Abstract
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018–2020) — the recent Netflix reboot of the well-known ABC’s sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996–2003) — grabbed the audience’s attention with a distinctly vintage look and much darker aesthetic compared to its 1990s predecessor. The eternal autumn vibe sets the mood for the show and effectively ties CAoS to the vintage phenomenon in the broader cultural context. This notion guides a combination of comparative visual analysis and semiotic reading to demonstrate that the aesthetic in CAoS works as a tool in supporting historic and modern witch character narratives through evocative contextualization of its use and meaning.
The first part of this chapter focuses on exploring “vintage” as a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon inextricably linked to the notion of nostalgia; the second part is devoted to the visual discourse of the show’s fashion and film set. Drawing comparisons with dress history and utilizing the concept of “restorative nostalgia,” this study attempts to define the adaptation of various bygone elements and the role of the fashionable nostalgia discourse in CAoS. The study argues that the deliberate inclusion of various anachronistic elements in the show reflects the recent trend of conscious style recycling within popularized witchcraft. In addition, it highlights the importance of stylistic references and paraphrasing within contemporary culture, as examined in Elizabeth Guffey’s Retro: The Culture of Revival (2006). The influence of historic fashion shaped the vivid kaleidoscope of the characters’ styles. Hence, examining the costumes and film set in CAoS, this study considers how the aesthetic of the Netflix reboot constructs a new media identity within the wider fan community. Furthermore, the Witch aesthetic performs important semiotic work in positioning CAoS within a landscape of contemporary witch texts as a subgenre of teen TV and horror thus attempting to play, perform, and reclaim witch identities.
The first part of this chapter focuses on exploring “vintage” as a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon inextricably linked to the notion of nostalgia; the second part is devoted to the visual discourse of the show’s fashion and film set. Drawing comparisons with dress history and utilizing the concept of “restorative nostalgia,” this study attempts to define the adaptation of various bygone elements and the role of the fashionable nostalgia discourse in CAoS. The study argues that the deliberate inclusion of various anachronistic elements in the show reflects the recent trend of conscious style recycling within popularized witchcraft. In addition, it highlights the importance of stylistic references and paraphrasing within contemporary culture, as examined in Elizabeth Guffey’s Retro: The Culture of Revival (2006). The influence of historic fashion shaped the vivid kaleidoscope of the characters’ styles. Hence, examining the costumes and film set in CAoS, this study considers how the aesthetic of the Netflix reboot constructs a new media identity within the wider fan community. Furthermore, the Witch aesthetic performs important semiotic work in positioning CAoS within a landscape of contemporary witch texts as a subgenre of teen TV and horror thus attempting to play, perform, and reclaim witch identities.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Hell's under new management |
| Editors | Cori Mathis, Stephanie A. Graves, Melissa Tyndall |
| Publisher | Lexington Books |
| Chapter | 15 |
| Pages | 279-294 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781666929782 |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Apr 2023 |
Keywords
- visual analysis,
- Fashion Studies,
- fashion in cinematography
- semiotics.