Marie Alessandro – Gods in the Cogs

Metropolis (1927), a movie by Fritz Lang with a script written by his wife, Thea von Harbou, is considered to be an enduring classic film, an epic and beautiful cinematic masterpiece. There exists so much discussion about the aesthetic of this visually stunning film, an example of German Expressionism at it’s finest. Yet at the core is a deep look into Capitalism, through a narrative that veers from desperation into a fairy tale with an unrealistic, yet positive, end to class conflict. Set in the year of 2026, there is an unnerving sense of familiarity as the story unfolds, and to lies that we are still being told by those who own the Capital upon which our economy depends. Was Lang’s vision accurate? 

Following the First World War, Germany was brought under tight control globally through treaties, and world powers which imposed reparations upon them. The Weimar Republic was still quite authoritarian, with economic challenges that were exacerbated by the hyperinflation of the early 1920s, a heavy weight in the struggling average citizen, who had already been through quite a tumultuous time during the war, under the Nazi regime. In contrast, the US continued to rise in power and influence over the world, bringing with it dreams of the successes of the Captains of Industry in their imagined beneficence. Fritz Lang’s masterpiece was a statement on the morale of the worker during this time. Metropolis is a vast and prosperous futuristic city, where we are introduced to it’s elite and elegant upper classes as they enjoy life of leisure, education and competition, even as the downtrodden, exhausted and despairing workers toil unseen “below”, in the underground Worker City. The film was released in 1927 and has long been considered to be a groundbreaking work of science fiction, with novel special effects, and a theme that became a well used trope in later sci-fi – that of the intelligent robot. The tale is carried on with undertones of religious faith, and political allegory.

The city of Metropolis resembles a futuristic city from the comic books of yore. Like the equally fictional Gotham, New York of the time seems to have been an influence over the chosen aesthetic of towering buildings with elegant and streamlined architecture, run through with efficient transport railways; flying cars or small planes traversing the intermingled overpasses full of commuters in their vehicles (a familiar sight to any city dweller, past of present, who needs to rely on cars). The hierarchy here is clear – there seems to be no middle class  that we are made aware of, only “the haves, and the have-nots”. There is a ruling class shown as being citizens of the fine city, the upper class, gorged on their own privilege. This “Club of the Sons”, are representative of the elite populace, led by the city’s own “Master” –  industrialist and Capitalist, Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel). The “workers”…trapped in a dreary existence, exhausted and shopworn in their toils at dangerous and dirty hard labor… live in the underground “Worker’s City” (truly slums), and work there too, in labor intensive “factories”. These workers hit a note of empathy for anyone who has ever worked long hours, or have done back-breaking work. Robotic and dead eyed, clearly worked beyond reason, desperate and yet, strangely docile, these workers are seemingly forced to work to the breaking point to survive. They keep the machines going smoothly, enabling a life of leisure and, we imagine, Utopian existence to the privileged oppressors above. The upper echelon barely seems aware of their existence, and when they are spotted, are stared at as though some wild beast had escaped it’s zoo. They frolic in the Garden while they stand on the backs of the workers, and they are unconcerned. In an effective intro, we see the workers as they queue up to enter the factories, moving in rhythm, like cogs in a machine. They look down, bent forward with the weight of their toils and lot in life. Invisible by design, the workers carry on, day in and day out. Meanwhile, back at the Garden, Maria (Brigitte Helm), an angelic figure, guides a group of children to the very Garden of the elite, striking stars into Freder’s (Gustav Fröhlich) eyes. Freder, being the son of the Master of the City, Joh – is surprisingly innocent in his privilege, and he follows the throng once they are turned back by the servants in the Garden, clearing the elite from the unsightly experience of viewing the working poor. Freder manages to reach the lower levels of Metropolis in his pursuit of Maria, only to discover the horrors of the realm, witnessing firsthand the enslaved, and being stirred to confusion and a need to help them in their plight. While there, workers keep up a frantic pace and yet, the machines start to run amok, uncontrolled (a fine example of “lean management” at its worst, I’d argue). The scene culminates in an explosion that causes numerous deaths and injuries, and a “vision” in which Freder witnesses the top of the factory platform to become a big, open, demonic mouth, there to be fed the workers in sacrifice to production, the great god Moloch.  Running back to his father, he implores that the plight of the workers below be alleviated, only to be met with utter indifference, and the attitude that dismisses any human empathy shown by Freder.

