The Story of Emily Rose Still Popular in 21st century - Research Paper Example

? The Story of Emily Rose – Still Popular in 21st century Introduction It is rightly said that the struggle between mind and heart or known versus unknown has always pushed the mankind towards more progress and advancement. However as we conquer new feats of scientific achievements we still fear the unknown or there are phenomena around us which could not be explained with the help of science. One such phenomenon, which thinkers and scientists, world across have tried to solve, is what happens to a person after death. Theories such as rebirth, heaven, hell, etc. hold attraction even today. Today as we see, we are usually torn between science as we want everything to be scientifically tested and proven and we also want to believe that there exists life after death even if it is not proven on the merits of science. Hypothesis We are going to study this theory with the help of following hypothesis: The phenomenon of demonic possession and exorcism as seen in the movie "The Exorcism of Emily Rose", surprisingly still popular in the 21st century" History Demonic possession is when a ghost controls emotions, thoughts and intellect or decision making ability of a person. It merges with the person’s consciousness and controls person’s actions.1 In this definition of “being possessed” it is clearly stated that some other force has a complete control over a person’s actions and behaviour. However psychology has a different say on the matter. Study of psychology is relatively new in the field of science. After a considerable advancement in physical science or medicine, the attention turned to mind. It was largely observed that although body responds automatically to medicine it is the mind that has a powerful control over healing process in totality. It was then when the scientists started taking note of mental processes and studying functions of brain. However if a particular pattern of behaviour of a person could not be explained it was still termed as super natural or out of the purview of science. Slowly and steadily as the mysteries of brain started unfolding, it was believed that every mental disease had its cure as well. Now the population got divided into two sections, one who wanted scientific proof of everything and the other although believed in science felt there is still a force beyond science to explain certain mysteries. Precisely the reason why people still believe in the concept of being possessed or being taken over by either good or bad spirits or demons. Church and science have always stood against each other. Religion or faith has always believed God as a phenomenon which cannot be explained but rather understood and felt and believed in. Science as it goes by the way of proof will ask proof of even God’s existence. In this case there could be one instance or one phenomenon looked at from both perspectives, one that of science and the other that of faith. “Being possessed” is one such instance viewed suspiciously by both the fraternities. Exorcism is viewed differently in different religions. In Catholicism like other religions it is viewed as demanding the evil spirits to leave immediately the body of possessed by the authority of God vested in the person performing the exorcism.2 The principle objective is to ward the evil off and heal the tormented soul from the suffering. Science however can attribute this to disturbed mental health which can be cured by medicine and heal the person. In both the cases although the roads are different both mean well and want the patient to heal and live a healthy, happy and normal life. The approaches may differ but the outcome desired is the same. It is possible that a person believing in science also believes in the existence of God and his powers but may not believe in the idea of some other force taking over and controlling human mind and actions. It is precisely at this point both the branches fall apart. Psychologists or Scientists call “being possessed” as an instance that can happen to anybody. Everyone is susceptible to this. The devil if any can possess the mind and control the actions of a person only if the person allows the negative spirit to do so. In other words minds that are prone to fear and anxiety change with possession the first. There could be many reasons why a person may get possessed. As per psychology the basic instability present in the mind leads to peculiar behaviour in which stability is sought after. This change of behaviour is noticed by the surrounding people immediately. This precisely is the insecurity and instability which can lead to drugs, alcohol, nicotine and other consumptions. We can see the change coming over the person after consumption of these things. Similarly it is termed as mental or psychological insecurity that can lead to a person claiming he or she is possessed. Hence psychologists term it as an anxious behaviour seeking stability or attention while faith construes as “being possessed”.3 It is possible that in ancient times when there was no cure available for diseases like epilepsy or madness, the tendency could have been to blame it on the unknown or the evil. Some other mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or multiple personality disorders were also considered as incurable and hence the patient was always considered as “being possessed” by the evil. In case of multiple personality disorder, the patient hid his or her true self behind the facades or personalities he or she created. Assuming existence of some powerful personality in the form of facade within and hiding behind the same may seem to be an easy way out. Often the person would talk or behave like the identity assumed changing the tone, the language, the style of talking and also the behaviour. If the psychological explanation of this peculiar behaviour was not available it would have been easy to state that an unknown negative force has taken over. Today psychologists claim that all these illnesses can be cured by careful handling of the patient and also medicine. In such scenario “being possessed” is the concept disagreed by medial science as well as psychology and there would be many today who would be in absolute agreement with the theory stated. Catholicism however has a different view on being possessed by evil spirit. It is explicitly stated in the bible that Christ himself exorcised demons and freed people from pain and misery. So if the act is performed by the God then surely such negative spirits exist and need to be asked to leave in order to release the patient from pain and suffering.4 When we talk about “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” this conflict stands out prominently. The movie is based on the real story of a German girl Anneliese Michel. She was diagnosed of epilepsy in the year 1969. She was 17 then and started suffering epileptic attacks. During these attacks she began to have devilish hallucinations while praying and the court stated that she was suffering from depression and was considering suicide. By the year 1975 her parents were convinced that she was possessed and stopped medications given to her. Instead they turned to church for remedy and after two refusals were granted permission for exorcism rites to be performed on Anneliese. In the subsequent 10 months, there were sixty plus exorcism rituals performed on Anneliese in which she grew weaker and weaker. Eventually she died saying that she was atoning for the sins of others. It was diagnosed that she died of malnutrition and dehydration. Germany being a secular state, both the priests who performed the exorcism rituals and her parents were convicted of negligent homicide and sentenced to 6 months of imprisonment, suspended with three years of probation. The movie Exorcism of Emily Rose as stated is based on this true story.5 The film has a huge following and is very much appreciated movie in horror film genre. Even today there is a large audience for the film. There would be multiple reasons why this film would be the most viewed film in this genre. Let us analyse the reasons as follows: 1. Presentation of the subject: The representation of “others’ in the film, Script-writer’s and director’s attitude towards the representation of “others”. 2. Comparison of this film with other films and why these films are still watched and popular 3. Reasons why this particular film still finds audience. Presentation of the subject The exorcism of Emily Rose insists on showing both sides of the story as the director of the movie states. Horror movies are generally known for their gory depictions of the possessed or the demons. It is widely accepted that twisted faces, necks rotating 360 degrees, blood spewing from eyes, nose and mouth are all necessary to show the existence of the demon. The visual impact of these scenes is scarier for the audience and leaves a strong impression. Understandably no horror movie is complete without these depictions. However the exorcism of Emily Rose stands out in this respect. Director Scott Derrickson could have easily made a film which would have all the “fear” elements mentioned above to spice up the film so to say. However he chose to blend the story with courtroom drama in which a lawyer takes up the case of a priest out of desperation to prove her mettle worthy of climbing up the ladder in her career. As the case proceeds the story unfolds through series of flashbacks. The success of the film is that it questions the beliefs and thinking of a person who believes in his faith and religion. Derrickson himself being an orthodox Christian chose the true story to put this fundamental question to his audience. He also is the co-writer of the film. The story travels on the borderline of a psychological case and horror story. The movie has its scary moments when Emily suddenly starts talking in foreign languages to the people around her. She feels she is pressed don by heavy weight and is not able to get up. At 3 am she smells burning smells, sees things moving all by themselves etc. These scenes are usually a director’s forte. The fact that Derrickson did not use them to create a visual imagery goes to tell that he did not want to impress his thoughts about demonic possessions to go this way. The idea was not to scare the audience. Derrickson questions the fear factor created by faith and religious system through this movie and he never loses