Reflective Encounters

“Many of us have been taught about the lose-lose witch test from history lessons at school - whereby women accused of witchcraft were tied up and thrown into the waters. If they floated, they were witches and burned at the stake, if they did not float, well...

Crafty Witch offers a feminist revenge spin on the story in just one minute. There’s a disparate set of stylistic influences here. Most notable is the silent film stylings, complete with intertitles and period appropriate music. However, the simplicity of the animated characters and backgrounds recall early cartoons made for television in the 50s and 60s. When you add in the 17th century period setting, then Crafty Witch concurrently occupies three different historical periods through its stylistic influences and narrative.

This communicates a sense of historical continuity to its feminist message: the crafty witch’s revenge perhaps expressing the hidden desires of falsely accused women hundreds of years ago to the dissatisfied suburban housewives interviewed by the feminist pioneer Betty Friedan in mid-20th century America.”

— Cathy Brennan