by T. M. Meacham

Created on: January 29, 2007   Last Updated: May 11, 2007

Originally airing on January 29th, Tyra Banks presented a show on the mysterious lives of witches.' Tyra invited a panel of representative witches onto her show. She interviewed witches that classified themselves as white witches, dark witches, and Satanists. Regardless of intent, all of the witch guests professed a belief in the practice of casting spells or directing energy to enforce a positive or negative change in oneself or others. Also interviewed was a young woman who associated witchcraft with her own suicide attempt. She has since become a Christian.

Among the witches, there were solitary practitioners, coven members, and even an entrepreneur, who was given the chance to promote her book about love spells several times during the show.

Although this division of light/dark/Satanist was most likely intended to make the show more cohesive and understandable to the audience, the host failed to show a very open-minded approach to the topic. Had she done a bit more research, Tyra would have learned that many witches practice strictly in the art of balance, and do not consider themselves good or evil. Similarly, the sensationalist preview for the show did little to procure a genuine interest in what really occurs during rituals; rather, it was intended to produce a grotesque, guilty interest from Tyra's audience.

Tyra concluded the show with the witch-turned-Christian guest. While she did speak out against witchcraft, this young woman carried a more pertinent message: the road to finding your own spiritual path isn't meant to be easy. Tyra concluded with an affirmation to this young woman, indicating that she was in agreement with her perspective and that most viewers probably viewed the show's issue from her point of view.

While the promotion for the show was sensationalist and the conclusion seemed a little pushy, the host is of course entitled to her own opinion, and allowed the guests to offer their views and practices as well. Although Tyra could have covered the topic in a more objective manner, she deserves some credit for airing the topic on public television and opening television audience members up to thinking about witchcraft in general.

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