EP42 - THE EXORCIST AND THE MIDDLE EASTERN DEMON

HEY EVERYONE - IT’S OCTOBER. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS? THAT MEANS PUMPKIN FLAVORED EVERYTHING AND SWEATERS AND AND HOCUS POCUS AND LOTS OF CANDY AND ME USING WAY TOO MANY GHOST EMOJIS, BUT IT ALSO MEANS THAT IT’S TIME FOR SOME HALLOWEEN THEMED EPISODES.

AND IF YOU LOVE HALLOWEEN JUST AS MUCH AS I DO, YOU MIGHT WANT TO LSITEN TO THE TWO BURST YOUR BUBBLE HALLOWEEN EPISODES FROM LAST YEAR: EP19 - DRACULA AND THE EUGENICS MOVEMENT AND EP20 - WHITE ZOMBIE AND ITS MANY - ISMS AND -PHOBIAS.

SO, IN THE HALLOWEEN SPIRIT, LET’S TALK ABOUT PETER BLATTY’S 1971 BOOK AND 1973 FILM: THE EXORCIST.

(IN UNISON:) MORGAN: WHAT AN EXCELLENT DAY FOR A PODCAST. CLIP: WHAT AN EXCELLENT DAY FOR AN EXORCISM.

WAIT, WHAT?

I’M MORGAN JAFFE AND THIS IS BURST YOUR BUBBLE

TO UNDERSTAND THE EXORCIST, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND WILLIAM PETER BLATTY, THE MAN WHO BOTH WROTE THE BOOK AND ADAPTED IT INTO THE FILM. AND TO UNDERSTAND BLATTY, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT INFLUENCES IN HIS LIFE: HIS MOTHER AND HIS SURROGATE FATHERS - THE JESUITS.1

1 Dean, E. (2015, October 19). Think "The Exorcist" Was Just a Horror Movie? The Author Says You're Wrong. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https:// www.washingtonian.com/2015/10/19/think-the-exorcist-was-just-a-horror-movie- author-william-peter-blatty-says-youre-wrong/

1 BLATTY’S MOTHER WAS A CATHOLIC, LEBANESE IMMIGRANT. A TRUE MERGING OF CULTURES, SHE LOVINGLY CALLED HIM IL WAHEED, ARABIC FOR “THE ONE,” AND RAISED HIM CATHOLIC IN NEW YORK CITY.2

BLATTY’S FATHER LEFT HIM AND HIS MOTHER WHEN HE WAS SIX.3 SO HIS STAND IN FATHER OF SORTS, HIS MALE ROLE MODELS, WERE THE FATHERS OF THE CHURCH HIS CATHOLIC MOTHER WOULD TAKE HIM TO, AND LATER AT THE SCHOOLS HE WOULD ATTEND, AT JESUIT RUN SCHOOLS ON FULL SCHOLARSHIPS: THE NOW CLOSED BROOKLYN PREPARATORY SCHOOL, WHERE HE WAS VALEDICTORIAN FOR THE GRADUATING CLASS OF 1946, AND GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, WHERE HE GRADUATED IN 1950.4

WHILE AT GEORGETOWN, ONE AFTERNOON IN A THEOLOGY CLASS, BLATTY’S PROFESSOR WAS TELLING EVERYONE ABOUT A CASE OF DEMONIC POSSESSION THAT HAD BEEN HAPPENING IN NEARBY MARYLAND.5

IN AUGUST OF 1949, WASHINGTON NEWSPAPERS REPORTED THAT A BOY HAD BEEN POSSESSED BY A DEMON, SPEAKING IN LATIN - WHICH HE’D NEVER STUDIED - WITH

2 Dean, E. (2015, October 19). Think "The Exorcist" Was Just a Horror Movie? The Author Says You're Wrong. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https:// www.washingtonian.com/2015/10/19/think-the-exorcist-was-just-a-horror-movie- author-william-peter-blatty-says-youre-wrong/

3 Dean, E. (2015, October 19). Think "The Exorcist" Was Just a Horror Movie? The Author Says You're Wrong. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https:// www.washingtonian.com/2015/10/19/think-the-exorcist-was-just-a-horror-movie- author-william-peter-blatty-says-youre-wrong/

4 Vitello, P. (2017, January 13). William Peter Blatty, Author of 'The Exorcist,' Dies at 89. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/books/ william-peter-blatty-author-of-the-exorcist-dies-at-89.html

5 Dean, E. (2015, October 19). Think "The Exorcist" Was Just a Horror Movie? The Author Says You're Wrong. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https:// www.washingtonian.com/2015/10/19/think-the-exorcist-was-just-a-horror-movie- author-william-peter-blatty-says-youre-wrong/

2 STRANGE SYMBOLS AND LETTER APPEARING ON HIS BODY. IT WAS REPORTED THAT THE ONLY THING THAT CURED HIM WAS AN EXORCISM.6 7

THE STORY STUCK WITH BLATTY. AFTER COLLEGE HE WAS MANY THINGS: AN ELECTROLUX VACUUM CLEANER SALESMAN, A GUNTHER BEER TRUCK DRIVER, A SOLDIER IN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE DIVISION, AND AN EDITOR FOR THE U.S. INFORMATION AGENCY. BUT HE MOVED TO HOLLYWOOD IN THE LATE 1950S, WORKING HIS WAY UP FROM A GHOSTWRITING GIG FOR DEAR ABBY TO A REWRITE MAN TO A SCREENWRITER - MOSTLY FOR COMEDIES. IT WASN’T UNTIL THE 1960S,UNEMPLOYED AND LOOKING FOR WORK, THAT BLATTY WOULD EVEN THINK ABOUT THE EXORCISM HE HAD LEARNED ABOUT IN HIS GEORGETOWN THEOLOGY CLASS ALL THOSE YEARS AGO. 8

