Tyra's appalling portrayal of Wicca and modern witches

Granted, I don't watch much daytime tv, and I regret even having my television on today. Has anyone else watched today's episode about Witches? OH MY GOD I'm actually physically ill, I'm so infuriated with the show's content! I am actually enraged at the disgusting portrayal the show had covered on Wicca.

The better part of the show (around 40 minutes worth) was devoted to showing the absolute WORST, and everything that Wicca IS NOT. If the point of today's episode was to educate the audience, it failed miserably.

There was everything from Satanists to pseudo-goth-wanna-be-evil witches to a woman who claims Solitary Wicca made her suicidal... I mean, WTF?!?!? I nearly shat myself...

Anyway, I'm furious and had to share my two cents. You better believe I've written the show and tore them a new one.

It was, at best, a mockery to the Wiccan community and to the entire spiritual community. It's disguisting that any tv talk show makes it a point to feed into society's ignorance.

If today's episode was meant to educate anyone, it failed miserably. If the people who put today's episode together put in a fiber more effort, they would have realized how poorly constructed and misinformed the content of the show was.

Those of us who practice have a difficult enough time struggling with our families and peers for social acceptance and religious freedom. We need to take these horrid so-called 'informative' programs about Wicca and Witchcraft off the air entirely.

 

I agree that when you see things like that you cringe, but can you honestly say that Wicca is or is not what they showed? I can guarantee that if you were to ask the people in the show if they were Wiccan (or whatever they called it) then their answer would have been "yes".

Even if you don't agree with them, there are many many Pagans out there who exhibit exactly what you don't like or what one might call not representative. However they are there and they feel that they are just as Wiccan as you.

Tyra doesn't know anything about Wicca, and on top of this if they had your typical Wiccan it wouldn't have been good TV. So instead of writing angry letters that will be thrown away (remember all of the Christian protests when "The Last Temptation of Christ" was released?), I would concentrate on being the best Pagan you can be, so that you can show a good example.

 

To a degree, I agree with you, Enlil.

I do believe, though, that Wicca is not what they've shown, at least as far as I'm concerned. And going through the Tyra Show website in response to that episode, I'm glad to see that there are QUITE a few people whom are in agreement.

Much of the show today spent more time focusing on something quite negative, and that seems to be the messege that they've portrayed about witchcraft, which is what drives me bonkers. It's bad enough that most people who aren't familiar with it associate it with satanism, do we really need that idea to be reinforced by having satanists on a show about wicca?

If a show decides to educate their public about any form of spirituality, then have the proper representation for it to talk about it. 'Your typical Wiccan', like the 3 women who spoke at the very beginning of the show, I think did a great job talking about what it actually is, although limited in time to not go into it in detail.

And on the note of 'being the best Pagan you can be', well, for that I agree. I do get defensive, though, when there is such programming in tv or on the radio. I (and others whom are in a similar position than I am) have enough of a struggle explaining our spiritual beliefs to others, and having this sort of programming doesn't help.

 

I can understand your gripe with the show but unfortunatly a bad side exsists in every belief. The nice, fluffy side of any religion doesn't get ratings, the horrible side does.

I just have a quick question. Who would be the figurehead of the Wiccian faith? From what I understand wiccians are conflicted over this.

 

Figurehead, you mean dietywise? or like the equivalent to the Catholic pope?

Dietywise, there are many. And for the latter, there really isn't any.

In Wicca, there's really no such thing as a 'bad side'. There are, mind you, people who mispractice and misrepresent it, which was clearly portrayed on the show. If the show was meant to enlighten their audience about the topic, they did a horrible job, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks so.

And as far as trying to get ratings, I get that it's what's needed in this industry. But to get such ratings by severely misrepresenting a belief system is not only misinformed, but unbearably offensive. If the show meant to be offensive, they've succeeded.

It'd be the equivalent of representing Catholicism by only portraying child-molesting priests and those who kill in the name of God. It's not a fair representation. Granted this wasn't that severe, but nonetheless.

 

I don't know much about wicca, but I give you props for writing to the show. I would have too. Yes, there could be many reasons as to why the show portrayed wicca the way they did, but that's not the point--- A lot of people are watching that show, and people that are undereducated about wicca in the first place, will now have a very biased, negative opinion of the religion...which makes it harder for people like you to be understood and treated equally with the rest.

