The film also demonstrates the inherent danger of dogmatic belief systems that, rather than handle any open inquiry with intelligent reason, become hostile and childish. The movie also shows that perhaps children can't always be relied on to tell the truth and can be manipulated into making false statements and are smart enough to lie. If the girls didn't lie about what was really going on, they knew very well they would have been punished severely for their behavior. Not only would blame be shifted from them, but they would also become celebrities. However, the main thing that disturbed me more than anything else about the movie is the injustice of it all and that dispite the passing of three hundred years, things have remained pretty much the same.
Intolerance supported by inverted logic is everywhere.
I recommend the movie very highly. Arthur Miller has written the strongest spell Hollywood has cast in a long while. As a species, we have a lot to learn. He loved the movie and I absolutely detested it. I thought he would hate it too because of the references to witches and stuff, but he liked the movie.