ACCORDING TO BLATTY, “I REMEMBER THINKING, ‘BOY, IF SOMEBODY WOULD DIG INTO THIS AND AUTHENTICATE IT AND SHOW THAT IT’S THE REAL THING, WHAT A GIFT TO THE FAITH. IT STAYED IN MY MIND, AND I THOUGHT MAYBE I’D TRY TO WRITE A NONFICTION ACCOUNT.’”9

BLATTY CONTACTED THE JESUIT PRIEST WHO HAD PERFORMED THE 1949 EXORCISM, OFFERING TO GHOSTWRITE THE BOOK, BUT THE PRIEST SAID NO. HIS SUPERIORS DIDN’T WANT TO PUBLICIZE THE EVENT. THE FAMILY HAD REQUESTED TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS, SO INSTEAD BLATTY WROTE A FICTIONAL ACCOUNT OF THE STORY, USING HIS

6 Cull, N. (2000). The Exorcist. In D. W. Ellwood (Ed.), The Movies as History: Visions of the Twentieth Century (p. 198). Phoenix Mill: Sutton Pub.

7 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/features/dcmovies/ exorcism1949.htm

8 Dean, E. (2015, October 19). Think "The Exorcist" Was Just a Horror Movie? The Author Says You're Wrong. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https:// www.washingtonian.com/2015/10/19/think-the-exorcist-was-just-a-horror-movie- author-william-peter-blatty-says-youre-wrong/

9 Dean, E. (2015, October 19). Think "The Exorcist" Was Just a Horror Movie? The Author Says You're Wrong. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https:// www.washingtonian.com/2015/10/19/think-the-exorcist-was-just-a-horror-movie- author-william-peter-blatty-says-youre-wrong/

3 KNOWLEDGE FROM HIS CATHOLIC UPBRINGING AND, APPARENTLY, AN INTENSE AND WILD IMAGINATION.10

BLATTY PUBLISHED THE EXORCIST IN 1971 AND IT WAS A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS, WITH 13 MILLION COPIES SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE11.

IN THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FOR THE BOOK, BLATTY THANKS HIS ENGLISH PROFESSOR, BERNARD WAGNER, “FOR TEACHING ME TO WRITE” AND THE JESUITS “FOR TEACHING ME TO THINK.”12

THE RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE - BOTH ON BLATTY AND HIS WRITING - IS CLEAR. HE CALLED THE BOOK “AN APOSTOLIC WORK” - EVEN CLAIMING THAT IT WAS A BEST SELLER BECAUSE OF DIVINE INTERVENTION.13 AND HE WANTED IT TO BE A MOVIE, AS NICHOLAS CULL WRITES, “TO SCARE A NEW GENERATION OF AMERICANS BACK INTO CHURCH.”14

10 Dean, E. (2015, October 19). Think "The Exorcist" Was Just a Horror Movie? The Author Says You're Wrong. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https:// www.washingtonian.com/2015/10/19/think-the-exorcist-was-just-a-horror-movie- author-william-peter-blatty-says-youre-wrong/

11 Haldane, J. (2017, March). Evil to Good to God: The Philosophical Intent of William Blatty. Commonweal, 144(5). Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https:// www.commonwealmagazine.org/evil-good-god/

12 Dean, E. (2015, October 19). Think "The Exorcist" Was Just a Horror Movie? The Author Says You're Wrong. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https:// www.washingtonian.com/2015/10/19/think-the-exorcist-was-just-a-horror-movie- author-william-peter-blatty-says-youre-wrong/

13 Cull, N. (2000). The Exorcist. In D. W. Ellwood (Ed.), The Movies as History: Visions of the Twentieth Century (p. 198). Phoenix Mill: Sutton Pub.

14 Cull, N. (2000). The Exorcist. In D. W. Ellwood (Ed.), The Movies as History: Visions of the Twentieth Century (p. 198). Phoenix Mill: Sutton Pub.

4 AS BLATTY TOLD A REPORTER DECADES LATER, HE WANTED PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THE POINT OF THE EXORCIST - BOTH THE BOOK AND THE FILM: “THAT GOD EXISTS AND THE UNIVERSE ITSELF WILL HAVE A HAPPY ENDING.”15

THE EXORCIST OPENED THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS, 1973. LINES WOULD GO FOR BLOCKS AND BLOCKS. IT’S SAID THAT PEOPLE WOULD VOMIT DURING THE SCREENING, THAT VIEWERS WOULD FAINT, AND THAT MOVIE THEATRES HAD SMELLING SALTS ON HAND TO REVIVE THEM.16 IN ONE SAN FRANCISCO THEATRE, A VIEWER CHARGED THE SCREEN, TRYING TO KILL THE DEMON.17 IN BOSTON A VIEWER WAS CARRIED OUT OF THE THEATRE AS SHE MURMURED, “IT COST ME FOUR DOLLARS BUT I ONLY LASTED TWENTY MINUTES.”18

BY MARCH OF 1974, THE FILM HAD SOLD OVER 6 MILLION TICKETS IN THE UNITED STATES, LET ALONE WORLDWIDE.19 IT WAS A PHENOMENON - A TERRIFYING PHENOMENON.

