Satan in popular culture

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This page is about the Devil in popular fiction, in general. See Satan in literature for references to the Devil exclusively in literature.

Satan appears frequently as a character in works of literature and popular culture. Sometimes, the reference is oblique, and satanic characters may exhibit attributes of Satan without the connection being made explicit.

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[edit] Images of Satan

A typical modern depiction of Satan in the likeness of a goat with horns and goatee.
A typical modern depiction of Satan in the likeness of a goat with horns and goatee.

In art and literature, Satan has been depicted in numerous ways throughout history. According to one interpretation of the book of Genesis, Satan is identified as the serpent who convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit; thus, Satan has often been depicted as a serpent. This interpretation goes back at least as far as the time of the writing of the book of Revelation, which specifically identifies Satan as being the serpent (Rev. 20:2). In truth, Genesis makes no direct reference to the serpent having another identity, Satan or any other. It has been postulated by many Biblical scholars that Eden's snake is just a snake, able to speak, reason, and tempt Eve because it serves the explanatory purpose. Other interpretations of the episode, such as that of various Gnostics, saw the serpent as a salvific figure, sometimes identifying it with Christ himself, at others with the common Gnostic figure of Sophia. Andy Loves the Devil

A popular image of Satan, adopted from the deity of Greek mythology, Pan, is as a horned, hoofed goat-like monster holding a trident. In modern times, the goatlike image of Satan has been adapted into a more human-looking form of a dark, foreboding man wearing a goatee. Satan has also been depicted as a charming and attractive man, as symbolic of the belief that Satan acquires human souls by appealing to their vanity and presenting them with appealing and attractive temptations. Rarely, Satan has also been depicted as a conniving woman, such as in the 2000 remake of the movie Bedazzled. There are also a few images depicting Satan as a beautiful angel, such as in Go Nagai's Devilman.

[edit] Devil's Dictionary definition

Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary gives a satirical definition of Satan:

SATAN, n. One of the Creator's lamentable mistakes, repented in sackcloth and ashes. Being instated as an archangel, Satan made himself multifariously objectionable and was finally expelled from Heaven. Halfway in his descent he paused, bent his head in thought a moment and at last went back. "There is one favor that I should like to ask," said he.
"Name it."
"Man, I understand, is about to be created. He will need laws."
"What, wretch! You, his appointed adversary, charged from the dawn of eternity with hatred of his soul — you ask for the right to make his laws?"
"Pardon; what I have to ask is that he be permitted to make them himself."
It was so ordered.

[edit] Satan in entertainment media

Generally when Satan is depicted in movies and television, he is represented as a red-skinned man with horns on his head, hoofs, tail, and pitchfork, while often he is represented as a plain human being, and, in rare instances, only his voice is heard. Popular portrayals of Satan include Warner Bros. cartoons (such as Satan's Waitin' (1954)), William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973), Richard Donner's The Omen (1976), Ridley Scott's Legend (1985), End of Days (1999), Oh, God! You Devil (1984), and Comedy Central's South Park. Al Pacino starred as Satan taking the form of a lawyer in the movie Devil's Advocate, and in Constantine, the Devil is portrayed by Peter Stormare as a barefoot human wearing a white suit and leaving greasy black footprints wherever he goes. In BBC Radio 4's comedy Old Harry's Game Satan is played by Andy Hamilton. In Little Nicky (2000), Satan is a familial position that is passed from father to son, with Rodney Dangerfield portraying the elder Satan and Harvey Keitel the reigning Satan.

In Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, the main character (played by Mia Farrow) becomes pregnant by Satan and has his child. In The Ninth Gate, the main character (played by Johnny Depp) is involved in finding a missing book with details for summoning Satan.

In Charmed, The Source of All Evil is an elected (or descended) king of all the demons, comparable to the devil, which he is referred to as once in season one. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the First Evil is an entity composed of all evil in the world -older than time, but the true "devil" of the Buffyverse was a rather ordinary horned demon who plays tennis called Izzerial, who appeared in Angel as a member of the nefarious Circle of the Black Thorn commanded by the malevolent, unseen, and also devil-like Senior Partners.

In Marvel Comics, several high-level demons, such as Mephisto, Azazel, Marduk Kurios, and Satanish, control different aspects of Hell and claim to be the Biblical Satan. Some have theorized that these demons constitute a "composite Satan", while others believe they simply utilize the name of an even more powerful demon to sow fear among their enemies.

Including Satan as a personification of evil holds many narrative opportunities. South Park, for example, makes a political point by portraying Satan in an abusive sexual relationship with (the apparently more evil) Saddam Hussein; indeed, while Satan is sometimes portrayed as evil, he is just as often a sympathetic character whom God once referred to as "a whiny little bitch." A similar portrayal of Satan is made in the webcomic Sinfest. Others have portrayed a human character's struggles with Satan to mark human foibles and failings in the attempt to live a good life — for example, Bedazzled (1967, remade 2000) and Oh, God! You Devil (1984). And in the horror/suspense genre, including Satan provides for a gripping, nearly all-powerful foe, as seen in The Omen trilogy.

