The Secret Circle: review

Well, it was about what I was expecting: derivative, not very well-written, and obviously designed to appeal to teenage viewers. But that's okay: it's been over a year since the premature cancellation of Eastwick with no new shows about witches in all that time, so we'll take whatever we can get, right?

I felt like I had already seen a fair amount of the episode, having watched the seven minute trailer which featured the beginning and a few major plot points. Cassie, the beautiful blonde teen who is our heroine (actress Brittany Robertson bears a striking resemblance to Michelle Williams), is the new kid on the block and in school (sounds like The Craft, right?) in a charming coastal town in Washington state. She is immediately recognized and set upon, albeit slyly, by a handful of attractive students who react her variously with kindness, disdain and infatuation (sounds like The Craft, right?). We learn prior to her arrival that Cassie's mother has been killed (sounds like The Craft, right?), burned to death in her home, by someone who ives in Chance Harbor and who obviously has his eye on Cassie, too. Cassie's father is also dead, and she has gone to live with her grandmother in the house her mother grew up in. This theme of "absent parents" is common in stories where a young person is involved in dangerous and occult goings on.

Cassie is invited by one of her classmates to a deserted house, where a group of students inform Cassie that she is a witch, just like they are. That their powers date back to the 1600s, linked through their family line (Sounds like Charmed, right?). One girl in the coven of witches (Diana, like the mood goddess, get it?) likes Cassie, and her boyfriend Adam likes Cassie, too, maybe a bit too much--we know this because the forest lights up with colors and sparkles right before they almost kiss, which is bad because of course he has a girlfriend. Oh noes! Teen hormonal angst! Another girl, Faye (Phoebe Tonkin, an Australian actress who is kinda awesome) seems to dislike Cassie either because she's jealous, or just plain mean to everyone (kinda like Nancy in The Craft). But then, her name is Faye, like Morgan le Fay, get it?

The man who burned Cassie's mother's house shows up suddenly, expresses his sympathies to Cassie and looks at her in a creepy way. Cassie finds an old, magical book (sounds like Charmed, right?) and learns that it dates way, way back to the olden days, when the ancestors of this group of witches first came to Chance Harbor.

The mean girl Faye makes it rain! Then Cassie makes it stop raining! They all stand around in skimpy wet clothing! They're witches!

As other reviewers have pointed out, the show is nothing special but since it airs immediately after the wildly popular The Vampire Diaries, it should do all right. I will probably keep watching just to see where they take it.

THE SECRET CIRCLE premieres tonight!

This new show about young witches premieres tonight at 9 pm EST on the CW network. The Secret Circle is the story of a young woman named Cassie (Brittany Robertson) whose mother dies in a mysterious house fire, prompting Cassie to move back to her mother's small hometown, Chance Harbor. There she meets some new friends who inform her they are witches, and that Cassie is, too.

Yes, it's all VERY reminiscent of the 1996 film The Craft. Robin Tunney's character Sarah has also lost her mother, moved to a new town and met friends who helped her understand her "powers." Cassie is "the sixth" just as Sarah was "the fourth." Oh, and just like in the WB television show Charmed (which is, of course, also loosely based on The Craft), there's an old book! And the tradition of witchcraft in Chance Harbor goes back to the olden days. Oh, and if you're not familiar with the British series Hex, that one also features a young blonde college student named Cassie who discovers she is a witch. Yes, The Secret Circle would appear to be derivative of a number of things we've seen before.

So what's new about this one? Well, there are also male witches in this group, which makes for some sexy possibilities. Instead of men being merely clueless outsiders or vengeful enemies, they're in cahoots: in The Secret Circle, witchcraft is not just for the ladies (as it was in Eastwick, the short-lived ABC series very loosely based upon the novel (and to a lesser extent the film) The Witches of Eastwick, and which I rather enjoyed for its sly humor and nod to Desperate Housewives. Of course, like Eastwick, The Secret Circle is also set in a sweet little coastal town.

Check out this video preview for a taste of what's in store. I'll be tuning in tonight, so watch for my review later! I don't have particularly high hopes for this series, but it will be interesting to see if the producers and writers decide to lift details from modern Wicca practice (as The Craft did), and how much the depiction of magic will depend upon over-the-top special effects.