NOW I DON’T KNOW IF YOU’VE EVER WATCHED THE EXORCIST - TRUTH BE TOLD THE FIRST TIME I DID WAS SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS EPISODE - AND I DIDN’T WANT TO. I THOUGHT I’D BE TOO SCARED. YOU SEE HER HEAD TURN AROUND 360 DEGREES. SHE PROJECTILE VOMITS GREEN PUKE ALL OVER A PRIEST - AND LET’S BE REAL: I COULD NOT EAT AVOCADOS FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AFTER. IT’S VISUALLY DISGUSTING AND

15 Vitello, P. (2017, January 13). William Peter Blatty, Author of 'The Exorcist,' Dies at 89. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/books/ william-peter-blatty-author-of-the-exorcist-dies-at-89.html

16 Dean, E. (2015, October 19). Think "The Exorcist" Was Just a Horror Movie? The Author Says You're Wrong. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https:// www.washingtonian.com/2015/10/19/think-the-exorcist-was-just-a-horror-movie- author-william-peter-blatty-says-youre-wrong/

17 Cull, N. (2000). The Exorcist. In D. W. Ellwood (Ed.), The Movies as History: Visions of the Twentieth Century (p. 196). Phoenix Mill: Sutton Pub.

18 Cull, N. (2000). The Exorcist. In D. W. Ellwood (Ed.), The Movies as History: Visions of the Twentieth Century (p. 196). Phoenix Mill: Sutton Pub.

19 Cull, N. (2000). The Exorcist. In D. W. Ellwood (Ed.), The Movies as History: Visions of the Twentieth Century (p. 196). Phoenix Mill: Sutton Pub.

5 TERRIFYING, AND IT WAS UNLIKE ANYTHING ANY MOVIEGOER AT THAT TIME HAD EVER SEEN. NOW WE’RE JUST NUMB TO IT, BUT THEN IT WAS NEW.

AS THE MOVIE OPENS, THE TITLE “THE EXORCIST” COMES UP ON SCREEN IN RED FONT, AND YOU SUDDENLY HEAR ADHAN, THE MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER.

CLIP: AUDIO FROM THE MOVIE WITH THE MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND.

THE CALL CONTINUES AS A RED DESERT SUN SHOWS AN ARCHEOLOGICAL DIG, AND TEXT POPS UP TELLING US WE’RE IN NORTHERN IRAQ. A YOUNG IRAQUI BOY RUNS THROUGH THE DIG SITE, UNTIL HE GETS TO AN OLDER WHITE MAN. “THEY FOUND SOMETHING,” HE SAYS IN ARABIC. THE OLDER WHITE MAN FOLLOWS THE YOUNG BOY THROUGH THE DIG SITE. AND THEN THE GET TO THEIR DESTINATION. OTHER MEN ARE THERE - ARAB MEN. THEY SHOW THE OLDER WHITE MAN WHAT THEY FOUND. IT’S THE HEAD OF A STATUE. THE OLDER WHITE MAN TAKES A BIG GULP

THE FILM IMMEDIATELY CUTS TO A RED SUN OVER A MARKET, PEOPLE DRINKING TEA, AND THE OLD MAN SHAKING AS HE TAKES SOME SMALL WHITE PILLS.

(CLIP ENDS: AUDIO FROM THE MOVIE WITH THE MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER.)

HE LOOKS PALE, LIKE HE’S SEEN A GHOST. HE FINISHES HIS TEA AND GOES TO A MUSEUM. AS HE HOLDS UP ONE PARTICULAR PIECE, THE CURATOR SAYS, “EVIL AGAINST EVIL” IN ARABIC TO HIM. RESOLUTE, THE OLD WHITE MAN LEAVES THE MUSEUM.

CLIP: AUDIO FROM THE MOVIE WITH THE SOUNDS OF THE MARKET PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND.

AS HE DOES, YOU SEE WOMEN WALKING AROUND IN NIQAB - A TYPEOF HIJAB, BOYS WITH WHITE TAQIYAHS, AND MEN WEARING THAWBS AND GHUTHURAIN AND MUSLIM MEN PRAYING.

BUT WHERE IS THE OLD WHITE MAN GOING? WHY, TO ANOTHER ARCHEOLOGICAL DIG SITE.

(CLIP ENDS: AUDIO FROM THE MOVIE WITH THE SOUNDS OF THE MARKET.)

6

AND THAT’S WHEN HE BRINGS THE VIEWER TO A STATUE.

CLIP: AUDIO FROM THE MOVIE WITH THE OLDER WHITE MAN GOING TO THE STATUE PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND.

IT’S A LARGE STATUE, PROBABLY 10 FEET TALL - MAYBE MORE. THE SHOT FRAMES THEM TOGETHER: THE LARGE STATUE ON A ROCK MOUND TO THE LEFT AND THE OLD WHITE MAN ON A ROCK MOUND TO THE RIGHT. IT’S A CLASSIC STAREDOWN. THE CLASSIC BATTLE OF GOOD VS. EVIL.

(CLIP ENDS: AUDIO FROM THE MOVIE WITH THE OLDER WHITE MAN GOING TO THE STATUE.)

WE WON’T LEARN TILL LATER THAT THIS OLD WHITE MAN, WHO WE SEE AS AN ARCHEOLOGIST, IS ALSO A PRIEST: FATHER MERRIN. BUT EVEN BEFORE WE KNOW ALL OF THIS, THE AUDIENCE IS SUPPOSED TO SEE HIM AS A GOOD CHARACTER AND WHATEVER HE IS FACING - IN THIS CASE, THE STATUE - AS A BAD CHARACTER, AS AN EVIL CHARACTER.

