Representation of the Devil in the film industry is a popular marketing scheme. Most of the time, the representation of such figureheads is evident in films such as Bedazzled (2000) and Constantine (2005). Consequently, some Devil-like figures embody Evil by possessing an individual in films such as Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Rite (2011). After searching for two Hell-worthy movies in my personal DVD collection, I stumbled upon The Little Shop of Horrors and The Shining. While one could compare and contrast many aspects, this essay will concentrate on the following: differences between each film and the characters chosen to represent the Devil, the personal Hells associated with each individual, the evil influences and their end goals. Lastly, …show more content…
The shift in the dynamic between Plant and Man ( now singing in a duet) displays the acceptance of evil ways. Similar to Milton Lucifer, our individual has accepted the terms of his demise and is making do with the result. The film proceeds to show the popularity of Audrey II: signs in the windows, a lineup at the store, and a radio show interview giving Seymour his wish to become a “somebody.” Our Devil in the making, Mr. Torrence, completes his evil possession when his wife accuses him of hurting their son. The audience can sense Jack’s mind-breaking with the look in his eyes. Knowing this is the last straw, he rapidly walks towards the Golden Ballroom, where his desires await him. As he sits down, Jack says softly, "I'll give anything for one drink, even my goddamn soul.". Once he sips the alcohol, Jack Torrence's Fate is sealed. The barman, Lloyd, is the Devil's advocate in every sense of the word. His purpose during the film is to ensure Jack's character keeps to the sadistic agenda, giving him nudges here and there to keep Jack on the right path. For example, Jack begins to display his true colours when he mentions his wife and son are a type of ball and chain, not giving him the space he needs to complete his work. As on cue, Lloyd replies: "Can't live with them, can't live without them." Giving an agreeable answer to our Devil in the making, hinting at Jack about what comes next. The final moment of acceptance comes to Jack in the bathroom, where he is getting cleaned up by the Butler who spilled drinks on him moments before. Suddenly, he realizes the Butler is the previous caretaker from 1970, Mr. Grady. Jack Torrance: “Mr. Grady, you are the caretaker here. I recognize ya. I saw your picture in the newspaper. You, uh, chopped your wife and daughters up into little bits. And then you blew your brains out.” Delbert Grady: [after a short pause] “That's strange, sir.
A Faustian legend is a story in which a character trades something of great personal value to the devil in order to receive personal gain. Since this type of literature originated in the Fourth Century it has spread throughout the world. Two relatively recent versions of this legend are “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving and “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Vincent Benét. These stories show many similarities as well as a few differences. While both Benét and Irving present similar themes in setting of the tales and motivation in the Faustian character, they do differ in the nature of that character and their visual presentation of the Devil.
It is inevitable that people wish for things that they do not have. The Devil sometimes tries to use this propensity to tempt people to sin and follow him instead of God. The classic idea of a “deal with the devil” has been the premise for many stories since the late sixteenth century. Many of these stories are similar but also have their own twist on the concept. Faust, part I by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, and “The Devil and Homer Simpson” by Greg Daniels and Dan McGrath are all a variation of a Faustian Tale, but they each convey different ideas. These Faustian tales have similarities and differences which convey their own message through portrayal of characters, outcomes and plots, and styles
The Hero and Villain Paradigm in The Shining Kubrick’s film The Shining is a loose adaptation of King’s novel with different implications and themes. When comparing Kubrick’s variations on themes and plot with King’s, the conclusions drawn from both the novel and the film are more meaningful. One of the most important differences is how the hero and villain paradigm is presented and how it influences the source of anxiety in both versions.
The genre of horror when associated to film, it reflects on a vast variety of issues but when examined for the cultural significance it is narrower to what the aim is. This review surveys multiple scholarly sources from different aspects of the purpose of horror films. This literature review justifies that horror is derived from the fear and guilt within our psychological minds. I will argue that the cultural significance of this genre relates back to the emotional appeals that are conjured up when viewing these films.
Everyone remembers the nasty villains that terrorize the happy people in fairy tales. Indeed, many of these fairy tales are defined by their clearly defined good and bad archetypes, using clichéd physical stereotypes. What is noteworthy is that these fairy tales are predominately either old themselves or based on stories of antiquity. Modern stories and epics do not offer these clear definitions; they force the reader to continually redefine the definitions of morality to the hero that is not fully good and the villain that is not so despicable. From Dante’s Inferno, through the winding mental visions in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, spiraling through the labyrinth in Kafka’s The Trial, and culminating in Joyce’s abstract realization of morality in “The Dead,” authors grapple with this development. In the literary progression to the modern world, the increasing abstraction of evil from its classic archetype to a foreign, supernatural entity without bounds or cure is strongly suggestive of the pugnacious assault on individualism in the face of literature’s dualistic, thematically oligopolistic heritage.
