movies, TV shows and web series. Additionally, main top two apps as of now are Netflix and Tinder due to extended obsession of pop culture of TV Shows, Movies and Online Dating.

BackgroundVideo game playing is a daily activity for many youths that replaces other media forms (eg, television); it serves as an important source of knowledge and can potentially impact their attitudes and behaviors. Researchers are, thus, concerned with the impact of video gaming on youth (eg, for promoting prosocial or antisocial behavior). Studies have also begun to explore players’ experience of gameplay and video game messages about violence, sexism, and racism; however, little is known about the impact of commercial video games in the sharing and shaping of knowledge, and messages about mental illness.ObjectiveThe aim of this review was to identify how mental illness, especially psychosis, is portrayed in commercial video games.MethodsWe performed keyword searches on games made available between January 2016 and June 2017 on Steam (a popular personal computer gaming platform). A total of 789 games were identified and reviewed to assess whether their game content was related to mental illness. At the end of the screening phase, a total of 100 games were retained.ResultsWe used a game elements framework (characters, game environment/atmosphere, goals, etc) to describe and unpack messages about mental health and illness in video games. The majority of the games we reviewed (97%, 97/100) portrayed mental illness in negative, misleading, and problematic ways (associating it with violence, fear, insanity, hopelessness, etc). Furthermore, some games portrayed mental illness as manifestations or consequences of supernatural phenomena or paranormal experiences. Mental illness was associated with mystery, the unpredictable, and as an obscure illness; its treatment was also associated with uncertainties, as game characters with mental illness had to undergo experimental treatment to get better. Unfortunately, little or no hope for recovery was present in the identified video games, where mental illness was often presented as an ongoing struggle and an endless battle with the mind and oneself.ConclusionsThe game elements of the identified commercial video games included mental illness, about which many perpetuated well-known stereotypes and prejudices. We discuss the key findings in relation to current evidence on the impact of media portrayals of mental illness and stigma. Furthermore, we reflect on the ability of serious video games to promote alternative messages about mental illness and clinical practices. Future research is needed to investigate the impact that such messages have on players and to explore the role that video games can play in fostering alternative messages to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness.

Dear madam, Awareness of mental disorders in adolescents is becoming increasingly important in global health and safety concerns, where anxiety disorders play an important role. Mental illnesses, also known as mental health disorders, refer to various mental health conditions that affect mood, thoughts, and behaviour. Examples of mental illnesses include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and addictive behaviours [1]. Early diagnosis is the key to proper management of these conditions. Over 20 million Pakistanis (10% of the country's population) suffer from mental illness [2]. However, the disorders are not investigated due to the reluctance of patients to visit doctors and psychiatrists, which is attached to the social stigma and cultural barriers to mental health in Pakistan, thereby delaying the diagnosis. Like other South Asian societies where mental illnesses are thought to be linked to supernatural and religious phenomena [3], Pakistan’s predominantly conservative and orthodox communities are also dominated by similar beliefs. . A person with emotional symptoms is seen as a sign of weak faith. In traditional societies, mental illnesses are sometimes viewed as a result of social or moral transgression and is thought of as divine punishment, demonic possession, or witchcraft [4] [3]. The mentally ill are also perceived as dangerous, crazy, and incapable of friendship. This belief might also cause more social distancing and contribute to stigmatizing attitudes and stereotyping. When living in a society with these perceptions, the mentally ill often face shame and social exclusion [5]. The social impact of this stigma affects patients and threatens the entire social status of their families [5]. The fact that one's beliefs, religion, and morality are separate from their health must be embedded in society. The best way to spread this idea is through social media, mass media and awareness campaigns. Radio and television should popularize this idea and also educate people about the warning signs and symptoms of mental illnesses, such as lack of concentration to do something and feelings of invalid fear. Awareness campaigns should be targeted at rural areas where both education and medical care lack. Public presentations and discussions should be encouraged and promoted to increase awareness. Healthcare students as well as well as professionals should be enlightened of the importance of this field and encouraged to pursue their education in it. The social stigma associated with mental illnesses must be addressed and considered. ---Continue

