Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 22, 1993 TAG: 9305220145
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID BRIGGS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Don't like that voodoo that you do? A display ad for the "7 Voodoo Magic Dolls" claims they offer power "so great . . . it is not to be misused."
Unlucky in love, the charms of both the "Love Wanga No. 302" and the "Breakup Wanga No. 314" dolls are offered for sale. Other problems? There is a "Wanga" doll to meet nearly every need: "Success Wanga No. 301," "Money Wanga No. 303," "Jinx Remover Wanga No. 308" and the "Exorcist Wanga No. 311."
To learn more about the supernatural beliefs of Americans, don't ignore the ads in tabloids lining supermarket check-out stands, say scholars who are exploring areas that have often been considered beneath academic inquiry.
"They [the tabloids] speak for a large number of people," said Elizabeth Bird, a sociologist at the University of Minnesota.
"At the ground level, a lot of people are sort of groping and trying for anything," she said.
Historian Leda Ciraolo, who spoke on "Check-out Stand Charms" at a recent regional meeting of the American Academy of Religion in St. Paul, Minn., studied 162 products promising to alter the purchaser's life through some miraculous means appearing in supermarket tabloids from March to November last year.
What she found was a variety of charms, amulets, beads, pins, dolls and spells promising everything from wealth to weight loss, new love to hex removals.
While the claims are often grandiose, customers are not asked to make a significant investment: The only product surveyed that cost more than $30 was a Triple Power Mojo Bag selling for $100.
But the eclectic natures of the products and the fact advertisers spend up to tens of thousands of dollars pitching them to a national audience indicates a willingness on the part of many Americans to believe in a variety of supernatural means to bring instant success.
Only a third of the ads refer to a specific religious or cultural heritage, and those that did were divided across a variety of traditions ranging from popular "Guardian Angel" pins to "Amazing Aladdin's Magic Lamp," Ciraolo found.
The most frequently occurring claim in the ads is that the product will make the person rich, whether by providing luck in the lottery or less specific means that will enable them to pay off debts, buy a new car and jewelry or acquire a boat.
Providing love and affection is the next most frequent claim made by the advertised products, Ciraolo said. Even this claim is not unrelated to the pursuit of wealth, as some ads assert the product will help the purchaser find a rich husband or to make friends with wealthy men.
Other common claims are that the products will ward off evil, bring the purchasers happiness and give them more power over other people, Ciraolo said. "Common sense" is among the qualities promised by other products.
While consumers often are motivated by "fairy tale" desires, scholars say, the ads offer some lessons for organized religion.
"The more established churches probably are underestimating people's need," Ciraolo said in an interview. "The biggest need is the need to hope, to focus on the future."
But denominational leaders should not fear that the interest in magical talismans and amulets indicates a massive turn to New Age spirituality, said Bird, author of "For Enquiring Minds: A Cultural Study of Supermarket Tabloids."
The tabloid reader in general would view New Age activities as more for trendy, middle-class liberals, Bird said. She said they would feel closer to older elements of folk religion such as astrology, voodoo and witchcraft.
In an age when there are increasing reports of phenomenon such as apparitions of Mary, she said perhaps some traditional churches may be underestimating "the need for hands-on experience" in spirituality through objects and rituals.
The tabloid ads promising wealth by supernatural means also are a sign of the vulnerability many people have to religious claims of quick riches, scholars said.
Among the more obvious examples are products such as the "Lucky U.S. Jesus Dollar Bill" and the "Money Drawing Buddha."
"There's a lot of desire to become rich, to become famous, to become beautiful," Bird said. "People perceive that religion and wealth and money are tied up a lot in American culture."
by CNB