Altered Take on History in "Salem"

Trailers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-ZNnYobp2c  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieEjEhgZwgk

Official Synopsis: http://www.deadline.com/2013/12/tv-trailer-wgn-america-series-salem/

Wikipedia Article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_(TV_series)

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SalemWGNA

Boston.com review: http://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/blog/2014/01/27/wgn-america-tv-show-salem/

Is it possible to create a television series aimed at the younger generation that is both entertaining, and historically accurate? The upcoming TV series, Salem, provides some answer to this question: Perhaps not. There are no definite answers to this question, but, at least in the case of “Salem”, the answer leans towards no.

WGN’s Salem, the upcoming series that is set to premier on April 20^th, is described as a historical fiction drama about the Salem Witch Trials of 1792. This series of events is being recreated with familiar names that appeared in our History class. The twist? The witches just might be a real threat. Taglines include “Witches are among us” and “Witches are real”. Although the show is not yet on air, a great deal of information can be found on the internet, including trailers, articles, and a Twitter page.  The basic premise of the show is that the Salem Witch Trials were fueled by someone, and it is implied it is a true witch, Mary Sibley. Further online research doesn’t yield much more definite information about whether anyone else is a real witch. One of the two trailers depicts a young woman on the dunking chair, screaming while a crowd cheers. A man asks her if she is guilty or not. Dialogue in the background is as follows: 

“There could be nothing worse than a witch hunt.”

“There is something worse. A witch”

 At this point the camera focuses on the girl’s face, while she is underwater. She is looking straight into the camera intensely as the word ‘witch’ is spoken. Another trailer features many clips from the show, with words alternating with video. Some of the words seen in between the video clips include “Sorcery”, “Idolatry, “Sensuality” and “Fear”.  Most of these words do not fit well with what truly happened in Salem. Finally, with a hanging being depicted in the background, two more phrases appear. They are “It wasn’t paranoia” and “It was real.” These two bold statements generalize the witch hysteria of 1792 in a way that brings us back to the very reason that they occurred.  A Twitter account set up relating to the show has hundreds of tweets, all with many hashtags, each providing a bit of history or giving information about the show. Fans are referred to as “heathens”, and everything seems a bit insincere and ignorant of history.

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/36400000/Salem-TV-Series-image-salem-tv-series-36400515-550-297.jpg

The show’s logo.

               An article published on Boston.com deals with many of the issues taken with “Salem”. The article, written by Bryanna Cappadona, published on January 27^th 2014, states “What’s really causing a huge uproar is the creators’ distorted portrayal of the witch trials. Essentially, WGN is exploiting one of the most shameful periods of injustice in American history by depicting it as sexy and dark, like another E.L. James novel.” The article says that the show is exploiting a terrible time for a country. It is using the cruel deaths of others, and making a supernatural show about them, described as dark and sexy.  Although these deaths occurred over 200 years ago, they should still be treated with somberness and respect. Surely the creators of “Salem” don’t truly believe that there were witched involved with the tragic deaths in Salem, and they know it was all based on fear, blame, and religious intolerance. However, not giving the many young girls who died as a result of accused witchcraft their proper respect is nearly as ignorant as it is to blatantly ignore the aforementioned facts. No matter how historically accurate the drama may seem, it is still disrespectful in its suggestion of there being true witches. This suggests that the trials were right in killing the girls, even if that is not said directly. In brief, the show is ignorant and disrespectful of a shameful period in our history.

               This blog post obviously connects to our studies of the Salem Witch Trials. The TV series is about exactly what we studied. It includes familiar names from our reader’s theatre like Tituba, Anne Hale and Cotton Mather. We learned quite a bit about the ways witches were forced to confess, and also why all the blaming happened. Most witches were just strange people blamed as a bit of fun for young girls that got way out of hand. The passing of blame continued, but nothing paranormal truly happened. The outcome was terrible. 19 people were executed.

               Overall, it likely is not possible to create an interesting, historically accurate show that appeals to an audience who wants a thrilling drama. Although history is usually thrilling, it’s hard to make a show that will sell as well as other popular shows that most audiences finding either relatable or interesting. WGN tried, and likely failed.