A Bíblia é considerada um dos livros mais lidos em toda a história. Além disso, tem sido objeto de análise não apenas de pessoas que creem e aceitam seus escritos, bem como daquelas que a veem pelo viés documental, histórico ou literário. Nesse sentido, são possíveis intenções científicas, históricas, filosóficas, literárias e de outras ordens. Contudo, dentre os diversos campos que já se mostraram interessados por seu conteúdo, o que mais tem chamado a atenção, possivelmente seja o da arte. Uma vez que com a Bíblia, os artistas têm mantido há tempos um diálogo persistente. Assim, pode-se perceber que há uma vasta disseminação de temas bíblicos em diferentes tipos de arte, sobretudo na literatura. Em algumas obras, o conteúdo bíblico é retratado explicitamente. Já em outras, apenas com estudos mais analíticos, pode-se reconhecer interlocuções inesperadas. De tal modo, partindo da concepção de que toda criação artística se configura como releitura de obras anteriores, este estudo visa analisar, sob a ótica comparatista, a representação de Morte, um dos Cavaleiros do Apocalipse, personagem da narrativa seriada ficcional televisiva Supernatural. Por conseguinte, através de pesquisa bibliográfico-documental, fundamentada nos pressupostos teóricos de Foucault (2000) e Todorov (2009), o presente estudo faz uma breve explanação da concepção de representação. Em seguida, uma ambientação e exemplificações das interlocuções que a Bíblia propicia com algumas linguagens artísticas. Por fim, partindo dos textos fontes, Ap. 6: 8 e Ap. 20: 14, efetua-se a análise do Cavaleiro Morte para a observação dos traços pertinentes, bem como os possíveis afastamentos. Logo, frente ao debate proposto, espera-se que esta pesquisa confirme a presença e reversão dessas temáticas nas artes, sobretudo nas narrativas seriadas ficcionais televisivas, bem como as releituras de seus contextos.

The supernatural drama, recognizable for the supernatural (or mind-expanding) element within the plot, has become an established genre within contemporary international cinema as well as television series. The story of a supernatural drama mostly centers on a paranormal occurrence and what occurred to a group of heroes, while various characters are occasionally brought to the forefront. It includes pieces of the puzzle or some issues that are thought to be manifest, presented to the heroes in the form of semantic codes, and resolved throughout the narrative. The supernatural drama presents a rational approach to the supernatural element in the form of television series as well, burying it within the story and disclosing it gradually as the plot progresses. This study aims to have a structural and semiotic analysis of the television series Manifest. This study is based on the assumption that the Manifest television serial creates a reality that each participant in the narrative reflects a transhumanist perspective that never surfaces nor is emphasized in the movie. As a result, it is based on examples of how the Manifest and Transhumanism ties are constructed using different passages from the narrative and other extra-textual aspects.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0046/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

This article explores the implications of the binaries of masculinity and melodrama as they pertain to the television series Supernatural.I examine the significance of Dean's beloved Impala as a negotiator of both the masculine and the overtly emotional. The Impala directly provides Dean with both physical and emotional support throughout the series, while it does not directly interact with Sam. As Supernatural moves through its fourth season, the dramatic uses of the Impala are shifting, signifying and providing insight into a distinctive change in the relationship between Dean and Sam, where emotion cannot yet be overtly expressed.

This essay considers the use of folklore in the television series Supernatural: the show does not simply retell folk narratives, but performs them both diegetically and metatextually in a process known as ostension. In the process of performance, main characters Sam and Dean often research and analyze the stories themselves, and perform portions of the folk narrative in order to bring about a resolution. This essay focuses upon episode 3.05 "Bedtime Stories," which does not simply depict the folk narrative genre of fairy tales, but also directly engages with the discourse surrounding fairy tales in popular culture; in particular, the episode reproduces widespread understandings of fairy tales as a gendered genre. The essay concludes with a discussion of fan fiction that uses fairy tales, seeing it as a transformative response to Supernatural's own transformation of folk narratives.

This article examines fan responses to an episode of the CW television series Supernatural; the episode features a metatext including a number of shout-outs and jokes about fandom. The most controversial of the shout-outs related to "Wincest," a form of slash featuring an incestuous sexual relationship between the two lead characters. Ien Ang's notion of melodramatic identification is revamped for use in relation to contemporary television reception and specifically to interpret negative fan responses to this episode. I argue that the theory of melodramatic identification can be employed not only to understand soap opera viewers but also viewers of many other kinds of television, particularly cult TV with its frequent reliance on serialized melodramatic narratives. I further argue that not only is Supernatural a melodramatic text, but also that text must be viewed as extending beyond the narrative world proper to the multiple narratives or texts comprised by the industrial and cultural context of the show. These together constitute a multilayered melodrama with which the fan identifies and to which she can also contribute through extratextual fan activities. That is, participation in slash and Wincest communities can be viewed as expression of melodramatic identification. This accounts for the strong negative responses of some fans who perceive that the show's producers are exposing and/or mocking them.

