Salem witch trials

• Poor Donald Trump wants us to know he’s the victim of a witch-hunt, too.
• To be fair, maybe the Coalition and Trump are trading on the good reputation of witches.
• But much like polls, political terms tell us something about society and language.

The cynical political power of metaphor

• They are the containers you put ideas in before you hand them over to the world.
• But the pedigree and message of political metaphors can get dark, very fast.
• When Premier Dan Andrews was up in the polls, some political pundits accused Victorians of suffering from “Stockholm syndrome” — a traumatic bonding as might happen between captives and their abusers.
• Metaphors are effective spin doctors when it comes creating political realities and influencing public perceptions, all the more so in the current climate of general scepticism towards experts.

Cappuccinos and witch-hunts

• At a café in tech company WeWork’s headquarters, the “cappuccinos” were called “lattes” because CEO Adam Neumann insisted they were.
• Most importantly, witch-hunts were at the discretion of the powerful and at the expense of the less powerful.
• Witch-hunts left many thousands of victims in their wake – usually the less powerful at the hands of the powerful.
• Read more:
  From 'technicolour yawn' to 'draining the dragon': how Barry Humphries breathed new life into Australian slang

Language, kayfabe and keeping the bastards honest

• More than a few scholars and journalists have drawn parallels between something called “kayfabe” and contemporary politics - especially right-wing politics.
• Kayfabe is a pro-wrestling term referring to “the performance of staged and ‘faked’ events as actual and spontaneous”.
• An even more understated part of kayfabe are the “marks” — they are the ones who don’t know it’s all scripted.
• We love metaphors, but accountability and honest debate disappear in a mist of kayfabe when powerful people use them.

• Originally filmed in 1978, Salem and The Scarlet Letter blends stunning location footage of Salem, including Nathaniel Hawthorne's birthplace, The House of the Seven Gables, and more.
• The film explores Salem's broad history, from the Salem Witch Trials to the inspiration Nathaniel Hawthorne drew from the city to create his famous work, The Scarlet Letter.
• Salem and The Scarlet Letter will premiere on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 6:30 PM ET followed by the 1934 adaptation of The Scarlet Letter.
• Subscribers to The Film Detective app can also watch Salem and The Scarlet Letter anytime.