Before I start i’d like to mention this was initially written as and extra credit assignment for one of my classes, but it has been significantly shortened and rewritten to be far more informal. just thought y’all ought to know.
It’s no secret that the movie The Exorcist is steeped in catholic symbolism. It’s a movie about a young girl, Regan, who gets possessed by a demon, and a priest, Damien, who tries to exorcise the demon. However I never really watched the movie myself in that context so I watched it again and kept notes on the obvious catholic symbolism. Here’s the most interesting stuff I found:
It’s no secret that the movie The Exorcist is steeped in catholic symbolism. It’s a movie about a young girl, Regan, who gets possessed by a demon, and a priest, Damien, who tries to exorcise the demon. However I never really watched the movie myself in that context so I watched it again and kept notes on the obvious catholic symbolism. Here’s the most interesting stuff I found:
I counted no less than 28 unique crosses formed by elements of the sets used in the film. Also I counted 25 inverted crosses as well (yes I am aware that the inverted cross or saint peter’s cross is a symbol of humility before God, but it’s taken on a different meaning). Also major catholic symbols are defiled including a statue of the Virgin Mary (altered to include enlarged breasts and a horn-like phallus, and a crucifix (used by the possessed Regan in bloody masturbation)
Also while watching the film I hit upon a very interesting element that I have not encountered before: the demon wasn't after Regan, it wanted Damien. During the investigation the demon actively taunted Damien specifically. Which, incidentally, leads to possibly the most famous line in the movie: “Your mother sucks cock in Hell!”. Also the demon despite being very uncooperative throughout the film readily possesses Damien when asked to. Damien does this so that when he kills himself and jumps out the window the demon will be exorcised saving Regan. But the real question is what happened to Damien? Well…after we see him fall we see his dying moments, and all though there is a fellow priest there to ask if he as any sins he wishes to confess Damien does not confess. This hints that Damien may not be going to heaven, and the demon succeeded in capturing his soul.
I’m sure just about everyone who has seen The Exorcist has picked up on all this…it’s not exactly subtle, but I figured I’d throw it in anyway.
I’m sure just about everyone who has seen The Exorcist has picked up on all this…it’s not exactly subtle, but I figured I’d throw it in anyway.
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