THE DEMON, WHO’S STATUE WE SEE AND WHO WE ARE SUPPOSED TO LATER INFER IS THE ON IN CHARGE OF THE DEMONIC POSSESSION, IS NEVER ACTUALLY NAMED. BUT IF YOU WERE WONDERING, THE STATUE IS ONE OF PAZUZU, A POWERFUL DEMON. BUT HE WASN’T A DEMON WHO POSSESSED HUMANS. IN FACT, HE WAS THOUGHT TO BE A POWERFUL PROTECTOR OF PREGNANT WOMEN AND NEWBORNS.20

BUT INSTEAD, THE EXORCIST FOCUSES MORE ON HOW PAZUZU LOOKS. AND I GET IT, HE IS A BIT TERRIFYING. HE HAS TWO PAIRS OF WINGS AND A PAIR OF LEGS AND A PAIR OF ARMS THAT END IN CLAWS. HE HAS A SCORPION’S TAIL, HORNS ON HIS HEAD, BULGING

20 Graff, S. (2014, September 29). Pazuzu: Beyond Good and Evil. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2014/assyria-to- iberia/blog/posts/pazuzu

7 EYES, A SNARLING MOUTH, AND - ALWAYS - AN ERECT PENIS.21 YEAH, I WOULD HAVE PROBABLY HAVE USED HIM AS AN EVIL DEMON TOO.

AND I GET IT - PAZUZU ISN’T A MUSLIM GOD OR TIED TO ISLAMIC RELIGION. BUT HE IS TIED TO A NON-WESTERN THOUGHT PROCESS AND IS SHOWN TO BE EVIL. MUCH LIKE HOW PEPOLE ASSUME THAT ALL ARABS ARE MUSLIMS, IN THIS CASE PAZUZU LINKS BOTH ARABS AND MUSLIMS TO EVIL. IN THE FILM THEY ARE ALL THE SAME.

CLIP: AUDIO FROM THE MOVIE WITH THE STANDOFF

AFTER FRAMING FATHER MERRIN AND PAZUZU IN THEIR STANDOFF, THE CAMERA QUICKLY CUTS TO A DEVIOUS LOOKING ARAB MAN, THEN CUT TO DOGS LOUDLY FIGHTING, THEN CUTS TO ZOOM IN ON THE STATUE’S FACE, THEN CUTS TO THE BLOOD RED SUN OVER THE DESERT. IT’S ALL VERY QUICK AND CONFUSING AND UNSETTLING.

(CLIP ENDS: AUDIO FROM THE MOVIE WITH THE STANDOFF.)

I SPENT MOST OF THE MOVIE ASKING WHY DID THE BEGINNING OF THE MOVIE TAKE PLACE IN “NORTHERN IRAQ?” AND WHY DID IT START WITH THE MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER? IT’S A PRAYER, BUT IT’S A FOREIGN PRAYER. I ASSUME THE AUDIENCE WAS A MOSTLY CHRISTIAN - AND PROBABLY WHITE - AMERICAN AUDIENCE, SO IF YOU ASK ME, PUTTING THE CALL TO PRAYER IN THE BEGINNING IS NOTHING MORE THAN OTHERING ISLAM AND BY EXTENSION ARABS - NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE THE SAME, BUT BECAUSE THEY ARE SO OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH EACH TO THOSE WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND - WHO MIGHT NOT WANT TO UNDERSTAND. THE NORTHERN IRAQ SEQUENCE DIDN’T NEED TO BE THERE. IT DIDN’T NEED TO START THE MOVIE.

AFTER FATHER MERRIN FACES OFF WITH THE PAZUZU STATUE AND THERE ARE ALL OF THOSE QUICK JUMP CUTS, THE CAMERA MAKES IT’S LAST CUT TO, AS SOME TEXT TELLS US, GEORGETOWN. IT ONLY SAYS “GEORGETOWN” - THAT’S IT. I GUESS THAT WITHIN ITSELF SHOWS THE FILMMAKER'S ASSUMPTION THAT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC WOULD HAVE NO IDEA IF THEY WERE GIVEN A SPECIFIC LOCATION INSTEAD OF “NORTHERN IRAQ.” “NORTHERN IRAQ” WILL DO. WE’RE NOT GOING TO KNOW A CITY, WE’RE

21 Graff, S. (2014, September 29). Pazuzu: Beyond Good and Evil. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2014/assyria-to- iberia/blog/posts/pazuzu

8 AMERICANS. BUT THESE FILMMAKERS ASSUMED THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE SHOULD KNOW OR WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT GEORGETOWN WAS IS PART OF WASHINGTON, D.C. IN FACT WASHINGTON D.C. IT’S NOT IMPORTANT. I DIGRESS. THERE ARE OTHER MORE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS HERE. LIKE HOW DID THE DEMON TRAVEL FROM IRAQ TO GEORGETOWN? HOW DID IT GET INTO THAT HOUSE? AND WHY THAT HOUSE? WHY THAT FAMILY? WHY REAGAN? AND WHY DIDN’T THE MOVIE JUST START IN GEORGETOWN TO BEGIN WITH?

I THINK THAT IF THE EXORCIST STARTED IN GEORGETOWN, THEN THE DEMONIC POSSESSION WOULD HAVE SIMPLY CENTERED AROUND EVIL. AND THAT MAKES SENSE - DEMONS AND THE DEVIL ARE TRADITIONALLY NEVER GOOD - BUT IT’S ABOUT MORE THAN THAT. INSTEAD THE MOVIE IS CENTERED AROUND A DEMON FROM A SPECIFIC LOCATION. THEY COULD HAVE HAD EVIL FROM THE OUIJA BOARD, OR AS AN OPPOSITION TO THE CATHOLIC PRIESTS THEMSELVES, OR AGAIN JUST BE A GENERALLY EVIL DEMON, BUT IT’S NOT. WE’RE SUPPOSED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE DEMON IS FROM NORTHERN IRAQ. IT’S IMPORTANT INFORMATION. IF IT WASN’T THEY WOULDN’T HAVE SET IT UP SO CLEARLY. THEY WOULDN’T HAVE LABELED IT.

