Beauties and the Beasts

We’re talking Charmed season 2, episode 13, “Animal Pragmatism.” It’s Valentine’s Day for the Halliwell sisters: Piper’s torn between Dan and mortal Leo, Prue is jobless and restless, and Phoebe’s classmates turn animals into disastrous dates. We dig into the episode’s wild mix of spells gone wrong, humans-as-animals (and vice versa), Circe’s mythology, and a dash of evolutionary psychology. Note: For some reason, this session’s audio did not like us talking at the same time and would cut in and out (on Lex in particular). Additionally, there were weird moments of interference. Please pardon weird interjections or blip/burp noises.Trigger Warning: Discussion of evolutionary psychology includes a theory of male attraction to females who would be considered underage. Reference to using poison to commit mariticide (murdering one’s husband). Harm against animals is mentioned, especially against rabbits.Learn More:Antigone Journal. (2023, November). Circe, Odysseus, and Hermes. https://antigonejournal.com/2023/11/circe-odysseus-hermes/Bear, L. & Zhuckkahosee, T. (n.d.). Brother Bear: A true Menominee story retold by Louise Bear and Terri Zhuckkahosee. University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Retrieved from https://www.uwosh.edu/coehs/cmagproject/ethnomath/legend/legend8.htmConway, D.J. (1994). Mother, maiden, crone: The myth and reality of the triple goddess. Llewellyn PublicationsEncyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.). Evolutionary psychology. https://www.britannica.com/science/evolutionary-psychologyEverypaw. (n.d.). Mating in rabbits. https://www.everypaw.com/all-things-pet/mating-in-rabbits#:~:text=The%20male%20rabbit%20will%20chase,act%20is%20a%20quick%20process.Korea.net. (2014, July 10). Korean folk tales: The tale of the grateful crane. https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=121092Kurzban, R. (2014, June 12). Flirting. Evolutionary Psychology Blog, University of Pennsylvania. https://web.sas.upenn.edu/kurzbanepblog/2014/06/12/flirting/Llewellyn Worldwide. (n.d.). How to write your own spells. https://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1864?srsltid=AfmBOor4Fx8YHKcJ0NPOmWoCvYYHAglX9cEcAGYLacRk4oGgNIAMpX0zPeople. (n.d.). Joaquin Phoenix, PETA fight for release of Disney ‘Brother Bear’ bears. https://people.com/pets/joaquin-phoenix-peta-fight-for-release-disney-brother-bear-bears/Qitsualik, R. A. (2007, July 5). Shapeshifter: An Inuit tale. ICT News. https://ictnews.org/archive/qitsualik-shapeshifter-an-inuit-tale/Schroeder, Tali M. (2013) "Inuit Myth in the Film “Brother Bear”," Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 1 : Iss. 1 , Article 3. https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/ojur/vol1/iss1/34University of Notre Dame, Medieval Institute. (2021, May 28). From the Medieval Research Blog: Medieval rabbits: Ancient symbolism, English migration, and manuscript marginalia. https://medieval.nd.edu/news-events/news/from-the-medieval-research-blog-medieval-rabbits-ancient-symbolism-english-migration-and-manuscript-marginalia/wikiHow. (n.d.). How to write a spell. https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-SpellWikipedia. (n.d.). Legend of the White Snake. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_White_SnakeWikipedia. (n.d.). Tsuru no Ongaeshi. In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuru_no_Ongaeshi