Film Review of The Crucible :: Essay on The Crucible

Film Review of The Crucible The Crucible: A Film Review Who'd have thought that simple dancing could cause so much chaos in a small town. This is precisely what happens in the film The Crucible (Nicholas Hytner, 1996), which was originally written as a play by Arthur Miller. This story is based on actual events, which helps in showing the accuracy of the events. The story takes place in Salem in 1692, during the Salem witch trials. The story starts when a group of young girls, particularly one named Abigail, are caught dancing around a fire in the woods by the town preacher, Samuel Parris. In an effort to avoid getting in trouble, the girls begin to make accusations against the townspeople, saying that these people are witches who forced them to dance. As the hysteria grows in Salem, people begin to question their own neighbors, simply out of spite and vengeance, among other things. The Crucible is certainly historically accurate in it's portrayal of the townspeople's beliefs and attitudes. It is a film that should be seen to view the way people were in the seventeenth century. Fear was probably the biggest reason for all of the happenings. Fear is what got the girls started on their accusations, as they were afraid to get in trouble. They knew that if they were thought to be conjuring spirits, they would be hung. The townspeople were also afraid, especially of those who were different. They felt that they must be rid of anyone who disagreed with their beliefs. Just look at how the Puritans treated the Indians. They feared the Native Americans because their beliefs were different than their own. Also, the main reason that people were accused in the first place, is because when Tituba was being questioned, they were asking if she saw Sara Good and Sara Osborne with the Devil. Of course she said yes, they were threatening to kill her. Another example of fear in the village, is the fear of accepting your own actions and taking responsibility. The Puritans believed in predestination, and if the girls were dancing just to dance, and not because the Devil took them from their path to God, the townspeople would then have to take the responsibility for that, as it would be thier fault for letting these girls go astray. They were also afraid of change. Change in their beliefs would shut down the entire town, because it was built mainly on their ideology.