Does ‘American Horror Story: Coven’ Have a Problem with Racism?

In the history of America, racism has taken different forms with each progressive generation. Over 150 years have passed since slavery in America was abolished through the 13th amendment. The reality of racism and its promotion is seen in politics, educational institutions, and entertainment media.

Its biases cannot be explained more than how it has been done through the trending American Horror Story Coven. In the story, there is an unending feud between two racist groups – the white witch coven and another group of black voodoo witches, as examined in this article.

Racism is something of the past and it exists no more

The American Horror Story Coven is one of the dramatic horror movies based on books popular in the current entertainment industry. In the story, there is a strenuous relationship between the white and the black witches.

The black witches are actively practicing voodoo in a time of slavery where black slaves go through torture and some get murdered. The voodoo witches make the slaves immortal and bring others back to life. The black woman Gabourey Sidibe plays the role of Queenie in the coven as the Human voodoo doll.

Sidibe shares blood with the two controversial groups of witches – the Salem group and the voodoo tribe. Coven uses the theory of colorblind racism to portray racism as something that is no longer existent and something that is already overtaken by time but a closer examination of the story reveals a different theory.

The law may protect people against stigmatization and various forms of discrimination, but it might not protect them from some of the subtle forms of biases like perception against certain groups of people. If you want to successfully deal with all forms of discrimination through writing, you must first understand its cause and effects. The free samples about causes and effects of discrimination essay examples on EduZaurus have information to read about. You might discover a topic of your interest and read it to help you create more essays on this topic.

Whiteness and black feminism – the greatest racism bias

In pre 19th century, the witch was presented as the bad character who caused divisions, bad omen, and one who only deserved death as recompense for their immoral character. Feminism and witches had a common ground where almost all witches were women.

In the post 19th century, the witch is still a woman in a greater sense, but she is empowered and presents the image of modernity. She is not oppressive, harmless, and only wears a Halloween costume. This is the type of witch Hollywood presents.

In the American Horror Story: Coven, the black witches are women and they are helping slaves owned by immortal white masters. The black females are depicted as strong black women in a bid to counter the traditional depiction of her as a weak, unrepresented woman.

In reality, this is not a true representation but it’s only a compliment. The white witches in the horror story are represented as supreme over the black witches. By the end of the day, the white witches have greater power and Cordelia Goode is crowned the supreme witch taking over from another white witch Fiona Goode.

In the American Horror Story Coven, there is no comparison between whiteness and black feminism because they are portrayed as equals, but the characters tell a different story. This is the greatest racism bias that can ever be portrayed in horror drama.

Discrimination in society takes different forms depending on the place a person is and the circumstances surrounding them. Someone might be discriminated against by others based on sex, race, gender, faith, politics, culture, or language.

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A double-sided racism notion

In the fight against racism, the stakeholders must fight the vice from its roots and uproot the entire vice. The coven’s narrative is on one side anti-racism but on the other side, it’s supportive.

The black characters in the horror story undergo violence under the white characters and their sexuality is likened to animals. The back women are seen as aggressive and queenie boldly initiates sex in a bid to gain favor from the beast in the coven.

In the story, a black character guides the superior white character to help them achieve their goals. There is the use of anti-racist dialogue in some parts of the story, while in other’s the story is different. The story seems to take double sides where on the side it condemns racism and on the other, it supports it.

The battle between Marie Laveau, a voodoo queen who doubles up as a hairstylist, and Jessica over who takes witchcraft birthright makes the horror drama sparkle but queenie is a powerful woman too in the world of magic, yet the stereotype about her reveals no sparkle at all. She still has to beg for more power and that’s how she comes to think her sexuality will help. In other words, her magical powers are not vested in her personality but in her sexuality.

Conclusion

The American horror story covet teaches many lessons about evil and the reasons why some people choose evil. On one hand, the story promotes unity, anti-racism, and love between the people of color and the white. On the other hand, the story relies on racism, promotes hatred and white supremacy even in the dark world of witches. The horror drama would have impacted its audience better if it had not portrayed a racial bias when dealing with voodoo witches, black feminism, and sexuality.

Author Bio:

Ashley Boyd works for a writing agency where is one of the top essay and thesis writers and is the go-to writer for many students from ivy league colleges. He’s equally good at doing homework and term papers, both for school and college students. His days off are spent watching NBA games, reading sci-fi novels and solving puzzles and crosswords.