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky didn't know, when they started filming the documentary Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, that after they'd finished editing and submitted the film to festivals, that the story of Damien, Jason and Jessie would, after eighteen long years, suddenly take a dramatic turn. Purgatory is that place where people are stuck, suspended, between this world and the next, and given the biblical allusions in the titles of the first two films about the West Memphis Three, Paradise Lost and Revelations, this seemed like an appropriate if pessimistic title.

After the film had already been accepted to at least two very high profile film festivals, in Toronto (where the film aired this past weekend) and New York, the three young men were unexpectedly released from prison, in a strange and, some say, insultingly-unfair deal that made admitting their guilt a condition of their release, thereby protecting the state of Arkansas from any legal action.

Now, a re-edited version is being prepared for premiere at the New York Film Festival in October, as well as for limited theatrical release later this fall (so that it may qualify for Oscar consideration). HBO, who has produced and shown all three documentaries on television, will also be showing the film beginning in January 2012.

As I have said before, it is impossible to overstate how much impact these filmmakers have had on this case and on the fate of the three wrongly-imprisoned young man. Without the increased awareness that Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills created, without their thorough and thought-provoking coverage of this story over the last eighteen years, it is extremely doubtful this happy but bittersweet ending would have occurred.

And the story is not over, so it is very likely that Joe and Bruce will continue to help document it, until justice is done for the three young boys were brutally killed in 1993.

The West Memphis Three: Now What?

In the wake of sad jubilation, of righteous anger at justice deferred, of wild speculation about true guilt and feature films and celebrity activism and monetary reparations, I imagine that Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. have little else on their minds beyond holding their loved ones close, eating a decent meal and sleeping in a comfortable bed.

What will tomorrow, and next week, and next year, bring for the West Memphis Three? And for those who have followed the case for so long, the journalists (certainly Devil's Knot author Mara Leveritt, whose book is the basis for a forthcoming feature film, is to be commended; she kindly allowed me to interview her back in 2002), the lawyers, supporters, the celebrities and musicians, activists who became friends and advocates of the men during their long incarceration?

Well, fellow supporter, I hope you've celebrated this bittersweet victory with a decadent beverage or comestible of your choice. I hope you've reflected on the piss-poor quality of justice in the United States of America, especially for those people can't afford crack legal counsel. Of course, the many lawyers who have worked pro bono on the case for so long are to be thanked and commended, for certainly the men would not be free without their help. Will more criminal defense attorneys be inspired by this victory to donate their services? Let's hope so.

And what of the community members and expert "occult crime" witnesses who condemned these men, believing them capable of these grisly acts of murder fuelled by satan worship? What of the so-called news reporters who, to this day, slaver over the words "satanic cult killing" as if they're introducing a saturday afternoon horror movie marathon on the SyFy Channel? What of Hollywood, and its surprisingly positive impact upon the public awareness of this case? (There is no overestimating the impact of the documentary film Paradise Lost on their case; now a third film entitled Purgatory is in about to open in several high profile film festivals.) What of social network media, our lifelines to what's actually happening in the world, and their transformation of our culture in ways those three young men (nor, indeed, any of us) could have foreseen back in 1993.

And what of the cultural bugaboo that many would rather pretend never happened, but which surely sealed the fate of these three men in 1993: Satanic Panic?

In an impassioned blog post today, Star Foster states that media figures like Geraldo Rivera, Dan Rather, and especially, Oprah Winfrey should apologize for their part in stoking the fires that led to years' worth of ludicrous speculation, rumors and bigotry aimed at anyone involved in spiritual pursuits that didn't conform to Judeo-Christianity. She points to Winfrey's starry-eyed acceptance of the claptrap in the book Michelle Remembers as the basis for at least three episodes of her talk show devoted to the topic. I recall watching one such episode on video wherein Oprah, discussing the murders of a number of people, including an American tourist, by a drug gang in Mexico, in this way: "the only possible explanation is that they were possessed by the devil." To be fair, Rivera did, in 1995, apologize for his part in the media hoopla that helped convict the persons convicted in the Fells Acres Daycare scandal. But he recanted too late to help the West Memphis Three.

Damien Echols' interest in Wicca, his preference for black clothing, his love of heavy metal bands like Metallica, his passing familiarity with Aleister Crowley (whose has a number of poems included in the Norton Anthology of English Poetry), were all held up as evidence of his being satanic cult member who was also a killer. Never mind that there was absolutely no evidence at the crime scene or on any of the victims that could be described as remotely connected to cultic, or indeed even occult, activity.

