Hugh Hefner, Imelda Marcos, and L. Ron Hubbard: Their Placement in Dantes Inferno - Term Paper Example

Hugh Hefner, Imelda Marcos and L. Ron Hubbard: Their Placement in Dante’s Inferno Dante’s Divine Comedy is something that has been taught and read in Literature classes. It can be said that it has become a pillar of world literature throughout the centuries through its poetic and allegorical depiction of the afterlife: heaven (“Paradiso”), purgatory (“Purgatorio”) and hell (“Inferno”). It captivatingly relates the story of Dante as he travels the realms of the dead with Virgil as his companion and guide. Dante’s construction of how hell must be organized and what sins befit certain punishments are definitely interesting, as well as his placement of various sinners in the different rings of the Inferno. Hence, it is interesting to ask the question, “If Dante had written the Inferno today, who would he have placed as sinners in the different rings of hell?” Who would qualify, indeed? This paper will present three modern-day sinners and place them in their corresponding rings in hell based on Dante’s categories. Hugh Hefner If there was anyone who epitomized lust, it is Hugh Hefner. As the founder of Playboy Magazine, Hefner bragged that “I have slept with thousands of women, and they all still like me” (Hylton, “What I've Learned: Hugh Hefner”). Indeed, being someone who was able to—and at 83 years old still able to—get scores of famous and sexy women to pose nude for a magazine, to expose everything that they have kept hidden and to go to bed with him, with multiple partners at the same time, Hefner is someone who can be expected to appear in the second circle of hell—if it is made a reality. Hefner believes that “Sex is the driving force on the planet. We should embrace it, not see it as the enemy” (Hylton, “What I've Learned: Hugh Hefner”). And he made people believe in this too, with Playboy being one, if not the, of the most popular magazines that caters to men’s sexual fantasies and fetishes. Not only has he lived the life of a lustful, but he has also encouraged others to follow suit. He even admitted the fact that he masturbates when he is alone, although, he says that this rarely ever happens (Hylton, “What I've Learned: Hugh Hefner”). The fact that he admitted this even makes masturbation sound cool as it is coming from Hugh Hefner, who is idolized by a multitude of men. It can undeniably be said that Hefner is someone who is a slave to his desires and to carnal pleasure. Indeed, he is a “carnal malefactor” to the very core of his being. And thus, it is undoubtedly appropriate for him to be flogged by a violent storm, together with the rest of the lustful. “The infernal hurricane that never rests; Hurtles the spirits onward in its rapine; Whirling them round, and smiting, it molests them” (Allighieri 23, Canto V). This punishment is quite fitting, indeed, as “the infernal hurricane” that whips these lustful spirits is akin to the carnal desire that has swept them up and occupied their major agendas while they were living; “Who reason subjugate to appetite” (Allighieri 23, Canto V). Furthermore, the orgasmic pleasure derived from sexual activities is something that can be described as a passion so intense that one forgets one’s self. The storm that hurtles the spirits round and round symbolize this type of passion. Hence, it is like they are forever experiencing a never ending violent climax from which they cannot rest. Imelda Marcos Imelda Marcos is the former First Lady of the Republic of the Philippines. Her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, served as President for 20 years, from 1966 up until the Marcos family was exiled in 1986, ruling nine of those years as a dictator under Martial Law (Comerford 9). The Marcos administration was infamous for their ill-gotten wealth, rumored to be in billions of dollars worth of money stashed away in Swiss bank accounts, properties, jewelry and other expenditures of personal nature (Ramasastry 326; Morrow 1). Ferdinand Marcos has certainly been proven to be a corrupt and power-hungry dictator that has plundered the Philippines with an enormous amount of money; why, then, is the focus on his wife being in hell and not on him? This can be answered 2,700 times—the number of pairs of shoes the former First Lady has amassed in her collection during the time that her husband was in power (Morrow 1). Of course, any woman who is in love with shoes has also probably fallen in love with jewelry. The same is true for the Marcos matriarch as her hundreds of precious jewelry pieces range from Buccelatti to Bulgari, with one piece being valued at $1 million (Limjoco, “Jewels of Imelda Marcos”). This lavish display of materialism epitomizes her lifestyle, traveling the world in style and spending thousands of dollars on just a set of flowers for one day. Being called “the Marie-Antoinette of the twentieth century,” the term Imeldific has been coined in the Philippines to describe someone or something that is extravagant and ostentatious (Sanderson, “Imelda Marcos's Obsessions: Marcos's Desires for Beauty and Power”). Having explained in brief Imelda Marcos’ penchant for luxury—making the term luxurious seem an understatement—it is obvious for what sin and in what ring in hell she would belong: The Fourth Circle, the home to the avaricious and the prodigal. Imelda is certainly guilty of the sin avarice and is most suitable in the fourth circle of hell as she not only hoarded money, but she squandered them heedlessly, as well. Here saw I people, more than elsewhere, many, On one side and the other, with great howls, Rolling weights forward by main