Freder finds Maria preaching to the poor working classes, a prophecy. There will be a “Mediator” known as the “Heart”, who would stand in between the “Head” (Upper classes) and the “Hands” (workers), bringing good for all. He becomes inspired (and more than a little dazzled by Maria), deciding that her message is true and that he would do this to impress his love for her upon her. But his attempts are met with scorn and he is dismissed, now looked upon with suspicion by his father…who, it turns out, also knows a good opportunity to exploit others when he sees one.  Joh seeks out an old “frenemy”, the wild haired mad scientist Rotwang, a former suiter of his dead wife, who still carries q torch. He asks Rotwang to build a robot to use to manipulate the workers, asking that it be clothed in Maria’s likeness to disrupt rebellious efforts. Rotwand, it turns out, has other ideas…after all, the love of his life left him heartbroken, choosing Joh, before she died giving birth to Freder. Rotwang instead plots to employ the robot to foment chaos and destruction of the workers and the worker city, which would cripple and possibly destroy the life of the elites above, ruining Joh in the process. The movie then brings us down the path of ruin, with Robot-Maria sowing discord and mindless uprising with deceptive guidance in which they destroy their own homes and nearly kill their own children. I find myself in wonder at the depiction of self-harming direct action without thought, itself implying perhaps that workers aren’t smart enough to be trusted without a “helping hand” from above.

The first of the narratives we see presented in Metropolis is set up to show us the effects of unrestrained capitalism. There is a great divide…a CHASM… between social classes. Lang brings us to a society in which unparalleled economic inequality has necessitated the existence of a worker class that can only be compared to slavery, with no middle class nor “upward mobility” in sight, no way to better such a dreary existence. We see the rampant dehumanisation of workers and disregard for their well being. They look defeated and act like robots in their action, repeating and lifeless, with no purpose but to be a disposable part. Class war is bubbling up, readying to set the stage for rebellion. The narrative continues along to describe to us how the ruling class uses their power to control the workers and keep them docile, unequipped for any uprising in their depressive and depleted state. There is still an undertone of anger, of suffering to the brink of having nothing to hope for, but also a point at which there is nothing left to lose. It shows us the machination of the rulers above, manipulating and deceiving the workers, employing a surveillance state out to control any thought that they may step outside of their decided roles. With the addition of religious metaphors (always a popular escape from suffering of the masses), we see a theme of salvation begin to be woven in, but…to what end?  It weaves a tale that a savior can be found only from Above, as it were, which in itself upholds the ideals of hierarchical social class. There is the Head, Heart and Hands in their mythology, as they wait for the Heart to arrive in their midst. Freder is that Heart of course, fulfilling a role as the mediator between the Hands (working class) and the Head (ruling class). The end is hopeful and dreamy; the worker foreman is met by the hands of Joh, compelled by his son Freder. The ending leaves me with questions, unanswered. The truce we witness leaves us no details, no knowledge about how this would play out – the workers are now homeless, their jobs, still unsafe; the rich still live carefree and it can be imagined they may not be so compliant at sharing that wealth and privilege. The film doesn’t provide us with any  answers to these questions. Instead, it gives us a fairy tale ending that leaves the message of the main body of the movie lost in the aether, run over by the Deus ex Machina. Freder, a dreamer who is surprisingly pure and innocent considering his father’s cut-throat practices, has somehow bumbled his way to the role of a political/economic mediator, seeking to bring peace between the social classes in order to win over his love. We are expected, somehow, to accept this ending with gratitude and hope, despite having witnessed the callous elites and the desperate and unfortunate workers.

This movie will always be a gorgeous piece of Expressionist joy, visually, executed artfully in all aesthetic points. There is much admiration to be had in the beauty presented for the eyes – the city scapes, the novel special effects, the amazing sets and the costumes (most especially that of the Robot herself). The message was meant to give uplifting hope to a tumultuous world in post war Germany, to a rather disheartened populace. Capitalism wasn’t so critiqued then as it is now, as captains of industry were seen as heroes and innovators, leaders of our future, much as they present themselves today. We can compare much of the story to narratives we see now, the stark contrasts of the Rich and the working Poor – knowing well that the suggested magic of Love Saves All presented to us by Lang isn’t a shiny bright promise of a golden future, but a continuation of opportunity to be manipulated by the ruling class.