the sight of his goal all throughout. Hence possibly he thinks that depiction of gory scenes is not required as he is addressing the “fear” that is present within every individual. He succeeds tremendously in achieving the goal.6 Writer-Director Scott Derrickson and his writing partner Paul Harris Broadman were initially unsure as to how the movie should proceed in its presentation. After the research on the subject, they decided to have an unanswered question looming in the minds of their audiences. The realistic treatment given to the subject makes it more believable and acceptable. This becomes the strong point of the film. The movie has a famous dialogue by Father Moore who is on trial. He says, “Demons exist, whether you believe or not.” Father Moore doesn’t care about his sentence, going to jail or even his reputation. All he wants is the story of Emily Rose to be told and heard. This in itself states the view of the director and the writer of the film. The question of whether such super natural powers exist or whether there is really God up there is left for the audience to decide. This question is left to jury in the film to decide. This question is very important from the perspective of the audience as well. Precisely because this is kept open and ambiguous the story transcends from merely being a horror film to psychological film and finally a spiritual film. This is where the film stands out from other horror flicks, where there is a clear cut demonstration of horror and admittance that demons do exist and they are around us everywhere. The writer-director explained that it was the opportunity to bring spiritual concerns to the fore in a medium that has often ignored them. “It’s been tough for me to feel so passionate about my faith, to care so much about it… and to be a lover of cinema, and to have cinema be so void of good religious subject matter. I think [religion] tends in the modern era to be treated almost the way sex was treated in the fifties — it’s like, if you just watched our movies, you wouldn’t even know it was part of our culture. “What I wanted to do was write something that wasn’t propaganda, wasn’t about trying to persuade people to think the way that I do, but recognize the fundamental importance of that question, the central question — does the spiritual realm exists? Is there a devil, and more importantly, is there a God? And if so, what are the implications of that? “I don’t care what you believe — those are questions to be reckoned with… Everyone has to answer that question. And in some ways everyone lives their life based on what they believe about that question.” Scott Derrickson clearly states his views in the following interview:7 Q.1. Tell us about how you got involved in with Exorcism of Emily Rose Well, I got involved because I had heard about the true story, and I felt that within that true story was an opportunity to make a film that would be appealing to the general public and thought provoking at the same time. I intended for the film to be effective, but I also intended to provoke the audience into thinking about spiritual questions and to get them asking themselves what they believe about the spiritual realm and ultimately about God. Q. 2. Is that something you had in mind since you first started working on the film? Yes, that really has been my intention from the beginning, and the studios have been very supportive of the making of the film. But at the same time, I’m not here to push an agenda or to force my perspective down the throats of the audience regarding significant spiritual issues. I do believe that there are a lot of people in this country who are not even thinking about the existence of the spiritual realm, and my ambition is to take that discussion and argument to the forefront, and to get people to consider the spiritual arena and get them to open their eyes and take a hard look at it. Comparison with other films in horror genre Horror films are meant to unsettle dark fears deep within a person. The horror comes from two sections. Part one is when one’s own internal fears get unleashed and the second is the belief that there exists something outside that manages to unsettle me and makes me posses with fears. We are going to compare Exorcism of Emily Rose with 3 great horror movies of all the times to understand the flow and impact of the film on the audience. We will mainly be considering three movies as these have greatly impacted horror movie viewing of the audience. Alfred Hitchcock’s Pscyho is a movie which combined elements of horror and murder mystery together. The shock elements used in the film were extremely unique and created a road to follow for many directors in future. Although Hitchcock rarely used this technique in his later films, the film’s horror and fear element mainly came from playing on the psychology of the audience. The last scene of coming fact to face with “mother”, the stabbing in the shower all added to the fear element. Although a murder mystery Psycho was considered to be a great film with horror elements into it.8 The second film which we are going to consider is ‘The Evil Dead’. This movie gave ‘face’ to demons. The sad looking droopy trees, the branches that entangle a