In an examination of how fans end their relationships with the objects of their fandom and related fan communities, I use my own experiences with the television series Supernatural (WB/CW, 2005–) to demonstrate how breaking up with a fandom is emotionally and technologically complicated. Becoming an ex-fan is different from antifandom and is worthy of greater investigation in fan studies.

Popular culture and fandom provide a setting where people can reflect on the questions of life. A television show defines for many of its fans what it means to be human. It also discusses the way things are, and the way they should, or could, be in our reality. In this article the author shows that tele­vision shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood and the Vampire Diaries have made the same kind of impact on their fans. The fan writings of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood and the Vampire Diaries show that these popular texts, and the communities they have formed, have greatly affected the lives of fans. People have found on their TV screens stories they can get strength and hope from. The vampire shows deal with the supernatural – vampires, werewolves, and witches – and place them in our contemporary world as if they are a natural part of it. Television vampire stories revolve around topics of death, good and evil, and humanity. These stories have created massive fan communities and even life changing fan experiences. The reflections upon existential questions, and the way the shows have empowered fans, make this phenomenon important to study in the context of today’s religions reality.

Television schedules are rife with Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. The re-launched Doctor Who and its prime-time Saturday night stablemate, Merlin spearhead the rise of contemporary British Telefantasy (Being Human, Misfits et al.). Meanwhile, their American equivalents attract audiences of millions, extensive media attention and, since Peter Dinklage’s Emmy and Golden Globe-winning performance in Game of Thrones, widespread critical acclaim through mainstream industry awards. Histories of “quality” television are awash with examples of American Telefantasy that have left an indelible impression on popular cultural (and even socio-political) imaginaries; Star Trek, The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lost, and Battlestar Galactica all being enduringly popular examples. As American television networks prepare to launch their all-important “Fall” schedules, ushering in a new year of programming, it is evident that Telefantasy will continue to garner its fair share of TV viewers’ attention – whether due to hotly-anticipated debuts (666 Park Avenue, Arrow, The Neighbors, Revolution), finales (Fringe), provocative content (American Horror Story, True Blood, The Walking Dead, or a general capacity to entertain, bewitch or amuse (Community), Falling Skies, Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Supernatural).

This article examines representations of sexuality in the first series of American Horror Story. Though the series presents many supernatural villains and is, on the surface, a typical haunted house story, it often creates its sense of horror through deployment of sexual tropes. The haunted house story itself is traditionally linked to notions of sexuality and class (Bailey, 1999; Ellis, 1989); this paper argues that American Horror Story (2011- ) emphasizes that link and manipulates such notions to explore their place in contemporary American thought and entertainment. Analysis of Kristeva’s and Creed’s linking of Horror to sexuality demonstrates that the series builds its sense of horror on abjection. Ghosts and other supernatural creatures in the series, this article contends, are merely accoutrements to a plot that is steeped in sexual anxieties. Grounded in Foucault’s characterization of sanctioned sexual repression as ‘a sentence to disappear’ and ‘an injunction to silence’ (Foucault, 1978: 4), this discussion of American Horror Story studies the show’s explicit references to, and depictions of, sexual practices that are typically neglected on mainstream television. Finally, this article questions the show’s success in subverting popular opinions about aberrant sexualities.

This article investigates mpreg slash fiction—same-sex relationships featuring male pregnancy—based on the television series Supernatural, looking at issues of gender and genre. It has been argued that slash writing is a highly subversive and resisting activity, appropriating someone else's characters and rewriting the romance script to suit different tastes than those prescribed by patriarchy. Yet fan fic texts are very diverse and it is difficult, if not impossible, to draw any general conclusions from them. The theme of male pregnancy has the potential to produce narratives that challenge our notions of gender, identity, sexual and social practices, as well as parenthood. Although the fan fiction I have analyzed all deals with these notions in various ways, the focus lies elsewhere. The authors of the texts focus more on exploring Sam and Dean as fathers and homemakers, on writing about family life, with all its traditional trappings. When the authors bring pregnancy into the equation, they draw on narrative and social conventions that follow this experience, resulting in conventional stories set in a very unconventional universe.