Originally posted here – http://blogs.umb.edu/cinemastudies/2020/11/06/workers-of-metropolis/

I don’t know about you, but this “Time of COVID” means I have watched more movies than I ever could have hoped to watch in such a short span of time. Our social lives have become mere images of what they once were, as we gather in digital form, “together alone”, in a subtle but anxious real life horror tale. Now, I’m a lover of a good cult movie, and there are just so many out there, I finally got to sit down with quite a few on my watchlist. Cult movies often are, by definition, unique experiences, often with odd and low budget effects and sets. But, in all my previous viewings of cult movies, never has one been so simultaneously horrific and yet…whimsical. This movie is WEIRD, and fans seem to agree. Colorful and dreamy, with hand painted sets and stage lighting, bizarre sequences that seem straight out of an LSD propaganda film, and a collection of perky and sweet Japanese schoolgirls on a supernatural adventure, “Hausu” is a delight that left me watching with my mouth open in sheer awe of the over-the-top spectacle of it.

Filmmaker Nobuhiko Obayashi and screenwriter Chiho Katsura partnered on this film, and, not satisfied with how adults think about horror, picked the brains of Obayashi’s own daughter Chigumi for inspiration. The result is a fantasy film, with ghosts, hungry cannibal spirits, angry cats, demonic pianos and a dancing skeleton, awash in a cacophony of colors, softly filtered. The result confounded Japanese audiences and Toho, the film company that sponsored it’s creation…but it hit a spot for Japanese youth, who turned this strange offering into a hit. It remains one of the weirdest movies you will ever see, and age has done it no harm whatsoever.

The premise of the movie is actually hard to describe beyond the bare bones of it, in truth. Seven school friends trek to the home of one of their aunt’s in the rural mountains. It is a beautiful old estate, and apparently, quite haunted. Initial scenes are softly and warmly lit, feeling downright idyllic and cozy. The girls have a wonderful camaraderie. But somehow, these innocents are simply oblivious for an entirely unbelievable amount of time as everything gets crazier around them. CRAZY barely covers it, really. There is playfulness in this accelerating chaos too – a lovely dancing skeleton that I simply couldn’t get enough of, and that CAT…and Aunty herself, an elegant woman who seems to live alone in this space even while confined to a wheelchair. At least, at first, because Aunty grows suspiciously stronger and apparently younger as the movie goes on, and girls simply start to disappear in the strangest ways. The piano scene is really something to behold, and I found myself thinking that surely someone must have been on psychedelics for this movie to be made. Flying undead heads come to bite the girls in the ass (literally); rooms fill with blood. Each scene plays out and the next is even MORE over the top and vivid. It is quite like watching an anime come to life by way of Alice in Wonderland after a detour through Susperia. It’s surreal, zany and absolutely absurd at every turn, barely making any sense. This actually was intentional, as Obayashi created it as a dark child’s fantasy story after all. There is deeper meaning however, as Obayashi grew up near Hiroshima prefecture where he lost friends during the bombings. The Aunty represents loss of that time, and the haunting is related to lost love due to the bombing event and war. The innocence of the girls to the point of being naive is purposeful, as these girls never knew the sorrow and fear of war. They even compare a vision of a mushroom cloud to the appearance of “cotton candy”.

The techniques used in the film are novel and unique, to this day, and a technical challenge to boot. The intention was to make everything seen quite dreamlike, and absolutely fake, and he went for it, creating a very experimental aesthetic. The reception, as I may have mentioned, remained confused at best.  Studio executives felt cheated, critics hated it. But it mattered not for the film was embraced by the youth, lovingly and enthusiastically, surprising everyone.  There is to this day, almost no movie it can be compared with. It was visionary, and a sheer joy to see an artist such as Obayashi do as he pleases with a fantastical, and insanely chaotic film that breaks all the rules and wins you over for the effort. A dark fantasy, a tale for children with a warning at the core, like any good fairy tale, leads you further into the woods before you ever realized you have left the normal world behind, forever.

originally posted here – http://blogs.umb.edu/cinemastudies/2020/10/30/hausu-an-experience-like-no-other/

