Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...

Film 89
sad it is! I shall grow old, horrible and dreadful.
But this picture will remain always young. It
will never be older than this particular day of
June....Ifit were only the other way! If it were
I who was to be always young, and the picture
that was to grow old! For that—for that—I
would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in
the whole world I would not give! I would give
my very soul for that!” (168)
Although no demon pops up to demand that
Gray sign a contract in blood, his wish subsequently
comes true. Wilde’s novel was later
adapted to become a film by the same name.
See also Pact with the Devil
For Further Reading:
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Witches
and Witchcraft. New York: Facts on File, 1989.
Oppenheimer, Paul. Evil and the Demonic: A New
Theory of Monstrous Behavior. New York: New
York University Press, 1996.
Russell, Jeffrey Burton. Mephistopheles: The Devil in
the Modern World. Ithaca, NY: Cornell
University Press, 1986.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. In Richard
Aldington, ed., The Portable Oscar Wilde. New
York: Viking, 1946.
Fear No Evil
This 1981 film features apocalyptic battle scenes
developed from visions taken out of the Bible’s
Book of Revelation. Heavenly warriors defend the
earth from evil demons and ghouls who fight to
defend the incarnation of Lucifer embodied in a
screwed-up teenage loner.
Film
Outside of the church, the most influential source
of information about Satan and his minions is
Hollywood. The image of the diabolical in film is
diverse, reflecting an ambiguous attitude toward
matters associated with Satan. In the Western
cultural tradition, the Devil represents much more
than absolute evil. Although Satan and his
minions are often called upon to play traditional
roles as representatives of pure evil—particularly
in horror stories and horror films—our culture
has also invested the Devil with certain attractive
positive traits. For example, because of the
church’s aversion to sexuality, the diabolical
became associated with sex and sensuality. Satan is
also traditionally portrayed as a proud, clever,
creative nonconformist who was willing to question
the status quo—attractive characteristics,
particularly in a work of fiction.
The conflicting images of the demonic we have
inherited from the past become yet more ambiguous
in the contemporary world where only a
minority of the population accept the real existence
of an absolutely evil Prince of Darkness.
Minus a serious belief in Satan and damnation,
infernal images can be used positively to represent
such attractive aspects of life as sex (as reflected in
numerous porn movies; for example, the 1972
“classic,” The Devil in Miss Jones). The diabolical
has also been trivialized, so that images of the
Devil can be deployed to sell hot sauce, for
example, because of the association between hell
and extreme heat.
Another consequence of the eclipse of traditional
religiosity is that the seriousness with which
conservative religious people regard the Devil
often strikes the modern secular sensitivity as
incredible. Partly as a consequence of the clash
between these contrasting sensibilities, the diabolical
has become a rich source of humor. Satan is
both a jokester and an appropriate target of
humor. The humorous Satan has been especially
important for box office films, so much so that the
comedic Devil has become almost as familiar a
character as the horror film Devil. Recent movies
in the former category include South Park (1999)
and Little Nicky (2000).
Other, nonhorror films featuring the diabolical
are more difficult to categorize. One early silent
movie of note was the documentary-style
Scandinavian film Haxan (1922), retitled Witchcraft
through the Ages for the English-speaking
world. The film is probably best known for its
reenactments of infernal folklore, such as witches
performing the so-called “kiss of shame.” Parts of
this work were adapted for use in the concluding
segment of the documentary film on Anton LaVey,
Speak of the Devil. Another infernal theme that
need not be approached as either comedy or