The rise of supernatural creatures throughout different media in the post-2000 era has resulted in a significant change of audiences’ perceptions of vampires, werewolves and witches (among others). Traditionally used to reflect human fears, lack of morals or instinct-related insufficiencies, these creatures are no longer fear-inducing monsters. Instead, their depiction tends to adopt human qualities to confront the audience with missteps and downfalls of contemporary societies and politics. This paper analyzes the television series The Originals as a supernatural mirror image of American society, where the different communities’ struggles for power and their place in New Orleans becomes a micro-cosmos for the American nation. The setting plays a crucial role in the series, which Gothicizes New Orleans to construct a space in which the characters are shown to operate in a posthuman context. This paper will clarify how the protagonists’ posthuman characteristics and their placement in the subtropical landscape of Louisiana uncovers contemporary societal concerns and brings aspects such as Urban Gothic and tropicality closer to the audiences’ reality. Ultimately, it is in the capital of the subtropical Deep South of America where the hegemonic discourse and practices of discrimination and spatial separation are reflected and challenged.

This article examines incestuous slash fan fiction produced for the CW television series Supernatural. I argue that "Wincest" fan fiction is best understood not as perverse, oppositional resistance to a heterosexual, nonincestuous show, but an expression of readings that are suggested and supported by the text itself. I examine the literary, cultural, and folkloric discourses of incest and queerness invoked by the series, paying special attention to Romanticism, the Gothic, and horror as underliers to those discourses, and how those genres inform both the series and the fan fiction. I discuss a number of Wincest stories in detail, focusing upon how these stories build upon thematic elements within the series. In conclusion, I argue that the most resistive aspect of Wincest fan fiction is that it gives the main characters a lasting happiness that the series eternally defers.