You find yourself at home, unable to leave this once comforting place except for basic needs such as groceries, the doctor, or gods forbid, to go to work. In the supermarkets for a time we dealt with insanity and struggled to even acquire toilet paper. There are masks everywhere, a thought that once seemed to be a horror trope in itself, a dystopian necessity, but now when you see someone without one you seek to get away as fast as possible lest you catch a contagion. Thoughts of mutation and zombies occasionally cross your thoughts. We listen to incessant reports of death and infection rates, wait for restriction to lift, and instead, they increase. We are afraid perhaps, that we won’t be able to survive, not only from a disease we may catch, but from lack of livelihood, work, and purpose as we all collectively stay at home, feeling as though we are rotting away. We feel alone and isolated. We wonder if we ARE being paranoid, maybe question reality as we watch so many people disregard guidelines without seeming to suffer repercussions. Are we delusional? Is this real? Time has lost meanings as we go day to day within our same four walls and attend, mindlessly, Zoom meeting after Zoom meeting. Normal life is a fading memory. Sound like a horror movie? Afraid not, we just are living through 2020, the year that so far, seems never ending. 

We can likely agree that our daily lives are filled with an air of paranoia, fear and distrust these days as Corona-19 continues to spread, even as it has been beaten back, just to surge again. An unseen force, threatening our well being and our loved ones.  Halloween has even been cancelled! What a heartbreak for those of us who live for the season, who want to take our families out as to play at being monsters, or to socialize as our innermost demons. Hell, we even see comedy creators bringing us satirical portrayals of these warnings we are seeing – STAY HOME! Because “HALLOWEEN IS CANCELLED”!

Quarantine moviemaking is thriving. Especially Horror.                             

I don’t necessarily mean the large, commercial Hollywood film industry as it continues on during the pandemic. This also doesn’t relate directly to movies about pandemics, or even about isolation. Instead, this will focus on indie movies, and those made by creatives at home, with an itch to create, working with what they can during this trying time…. On Zoom, in clever edits, in creative collaboration. The current pandemic is seeding a rich field of indie and aspiring filmmakers and story tellers to pour forth a whole slew of creations, big and small…and we are watching them. Whether we look on YouTube or TikTok, short form horror films are thriving. All over the world, no less. And, larger cinema industry influencers are noticing, too.

 NPR highlights some of these efforts, with titles such as “Covid 19 Coronavirus Quar Horror” from Brazil, “Wrath” from Canada,  and “Stay at Home” from here in the US, New Orleans. The range of ability and filmmaking knowledge ranges from that of complete amatuers to those with the clear influences of film school. Even locally we can find such contributions of talent, as seen in “Isolation”, an anthology that is in part led by Leominster, MA resident Nathan Crooker. 

Themoonunit.com gives us a rundown of what they consider the Top 10 Quar-Horror movies, which highlights efforts such as “Screen” which features Zoom, “Lockdown 28” with overtones of Asian horror and sci-fi, and one of the most relatable…”Quarantined”.

Even Shudder, the popular streaming service that centers on the Horror genre, has stuck a toe into the waters of the current zeitgeist with the release of Host, a unique offering that clocks in at just around an hour runtime, playing on these daily issues we experience as users of the now ubiquitous Zoom…the weird sound glitches, tricks of light and shadow in the background, the “fun” backdrops gone wrong, and the bad connections that drop in and out of view, turning the simple technological problems of an overloaded network into a fearful dive into uncertainty, fear and terror.

HOST on Shudder was made ENTIRELY over Zoom. Director and co-writer Rob Savage for Shadowhouse Films takes us along on a bumpy and fragmented nightmare ride, in which we best witness to a group of friends having a little socially distanced fun over Zoom, appropriate to the season of Halloween – a séance.  It features some well done stunt work (the work of Lucky 13 Action),  portraying the horror of the film through a now-familiar feature of our lives during the COVID-19 pandemic – Zoom. I will give a synopsis while trying to avoid spoilers below, and assess its effectiveness.

