Is It Ever Really Child’s Play: Hocus Pocus (1993)

Screen Cares

Jennie and Sarah take listeners away into a discussion of magic, innocence and what makes witches scary. In the first of four special Screen Scares episodes made for October, Screen Cares co-hosts explore why the 1993 Halloween film favorite Hocus Pocus reveals deeper truths about how innocence and evil intersect in insidious ways. Listeners are invited to reminisce about their special movie viewing traditions, ask themselves if immortality is a blessing or a curse, and reflect on what scares them and what that says about us as a person and a culture.

Episode Transcript

Screen Shares Rating:

• Buddy Screen- Hocus Pocus is a delightful movie to watch with adults friends while snickering at silly references to yabbos and virginity, but may be a smidge awkward to watch with kids despite the PG rating

Screen Sparks:

1. What if we cherished innocence and welcomed aging?
2. Is love and morality the only reason immortality is a curse? (I’m looking at you vampires)?
3. Why are witches scary?
4. The witches need the book, but the kids think it is devoid of power after their death. To what extent do evil things hold the power of their owner? Can you think of other literary examples of this phenomenon?
5. Is immortality a blessing or a curse?

Bonus Material-Links Referenced during the show:

• 5 Reasons we like being scared- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/thoughts-thinking/201810/5-reasons-we-enjoy-being-scared?amp
• Jennie and Sarah discuss the upcoming 2022 sequel Hocus Pocus 2 being released on Disney+ September 30th. View the Trailer Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idc0EOmKr30
• History of Trick-Or-Treating: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-history-of-trick-or-treating-is-weirder-than-you-thought-79408373/
• Did you know? Although it is unknown precisely where and when the phrase “trick or treat” was coined, the custom had been firmly established in American popular culture by 1951, when trick-or-treating was depicted in the Peanuts comic strip. In 1952, Disney produced a cartoon called “Trick or Treat” featuring Donald Duck and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie. https://www.history.com/news/halloween-trick-or-treating-origins
• Not surprising that David Kirschner would write this oddly mocking to innocence movie. He did a shockingly broad assortment of projects including: Hocus Pocus, Childs Play, all Curious George movies, and American Tale. See his full CV here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0456946/?ref_=tt_ov_wr

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