AND THE BOOK AND MOVIE HAD THAT AS AN OPTION. AT ONE POINT THE GIRL WHO BECOMES POSSESSED AND HER MOTHER ARE IN THEIR BASEMENT, AND THEY DECIDE TO PULL OUT AND PLAY WITH AN OUIJA BOARD.

CLIP: REGAN AND HER MOTHER PLAYING WITH AN OUIJA BAORD.

YOU KNOW IT’S NEVER GONNA GO WELL WHEN THERE’SA OUIJA BOARD. EVER. EVER, EVER, EVER. LIKE IN THE HISTORY OF ANY SCARY MOVIE ONCE THAT COMES IN, SOMEONE’S GONNA DIE. IT MIGHT NOT BE THAT SCENE, IT IGHT NOT BE THOSE PEOPLE, BUT SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE SOMEHOW AND SOMEWHERE.

OH, AND WHEN THEY’RE IN THEIR BASEMENT BECAUSE, YEAH, LET’S PLAY A OUIJA BOARD IN THE BASEMENT IN THIS CREEPY OLD HOUSE IN GEORGETOWN. WELL THAT’S WHERE WE MEET CAPTAIN HOWDY.

CLIP: REGAN TELLS HER MOTHER SHE WANTS HER TO PLAY, BUT CAPTAIN HOWDY DOESN’T.

9 LIKE THE IDEA OF CAPTAIN HOWDY IS TERRIFYING. THAT’S ALL WE NEEDED FOR THIS STORY TO BE CREEPY - I MEAN, HAVE YOU SEEN THE SHINING? THAT WEIRD LITTLE DEMONIC POSSESSION THAT’S ONLY IN HIS LITTLE FINGER. NOPE. DONE. TERRIFYING. I HATE SCARY MOVIES. I LOVE HALLOWEEN, BUT I HATE SCARY MOVIES. I KNOW IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE. BUT YOU HAVE ALL THESE KIDS AND ALL THESE DIFFERENT MOVIES, WHETHER IT’S THE 70’S OR 80’S OR 90’S OR NOW - ONCE THERE’S A CREEPY LITTLE “I SEE A CHARACTER” OR “I HAVE AN IMAGINARY FRIEND” YOU KNOW IT’S NOT GOING TO GO WELL. THAT’S ALL THEY NEEDED TO DO, BUT INSTEAD THEY DIDN’T. AND THEY IGNORE CAPTAIN HOWDY COMPLETELY. WE NEVER HEAR ABOUT HIM AGAIN. THAT’S IT. I HEAR CAPTAIN HOWDY ONE TIME IN THAT ONE SCENE AND THEN EVERYTHING ELSE IS BECAUSE OF ARABS. WE’RE SUPPOSED TO UNDERSTAND IT’S WHATEVER CREEPY, DEMONIC, POSSESSION THING HAPPENED IN NORTHERN IRAQ.

AND WHY DO WE NEVER HEAR ABOUT HIM AGAIN? REGAN’S MOM TAKES HER TO TONS OF DOCTORS, BUT SHE NEVER BRINGS UP THIS CAPTAIN HOWDY SITUATION. AND I GET THAT KIDS ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE IMAGINARY FRIENDS, BUT 12 IS STARTING TO GET A LITTLE OLD - ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT ALL OF THESE OTHER FACTORS. BUT YEAH, WE’LL IGNORE THAT. IT’S FINE. CAPTAIN HOWDY. WHATEVER. WHATEVER.

INSTEAD, REGAN’S CASE IS LOOKED AT BY DOCTOR’S BECAUSE SHE’S COMPLAINING OF HYPERACTIVITY. ANOTHER SYMPTOM SEEMS TO BE DEPRESSION - POSSIBLY BECAUSE HER PARENTS ARE SPLIT UP - AND - GOD FORBID - SHE’S DOING REALLY WELL AT MATH. LIKE THAT’S A SYMPTOM

CLIP: DOCTOR TALKING ABOUT HER SYMPTOMS

YEP - THAT’S CLEARLY A SIGN OF DEMONIC POSSESSIONS. GIRLS CAN NEVER BE GOOD AT MATH. SO THEY GIVE HER RITALIN, BUT THE PROBLEM DOESN’T GO AWAY. AND THAT’S BECAUSE IT’S BEYOND A NORMAL, WESTERN MEDICINE CURING KIND OF SCOPE. IT’S BECAUSE THE DEMON ISN’T JUST ANOTHER DEMON. THE EVIL SN’T JUST ANOTHER EVIL. IT’S BECAUSE OF THE BEGINNING OF THE MOVIE. THE AUDIENCE IS SET TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT’S A DEMON FROM NORTHERN IRAQ. THAT THAT’S WHERE EVIL COMES FROM. SURELY IT’S NOT COMING FROM SOME PLACE IN AMERICA. SURELY NOT IN A COUNTRY WHERE THERE ARE WHITE PICKET FENCES AND 2.5 CHILDREN AND APPLE PIE.

INSTEAD THE DEMON, ONCE TRAPPED IN THIS NORTHERN IRAQ DESERT, HAS BEEN UNCOVERED AND POSSESSED SOMEONE AS INNOCENT, AS A KIND, AS A WHITE, 12 YEAR

10 OLD GIRL IN WASHINGTON, D.C. AND YOU CAN ARGUE WITH ME, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE ONE BIG ANALOGY FOR HOW MUSLIM AND MIDDLE EASTERN THOUGHT AND CULTURE CAN INFLUENCE - AND DESTROY - AMERICA AND AMERICAN VALUES.

