In this essay I will be talking about symbols and what they mean, some dichotomies, horror themes, my thoughts on the topic and relating it to other films or books of the horror genre I find in The exorcist. I will also be giving an overview of the film
The film was directed by William Friedkin and it is based on the novel The Exorcist from 1971. This film The Exorcist is about a mother who is an actor and her daughter who unfortunately has been possessed by the devil himself. It follows them and how the mother is trying to help her and that after trying everything she gets to priests to do an exorcism on her and she is then rid of the monster.
Dichotomy is when a seemingly harmless thing is portrayed as the opposite. One dichotomy in the film is Regan. Regan is a dichotomy because she is at first seemingly safe
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This is a symbol of purification of water to protect the good from the devil and his minions. We can prove this because at times in the film the priests throw holy water on Regan to try to weaken the devil and cause it harms. Then there is the medallion of the Saint Joseph he was known as two different saints for one he was known as the patron saint of the workers and then later on he was declared by pope Pius IX as the patron saint and protector of the holy church. I feel that being the patron saint and protector of the holy church makes more sense, seeing as it is obtained by Father Merrin. This could possibly mean that Then there is the holy cross. This is used in the scene where we can see a possessed Regan pleasuring herself with a crucifix while uttering the words “fuck Jesus, fuck you” over and over again. This can be a symbol of how much the devil despises god and all things holy by using a holy object to commit and unholy sin while uttering fowl unholy words. He then furthers this when pushing Chris’s head down under her dress and saying “lick me”. This is probably to show how the devil wants to
The Nightmare Before Christmas originated in a poem written by Tim Burton in 1982 that was later published October 13, 1993 as a film with his original hopes of making “The Nightmare Before Christmas” a short film turned out to be a smashing hit out of his many films. Tim Burton's films often show mysterious worlds filled with wonder and horror that bring us to see the world in new ways that we never knew. In this film just like many other of Burton’s films the character is searching to find a new meaning to their life, or even going out of the way to make their life better by filling the empty void by finding a certain something or someone. What begins to puzzle the reader or viewer is when confusion comes up on who the bad guy or monster is in reality.
[Lead in sentence/Hook] “Son of a Trickster,” by Eden Robinson, is the story about the coming of age and rough period of adolescence of a young Aboriginal boy. Through her novel, Robinson is able to convey a message that the Aboriginal people, mainly focusing on the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations, are dark and grating societies of Canada. In order for her readers to understand her perspective of the society, she first demonstrates the selfishness of the societies with the symbolism of raven along with its traits and attributes. Secondly, she uses supernaturalism which shows the mysterious and deceiving society of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations. Lastly, the connection of Jared’s relationships with his peers reveal the negative influences, trends, and issues within the Aboriginal societies. Overall, all these factors contribute the darkness of both reality and the story.
We all remember dressing up for Halloween night as children. Getting together with best friends and competing to see who has the best costume or can collect the most candy. For some, this was the best night of the year. Then there are the children who sit at home and go through the motions of what their parents do. These parents inevitably will carve a generic looking pumpkin and then sit down and hand out candy to kids the remainder of the night. The children that are staying at home with their parents are handing out candy to the kids who are living and enjoying their Halloween. As Mac Hammond in “Halloween” stresses, the children that are out having fun on Halloween are the true
The mood that Saki used in ‘The Interlopers’ was not one that was expected. A strip of forest was fought over by the Gradwitz family and the Znaeym family. Ulrich von Gradwitz grandfather won the famous law suit, which granted him this sought after piece of forest land. This brought three generations of rivalry among the families. Saki uses the significant relationship between Ulrich and Georg to teach the reader an important lesson. Life and human nature can be a funny thing, and Saki shows us that these things are so important for us to learn from. The symbol that ties everything in this story together is the trees in The Forest of Gradwitz.
“One never learns how the witch became wicked, nor whether that was the right choice for her, is it ever the right choice? Does the devil ever struggle to be good again, or if so is he not a devil?” Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West tells the story of the green girl named Elphaba who grew up to become one of the most iconic evil characters in history. While telling her story, Maguire incorporates symbolism and similar senses of style, genre, and theme to give his words deeper meaning and to capture the essence of his characters.
The foundation of horror genre was set by monsters that not only haunted your dreams but also conveyed rich themes found deep beneath the surface. Vampires are considered a symbol of seduction and sophistication while Frankenstein monsters represent misunderstanding, oppression, and rebellion. Some of the strongest symbolism is found in standard films of the horror genre does not come from the frequently updated relics. Utilizing fear and horror as mechanisms for subtext, social commentary, and symbolism, George Romero created a new horror genre, one that scares and shines just as much as great horror classics. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead revolutionized the once stagnant zombie film and made into something unstoppable, still to this day zombie movies rake in millions of ticket sales at the box office while remaining culturally relevant.