human being and rape her, the head spinning of 360 degrees made people sit on the edge of the chair and scream again and again in the theatre. Although all the scratched faces, bloodshot eyes etc. the scariest scene remains when the girl tells cards of other players one by one, her back towards them. This movie set a different trend in the horror films to be made. The visual effects the movie had created the impression of sinister evil very accurately. The trend carried on for years and even continues today. The third film we are going to consider is “The Exorcist”. Linda Blair doing a backward crawl on the stairs and spewing green blood was terribly unsettling for the audience. The screams and the guttural sounds she made were sure to add to the horror element for the audience. The exorcism performed by the priest, the struggle of her mother as she gets torn between the love for her daughter and the agony she goes through watching her go through exorcism again was all excellently communicated to the people watching the film. The idea of exorcism took a deep root in the minds of the people from then on. When we compare ‘Exorcism of Emily Rose’ to these films we are going to compare three aspects highlighted above. Derrickson has considerably taken advantage of the psychology of the audience while making the film. Like Psycho he plays on the psychology of fear. As a devout Christian he believes that the fear elements are already instilled in us since childhood. Psycho unleashes these factors by building psychological pressure in the movie. The protagonist of the film Psycho is a guy suffering from psychological disorders. The audience does not come to terms to the sudden shocks introduced in the presentation of the story. Like Hitchcock, Derrickson challenges the psyche of the audience by playing on the fear of unknown. Exorcism of Emily Rose differs from ‘The Evil Dead’ in the visual imagery. The latter is known for hideous faces, scathed skins and rolling eyes etc. Derrickson could have used the imaging part to make his movie effective. He however did not choose to do so. Partly he claims that it was because of powerful performance by Jennifer Carpenter as Emily but also due to the fact that this type of imaging could have spoiled the message he wanted to put across to the audience. He wanted to take the film to a different level from horror genre as he wanted the audience to question their belief in faith they follow or try to find answers to the questions raised by the film. If the movie had gone a typical horror film way then the message would have been lost and hence he kept it minimal. By doing this he has not compromised on the effect but rather the gory element of the movie has increased considerably. The third film ‘The Exorcist’ also deals with the exorcism of the evil and helping the possessed to heal. However this film takes a clear stand that evil exists and is present. It is not something we imagine and it can strike us by controlling our emotions and actions. Although both the films deal with exorcism, ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ does not take a clear stand regarding existence of evil or negative energies. The film brings the subject on the borderline of science and faith and leaves the audience to be the best judge of the matter. The fight of faith versus evil is projected in both the films, while in one the faith wins over the evil and in other it doesn’t. The agony of the person suffering is tremendous in both the cases but in one it is also projected with the help of imagery. Although as per the true story Anneliese Michel did get into spider eating etc. Derrickson has consciously avoided portraying the same in the film. The three films we have selected portray three different aspects of horror genre, which became benchmark in the years to come. Also as these films happen to be the most viewed films in this genre, it becomes necessary to examine the standing of the film we are discussing, in the light of these films. As stated ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ takes a balanced view between scientific and religious approach. Why does this film still find audience? By and large horror films are viewed for the fantasy element they have. The need for excitement and intense emotions pushes a viewer to watch horror films. These films initiate strong and extreme emotions in an individual. The disturbance these films create is actually liked by the audience and some watch these films for the sole purpose of getting disturbed by the viewing. As an extreme form of entertainment horror films find viewers and the genre has acquired a cult status.9 The film is a combination of courtroom drama and horror film told through flashbacks. The courtroom logic is easy to understand as it represents two sides of the story. One side is the scientific approach side which says that there is no such thing as evil and demons and the other side is the faith or religion which believes in demonic possessions. Today as we see the advancement in medical and psychological science the mind takes over heart and demands proof before it accepts the truth. The verification of the truth is required. In case of demonic possessions we see