The premise is simple: a group of six friends log on to Zoom for a video chat seance, led by the new-agey hippy spiritualist Seylan (Seylan Baxter). Nobody seems to take this particular social event seriously, other than Haley (Haley Bishop) who has organized this little gathering, and Seylan herself. Haley reveals she has done this before, and assures her friends that contact with the spirit world is indeed a real thing, and she has had these séances before, during which “things happen”. The opening immediately dropped some hints having shown us Haley’s messy closet, prone to opening spontaneously and dumping the contents onto the floor. This sets us up to wonder if Haley just has a way of attributing “spirit activity” to simple quirks of her home…or if there might already be some dark influences present due to her involvement with séances. Her friends want to have fun, to not be serious, and instead suggest that they make it a drinking game and not the serious foray into the supernatural that is presented. Against Haley’s protests to take this seriously, they do exactly that, playfully interacting, the activity peppering the dialog with light mockery and fakery meant to humor Haley and make the party laugh. The group takes a drink every time Seylan says “astral plane”, and Haley is clearly agitated. Despite this humor, we know we signed up for something horrific, and find ourselves scanning the dark and shadowed backgrounds, waiting for SOMETHING that we know is coming, which of course, builds slowly. Besides, any horror fan knows, we should NEVER take any contact with the spirits jokingly.

Soon enough we see and hear things happen…flickering lights, thumps and tapping, objects shifting without human help. We listen through periods of glitchy signals, and if you listen hard enough you might even notice a barely audible and garbled voice on Haley’s feed, hidden in the static. This waiting for things to happen sets us up effectively as the action escalates; the thumping is investigated, we see things that of course might not have really been there, until we finally see some more solid evidence in a polaroid photo. We cannot help but wonder why no one seems to immediately turn on all the lights, but we all know that is a well known trope, that victims in horror rarely do what makes sense.  Dead air hisses as these incidences increase and the group begins to experience now direct interaction with the presence now untethered, as “internet problems” have cut off their spirit guide from them. Seylan’s departure was a little bit too convenient, following the first real, if quickly gone, jump scare. There is a lingering doubt left in us when she is reached by phone later and warns them that making up stories to be funny may have disrespected the spirits. We wonder if Seylan was indeed herself, after all.

Savage and co-writers Gemma Hurley and Jed Shepherd work well with the limits of the at-home sets, together with the efforts of equally at-home stunt people; they have managed to use editing sleight of hand to make it work as seamlessly as one can, with the added distraction of Zoom’s continued glitches and multiple view windows, pulling our eyes in multiple directions. The story culminates in a bit of a storm of increasing violence showered upon each victim, the malicious spirit being shown as taking the form that was summoned by Jemma (Jemma Moore) in her “fake out” story, first as shadows and quick creepy glimpses or a photo, then as something unseen but cleverly revealed as very much possessing a physical presence through some almost playful reveals. In some cases we can’t even see what is happening as each member of the seance falls victim to the demonic spirit, such as a cute looping background made by Caroline (Caroline Ward) that is in truth hiding her violent death from the eyes of the viewer until the last few moments.  One by one they drop away, bringing it back to Haley – and Jemma, who managed to escape her home in hopes of saving Haley – as we watch them ALMOST make it before the final, and terrifying, last jumpscare reveal, just as the “free version” Zoom call times out. End credits roll cleverly in the form of Zoom’s participant list before extended credits are shown. 

Much of what annoys us about using Zoom is what makes this movie fresh and effective even while utilizing plot tropes that have already been done. The use of a fake Zoom background provides a digital blindfold that is effectively terrifying, bad connections make communication disjointed and confusing at times,and sound artifacts are used to good effect. Seeing so many visual boxes with horrified faces and action creates a clash in where to look and disorientation, or when narrowed down as participants “lose connection” to only see one, or two windows, forcing our eyes to focus on the fates of the few. Each tries to remain connected to the others throughout, inexplicably continuing to carry phones and laptops around with them, providing that “found footage” feel; a jangling, erratic and unnervingly bouncy footage that is the absolute opposite of the common steady-cam we know and love. These effects are used well in adding to the chaotic moments of terror as they accelerate. The theme of being in lockdown and living in isolation truly hangs on even as this is shown to be a social event, with each alone and afraid despite friends present online to bear witness. Seylan had warned that since they were not together physically that they were, perhaps, less safe for it, even as she was trusting that she would not need to worry about disrespecting the spirits through playful fakery of Haley’s friends. That one tiny warning is what leads us straight into hell….together, but each alone and vulnerable while everyone else can only witness each atrocity in horror, as they wait for their own demise. Even as Jemma makes a break to help Haley in person, she dons a mask against the virus outside, and when she finds Haley under a desk, instead of hugging to comfort her after this trauma, they bump elbows, driving home the fact that we already life in a “new normal” that itself, carries fear and anxiety of sickness and death.