In Showtime’s Yellowjackets (2021-present), ‘magic’ (referred to by the characters as “It”) has an overwhelming presence. Supernatural visions, clairvoyance, and occult iconography are laden throughout each episode. However, the audience is often left uncertain if magic is, in fact, ‘real’ or conjured in the imagination of the show’s characters. Yellowjackets follows a women’s high-school soccer team (named the Yellowjackets) who survive a plane crash deep in the North American wilderness. The show explores the team’s struggle for survival and the present adult lives of those who survived. In this article, we draw from Caroline Bainbridge’s understanding of television as a psychical object to investigate the role of magic in Yellowjackets’ exploration of grief and trauma. We provide a close textual reading and an analysis of online fan discourse to explore the ambiguity of magic and its capacity to generate meaning. We argue that it is precisely through the ambiguity surrounding the ‘realness’ of magic that Yellowjackets can effectively explore grief, trauma, and empathy. Ultimately, we contend that the ambiguity of magic in Yellowjackets helps viewers empathise with the trauma and grief experienced by the characters. The Ambiguity of Magic in Yellowjackets Magic has often been seen by scholars as an effective artistic tool to explore trauma and grief narratives (Bowers). As Maggie Ann Bowers puts it, magic helps create a space where the “unrepresentable can be expressed” (77). Scholarship surrounding the literary genre of magical realism offers a particularly useful exploration of exactly how magic can be an effective avenue to explore such themes (Arva; Abdulla and Abu). Beatrice Chanady defines magical realism as the amalgamation of realist and supernatural/magical elements. In her understanding of this genre, both realism and magic are “equally autonomous and coherent” (18). In a similar vein, Wendy Faris observes that the narratives of magical realism “merge two different realms”, and as a result the reader may “experience some unsettling doubts in the effort to reconcile two contradictory understandings of events” (101). Indeed, it is the merging of these two worlds that allows for the symbolic exploration of trauma narratives. In the case of Yellowjackets, these elements of magical realism certainly come into play. As we will explore throughout this article, the tension between realism and the supernatural is precisely what allows Yellowjackets to “say what cannot be said” (Mrack 3). The idea of magic is a constant presence throughout both seasons of Yellowjackets. However, the realness of this magic is always ambiguous and up for debate. Much like The X-Files (1993-2002), the textual features of Yellowjackets can allow for both ‘sceptic’ and ‘believer’ readings of the show that are not expressly affirmed or denied (Goode). Magic is first hinted at in the opening sequence of the pilot episode when an unnamed character (referred to affectionately by fans as “pit girl”) is chased into a crude spike trap. The sequence is laden with occult imagery—there are mysterious eye symbols carved into the trees and the other girls are wearing ritualistic masks made from animal skin and antlers. As the show progresses, the other characters start to openly speculate about the supernatural magic of the wilderness. One of the central characters, Lottie Mathews, starts having ‘visions’ that seemingly align with the strange occurrences of the forest. As she starts to surrender to the call of the wilderness her magic appears to grow stronger. In the season one finale, “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi” (S1E9), a bear threatens the Yellowjacket’s camp. Lottie steps forward to face the bear armed with only a small knife. Through seemingly accepting the call of the wilderness, the bear lies down and submits to her without a fight. For many of the other characters, this affirms Lottie’s magic powers, and they anoint her the “Antler Queen”. Of course, these instances of ‘magic’ can just as easily be explained as coincidence. Lottie is shown to have an established history of mental illness and magic is never clearly shown—it is just alluded to an entity that has an invisible presence. The uncertain allusion of magic has a divisive effect on the girls in Yellowjackets. The survivors organise themselves into pseudo-factions depending on their belief in the supernatural powers of the wilderness. Characters in the wider group including Shauna, Natalie, Taissa, and Misty are quick to reveal their scepticism toward Lottie and the existence of magic. To begin with, this group tension is relatively minor—the sceptics find the believers silly and dismiss Lottie as simply being “crazy”. However, group tension becomes more significant as it starts to influence the decision-making of the whole group. After another group member, Javi, goes missing, Travis (Javi’s older brother) and Natalie spend hours each day searching for him in the freezing cold. This search is resource-consuming and dangerous because the pair could easily get lost or succumb to frostbite. Natalie quickly realises the search is futile, as it is extremely unlikely that Javi could have survived on his own. In the episode “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” (S2E1) she is on the verge of convincing Travis to give up when Lottie mentions that she had a vision about Javi and is certain that he is alive, inspiring Travis to continue the search. Frustrated, Natalie confronts Lottie: Natalie: What the fuck was that!? Javi is… Look giving him false hope is just going to make things worse.Lottie: There’s no such thing as false hope. There is just hope.Natalie: Did you read that in a fucking fortune cookie?Lottie: What do you want from me Nat? I said what I felt.Natalie: I want you to say less, Lottie, a lot fucking less! As situations like this become more common, relations between the believer and sceptic factions in Yellowjackets become more fractured. It quickly becomes clear that magic and its ambiguity in the show is a divisive source of conflict. The impact that magic has on the characters in Yellowjackets is seemingly mirrored in fan communities—particularly the r/Yellowjackets subreddit. As outlined by Victor Costello and