with our own eyes that the person possessed is not in control of his or her own actions and decisions. The controlling point is with someone else or is somewhere else. However there are various malfunctions of the brain science is yet to understand. Exactly what can go wrong with a person can never be predicted because the power of science is not absolute. Why do we need religion or belief in superior power at all? Understandably we try and reason with everything around; we get into cause and effect analysis and don’t stop at it if we are not satisfied with the answers. Surrender happens when we stop getting answers to our questions. Some call it positive energy, some call it karmic connections or some call it superior power like God. Faith also binds masses together. It gives them common purpose, common beliefs and common framework to function. For these masses to function smoothly in a given framework a certain disciplinary rules and required and also the consequences of breaking such rules is required to be explained. Only then people will follow the regulations and the framework created. Creation of good and bad consequences comes from that. Also negative and positive energies come from the same logic. The fear factor hence is deliberately created in the minds of people. Today as we rationalise this behavioural logic and expectation we do not take these fears seriously as we know the purpose of creation of this fear. By this logic theory such as being possessed, evil and negative spirits do not hold a ground. We understand the absurdity of it. Now the question arises that why do we still go and watch films like ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose?’ The answer lies in the search a person wants to do beyond the brain and logic. All in all human mind accepts its limitations and admits that not all can be solved on the premises of logic and reasoning. Sometimes it is natural for a person to accept things the way they are. Like rebirth some things are beyond the comprehension of science. There have been theories proven that a person remembers or carries with himself some or the other baggage from his previous birth. Although scientifically not proven, many psychologists report strange fears or behaviours in their patients. Psychoanalysts such as Dr. Brian Weiss have written books and volumes on this theory. Even now some of us believe that we take it forward from where we had left in previous birth. Some of us by contrast also say that once the biological body is destroyed or ceases to exist then there nothing remains of the person. Both the theories hold true in their own wake and both refute each other. Being possessed by demons or evils is another such theory. Many a times psychologists have stated that unruly or problematic behaviour is the direct manifestation of disturbed mind and mind processes. Even when we accept that it could be true, we still say that some rationales are beyond explanation. The same reason precisely, why movies such as ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ draw attention and viewership of the audience. Apart from cinematic attractions, the depiction of the unknown which has always been a part of curiosity and wanting to understand becomes the focal point of viewers. Conclusion ‘The exorcism of Emily Rose’ stands to gain maximum viewership even today. Horror genre films tend to throw light on the unknown and evil and dark side of universe. The phenomenon of demonic possession and exorcism as seen in the film tries to explain rationale beyond rationales, so even when science and reasoning have advanced dramatically, the viewership for this film is not lost and continues to grow as a cult. References 1. Spiritual Science Research Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org 2. Toner, P. (1909). Exorcism. In The Catholic Encyclopaedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved February 28th, 2012 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org 3. W. H. Trethowan, P. (1976). Exorcism: A Psychiatric Viewpoint. Journal of Medical Ethics. Retrieved February 28th, 2012 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 4. Demonic Possession. Retrieved February 29th, 2012 from www.gospel-mysteries.net 5. The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Retrieved February 29th, 2012 from http://www.chasingthefrog.com 6. Steven D. Greydanus, P. (2005). The Exorcism of Emily Rose: Scott Derrickson, Paul Harris Boardman, Laura Linney, Jennifer Carpenter. Retrieved February 29th, 2012 from http://www.decentfilms.com 7. Justin Camacho, P. (2005). Interview with Scott Derrickson, Director/Writer ‘Exorcism of Emily Rose’. Retrieved February 29th, 2012 from http://www.christianpost.com 8. Bill Weber, P. (2010). Psycho. Retrieved February 29th, 2012 from http://www.slantmagazine.com 9. Jeffrey Goldstein, P. (1998). Why do people watch horror films? Retrieved February 29th, 2012 from http://accessscience.com 10. What is mental health? What is mental disorder? P. (2009). Retrieved February 29th, 2012, from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com 11. The exorcism of Emily Rose, The True Story. Retrieved February 27th, 2012, from http://www.unitypublishing.com Read More