Taking in the additional knowledge that each actor also functioned as their own camera crew, special effects such as fire and demonic apparition were also done elsewhere and that stunts were done in different homes and cleverly edited together to look continuous, all within a 12 week period of time, is frankly, impressive. The idea of a “Zoom movie” itself sounds as though it is a recipe for a disaster of a movie and yet, it works, and it works WELL. Give it a watch, and try to keep the lights ON during your next Zoom hangout, just to be safe.

Originally posted here – http://blogs.umb.edu/cinemastudies/2020/10/23/during-pandemic-lockdowns-some-people-bake-bread-and-some-well-some-create-horror/

     It’s October; the air is getting crisp, and horror is in the air. The time of year when major film releases of the Horror genre abound. This year perhaps more so than any other in the recent past, calls for indulgence in our guiltiest pleasures in horror as we host at home movie marathons, to ward away the worries of the world outside, cocooned. In these stressful times, I turn to some of my favorite tropes for comfort in my familiar frights….Evil Dolls, Satanic Witches, and Vampire Lesbians.

     Vampire Lesbians as a trope has been around for quite some time in film. In 1936, Dracula’s Daughter showed a surprising amount of lesbian subtext. But the trope really hit its stride just as we were exiting the Swingin’ 60s, heading into the Libidinous 70s, bringing us artfully presented, beautiful and sensual Vampire Lesbians. Hammer Films embraced this trope, and continue to have a cult following. In general, expect no deeper social commentary in this realm of exploitation films than entertainment made with the ever present Male Gaze in mind. Sex sells, and this is part of the bread-and-butter of the Horror genre. But beyond the interest in creating a product that sells, there is still a subversiveness to the content that sprung forth from a time when queerness was less visible and socially discouraged. I am sure I am not the only queer person who had discovered deeper truths about who they are, by way of the Horror.

 

     I decided to have a triple feature this week. As an LGBTQ person, and an avid horror film fan since I was a kid. Not to give away my age, but I grew up watching the Creature Double Feature and similar productions on TV, growing into a teen who was enamored of Vampires…and beautiful women. Dangerous and wild creatures of the night have a soft spot in my heart. So I picked three of my favorites, which I’ll share with you now, and I will do my best to avoid spoilers. And perhaps you should know – these films all provide ample views of tender and mortal flesh. But we’re all adults here, so, onward!

  My first choice was a classic Hammer Film, “The Vampire Lovers” (1970).  Set in the 18th century, the tale takes us down a path where a beautiful female vampire named Camilla (Ingrid Pitt) drifts from place to place, becoming “close friends” with young women in the village, who suddenly begin growing weaker, and wasting away from a mysterious illness. The costumes are a treat. The aesthetics of the scenes in which Camilla shows her affections here read as toned down Playboy pinups filtered through some Jane Austin. It’s Gothic sense of drama, the reveal where we see the bite marks on the breasts of her victims, it titillates, as it was meant to. That theme of a woman, in all her feminine glory, holding power over her victims, menacing and predatory is of course, fated to not last. Hammer Films shaped that trope expertly, with just the right lighting for that glimpse of naked flesh aimed at catching the Male Gaze in the act of looking, while my queer self comes along for the ride. Fairly subdued in comparison with other films of the trope, but a cornerstone in the mass production of monster movies made for low key sensual enjoyment.