I agree with you, and again, props for writing the letter. <3

 

Agreed, and thanks.

I think if a show wants to feature the topic of something iffy like religion or politics etc, it's always best to do the show as informative as possible, rather than bashing one side or the other.

 

Don't they do that anyways? Just kidding.

I can understand why you are upset about this whole issue. If someone represented something that I strongly believed in I would also be upset. I think it was a good thing that you mailed the show about how you felt.

Tyra likes to be controversal. I've only seen two episodes of that show. The first one was about cheating husbands or something like that but I'm using the second episode to try and understand were you are coming from.

In this episode she had on members of the Westboro Baptist Church. The big thing about this particular church is that they are open about the belief that "God Hates Fags", "A Good Soldier is a Dead Soldier" and "Thank God for Hating America", at least that's what there signs proclaim.

Anyways, this is starting to become a rant.

Before I end this I just wanted to know if you could give me a rundown on the wiccian belief. I've met many wiccians in my life and the only thing that they agreed on was the god and goddess part.

I'm very interested in what you have to say.

 

It's the "Tornado Hits the Trailer Park News Story" syndrome. Maybe she got her guest list from Jerry Springer.

 

lol, Gaston... maybe!

HungryJoe, there's much to Wicca, and a lot to post in just one thread... If you're interested, there are quite a few great sites to check out and read up on... Here are a few if you want to check them out....

www.witchvox.com​

www.wicca.com​

www.religioustolerance.org/witchcra.htm​

www.wcc.on.ca​

There are many others, but this is a start.... any search engine search will give you a good slew of links... There's tons of info anywhere, but these sites (especially the first two) I think are the best.

 

Thank you very much for the sites. I will definatly look into them.

 

I didn't know about this episode, or I would've watched it. Is it available online to view somewhere? If I'm going to bitch about something, I like to know what I'm bitching about.

 

minkajane, I suppose you can check out the Tyra Show website (I think it's www.tyrashow.com) and see if either it can be watched or read a manuscript or whatnot.... see what you can find.... hope it helps.

 

I checked there and did find some comments (which I'm reading). I'll check the bittorrent sites for a download...

 

tyra has been hexed to gain another 20 pounds

 

Oh my... I am sooooo happy to have seen this. I want to address a few of my opinions first...

Minka - There is no way, even reading the full manuscript, that you could get a complete feel for how offensive this show was. Even the video they showed of a circle was all dark and gloomy - totally trying to portray this belief as something completely other than what it was! We can get together and chat about it Hopefully find a rerun, watch together and have our bitch session!

But to be honest, Im a Christian and I totally LOVED Tyra..... Until that episode! It was absolutely rediculous and so horribly wrong. What I have learned of Tyra since, and why I've spent so much time dwelling on this I dont know, but she is one to look perfect. She wants to be seen as perfect not only physically but otherwise. She makes sure she looks like a morally sound Christian who is into human rights, etc... Example, I am addicted to a show called The Bad Girls Club on the Oxygen network. After swearing off Tyra completely, I tuned into this show and was sickened AGAIN! Its just Tyra herself... Fake Thats all I can say, Fake

And yes, she has the Satanist and "Dark witches" on this show as well, which she spent most the time on. But then, she follows the show up with the girl who says her life was nearly ruined with the Wiccan belief. Who she did not allow to speak much, and deff. didnt focus on was the woman who had been asked to Harvard to speak, etc... The INTELLIGENT lady.

Again, coming from a Christian, this sickened me as well. I absolutely 100% have banned her from my home, and I once loved her. But to be that comepletely biased, and just plain wrong, is unacceptable!

 

Oh, and how bout at the very end when she said something along the lines (In reference, speaking to, the girl who was a die-hard bible thumper)... "Well, I think the majority of America see things your way" Or something along those lines. Oh no bitch, DONT lump America together like this... And DONT lump Christians together like that!

 

wow, man. i'm SOOOOO happy i don't even own an idiot box. :sunglasse

 

yea I hear ya man
It's not all that bad in itself as who cares what some celeb says but sadly people do...creepy brainwashed tv heads are the masses.

peace, God bless

 

I dont think it's so much about caring what Tyra thinks... Its about mass viewing of such biased and misinformed understandings of a peaceful religion