For instance the movie "The Exorcist" is a 1973 American Supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin, released in 1973. The film is based on a true story that happened in the late 1940's, in the United States. The story is documented under the pseudonym "Ronald Doe" or "Robbie Mannheim". A 14-year-old boy was the alleged victim of demonic possession, and the events were recorded by the attending priest, Raymond Bishop.
Although the violence in both films is quite obvious as the films progress, both film’s psychological horror is present in the early stages of the films, this form of horror is essential to both films in gaining the audiences attention and developing their own horror. This is portrayed effectively by the use of bland, uninteresting isolated settings. This isolation establishes the tense atmosphere of the films, and the everyday settings of a small village and a block of flats gives a sense of reality to the horror. This creates a relationship between the audience and the setting of the horror, and this is developed to create some effective jolts as both films progress. Characterisation can be used to isolate the audience from the horror, or develop a relationship with it, depending on how the characters are established.
One example of this is when the lady on the train kept yelling “fire!”. She continued to say she saw fire, even though nobody else saw this. Everyone on the train thought she was crazy. This woman was very afraid that she might be burned by the fire she saw. I think that this event could symbolize the fear that everyone had during the Holocaust. Another example of symbolism in this book is all the dead bodies laying around in the end of the book. Towards the end of the book there are lots of bodies lying around that have not been disposed of. I think that this event could symbolise how the people in the camps that were still alive had lost all of their humanity. This can cause the reader to have a feeling of fear when they read the book
In the the novel Fahrenheit 451, multiple different abstract and concrete ideas are represented. Those ideas include the use of the outsiders to represent the old society, the use of the mechanical hound to represent the resistance to change, and the usage of the atomic bomb to symbolize a new reality. However, this specific examples of representation within the novel are highlighted due to the fact that they together compose an allegory.
For those of you who don't know what a ouija board is, it is a “game” that has been produced since the 1890’s that is used to contact the souls of the dead, many people also call them a “tool” or “vessel” of the devil. Using a Ouija board is an act that has become very controversial in today's age, because of all the supernatural stories that are associated with them. The stories tend to cause hysteria, and you can usually find hundreds forums or blogs of people telling their stories and how after their experiences they wouldn't touch one with a flag pole, Some people wouldn't advise being in the same room as one, or even in the same building. These warnings are usually accompanied by outrageous stories of a friend of a friend of a friend who once tried a ouija board and had their life completely ruined by supernatural spirits. Most of the hysteria surrounding ouija boards is a mixture of urban legend, hollywood interpretations, and religious paranoia. And all those put together have influenced us to believe these crazy stories of possessions and brutal assaults by ghostly encounters are in fact true.
In Fahrenheit 451 there are many differences throughout the book, along with similarities. For instance, symbolism means one thing in our society, yet the total opposite in the Fahrenheit 451 dystopian society. Also, attitudes towards books also have the same effect as the symbolism example. Likewise, rules also have many differences in both societies. Believe it or not, aside from all the differences, all these paradigms actually share similarities, surprisingly.
The Masque of the Red Death is a short story written by acclaimed literary author, Edgar Allen Poe. The story is an emphasis on the fact that there is no avoiding death, no matter how hard you try, which is the overall theme. The text tells the story of Prince Prospero whose town is being plagued by the dreaded Red Death. He attempts to avoid the plague by inviting 1,000 of his closest friends, all of which are variably different, to isolate themselves in his palace. Throughout the story, Poe frequently uses symbolism to depict the theme of the Red Death.
Stanley Kubrick’s, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, is a political satire of the Cold War that displays the fear of nuclear devastation after World War II, which created an atmosphere of suspicion, with everyone prepared and waiting for the bomb to drop. Kubrick’s film portrays a worst-case scenario in which humans become the victims to the machines of destruction they have created and depend on for safety. At a time when the whole country was terrified of the Soviet Union, Kubrick’s film portrayed the issue through humor, instead of fear. Through the link of symbolism between a male’s ego and the underlying sexual nature of war, a relationship between Stanley Kubrick’s satirical film and the realities of
Artificial intelligence is an upcoming phenomenon that many people are now just catching on to, and this increase in popularity can be credited to Alex Garland’s 2014 film, Ex Machina. The film revolves around Caleb Smith, a programmer, being invited to CEO Nathan Bateman’s isolated compound to be a part of an experiment involving Nathan’s newest artificial intelligent person, Ava. Throughout the story, we see symbolism, characterization, and religious references. Symbolism and characterization can have many different meanings to many different people around the world. Symbolism can be unbiasedly defined as, the use of something that stands for or suggests something else by reason of relationship, association, convention, or accidental