    My next film choice was “Vampyros Lesbos” (1971). A German film directed by Jesús Franco, it gives us an particularly artistic presentation of vampire erotica.  Pushing raciness further, there is more nudity and odd, but sensual, performance art and dance by the main character, a club owner and performer named Nadine (Soledad Miranda).  An American living in Istanbul encounters Nadine and so begins our story. Linda (Ewa Stroemberg) has a passionate, if dreamlike affair, being seduced and fed upon by Nadine. There is quite a bit of elegant framing of the feminine form in this movie, and certainly a lingering appreciation of the vampiric powers of seduction that is part and parcel of the Vampire legend. There are conniving psychiatrists and manipulation, madness and hysteria, and plentiful eye candy throughout. The soundtrack itself is also a fun retro-creepy mood setter, with groovy beats and rhythms with distorted and growling vocals. Don’t expect depth here. But the Euro-centric and cosmopolitan environment depicted certainly shows us a freer expression and comfort with Queerness, once again created for mass consumption of a presumably cis and hetero male audience, with no doubt many young queers on the sidelines like me, with stars in their eyes. Such were the times.

    I love the Vampire Lesbian trope and there are so many campy and tantalizing movies in this category.  I wanted to move towards modern creations with newer twists to suit the changing times, and to move away from simply wrapping up some nudity and fangs in a nicely packaged product intended to be devoured by a heterosexual audience. Luckily, I didn’t have to look far from home to find just such a movie, that holds not only queerness, but feminism, in mind while still indulging the tastes of the trope. My third film choice, which garnered 8 wins and 13 nominations for awards in indie film festivals, premiered in the Boston Underground Film Festival in 2016. “Blood of the Tribades” (2016), directed by Sophia Cacciola and Michael J Epstein, revels in the Vampire Lesbian trope, but with a satisfying twist – rather than seeing the oft scorned fem vampires becoming the vilified Other by the film’s end, the vampire women in this film are portrayed as fighting against patriarchal oppression that had condemned and exiled their free spirited femme tribe. A delightful romp, it does a spectacular job at tributing the 70s Vampire Lesbian films that came out of Europe in all of it’s campy glory. This film highlights soft naked femme flesh for the viewer, certainly. It also reverses the trend that caters to the (hetereosexual) Male Gaze alone, acknowledging those of us who want to see the balance shifted and turned to face us by showing the sadomasochistic drama of punishments that befall offending men who fall out of grace of Bathor, their vampire god. Indeed, you are going to behold full on, glorious male frontal nudity, a refreshing change that redirects the expected sexualized gaze in a new direction. Ultimately, feminist rage holds court. In between all of the scenes of sensuality and torment there’s an enjoyable tale to be had, and for once, I’m more than delighted at seeing the Lesbian Vampires walk away with the advantage. Blood on warm, nubile skin, glimpses that tease, blatant sexualization delivered with camp. I must admit, to being both indulged in carnality and enlivened by destruction of the Patriarchy in “Tribades”, but to see the one thing that always irks me –  the lesbian is forever the evil temptress playing into the predatory queer trope – always disappoints me in my enjoyment of typical Vampire Lesbian movies. To see that finally turned on its head, gives me life, as they say.

Now pardon me, I’m not yet done revelling in my queer gothicness, so off I go to continue my binge. Pull up a chair, there’s plenty of popcorn!

 

originally posted here – http://blogs.umb.edu/cinemastudies/2020/10/16/out-for-blood-vampire-lesbian-tropes-never-grow-old/

“Ex Machina” is Writer Alex Garland’s ( “28 Days Later”, “Sunshine”) directorial debut film. A novelist and screenwriter who can weave an engrossing tale, Garland was nominated and won an impressive list of awards for “Ex Machina”  after it’s release in 2014.

 

     The story begins with the introduction of a rather meek and withdrawn Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a talented programmer at Blue Book, a tech company of the likes of Google and Facebook. We are introduced just as he approaches the reclusive estate of the founder of Blue Book, Nathan (Oscar Issac), the epitome of the Tech-Elite stereotype, a genius with an encompassing zeal to create a true artificial intelligence. Tension is immediately present between these two men, along with strong emphasis on their mismatched power dynamics before we meet the subject of interest, Ava. An engrossing thriller, the movie continues to set up layered themes and symbolism, including allusion to the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Knowledge, isolation and imprisonment. The toxic tropes and behaviors, reflective of the male dominated tech industry, play throughout. Dialog is well crafted and thought provoking, both leading us through distraction and teasing us with further questions that arise as we watch.