force of chest. They clashed together, and then at that point Each one turned backward, rolling retrograde, Crying, "Why keepest?" and, "Why squanderest thou?" Thus they returned along the lurid circle On either hand unto the opposite point, Shouting their shameful metre evermore. (Allighieri 30, Canto VII) It is poetic how Dante has imagined the punishment for the avaricious and the prodigal would be. It is as if they were pushing the weight of the material goods they have hoarded and squandred. Doing this for all eternity, asking each other why one amassed and wasted Fortune. It would certainly be fitting for Imelda to be within that circular ditch, pushing that boulder and clashing onto the other sinners for all eternity, enduring suffering that is so intense that they are rendered unrecognizable. “Vain thought thou entertainest; The undiscerning life which made them sordid; Now makes them unto all discernment dim” (Allighieri 30). The more they wanted to be recognized in life for their wealth and the more that they hoarded and squandered the Fortune God has given to the world, the more unrecognizable they become. “Now canst thou, Son, behold the transient farce; Of goods that are committed unto Fortune, For which the human race each other buffet” (Allighieri 29). Hence, Imelda, with her obsession with beauty and wealth should fittingly be unrecognizable as she pushes the heavy boulder that symbolizes the wealth that she hoarded and squandered in her lifetime. L. Ron Hubbard L. Ron Hubbard, a former science fiction writer, founded the Church of Scientology in 1954, which is based on dianetics, the study of the mind (Bentayou 16). Hubbard and his followers believe that man is an immortal being, inhabited by thetans, “extraterrestrial spirits, [that] colonized humans” 75 billion years ago (Bentayou 16). Through experiences like pain and suffering, man has forgotten his thetan self (McClare, “Scientology: An Overview”). The main purpose of scientology is “to explain and help to perfect humans and their behavior” through such practices as auditing that helps scientologists deal with their engrams, which are traumatic experiences ingrained in man’s subconscious, and harness their true potential (McClare, “Scientology: An Overview”). Auditing is a paid service and is said to be very expensive (Bentayou 16). It seems that what Hubbard did then is that he created a business that preys on people’s hunger for a religion that fits them. Although like other religions, Scientology has ethical foundations and principles, it is still one that is based on the premise that aliens inhabited human beings’ bodies. Furthermore, and what is most applicable here, is that Hubbard himself said that “there was certainly something very corny about Heaven et al.,” which translates into him denouncing God and Christ (“Operation Clambake Presents: Heaven”). He believes that people’s notion of God and Christ is an implant, “hypnotic suggestions smashed into one's mind millions or billions of years ago” (“Operation Clambake Presents: Heaven”). “In summary, advanced Scientologists believe that they are spirit creatures with god-like super powers, who unfortunately need to exorcise the disembodied spirits of murdered space aliens from their bodies in order to realize their full potential (McClare, “Scientology: An Overview”). Hubbard would certainly fit in the sixth circle of hell, which consists of heretics, as who could be more blatant a heretic than Hubbard who claims that there is no God and that, in a sense, people descended from aliens. It is quite easy to imagine Hubbard, together with his followers—Tom Cruise would also probably be there—in one of the flaming tombs. For flames between the sepulchres were scattered, By which they so intensely heated were, That iron more so asks not any art. All of their coverings uplifted were, And from them issued forth such dire laments, Sooth seemed they of the wretched and tormented. Dante correctly gave these heretics this type of punishment, encasing them in flaming tombs, just as they entombed and limited themselves in life by not believing in Heaven and believing only in their capabilities. Hubbard epitomizes this as he enclosed himself and his followers in the belief in alien beings and reincarnation and the denouncement of God and heaven. Conclusion It can be seen how the exposition of the lives of the three famous personalities discussed here will certainly make them end up in their corresponding circles in hell—if only Dante is still alive today. Works Cited Allighieri, Dante. Dante’s Inferno. Trans. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Place, Publisher, 1998. Print. Bentayou, Frank. Scientology: More Than a Celebrity Cruise? The Christian Century 122.16 (2005): 16. Comerford, Mike. “The Shoes That Keep on Walking in the '80S, Imelda Marcos' Expenses Branded Her a Marie Antoinette-Like Figure of Indulgence. but the Footprint She Left on Her Country Seems Indelible.” Daily Herald 20 April 2005: 9. Print. Hylton, Wil S. What I've Learned: Hugh Hefner. 1 June 2002. Web. 27 November 2009. Limjoco, Diana J. Jewels of Imelda Marcos. 2005. Web. 27 November 2009. McClare, Scott. Scientology: An Overview. 3 April 1998. Web. 27 November 2009. Morrow, Lance. The Shoes of Imelda Marcos. 31 March 1986. Web. 27 November 2009. Operation Clambake Presents: Heaven. Web. 27 November 2009. Ramasastry, Anita. “Secrets and Lies? Swiss Banks and International Human Rights.” Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 31.2 (1998): 325-456. Print. Sanderson, Lisa. Imelda Marcos's Obsessions: Marcos's Desires for Beauty and Power. 31 March 2009. Web. 27 November 2009. Read More