Of the many questions, challenges and uncertainties remaining for Damien, Jason and Jessie, certainly one that occurs to me is the enormous importance of not forgetting about the horrific superstitious atmosphere that pervaded the community of West Memphis, and by extension, our nation, in the early 1990s. Attitudes about spirituality and religious practice have definitely come a long way, but how can we prevent this from happening again?

I know that these three men will do what they can to clear their names, with the help of the many supporters they have gathered over the years. It is my fervent wish that this case and its legacy serve as a reminder to us all of how easily fear can pervert justice, how easily ignorance can lead to bad decisions, and also how easy it can be to open our minds and hearts, even if it's only a little bit at a time.

Further Reading:

The Arkansas Times has compiled a long list of news articles spanning the case.

THEY. ARE. FREE.

More detailed analysis soon.

But for now: This is the breaking story on CNN.

This day is the finest day I've seen in almost 18 years.

The news of course is still using that word "satanic" to describe these crimes. May justice be done and the actual killer be apprehended as soon as possible.

Rest in peace, Christopher, Stevie and Michael.

Enjoy your new lives, Damien, Jason and Jessie.

Breaking News on The West Memphis Three!

The last time I posted on the West Memphis Three here, a new hearing was in the works. But in a shocking turn of events, it was announced today that a hearing will take place tomorrow in Jonesboro circuit court that could possibly result in the RELEASE of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, Jr. The Arkansas Times news blog states that the court will hear pleas from the defendants in exchange for release, and that these pleas might still allow the defendants to maintain their innocence. Many major news outlets are reporting on this stunning story, and of course we'll be tuned in tomorrow to learn the results.

This is HUGE. Partly because all three defendants are being brought into court together (originally Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Echols were tried separately from Mr. Misskelley). But also because the possibility of release for reduced charges (which seem to be consist of a guilty plea) is an option never before reported in the eighteen year history of this case (which is summarized as well as described in detail here at the original supporters' website founded by Burk Sauls, Kathy Bakken and Grove Pashley).

The case has been big news in the pagan community from the beginning, when rumors in the community of West Memphis, Arkansas painted the 1993 murders of three young boys as some kind of satanic rite. Local high school student Damien Echols, a practicing Wiccan, was implicated, as were his friends Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. The resultant trial and convictions (resulting in life sentences for Baldwin and Misskelley, and a death sentence for Echols) comprised a major portion of an award-winning documentary film shown on HBO and at film festivals in 1996, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. The filmmakers produced a follow-up film in 2000 (Revelations), and are currently working on the third and final film, entitled Purgatory which is premiering at the prestigious Toronto Film festival. I have communicated with Joe Berlinger this evening and he confirmed that he and Bruce will be on hand in Arkansas tomorrow for filming.

It is impossible to convey how important these films have been in raising awareness about this case. Before Paradise Lost came out, Damien Echols was contemplating asking to be put to death because of his horrific treatment in prison. These films have not only told the story of this incredible case, providing content that is stunning and revealing, but have lent hope to the three incarcerated men and brought countless supporters to their cause (including high-profile celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Margaret Cho and many musicians like Eddie Vedder, Steve Earle and the members of Metallica who donated songs to the films' soundtracks).

I've been writing on this case for many years (you can see some of the Witchvox coverage here) and it's been quite demoralizing at times to realize how slow the wheels of justice turn. The suffering of the three innocent young men in prison, as well as the families of the three murdered boys whose killer or killers have not yet been apprehended, has moved many people and inspired many followers and supporters of the case. May all who have yearned for justice for the West Memphis Three, and for Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers, be convinced tomorrow that justice is possible.

UPDATE August 19th: The Arkansas Times blog has breaking updates on this case so this is a good place to check in for news.

Deadline Approaching for Starhawk Film Donations

Just four more days remain for making donations to Starhawk's film project, The Fifth Sacred Thing, based on her novel. The Kickstarter page has many donations but more are needed! The $60,000 goal has been met but since films of this scope will surely need a much larger budget than this (even small indie films typically cost several hundred thousand dollars), more money will come in handy. Even a dollar or two helps.

This could be a very big deal for the pagan community and its representation on film, so be sure to become a part of it!