That’s just one element of the show’s inconsistent world-building, which attempts to create a sense of global warfare but sets almost all of the action on a school campus.

Since the witches' greatest present-day enemy also parallels the real-life American military's current foes — terrorists, basically — does it follow that Alder and her troops led the genocidal campaigns against the Native Americans? However, while Alder is condemned within the story — “no witch has more blood on her hands,” as one of the main characters states in the very first episode — it’s an opportunity that sadly goes unexplored. Those character introductions, combined with the U.S.' bloody history — and YA conventions about new recruits at strictly hierarchical and morally flexible training centers — make it natural to initially suspect Alder and the top brass of nefariousness. Entire battles are fought with frog-throated sound waves. The story throughout the first season was one that grappled with the complicated relationship the characters had with the military while also critiquing the corruption of the military-industrial complex itself.

As a show premiering on Freeform TV (which, like many things, is owned by Disney), it makes sense that the creators would want to shy away from an exploration of the implications and consequences of its world beyond the protagonist’s disillusionment of Adler. On the other end of the spectrum, Raelle Collar (Taylor Hickson) is the outcast from a poor part of the country (the “Chippewa Cession,” which implies some sort of Native American governance, although it hasn't been explained yet) who’s skeptical of the military and everything it stands for.

It introduces a world where the oppressive systems of racism, sexism, and homophobia do not exist, or at least not in a way that aggressively hampers the main characters within the universe itself. As a light-hearted Freeform teen drama, the awkwardly titled Motherland: Fort Salem takes itself much too seriously, but as an expansive piece of supernatural alt-history, it falls far short of its ambitions. Added to Watchlist. Those who excel at Fort Salem go on to “War College” for further chances of gaining esteem, while those who perform poorly are destined for deployment in the infantry, becoming colloquial “war meat” for the seemingly endless wars waged around the globe against a terrorist group known as The Spree.

However, because the scale of the story is focused so much on individual characters, relationships, and choices, it doesn’t really leave much room to address the larger questions and themes that specifically and explicitly parallel the existing legacy of American military history, at home and abroad. At a crowded mall, an ominous balloon rises and then bursts, releasing a magic spell that causes the patrons to calmly climb to a … From a focus on the characters and their individual arcs, the end of the season is successful; it’s satisfying to watch the heroines get their moments to shine both in the dramatic sphere and in action, even as the background implications of their role in the military loom ominously in the background. (Also see: Watchmen, Game of Thrones.) The Spree infiltrates the academy before the arrival of the new class, making these squabbles and affairs feel insignificant. Inkoo Kang The witch Sarah Alder, condemned to death for practicing witchcraft as well as for consorting with “savages,” uses her powers to free herself and eventually makes a deal with the colonial governments, and later the fledgling United States, to become the revered general and head of Fort Salem. If the universe of Motherland reflects real life at all, with witches pledging to “win the wars” of the American military, then this implies that witches, allying themselves with colonists, played a role in the eventual active displacement of Indigenous peoples. Motherland: Fort Salem Fails To Examine The Military Industrial Complex It’s Built Upon. 2:58 PM PDT 3/17/2020 Motherland: Fort Salem’s inconsistent world-building attempts to create a sense of global warfare while setting almost all of the action on a school campus. (On a more grounded note, members of feuding families carry on decades-long clashes — a subplot that a less self-serious show could turn into a running joke, or actresses with more chemistry could make actually compelling.) But perhaps the most notable invention is the show's vision of female leadership and dynastic matrilineality. Critic Reviews. That the witches of the North and South battled over slavery? One of the most striking images in Fort Salem — let's dispense with that awkward title — is a redone portrait of Emanuel Leutze's "Washington Crossing the Delaware," with centuries-old general Sarah Alder (Lyne Renée) in George Washington's tricorn hat and place at the front of the boat. Batwoman: Javicia Leslie Has the Perfect Response to Her Costume Reveal, Witches Go to War in the Uneven Drama Motherland: Fort Salem, Motherland: Fort Salem - Alt-History Witches Series Headed to Freeform, Harry Potter: The 5 Best Things About Hogwarts (& 5 Worst), Motherland: Fort Salem: 5 Things We Know So Far (& 5 Things We Hope Are True), Assassin's Creed: What We NEED to See in Netflix's Live-Action Series (and What We DON'T), Apple TV+'s Servant Sets Season 2 Premiere Date With Eerie Teaser, LEGO Heads To 123 Sesame Street With a Massive New Set, The Boys: How Victoria Neuman Evolved From President Bush To AOC, Doom Patrol Season 2 Sets Blu-ray and DVD Release Date, The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror Features the Best Poe Reading EVER, Dune: House Atreides #1 Brings Readers to an Early Vision of Arrakis, Kick-Ass vs. Hit-Girl #1 Puts the Two Vigilantes on a Bloody Collision Course, Dark Nights: Death Metal - Robin King #1 Doubles Down on Bloody Mayhem, Batman: White Knight Presents Harley Quinn #1 Shifts the Spotlight, Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection Reveals a Master's Odds and Ends, King of Eden Vol. The trio’s relationship is less interesting than the sketchy world-building, and it’s hard to get invested in the petty squabbles between Abigail and Raelle or Tally’s swooning over romantic prospects when the Spree is out there constantly committing brutal atrocities (and also seems to have infiltrated Fort Salem itself).

