By AMEARA DITSCHE
Staff Writer
Recently, Netflix released a Sabrina the Teenage Witch reboot inspired by the Archie Comics series “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.” The new series has much darker undertones and focuses primarily on Sabrina’s mixed heritage of being a mortal and a witch. Early in the show it is just days before her 16th birthday, or her dark baptism. The dark baptism is the witch tradition in which you fully devote your soul to satan and in return receive full witch powers. The issue here for Sabrina is that doing this requires you to cut ties from the mortal world, something she has no desire to do. She ends up running from her dark baptism, and is prosecuted in with court. She is granted the duality of mortality and being a witch on the condition she also attend The Academy of Unseen Arts, her coven’s witch school. Throughout the series however, there are several differences between the original and the reboot.
Within the first few minutes I was admittedly hesitant about how I would feel about the series. Cheesy dialogue and a protagonist who at first seemed to be the overly quirky “not like other girls” stereotype made me wary of the series quality, but within a few episodes, the series exceeded my expectations.
Religion is a huge theme in the show and if you grew up in an organized religion, especially Catholicism you will see how accurate some of the depiction is. Sabrina’s rejection of her family’s religion is an all too familiar feeling for many teens today, her fierceness to diminish outdated traditions is similar to today’s youth disapproving of the traditionalist conservative views of their own religions, like christianity views on social issues like abortion and LGBT issues. She is torn between what she grew up around and accepts as okay because it’s her family, and what she has learned for herself to be okay. This is only one of the many arcs making the other wise fantastical show relatable for teenagers.
Like most entertainment marketed towards teenagers, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” features a romantic subplot. Sabrina’s mortal boyfriend, Harvey is her strongest tie to the mortal world and one of her biggest motivations for a lot of actions. Later in the series when it is discovered he comes from a family of witch hunters, this only further complicates her life. Not only is he a mortal, but he is the specific type of mortal her other world so viciously despises. This plotline does a great job at symbolizing what it’s like to date someone outside of your family’s category. Whether it be religion, race, or even class.
Often with religions with motifs as complex and lavish as catholicism, it can be difficult for media to depict it accurately. The Chilling adventures of Sabrina does a hauntingly beautiful job of showing witchcraft and what is pretty much satanism, as an inverse of catholicism. They often refer to God as “the false god” and do things in an almost exact opposite to real life catholicism or even just american traditions. Like when they take place in the Fall of Feasts, a warped and —in our eyes— immoral alternative to thanksgiving. Where they sacrifice and eat a member of the coven. The imagery and references create a strong and well researched vibe. Another example being when they performed the witch version exorcism on Jesse Putnam. Sabrina had to call on other witches, several of the names stated drew reference to historical people believed to be witches. Including Anne Boleyn, Queen of England and Tituba, a slave in Salem Massachusetts involved in the infamous witch trials.
All these factors combined with other smaller things like creative cinematography and narration, definitely make the “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” worth your watch. You’ll for sure find yourself hooked into Sabrina’s twisted story, eagerly awaiting what happens next. The show came just in time for Halloween considering its horrific undertones, but can be enjoyed anytime of year.
