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The Exorcist, released in 1973, was directed by William Friedkin and produced by William Peter Blatty upon whose book the film was based. ... As Nick Cull states:
[The Exorcist] actively sought to shape [its] time. …The Exorcist was an image of ‘evil against evil’ or such evils as identified by its conservatively-inclined and deeply Catholic creator. [2000:47]
This rhetoric is borne out by the film’s structure, for as Tanya Kryzywinska notes:
The Exorcist makes it very clear to the viewer from the outset that the demon is real. ... [2000:253]
In other words The Exorcist can be interpreted as the triumph and vindication of faith over pragmatism, removing the films “evil” from an inevitably ambiguous social context into the clear-cut, “good versus evil”, context of the supernatural. ... As Lisa McGirr states:
They (the Christian Right) provided utopian narratives that echoed with real-world events, frequently referring to the disorder, crime, depravity, and violence that were and still are a real part of the United States. But rather than seeking solutions to these problems through social change, religious conservatives found solace in a message that decried these evils and told them, in no uncertain terms, that they were not responsible for them if they stood right with Christ. [2001:257]
This quotation could quite easily be used to summarise the whole premise of The Exorcist and is mirrored in Martha Kinder and Beverle Houston’s [187:52] comments on the film when they say, “he [the devil] is presented as the cause of all the social ills catalogued in the film. ... ”
If the devil in the film is seen as the cause of all social ills, then his omnipotent malice shapes these social ills and mirrors again the concerns of the Christian Right. For as Robert G Clause [1993] notes, for the Religious Right “evil” could be surmised as, abortion, crime and pornography. All rear their head in The Exorcist be it overtly or covertly. Abortion was always a contentious issue with the Religious Right and in 1973 became even more so, in the wake of the legalising legislation passed by the Supreme Court in the case of Roe vs. ... The ruling classified abortion as a “possible freedom” rather than a right; thus state funding for abortions was prohibited. ... [1999:55]
Despite this fact it did not stop the Christian Right accelerating the pro-life movement, forming numerous pro-life groups such as The Pro Life Action Committee and Crusade for Life, which was headed by Don Smith whom influenced the national abortion debate.
If abortion was a big issue for the Christian Right, and indeed for the Right in general, then in The Exorcist the theme of abortion, although not prominent, is at least covertly addressed. ... As a result the Christian Right sprung into action forming action groups such as the California League for Enlisting Action Now (CLEAN) led by the future national Christian Right leader Timothy La Haye. ...
If conservatives and the Christian Right seemed overly preoccupied with obscenity, then it can be said that the devil in The Exorcist is equally so. ... Considering that there have been film’s since The Exorcist dealing graphically with such atrocities as the Holocaust, it is hard to see how this can rate as the most disturbing act ever committed to celluloid. Although the scene is disturbing, it would only be described as the “work of the devil” by the most deeply conservative of the Religious Right, its hyperextension of masturbation as sin providing the demonic aspect.
Approximate Word count = 2783
Approximate Pages = 11.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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