AND I’M NOT TRYING TO IGNORE THE FACT THAT WILLIAM PETER BLATTY WAS MIDDLE EASTERN HIMSELF. I’M NOT TRYING TO IGNORE THE FACT THAT HIS PARENTS WERE LEBANESE IMMIGRANTS. WHAT I’M LOOKING AT HERE IS CONTEXT. THE FILM CAME OUT IN 1973. THE COUNTRY WAS STILL DIVIDED AND TORN FROM THE VIETNAM WAR AND KENT STATE AND WATERGATE AND THE FACT THAT GAS WAS ESSENTIALLY DOUBLE THE PRICE PER GALLON BECAUSE OF AN OIL EMBARGO IN THE MIDDLE EAST.22

AT THE TIME THE UNITED STATES DIDN’T EXACTLY HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH IRAQ OR MANY COUNTRIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THE UNITED STATES HAS ARGUABLY NEVER TRULY HAD A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH MANY MIDDLE EASTERN COUNTRIES.

AND I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY WHITE OR CHRISTIAN AMERICANS WOULD HAVE INTERACTED WITH AN ARAB OR MUSLIM PERSON AT THE TIME - AMERICAN OR OTHERWISE. THEIR ONLY KNOWLEDGE BASE MIGHT HAVE BEEN MEDIA. THEY MIGHT HAVE TURNED ON THEIR TVS IN 1968 TO SEE THAT AN ARAB PERSON ASSASSINATED ROBERT F. KENNEDY.

CLIP: NEWS CLIP ON SIRHAN SIRHAN.

OR THEY MAY HAVE WATCHED AS THE MUNICH OLYMPIC MASSACRE UNFOLDED.

CLIP: NEWS CLIP ON THE MUNICH OLYMPIC MASSACRE.

OR THEY MAY HAVE WATCHED AND READ ABOUT THE MIDDLE EASTERN OIL EMBARGOES AGAINST THE WEST.

CLIP: NEWS CLIP ON OIL BEING CUT OFF FROM THE MIDDLE EAST TO THE WEST.

22 Cull, N. (2000). The Exorcist. In D. W. Ellwood (Ed.), The Movies as History: Visions of the Twentieth Century (p. 203). Phoenix Mill: Sutton Pub.

11 EVEN TODAY WHEN WE HEAR ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST ALL WE HEAR ABOUT IN THE AMERICAN MEDIA AND POP CULTURE SYSTEM IS WAR AND TERROR AND BOMBINGS AND DEATH.

AND SO, A FIXED PART OF THE AMERICAN NEWS, MEDIA, AND CULTURE FROM THE 1970S ON IS A FEAR OF THE MIDDLE EASTERN WORLD - A FEAR OF THE ARAB WORLD. THAT’S WHY THE EVIL IN THE EXORCIST IS A FOREIGN DEITY.23 THIS DEMON, AS IT WERE, ISN’T FROM INSIDE THE U.S. BORDERS. IT CAME FROM NORTHERN IRAQ AND THROUGH THE BROWN SKIN OF ARABS AND THE CHANTING OF MUSLIMS. IT PUTS WESTERN IDEOLOGY AND RELIGION AS THE GOOD GUY AND MIDDLE EASTERN IDEOLOGY AND RELIGION AS THE BAD GUY. AND SO, “THE ORIGIN OF THE EVIL IS FROM THE ARAB WORLD”24

THE ONLY REASON THEY SHOW NORTHERN IRAQ IN THE OPENING OF THE FILM - THE START OF THE MOVIE WITH THE CALL TO PRAYER, THE TEA HOUSE, THE FIGHTING DOGS, THE BLOOD RED SUN OF THE DESSERT - IS TO UNNERVE THE AUDIENCE.25 TO SHOW THEM SOMETHING FOREIGN. TO SHOW THEM SOMETHING UNKNOWN.

SHOWING NORTHERN IRAQ SETS UP AN ORIGIN STORY FOR THE DEMON. IT MAY BE IN REGAN’S BODY IN WASHINGTON D.C., BUT IT’S ORIGIN STORY IS IN NORTHERN IRAQ.

I UNDERSTAND THAT I’M FOCUSING ON PROBABLY 10 MINUTES OUT OF A 2 HOUR MOVIE. I GET THAT I’VE SAID “NORTHERN IRAQ” PROBABLY 50 TIMES AT THIS POINT, MAYBE MORE IF ONE OF YOU WANTS TO COUNT - BUT IT’S IMPORTANT TO NOT IGNORE IT. IT’S IMPORTANT TO NOT IGNORE WHEN MEIA IS STEREOTYPING AND VILIFYING AN ENTIRE POPULATION OF PEOPLE. CAUSE THAT’S WHAT THIS MOVIE DOES. IT MIGHT ONLY BE 10 MINUTES, BUT IT DOES IT. AND SO, WHEN WE DO SEE ARABS IN THE FILM WE SEE A BLIND, ONE EYED BLACKSMITH. WE SEE AN ELDERLY WOMAN WHO COULD ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS SINISTER AS SHE RACES IN A CARRIAGE THAT ALMOST RUNS DOWN

23 Cull, N. (2000). The Exorcist. In D. W. Ellwood (Ed.), The Movies as History: Visions of the Twentieth Century (p. 203). Phoenix Mill: Sutton Pub.

24 Cull, N. (2000). The Exorcist. In D. W. Ellwood (Ed.), The Movies as History: Visions of the Twentieth Century (p. 203). Phoenix Mill: Sutton Pub.