Barbara Moore, online fandoms have the capacity to transform the private act of viewing into a communal activity that significantly enhances one’s emotional involvement with a text (124). Meaningful exchanges in online discussions empowers fans to “organise en masse as resistors and shapers of commercial television narratives” (Costello and Moore 124). On the r/Yellowjackets subreddit debate about ‘magic’ and whether the supernatural is a real force is a central theme, one poll that received over 800 responses asked users whether there were “supernatural/dark powers lurking, or no? Is it just mass hysteria with the perfect storm of events” (Reddit). There was nearly a complete split in the vote, with 401 users agreeing that there is an ancient, evil magic impacting on the characters and 460 indicating that there is no magic in the show. The lack of consensus in the fandom has led to countless disagreements within posts as users enthusiastically debate the legitimacy of magic. As seen in Figure 1, users on the subreddit can select a ‘flair’ (a tag of text that appears under usernames to give additional context to a post or perspective) to denote their allegiance to “Team Rational” or “Team Supernatural”. Users adopt these flairs to place their opinions and arguments into a particular context of thinking. Intense arguments erupt as a result of the ambiguity surrounding magic, with fans speculating using clues from the text. Will Brooker has suggested that debates can be a source of pleasure in fan communities and are what allows them to “thrive” (113). In the case of r/Yellowjackets, the debate about magic is a form of productive conflict that is very much part of the fun of watching the show (Brooker). It encourages fans to sleuth for specific textual evidence that both supports their position and shapes their interpretation of the Yellowjackets narrative (Costello & Moore 124). Forum identity is heavily connected to the implied supernatural elements of Yellowjackets, and this uncertainty results in factional splits much like the groupings displayed on the show itself. Fig. 1: Available Flairs on r/Yellowjackets subreddit (2023). How the users of r/Yellowjackets interrogate and draw their conclusions about the authenticity of magic in Yellowjackets impacts on their perceptions of the show’s paratextual discourse (Gray). As the show is ambiguous in its messaging to do with the supernatural, users have many different wells of meaning to draw from. These include specific characters they trust (like Lottie and Nat), the communication tools of the text (shots, audio, lighting, mise-en-scène, etc.) and the show's creators. Some users trust the legitimacy of Lottie as a true clairvoyant who “consistently has visions of the future” (Reddit). Others rely more on what the audience has been told about the characters, particularly regarding Lottie’s schizophrenia. One user questions whether they are “the only one who didn't really pick up on occult?” and continued that they had read “everything more as Lotti [sic] slipping into whatever mental illness she has and pulling others into her delusions when nothing supernatural is actually happening. More cult than occult” (Reddit). Many fans on the subreddit implicitly trust the writers’ paratextual discussions about the show. Series creators Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson frequently comment on and confirm previously ambiguous elements of the show (Chaney). Actors like Christina Ricci (who plays an older Misty on the show) have also debunked audience theories (Weiss). One user argues they “trust” the writers on questions of ambiguity. Statements like “writers have confirmed” become commonplace in these debates, with users citing writers' comments as to why much of the supernatural is merely a figment of the characters’ imagination. Other posters are sceptical of writer discourses, preferring to trust the texts themselves rather than rely on creators who either may not know the answer or who benefit from ambiguity. Whatever and whoever fans believe influences their perception of the show and who to trust, users look to varied show elements as the locus of meaning and truth regarding magic, and whom they choose to believe changes their perspectives and impacts on their engagement with the show and the characters. ‘Who the fuck is Lottie Mathews?’ Magic, Meaning and Empathy Yellowjackets’ textual exploration of grief and trauma is so often mediated through the idea of magic. As Yellowjackets progresses, the girls find themselves in increasingly hopeless situations. Characters die, freezing weather confines them to a cabin, and their food supply becomes almost completely exhausted. The girls are often forced into impossible situations where they must choose between cannibalism and starvation. These declining conditions are what lead many of the ‘believer’ characters (Van, Mari, and Travis) to their intense faith in Lottie as a human conduit upon which the wilderness has bestowed magic powers. Magic offers some meaning to the brutality and hopelessness of their situation. As things get worse for the girls in season two, ‘sceptic’ characters slowly start to accept the idea of magic. Nat starts receiving blessings from Lottie, Taissa begins attending Lottie’s prayer circle, and Shauna allows prayer during the birth of her child. When faced with dire situations, ‘magic’ offers the characters a way to confront their violent actions and absolve themselves of responsibility for horrible decisions. For example, in the season two episode “It Chooses” (S2E8) the Yellowjackets decide that they must resort to killing and eating one of their teammates in order to survive. The group agrees that, through the magic red queen ritual designed by Lottie, the wilderness will decide who is to be ‘sacrificed’. In this instance, the idea of magic is used by the girls as a psychological tool to distance themselves from the trauma and grief that are inherent to their situation. Throughout Yellowjackets the characters in the present timeline are shown to still suffer from the intense trauma and guilt of their time in the wilderness. For example, Natalie is in and out of rehab programs and Taissa suffers dissociative sleep-walking episodes. Most notable in this regard