Paganism Projected

Contemporary Paganism is often depicted in film, but rarely in ways that are accurate or in which participants would recognize themselves. This chapter begins with an overview of contemporary Paganism and its emphasis on personal insight as legitimate spiritual knowledge. Next, it investigates ways in which Paganism has been represented in Anglophone cinema, either as a harmful foil to Christianity, such as in the Folk Horror genre, or in forms more recognizable to practitioners, such as films invoking insider motifs from Wicca and feminist Witchcraft. Exploring Paganism in film requires engaging with cultural conflicts around Christianity, secularization, and contested readings of morality, sexuality, and feminism.