25 Cull, N. (2000). The Exorcist. In D. W. Ellwood (Ed.), The Movies as History: Visions of the Twentieth Century (p. 203). Phoenix Mill: Sutton Pub.

12 FATHER MERRIN. WE SEE AN ARAB MAN WHO STARES THE FATHER DOWN AT A DIG SITE. THOSE ARE THE ONLY IMAGES THE AUDIENCE GETS TO SEE.

AND YET THE EXORCIST ACTUALLY FILMED THE NORTHERN IRAQ PARTS IN NORTHERN IRAQ, SHOOTING THERE FOR 8 WEEKS.26 AS THE DIRECTOR EXPLAINS IN FILM COMMENTARY FROM 2000:

CLIP: IT WAS VERY RARE TO BE GIVEN PERMISSION TO FILM IN IRAQ, LET ALONE TO FILM AT AN ARCHEOLOGICAL DIG. IRAQ AT THAT TIME WAS NOT RUN BY SADDAM HUSSEIN, BUT IT WAS GOVERNED BY THE BAATHIST PARTY, WHICH IS SADDAM HUSSEIN’S PARTY. THEY ALLOWED US TO COME OVER HERE AND FILM ON THE CONDITION THAT I WOULD USE IRAQI PEOPLE ON THE CREW AND TRAIN THEM IN FILM TECHNIQUES. AND STRANGELY, THAT WE WOULD SHOW THEM HOW TO MAKE FILM BLOOD, WHICH WE DID, WE SHOWED THEM HOW YOU MAKE UP BLOOD. THOSE WERE THE ONLY TWO CONDITIONS THAT THEY HAD. I HAD TO GO OVER WITH AN ALL BRITISH CREW BECAUSE AT THE TIME AMERICA DID NOT HAVE DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH IRAQ, AS WE DO NOT NOW. SO I WAS THERE WITH A BRITISH CREW WITHOUT PROTECTION OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT OR INDEED AN GOVERNMENT.

THE END CREDITS SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE IRAQ SEQUENCE. THEY SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY, PRODUCTION MANAGER, SOUND, FILM EDITOR, AND ASSISTANT FILM EDITOR, BUT ONLY THE BRITISH CREW FRIEDKIN BROUGHT ITH HIM. EVEN THOUGH THE FILM HAD TO GO THROUGH A LOT TO FILM THERE, THE CREDITS COMPLETELY IGNORE THE IRAQI EXTRAS AND THE IRAQI CREW. THAT’S NOT THE POINT OF THIS EPISODE, BUT IT’S SOMETHING I FELT THE NEED TO POINT OUT. IT’S JUST ANOTHER FRUSTRATING PART OF THE EXORCIST.

AND I THINK BY NOW YOU UNDERSTAND MY MOST FRUSTRATING PART: THAT THE AMERICAN AUDIENCE IS BEING TAUGHT AND LEARNING, WHETHER CONSCIOUSLY OR NOT, THAT IRAQ IS WHERE EVIL COMES FROM. IT DEMONIZES THE ENTIRE PLACE, AND WITH IT, AND ENTIRE POPULATION OF PEOPLE.

26 Dreazen, Y. J. (2003, June 12). At Home in Mosul, Mr. Fakhri Recalls an Exorcist's Visit to Iraq. Retrieved October 6, 2018, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/ SB105536496539980100

13 IT DOESN’T REALLY SEEM LIKE A HAPPY ENDING. WHILE REGAN IS NO LONGER POSSESSED, FATHER MERRIN DIES OF HEART FAILURE DURING THE EXORCISM. ANOTHER PRIEST, FATHER KARROS, PERFORMS THE EXORCISM WITH FATHER MERRIN, AND AFTER MERRIN DIES, FATHER KARROS CONVINCES THE DEMON TO LEAVE REGAN’S BODY. IT LOOKS LIKE THE DEMON FORCES THE YOUNG PRIEST TO JUMP OUT OF A WINDOW, TO HIS DEATH. YES, DOING THIS KILLS THE DEMON, BUT MANY VIEWERS SAW THIS AS A WIN FOR THE DEMON.27 THAT WASN’T BLATTY’S INTENTION - HE ALWAYS SAW THE STORY AS A TRIUMPH OF GOOD OVER EVIL28 - BUT SO IT GOES.

CLIP: AUDIO FROM THE MOVIE AS THE MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND.

AND AS THE MOVIE ENDS, IT ENDS WITH THE MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER. WE HEAR IT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FILM AND NO AT THE END OF THE FILM.

(CLIP ENDS: AUDIO FROM THE MOVIE WITH THE MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER.)

BUT HERE’S THE DIFFERENCE: AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EXORCIST THE CALL TO PRAYER IS SOUNDING IN IRAQ. BY THE END OF THE EXORCIST THE CALL TO PRAYER IS RINGING THROUGHOUT WASHINGTON D.C. OF COURSE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN MUSLIM AMERICANS AT THIS TIME. OF COURSE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN ARAB AMERICANS AT THIS TIME. BUT BY THIS TIME, THE AUDIENCE HAS JUST SPENT TWO HOURS ESSENTIALLY LEARNING THAT THIS DEMON, THAT THIS EVIL, THAT THIS TERROR, IS FROM ARABS AND MUSLIMS FROM A FOREIGN LAND. IT DOEN’T MATTER IF THEY’RE NOW AMERICANS OR NOT. IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE SEEN A ODD AND WEIRD AND OUT OF PLACE THAT THE MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER IS IN AMERICA.