Another interesting use of Satan in recent horror fiction and film is the evangelical aim of William Peter Blatty in his book and the subsequent film, The Exorcist. He has explained that his goal was to portray the ultimate evil as a way of reminding the world of the need to believe in the ultimate good, God.

The science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 offers an interesting perspective (not only for this case, but many gods of various religions). The alien character Sokar, a Goa'uld, takes the persona of Satan, and become one of the most powerful of his species, possessing a great army with which he wanted to take control over all other System Lords and subsequently the galaxy itself. He even created his own Hell on Ne'tu (alike Apokolips, another fiction hell analogy), the satellite of his homeworld Delmak, where he sends his enemies for torture and punishment.

Him, a character on the animated series, The Powerpuff Girls, is a cheerfully evil, red-skinned, cross-dressing demon, and is a parody of HIM (His Infernal Majesty).

Satan has also featured in modern popular music. Many rock stars, such as the Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden and AC/DC, and even crossover artists such as Terri Gibbs, have recorded songs about Satan. Many of Osbourne's albums (both solo and with his former group, Black Sabbath), for example, have criticized devil worship, although some Christian groups have interpreted it as glorification. The Rolling Stones recorded a song called "Sympathy for the Devil," which was later covered by Guns N' Roses for the movie Interview with the Vampire which was based on a novel by Anne Rice. Terri Gibbs' crossover song "Somebody's Knockin'" features these lyrics: "... Lord it's the devil. Would you look at him ... he'd have blue eyes and blue jeans". American group the Pixies sang "If man is 5 and the devil is 6 then God is 7!". On the 2004 Insane Clown Posse concept album about Hell, The Wraith: Hell's Pit, Satan is referred to as "The Witch". In Randy Newman's own 1993 musical and subsequent 1995 studio album version of Faust, he plays Satan. Some listeners have claimed to find Satanic messages concealed in other popular music by playing records backwards. The best example of this backmasking is Led Zepplin's "Stairway to Heaven" in which lyrics are rumored to be satanic, even though Led Zepplin has denied the allegations.

In Tenacious D's 2006 film, The Pick of Destiny, Satan is played by Dave Grohl and is depicted as a red, horned creature who loves heavy metal music and is extremely good at playing the drums.

Early proposals of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier had the Enterprise crew encountering Satan. This was later changed so that the being shown in the film was a very powerful alien.

In the video game franchise Shin Megami Tensei, Satan is depicted as a 'shinrei' or servant of God, YHWH. He takes the form of a human who fits the typical image of a metal rock star, while as a demon he appears like a skull faced dragon with insect parts. Meanwhile, Lucifer, Beelzebub, and other names attributed to Satan are very different entities.

In the 2006 Doctor Who two part episode, The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit, Satan is referred to as "the Beast" and is trapped inside a pit within a planet orbiting a black hole. In the Torchwood season one finale, End of Days, the "son of the great Beast" is featured, the demon Abaddon.

In the TV show Pokemon when the PokéRap is sung in English, the lyrics “gotta catch ’em all” are alleged to say “I love Satan” or “oh Satan” when played backwards. This has left some Christians and Christian organizations believing that Pokémon subliminally encourages Satanism.

[edit] The devil in music

Some songs that make reference to the Devil are:

The Devil is a common theme in an extreme form of underground music known as black metal.

The musical interval of an Augmented 4th is sometimes known as "The Devil In Music", a name given to it circa. 1400, given its unusual sound. Composers were encouraged to stay away from the interval, and whilst it is sometimes found in non-religious music of the time, it was never used in religious music until the existing system of keys came into use.

[edit] The devil in film and television

Many films and television programs have portrayed the Devil in one form or another. Among these are:

[edit] The devil in video games

As with films, the Devil (or some nearly identical character) has appeared in numerous video games. A few of them are:

It should also be noted that the main villain of Shadow the Hedgehog, called Black Doom, has a final form called Devil Doom.

[edit] Satan under U.S. law

In 1971, Gerald Mayo brought a civil rights action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Satan and his servants who allegedly placed deliberate obstacles in Mayo's path and caused Mayo's downfall. In this U.S. court's written opinion, the court did not deny the existence of Satan; rather, the court asserted that it was unlikely that Satan was ever present in the geographic area included in the Western District of Pennsylvania, stating, "We question whether plaintiff may obtain personal jurisdiction over the defendant in this judicial district." In what was clearly a jocular reference to The Devil and Daniel Webster, the court implied that Satan might live in New Hampshire, stating, "While the official reports disclose no case where this defendant has appeared as defendant there is an unofficial account of a trial in New Hampshire where this defendant filed an action of mortgage foreclosure as plaintiff." This appears to be the only published legal case in the United States regarding the existence of Satan and, at present, the United States' official position would seem to be that Satan may exist and, if so, Satan might be found in New Hampshire.

[edit] Other "images" of Satan

Middle-Eastern fundamentalist critics of United States, especially critics and politicians from Iran, sometimes refer to the US as "The Great Satan." Likewise the State of Israel is sometimes referred to as the "Little Satan."

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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