Throughout history, we have seen vampires come in every form and shape, which commonly comes through the medium of film or television. The traditional vampire is often ingrained into many Americans heads as a dark and bat-like figure with a lust for blood supplied through his innocent victims and large fangs, yet we constantly see movies that differ from this stereotype. The 1980 movie “The Shining” directed by Stanley Kubrick exemplifies a very modern and mutated image of the vampire in the form of psychosis while the 1931 movie “Dracula” displays the vampire in a more traditional sense, however, both films show the apparent influence of Slavic roots.
In most works of literature there is an “evil” character that has conflicting interests with the protagonist. This issue may arise in multiple forms including, but not limited to, abuse and manipulation. In this paper we will be discussing the similarities and differences between Shakespeare’s character Iago from Othello and J.K. Rowling’s character Voldemort from the Harry Potter series.
Reflecting back on the most iconic figures in the history of horror cinema, characters like Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, and Jason Voorhees still shine brighter than all the rest – even despite their current lack of utilization. In the meantime, an array of other “big bads,” ranging from Ghostface, Jigsaw, and Annabelle, has attempted to climb the proverbial ladder into the (imaginary) horror hall of fame.
Prior to open practice of Satanism, the Roman Catholic church used Satanism as a label for individuals and groups who held views or ideologies that conflicted with those of the church. This was an attempt to delegitimize their opponents and to strengthen the Church’s following. While these accusations were initially harmless and limited to heretics, they became increasingly frequent and extreme. These wild accusations spread to rumors of violent rituals claimed to be performed by Satanists which built up to widespread fear and panic. Ultimately, this would result in events like the Salem Witch Trials where innocent people were put to death due to false suspicion of individuals performing witchcraft and becoming possessed by the Devil. Ironically, while the church merely intended to bolster both its image and following with these accusations, the widespread panic that resulted put Satanism on the map, and “several scholars identify fundamentalist Christianity as one of the major influences shaping and driving the” onset of the Satanist movement (Underwager and Wakefield, 281). This sheds light on the true relationship between the conflicting belief systems of Christianity and Satanism. Although the two are at odds on even the most basic levels, their relationship is largely codependent. Christianity uses the fear surrounding Satanism and the
Wicked, dishonorable, corrupt, villainous, malicious, and vicious all have one thing in common: they define evil. A person or a group of people that display these qualities are often defined as evil beings or creatures. Two people that have many of these characteristics developed within them are Iago from Shakespeare’s Othello and Lucifer from the Bible. Both Iago and Lucifer are developed with many “evil” qualities woven intricately into their character development. The representation of each “evil” characteristic gives them something they have in common, allowing the description and portrayal of both Iago and Lucifer in literature show the audience they share common “evil” characteristics and that they lead to chaos and downfall.
Stories have an opportunity to leave the reader with many different impressions. When you look a different characters within the stories the ones that leave the greatest impressions are the ones that tend to scare us. The figures in Bob Dylar’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have you been?”, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, and Stephen King’s “The Man in the Black Suite” all instill a bit of fear in the reader. They are symbols that represent the devil or devil like attributes in people and the uncertainties of human nature.
Spivack, Charlotte. "The Journey to Hell: Satan, The Shadow, and the Self." Centennial Review 9:4 (1965): 420 - 437.
Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980) initially received quite a bit of negative criticism. The film irritated many Stephen King fans (and King himself) because it differed so greatly from the novel. The Shining also disappointed many filmgoers who expected a conventional slasher film. After all, Kubrick said it would be "the scariest horror movie of all time."1 Kubrick's films, however, never fully conform to their respective genres; they transcend generic expectations. In the same way that 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is not just another outer-space sci-fi flick, The Shining is not a typical horror movie. The monsters in The Shining originate not from dark wooded areas, but from the recesses of the mysterious human mind-in broad daylight, at that. Perhaps Kubrick said The Shining is "the scariest horror movie of all time" not because it offers a bit of suspense, blood, and gore, but because it shines a light on the inherently evil nature of humankind on psychological and sociological levels.
... concentrate on the intervention of god’s plans. His worsening intention further defines Satan’s role as the antagonist. The appearance of a protagonist with the role of antagonism is the ideal blend for a heroic-appearing, villainous character.
Pop music has always been one of my favorite genres of music, it is the genre of music that I listen to on a daily basis, and I often have difficulty finding a pop song that I dislike. I think for the most part everyone has heard the term “sex sells” no matter what the product, people can almost always find a seductive way to sell it. The sexier the image the better the item associated with the image will sell. The music industry is no different, I think because the beats of pop songs are catchy people often put aside the true meaning of the song and continue to sing it anyways. Even though I enjoy listening to pop music, it does not mean that I agree with the subject matter of all of the songs Pop music is not the only genre of music