The Witch in the Culture Industry: Once Upon a Time as Postmodern Pastiche of the Fairy Tale Tradition

Abstract

The figure of the witch, despite its historical marginality and demonization, seems to be acquiring a renewed prominence within recent mass culture. In light of this trend, this article approaches the TV series Once Upon a Time (2011-2018) as an example of the ambiguity inherent in the attention which witches are being given lately, a renewed consideration which does not necessarily imply a change in the archetype. This series, an ABC-Disney production, is in itself a highly heterogeneous pastiche of the long-standing tradition of fairy tales, and it thus contains various examples of witches, of whom two will be analysed in detail. Given the postmodern eclecticism of this narrative and its characters, our main argument is that the series illustrates how those marginal characters which are recuperated by the culture industry oscillate between subversion and conformity towards the traditionally vilified archetype of the witch. Therefore, the witch’s revaluation (and the revaluation of divergent forms of femininity) is ultimately dependent upon spectators: in many cases, children and teenagers from whom no predetermined response can be assumed, whether critical or not.