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WWith each new cycle of mania surpassing the previous, Americans are increasingly deprived of a sense of normalcy and access to a much needed voice of reason, a dose of rationalism serene to cut short to the endless absurd.
Regardless of your religious belief system, you will rightly fear that one can say that both can be found in surplus in Hail Satan, a new revealing documentary that aims to give a surprising amount of clairvoyance to a subject that seems sensationalist on paper.
From the 70s to the 90s, the country was seized by what is called satanic panic, a widely reported phenomenon that has infiltrated all areas, local reports to Oprah, claiming that worshipers the devil had built a vast underground network that had infected everything. daycares at Dungeons and Dragons. Their goal was to rape and murder, usually children, and as panic spread, Satanism became synonymous with the real evil, easily linked to a lot of horrible crimes. There was a small problem: everything was a lie.
"As a filmmaker, you talk about your film with different people. All the people I spoke to were perfectly certain about what Satanism is and all the people I talked to were completely wrong, "Hail Satan? director Penny Lane told the Guardian. His film does not imply that you have to accept or accept Satanism, but rather suggests that you understand them at least.
She focuses primarily on the Satanic Temple, a non-theistic group created in 2013 and based in Salem, Massachusetts. Satanic imagery is used, but it is not supported by any real belief in Satan, a fact often overlooked by the outrage of Fox News that accompanies some of their stunts that attract attention. One of their overriding objectives is to remind institutions and the general public that America is a secular country and that it is contrary to blatant Christian prejudice, which leads them to insist that any attempt to erect statue of the Ten Commandments be accompanied by similar mission to erect a statue of the demon Baphomet. It's a battle that began in Little Rock, Arkansas, and is documented in the film, a perfect crystallization of what the temple seeks: equality.
Yes, it is a waterfall that is shamelessly designed to provoke, shock and, for some, enrage but like many of the actions of the temple intended for the public, it is the one which aims above all to defy the notion of theocracy and to which religious point. values can have a detrimental effect on legislation. The film unfolds unceasingly, revealing a misunderstood network of foreigners banding together to promote a liberal, revealing agenda for which Lane was unprepared.
"I did not even know that there were modern Satanists and when I found out that was the case, it was a whole series of revelations," she said.
Lane, whose previous documentaries covered everything from watergate to helplessness, had originally been contacted by Swedish producer Gabriel Sedgwick, who wanted to use the temple as a means of commenting on the American political system. When Lane's preconceptions of Satanism disappeared, she found that those around her were less receptive to the truth.
"It's mind-boggling to have a conversation with people and say things like," I've been working on this project for years and I'm kind of an expert in the subject and I've information that you do not have ". are like, "No, you are wrong," she says. "If I say," Where do you find these ideas? "They have no answer because they have such a mistaken perception that they are so deep that they can not even see these perceptions, but they actually believe them."
These misperceptions also meant that the temple was not really in a hurry to let a stranger follow him. The drawbridge was in place and it took a lot of conviction to let Lane enter.
"It's hard to get burned because I knew what people were looking for from the beginning, and because of that, we never really went to the press just to explain our point of view or to try to redeem ourselves. Said Lucien Greaves, co-founder and temple spokesman. "There was a lot of dialogue that had occurred with Penny before and a lot of things we would not do."
Greaves wanted the temple's activity to be authentically illustrated, without rebuilding or constraint, and he hopes the film will serve as a true portrait of what the temple does, even if it does not lead to a rush of converts.
"All I can really hope for is that what we do and defend are authentically described. I can not hope everyone embraces who we are and what we do. In fact, we do a lot of what we do. direct opposition to the theocrats in the United States and we are not asking for their approval and I would not want it either, "said Greaves. "But I would really like to be judged on who we are and what we stand for rather than on a mythology created about us."
By way of clarification, Hi Satan? is more than effective. We note the impartiality of Greaves who, apart from shock tactics, simply asks for parity as his temple strives to engage in important community work throughout the country. In West Florida, there is a little bit of trouble helping homeless people ("No matter the name or origin of these people, as long as they do what they can," says a woman homeless). In Tucson, a campaign titled "Menstruatin with Satan" collects menstrual products for distribution to local shelters. In Seattle, there is a blood drive.
The temple also worked to defend the right to abortion, fighting against those who tried to insert religious beliefs into the structure of the law. The principles of the temple are remarkably grounded and rational, fighting for "compassion and empathy" as well as for "the freedom of others".
"The Satanic Temple is a preview of what religion should be," Lane said. "If we start from scratch, what kind of religion would you like to have? Would you like to have a religion that asks you to blindly believe in ridiculously ridiculous ideas or to persecute others because of their misunderstanding of your true path or do you want it to be rational thinking or not? Empathy or compassion and pluralism? It seems to me that it is a much better moral foundation on which to base oneself in the modern world ".
Although Lane may not have become a titular member of the map, she questioned her original preconceptions, not just about Satanism, but about religion as a whole.
"I did not want to make a film that would give me hope and inspiration," Lane said. "I've always followed the new atheist straight line in religion, as if religion was stupid and religion was silly and we had to get rid of it, the world would be better if everyone gave up the stupid religion and me. have totally changed their minds about it. I just think that we should reconsider the kind of religions that might exist in the future, the ones that would be better suited to the reality in which we live, because our current institutions are thousands of years old. So yes, I think religion is cool, I just think we need better religions. "
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