The Villain Has Moved from Salem to Georgia
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| Year of publication | 2026 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| Citation | |
| Description | Kimberly Belflower’s 2022 play John Proctor Is the Villain is a modern-day version of the classic The Crucible by Arthur Miller (1956). While the original story is a history play dealing with the 1690s Salem witch hunt in reflection of the topical 1950s Red Scare, Belflower sets her revision into contemporary day’s small town in Georgia. A group of high-school girls take part in a #MeeToo case against several men in the community, unveiling gender power relations and dynamics in an updated context. The presentation will look at the parallels between the plays, as well as question the status of Miller’s classic as a part of US popular culture. Since its first production, the play John Proctor Is the Villain has gained fame and recognition (Best Play nomination for Tony Award in 2025) and has become a token of popular culture in the contemporary US itself (it includes songs by pop icons such as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé; it is currently being adapted for film). So, the more general questions that my talk is going to focus on will be, what makes a play, such as Miller’s The Crucible, iconic? Is it a part of the US popular culture canon? Are the questions it asks about history, US society, and humanity in general still pertinent? |
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