A Modern Analysis of The Wicker Man

Wicker Man is one of those movies with a reputation. And obviously it cannot account for the context of someone watching it in 2023. I see why it has lingered in the minds of horror fans and become a staple film of the genre. But what surprised me was how it felt like a manifestation of conservative hysteria. As a bisexual person, this hysteria is something I have had to be acutely aware of.

The town fits into the conservative idea that if people let go of Christian orthodoxy, people will become monsters. Now communities being evasive to outsiders to conceal dark secrets is nothing new. It is a staple of the horror genre and by itself can lean any which way socially. But Howe explicitly connects the towns behavior to its lack of Christian belief, and the story seems to support his views.

Interesting, the Castlevania anime series along with its sequel series Nocturne acts as a reverse mirror to this idea. In Castlevania churches and strong Christian belief are indicators of something sinister being afoot. The bishop in the first season of the original anime is a clear example, and while the Judge doesn’t quite fit the Christian mold his church ends up housing the big bad of season 3. Nocturne has had only 1 season so far, but the Abbot clearly fits this pattern. He is initially shown to be against the class revolution because it goes against what he sees as the divine order, and eventually it is revealed he is working with vampires to save his church. Thematically both of these stories make strong Christian belief a central element, but go in completely opposite directions in what that belief indicates.

And even if you take out the towns explicitly villainous behavior, the townspeople act in a way that seems conjured from conservative nightmares. The town clearly embraces sex and sexuality in a way that bothers Howe. Some of these example’s border on the hypersexual, as when Willow tries to seduce Howe even after he makes it clear he is engaged. But even then, this behavior fits with the Conservative imagination of how women will act when they aren’t bound to sex in marriage only. A hallmark of evangelical belief is the idea people who don’t share that belief system will inevitably go down an evil path.

Also the townspeople singing about Willow’s body when Howe first arrives has a misogynistic overtone, but Howe’s discomfort is clearly with the bawdiness of it. Nothing to do with concern for her autonomy. But what made this parallel explicit for me was the school scene, where the kids are instructed using clear terms for genitalia. One of the goals conservatives have been pushing at is banning any form of comprehensive sex education for kids fearing it would corrupt them. And I’m sure most would react similarly to Howe if they ever saw it in person.

Lastly, conservatives tend to have a huge persecution complex and talk about the world as if it is out to get them specifically. And the twist of the town having targeted Howe all along fits in with that paranoia perfectly. When a streamer went on a highly charged rant because of Starfield asking for a character’s pronoun in a character creator, I’m sure he might as well have been lured into a wicker figure and burned alive in his mind.

To be clear I am not calling for Wickerman, those involved in crafting the story, or the author of the original book to be cancelled. It was a different time then, and I don’t know nowhere near enough about their personal politics to say they would agree with current conservative hysteria. But sometimes a story can take on a new meaning decades later and I feel this is one of those times.