is the character of adult Lottie. In the opening montage of “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” (S2E1) we see the range of psychological treatments that Lottie has gone through since returning from the wilderness. For the first few episodes of season two, it appears as though adult Lottie has managed to heal and move on from the past. She has set up a ‘commune’ that is seemingly having a positive influence on the lives of new characters like Lisa and (to an extent) former Yellowjackets like Nat and Misty. However, soon after her old Yellowjackets teammates re-enter her life, we see Lottie become increasingly unstable. She is frequently shown to be having intrusive thoughts and violent visions about her time in the wilderness. In this sense, Lottie’s reunification with the other Yellowjackets is a trigger for her repressed grief and trauma. As season two progresses, there are several scenes of Lottie receiving therapy from an unnamed psychiatrist. While these sessions start off relatively innocuous, they gradually become more sinister as Lottie opens up about her time in the wilderness, and finally her feeling of “It” returning: Therapist: Lottie, when does self-repression ever serve us? It could be that this reunion strikes a primal chord with you because in the past when you were with those other women you were free. You were your truest, most authentic self. What is standing in the way of you embracing that again?Lottie: We hurt each other. People died.Therapist: Tell me, is there anything of value in this life that doesn’t come with risk? Or loss? Or consequence?Lottie: Are you saying what I think you’re saying? At this moment the therapist transforms into the antler queen, dressed in a white ceremonial robe that is adorned with bones and symbols of the wilderness and it is revealed that Lottie has been hallucinating the entire session. The scene concludes with the therapist (in the form of the antler queen) telling Lottie: “You tell me, does a hunt that has no violence feed anyone?” From this moment, adult Lottie embraces the magic of the wilderness again. It is the only way she can find meaning in and confront the trauma and grief that she still holds from her time in the wilderness. This ultimately leads to Lottie convincing Shauna, Van, Misty, and Taissa to believe in the supernatural magic of the wilderness again and perform the deadly Red Queen hunting ritual as adults. Giving in to magic allows the characters a chance to escape the trauma and grief and give meaning to their violent actions in the wilderness. In this sense ‘magic’ in Yellowjackets is somewhat of a psychological sleight of hand for characters to artificially separate themselves from their past. Caroline Bainbridge has emphasised how the immersive environments created by a television program allow audiences to work through themes in very personal ways. According to Bainbridge, complex story worlds can be critical tools to help viewers work through complicated issues. In essence, audiences may “internalise drama as an object of the mind but also put it to work in their everyday life” (300). She argues that we should begin to understand how a television show can become a psychical object, available for use in terms of unconscious interrogation of one’s sense of selfhood and one’s immersion in a complex ideological environment. (300) Understanding long-form television as this type of object allows us to recognise a similar potential within Yellowjackets. Leaving magic as an ambiguous feature allows audiences to empathise and engage with the characters’ uncertainty; just as they are left to wonder about the state of reality and magic, so too are the fans on forums. One user explores how the characters’ uncertainty creates discussion and debate within a group of people ‘trapped’ together: what I really like is the way the potential for paranormal is implied in the girls’ situation by these odd coincidences, adding to the group psychosis and shared trauma… they’re scared shitless at the drop of a pin out there, and questioning everything they see (or don’t see), which adds to the anxiety. (Reddit) Much like the characters on the show, the fans have become a group trying to make sense of ‘odd coincidences’ and are ‘questioning’ everything they can see (on the show) and everything they ‘don’t’ see (writer and cast interviews). This ambiguity has led some fans to connect more closely with the character of Lottie, who seems to truly believe her visions are real, with some even “defending” her decisions and perspectives throughout the show (Reddit). Others are also impacted upon by the possibility of magic in the show, but rather react like Shauna and Nat—if there is magic it might not be helpful. One user identifies a kind of meta-experience fans are having thanks to the possibility of magic in the show: when [the writers] were asked if the show believes in the supernatural they kind of paused and started talking about the concept of believing in the supernatural, without saying if it definitely exists within the realm of the show. Which is kind of meta, as we're all discussing whether we believe in the supernatural existing within the show or not. (Reddit) As outlined by Mittell, Andrejevic, and Bainbridge, participation in TV fan communities allows for fundamentally different engagements with a text. In the case of r/Yellowjackets, it “significantly enhances” fans’ emotional involvement with the show (Costello and Moore) and brings new textual experiences to the fore. It is only through fan debate and community participation that fans can experience this ‘meta-narrative’ of magic. In this context, magic in Yellowjackets operates as a tool to connect audiences with the experiences of their characters. The consequences of unknown supernaturality and magical elements cause strife throughout fan communities much like in the community of the cabin in the show. Fans are shown how characters might ostracise, argue, deflect, and rationalise when their reality is questioned, much like the Yellowjackets themselves. Magic, therefore, is effective at encouraging empathy and understanding of perspectives and beliefs in televisual texts. Supernatural horror has often been understood in relation to trauma and grief. According