That they invaded Vietnam under the thrall of the domino theory. begins with one superpowered draftee resigned to an early death ("Conscription is slavery," declares one character) and another determined to enlist despite her mother's desperate protests. About Our Ads It’s a powerful moment for the main characters, who once again struggle with the concept that something like this could even be allowed to happen. The titular “Fort Salem” refers to the military academy where young female witches go after they are conscripted. In the ninth episode, our main characters learn that an attack they participated in led to the deaths of innocent citizens, and are horrified when General Alder blatantly lies on the news about the nature of the attack, claiming that the citizens were, instead, executed by terrorists. Rate. 1 Takes an Academic Approach to Monsters, Stephen Amell Reveals COVID-19 Battle - 'Those First Couple of Days Just Sucked', Stranger Things: Punk Rock Character Identified as Levon Thurman-Hawke, The Mandalorian Season 2's New Footage May Explain Boba Fett's Rumored Role, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Season 4: Trailer, Plot, Release Date & News to Know, Swamp Thing Cast Sinks Into the Depths in New Character Posters.

FACEBOOK Terms of Use | At its best, the series is wildly ambitious and gorgeously otherworldly, with flying drug trips, strength-enhancing orgies and brilliantly novel aesthetics, especially in its marriage between military chic and Goth motifs. It doesn't help that the young cast has trouble with the wordy dialogue, especially in the exposition-heavy pilot. 2 Comments. Created by Eliot Laurence (and executive produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay). That they invaded Vietnam under the thrall of the domino theory?

(It's to the show's credit that these airborne ambassadors of the sky quickly take on such a sinister aura.) Women wear authority in an array of styles (even within a military setting), recruits openly gawp at female celebrity generals and young witches are taught their female ancestry. It’s especially disappointing given the literal tapestry of historical material in the show’s opening credits, which imply a much richer setting than the show is able to depict. Despite their disillusionment though, the insinuation is that Alder herself is an anomaly for being power hungry and out of control. Those who excel at Fort Salem go on to “War College” for further chances of gaining esteem, while those who perform poorly are destined for deployment in the infantry, becoming colloquial “war meat” for the seemingly endless wars waged around the globe against a terrorist group known as The Spree. by

Their leader, Sarah Alder (Lyne Renee), cut a deal with the colonial government for witches to become the official protectors of what was not yet the United States. The closest we get to addressing this history in the show though is when the main characters attend a pageant depicting the outcome of the Salem Witch Trials in this universe. If the universe of Motherland reflects real life at all, with witches pledging to “win the wars” of the American military, then this implies that witches, allying themselves with colonists, played a role in the eventual active displacement of Indigenous peoples.

That the witches of the North and South battled over slavery? Because of these intentional and extremely unsubtle drawing of parallels to American history, it feels impossible for me to shrug off the implications of its world building as simple fantasy escapism. Culture doesn't fit in a box. Creator-showrunner: Eliot Laurence Alder forms the link between the ambiguously-present-age of the show and its past history. leans early and heavily into its most familiar, least interesting storyline: the burgeoning friendships between its cadets. The Freeform drama Motherland: Fort Salem opens with a genuinely chilling scene that promises a far creepier show than the creators deliver. The titular “Fort Salem” refers to the military academy where young female witches go after they are conscripted. Not just because of the notable lack of Indigenous characters or presence involved in the story, but because the fault and corruption of the military, as portrayed in the show, is seemingly tied up with Alder herself. Neither do we. Star Trek: Discovery - Who Is Booker, Burnham's New Ally? In real life history, the American Revolutionary War itself was partially a result of colonist frustration at treaties that forbade westward settlement in designated Native American lands (see: the, ) . More than three hundred years old, Alder is kept perpetually youthful due to the “Biddies,” young women who take on Alder’s extra age, becoming old women so that Alder may continue to live and serve the government — a form of magic that according to the creators, was granted to her by “Indigenous Tribal Federations” in exchange for land being ceded back to them. Fort Salem offers a beautiful world to gaze at, but it's hard to get lost inside it. She’s portrayed as just an individual who makes controversial choices out of a sense of duty, and so. But the experience of watching the series and getting invested in its cool dramatics, all while seeing it sandwiched between peppy advertisements for the real life United States Air Force, makes me wonder how subversive Motherland, a show named after a term that itself contains historical connotations of nationalism, can ever really be. It is an interesting concept, but ultimately Motherland bit off much more than it can chew with regards to the themes it brings up.

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