If ever there were a mistaken
title for a movie, Bell, Book and Candle must rank in the upper tier,
for the spells in the bewitching comedy hinge on a cat and a bowl rather than
bell, book, and candle. Magic can be thought of as the making use of concrete
objects, combined with words, to engage a supernatural sort of causation meant
to manipulate sentient or insentient beings/objects for one’s own purposes. The film, Bell,
Book and Candle (1958), is not only a love story and a comedy, but also
the presentation of a story-world in which witches and warlocks engage in
contending spells for selfish reasons. That story-world in turn can be viewed
as presenting a religion, which can be compared and contrasted with others.
Most crucially as far as religion is concerned, the supernatural element that
is observable in the story-world points to the existence of a realm that lies
beyond the world of our daily lives and thus renders the film’s story-world
different. Put another way, the unique type of causation, which appears only
as coincidence to the characters who are not in on the existences of witches
and warlocks in the story-world, transcends appearance because the “laws” of
the causation operate hidden from view, as if in another realm. I contend that
it is precisely such transcendence not only in terms of belief, but also
praxis, that distinguishes the domain of religion as unique and thus distinct
from other domains, including those of science (e.g., biology, astronomy),
history, and even ethics.
The full essay is at "Bell, Book, and Candle."