to Becky Millar and Johnny Lee, it is particularly suited to represent these feelings because the disruption of the supernatural “mirror the core experience of disruption that accompanies bereavement” (171). Moreover, magic and the supernatural offer ways in which the experience of grief can “be contained and regulated and in doing so, may offer psychological benefits to the bereaved” (171). In the case of Yellowjackets, such connections are very much amplified by the ‘meta-experience’ facilitated by the show’s fan community. For some, these discussions on magic as reality or fiction are useful to help grieve the perceived loss of quality of the show across season two. Many expressed anger, sadness, dissolution, and disconnection with the show as a whole. Some took this as an opportunity to walk away claiming the “magic” of the show had been lost for them, and that they had “never seen such a dramatic drop in quality in a tv show … I think I’m done” (Reddit). One user turned to wishing for the occult and for magic, citing that “at this point, I'm quite content with this going full supernatural, since it could bring back Laura or Nat which would be impossible otherwise” (Reddit). Magic and supernatural are something that users, much like the characters of the show, have started to wish for as an escape from their experience. In a way, the discussions around the ambiguity of magic offers a sense of control. Sometimes audiences take pleasure in rationalising and making sense of a show for fun. In the case of Yellowjackets, though, we argue that audiences are using the uncertainty of magic to cope with a decline and navigate community and trauma. Some users explain that magic is not real as a way to demonstrate the show is still salvageable, others hope magic is real because that will make it salvageable. Much like the characters in Yellowjackets, some audience members are experiencing and working through a kind of ‘grief’ using the discussion of magic as a space to work through these ideas. References Arva, Eugene. “The Analogical Legacy of Ground Zero: Magical Realism in Post-9/11 Literary and Filmic Trauma Narratives.” The Palgrave Handbook of Magical Realism in the Twenty-First Century. Eds. Richard Perez and Victoria A. Chevalier. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020. Abdula, Shanid, and Md. Abu. “Heavy Silence and Horrible Grief: Reconstructing the Past and Securing the Future through Magical Realism in Joseph Skibell’s A Blessing on the Moon.” Ostrava Journal of English Philosophy 12.1 (2020). Andrejevic, Mark. “Watching Television without Pity: The Productivity of Online Fans.” Television and New Media 9.1 (2008): 24-46. Bainbridge, Caroline. “Television as Osychical Object: Mad Men and the Value of Psychoanalysis for Television Scholarship.” Critical Studies in Television 14.3 (2019): 289-206. Brooker, Will. Using the Force: Creativity, Community and Star Wars Fans. London: Continuum, 2002. Bowers, Maggie Ann. Magic(al) Realism. London: Routledge, 2004. Costello, Victor, and Barbara Moore. “Cultural Outlaws: An Examination of Audience Activity and Online Television Fandom.” Television and New Media 8.2 (2007): 124-143. Chanady, Amaryll Beatrice. Magical Realism and the Fantastic. New York: Garland, 1985. Chaney, Jen. “The Yellowjackets Creators Answer All Our Post-Finale Questions.” Vulture, 16 Jan. 2022. <https://www.vulture.com/article/yellowjackets-season-1-finale-explained-showrunners-interview.html>. Faris, Wendy B. “The Question of the Other: Cultural Critiques of Magical Realism.” Janus Head 5.2 (2002): 101-119. “Friends, Romans, Countrymen.” Yellowjackets. Writ. Ashely Lyle and Bart Nickerson. Dir. Daisy von Scherler Mayer. Showtime, 2023. Gray, Jonathan. Show Sold Separately: Promos, Spoilers and Other Media Paratexts. New York: NYU Press. 2010. Goode, Erich. “Why Was the X-Files So Appealing?” Sceptical Enquirer 4 (2002): 9. “It Chooses.” Yellowjackets. Writ. Sarah Thompson and Liz Phang. Dir. Daisy von Scherler Mayer. Showtime, 2023. Mrak, Anja. "Trauma and Memory in Magical Realism: Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach as Trauma Narrative.” Politics of Memory 3.2 (2013): 1-15. Millar, Becky, and Johnny Lee. “Horror Films and Grief.” Emotion Review 13.3 (2021): 171-182. Mittell, Jason. “Sites of Participation: Wiki Fandom and the Case of Lostpedia.” Transformative Works and Cultures 3.3 (2009): 1-10. “Pilot.” Yellowjackets. Writ. Ashely Lyle and Bart Nickerson. Dir. Karyn Kusama. Showtime, 2021. r/Yellowjackets. Reddit. 30 July 2023 <https://www.reddit.com/r/Yellowjackets/>. “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi.” Yellowjackets. Writ. Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson, and Katherine Kearns. Dir. Eduardo Sanchez. Showtime, 2021. Wiess, Josh. “Season 2 of Showtime’s Yellowjackets Could Sting Again Sooner than Expected with 2022 Return.” SYFY, 18 Jan. 2022. <https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/yellowjackets-season-2-could-premiere-in-2022>.

In this paper, I examine Gillian Flynn’s novel “Sharp Objects,” along with the HBO miniseries adaptation, and how they raise important questions about representations of trauma and portrayals of self harm in entertainment. I argue that the protagonist’s self harm scars act as ghosts, because both scars and hauntings are physical manifestations of psychological trauma, and both are messengers from the past. Historically and socioculturally, women are associated with self violence and the supernatural, both of which are prevalent themes in the “Sharp Objects” novel and television show. This paper also examines the important distinction between read and watched trauma, as well as the validity of these creative interpretations of self harm in terms of psychological research and personal testimonies. Applying psychological theories and horror constructs to the narratives, I assert that Flynn and director Jean-Marc Vallée present self harm as a haunting to exploit the association of scars and ghosts with the uncanny, and to attract readers and viewers with dramatic content. Ultimately, I prompt readers to consider their own reactions to and emotions surrounding self harm, and ask that consumers of entertainment practice empathy when considering self harm.