27 Vitello, P. (2017, January 13). William Peter Blatty, Author of 'The Exorcist,' Dies at 89. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/books/ william-peter-blatty-author-of-the-exorcist-dies-at-89.html

28 Vitello, P. (2017, January 13). William Peter Blatty, Author of 'The Exorcist,' Dies at 89. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/books/ william-peter-blatty-author-of-the-exorcist-dies-at-89.html

14 SO, AS ALWAYS, MY FAVORITE QUESTION: WHAT’S THE MESSAGE HERE? THE MESSAGE SEEMS TO BE THAT THE ONLY THING THAT CAN HELP REGAN, HELP US, IS RELIGION - SPECIFICALLY A CHRISTIAN OR CATHOLIC RELIGION.

PERSONALLY, I THINK THE REAL LESSON HERE SHOULD BE TO NOT DIG UP AN ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE. I MEAN, THAT SEEMS TO BE THE REAL PROBLEM, UP THERE WITH BUILDING YOUR HOUSE ON A NATIVE BURIAL GROUND AND UNCOVERING AN EGYPTIAN TOMB. LET’S FACE IT, I FEEL LIKE THERE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ANY DEMON IF FATHER MERRIN HADN’T UNEARTHED SOMETHING IN NORTHERN IRAQ. THE REAL LESON HERE SHOULD BE THAT WHITE PEOPLE. SHOULDN’T GO COLONIZING OTHER COUNTRIES, TAKING OVER OTHER CULTURES, DIGGING ON OTHER PEOPLE’S LAND. THE REAL LESSON HERE IS THAT WHITE PEOPLE SHOULD STAY IN THEIR OWN BUSINESS. BUT THAT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. THAT’S NOT WHAT THE AUDIENCE WOULD HAVE LEFT WITH.

THE ONLY THING THEY WILL REMEMBER IS REGAN FLOATING MID AIR, PUKING GREEN, GOING BACKWARDS DOWN THE STAIRS AND VOMITING BLOOD, HER HEAD TURNING 360 DEGREES, AND THE EXORCISM ITSELF.

CLIP: THE TWO MEN CHANTING “THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU” IN THE BACKGROUND

HOW THE ONLY THING THAT SAVED HER WASN’T DOCTORS OR MRIS OR RITALIN BUT HOW A PRIEST SACRIFICED HIMSELF THE SAME WAY JESUS WOULD HAVE, AND HOW THE ONLY THING THAT TRULY SAVED REGAN WAS HOLY WATER, THE CROSS OF THE LORD, AND RELIGION. AND THAT’S, OF COURSE, IF THEY MADE IT THROUGH THE WHOLE MOVIE WITHOUT FAINTING.

(CLIP ENDS: AUDIO OF THE TWO MEN CHANTING “THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU”.)

I’M MORGAN JAFFE AND THAT WAS BURST YOUR BUBBLE.

THANKS SO MUCH TO JEREMY FERRIS. IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW ALREADY, JEREMY DOES ALL A DIFFERENT PIECE OF ART FOR EACH EPISODE OF THE SHOW. YOU CAN SEE ALL OF THE WONDERFUL WORK HE HAS DONE OVER AT BURSTYOURBUBBLEPODCAST.COM.

15 WHILE YOU’RE THERE, CHECK OUT THE SCRIPT AND ALL OF IT’S FOOTNOTES AND SOURCES FOR TODAY’S EPISODE. AGAIN, THE WEBSITE IS BURSTYOURBUBBLEPODCAST.COM.

AND A BIG THANKS TO TAVAL, WHO LEFT A REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS SAYING “I’M GLAD [I] FOUND THIS PODCAST. LISTENING I CAN LEARN SO MUCH AND CONTINUE TO NURTURE MY ACTIVIST, FEMINIST, ADVOCACY THOUGHTS AND IDEALS. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! PERFECT LENGTH FOR A DRIVE TO WORK AND BACK” AND THEN THERE’S A CONFETTI EMOJI, PLUS THREE EXCLAMATION MARKS AFTER HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. THREE EXCLAMATION MARKS IS A BIG DEAL TO ME. THAT’S A LOT OF LOVE. THANKS SO MUCH, TAVAL, FOR THE REVIEW!

IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE SHOW OR LEAVE A REVIEW - I’LL GIVE YOU SHOUT OUT TOO, DON’T WORRY - FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA, OR VISIT US AT BURSTYOURBUBBLEPODCAST.COM.

BURST YOUR BUBBLE IS RELEASED THE 2ND AND 4TH THURSDAY OF THE MONTH. THE NEXT EPISODE WILL BE RELEASED OCTOBER 25TH. I’M VERY EXCITED - IT’S ANOTHER FUN HALLOWEEN THEMED EPISODE.

ALSO DO YOU HAVE A MONSTER YOU’D LOVE TO HEAR ME TALK ABOUT? OR ANY SORT OF STEREOTYPE - IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE HALLOWEEN THEMED. LET ME KNOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA OR BY SENDING ME AN EMAIL AT [email protected].

I’F YOU’RE IN THE HALLOWEEN SPIRIT, HERE’S ANOTHER PODCAST TO ENJOY IN THE MEANTIME. CHECK OUT FRIGAY THE 13TH. HERE’S A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THEM:

CLIP: PROMO FOR FRIGAY THE13TH, A PODCAST THAT LOOKS AT HORROR IN REAL LIFE OR IN THE MEDIA THROUGH A LGBT PERSPECTIVE.

THAT’S FRIGAY THE 13TH. BECAUSE, SURPRISE, I LOVE SHOWS THAT TALK ABOUT AND ANALYZE POP CULTURE AND MEDIA.

ANYWAY, THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY. THANKS SO MUCH FOR LISTENING, I’LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME, AND HAVE A GOOD ONE!

16