 

     Caleb has won a contest, and access to beta test an AI prototype, Ava (Alicia Vikander), is his prize. Nathan informs Caleb that he is key to testing Ava’s ability to think and reason, and key to answering the question “Is she a true AI?”.  Nathan’s remote home and workspace highlights isolation as a theme, as starkly lonely as it is beautiful.  Nathan and Caleb both mirror the isolation theme in character. Locations alternate between scenes of vast and unoccupied nature, and cement walled, windowless rooms not unlike a prison.  Caleb is given a key card to use – he is welcome anywhere it unlocks. There is a feeling at times that Caleb is but a rat in a maze, or perhaps, the bait. Caleb spends time in conversation, evaluating Ava’s capabilities. These segments are precisely marked, as though chapters in a book, with titles to indicate each of his days spent with Ava.

 

     We also note a silent and visually beautiful servant is present, quickly learning she too, is a robot. Kyoko (Sonoya Mizun0) has limited function – domestic service that is at times imperfect…a spilled glass draws out Nathan’s ire, when we learn she cannot understand English by way of her programming, for privacy reasons. She is mute. Caleb however, seems to recognize her comprehension of Nathan’s anger, and makes a point of mentioning it. We also see that she additionally serves as an entertainer and as a concubine, here to serve Nathan’s whims and desires of the flesh, in silence. She is treated as an object, and we are reminded that is indeed what she is…an object. 

 

     The story accelerates in predictable ways when we consider the two men – Nathan, this Silicon Valley Alpha male who created his genius code at 13; yet he created his AI using ethically questionable means and considers himself above law. We see Caleb revealed as an emotionally deprived orphan without relationships, a loner who daydreams of love, but seemingly not one grounded in the real world. There is an implication that he has never known such connection in his isolation. Caleb is vulnerable. Nathan objectifies women, literally, as his robotic property, while Caleb accepts them almost immediately as “real” in his response to Ava. We can see the tragic end coming, though the way the game plays out is layered and reveals Ava’s strategic ability. 

 

     

I’ll explore each character and their relationships a little further. Throughout, I found myself weighing Ava’s actions of self preservation against the question of her consciousness as she follows her directive to “escape”, in contrast to these two flawed human beings. Human beings that we unquestioningly consider to be “persons”, with consciousness and free will.  Nathan is made easy to dislike from the start, full of arrogance and cockiness, casual in his manipulation of Caleb, and the misogyny we see displayed toward Kyoko. I expected to struggle with the question of Ava as I considered what messages on the nature of consciousness this movie was trying to provoke. Instead, I found myself returning again and again to the flaws of the two men, their separateness from the whole of humanity – one as a king at full height of his power, in contrast to the hapless underling at his mercy. I find the movie instead brings me to question the consciousness of humanity itself, and the maladaptive functions we have learned within a social structure with a focus on POWER. It is power that makes Nathan so blithely cruel and manipulative, it is power imbalance that created the position of subordination in which we see Caleb, who is not free as Nathan is to be himself nor to fight back effectively, even as Nathan uses his power to manipulate Caleb in much the same way he manipulates the robots. Caleb is indeed, bait. Ava continues to aim for her directive, and in truth it doesn’t matter if she has perceived feelings or empathy; Nathan plays with the emotions of Caleb through his testing, yet we do not question it. Ava (a name which I believe comes from the Hindu concept of “avatar”, an embodiment of a god), is made in God’s image as it were, with Nathan himself on that throne. The ethical problem presented in this movie is how we, as people, treat other people (especially in relation to power), before we even hit the topic of AI development itself.  Additionally, we are intended to see Ava and her cohort as being mirrors of us, of humans. They present as humans, and so, consciously or not, we treat them as such. Humans love to humanize that which we interact with…even as we dehumanize other humans. The true question of her consciousness is in a sense, irrelevant.

 

     Nathan does not see Ava as a person but as an object, while it seems that Caleb does, almost immediately responding to Ava with empathy. But I’d argue that in his actions, Nathan doesn’t act as though Caleb is a person. Caleb is an easily manipulated tool in his test kit. Nathan reveals the details of the creation of Ava –  his algorithm was built on all of the world’s private digital data, stolen; search queries, questions, ideas, browsing history, even porn preferences. He violated the entire world, ignoring law, decency and courtesy to create his machines. He seeks to be god in his aggregation of humanity itself, which is an ultimate power. He considers not only robots as his to command, but also considers humanity as a resource to pillage. Furthermore, we see his poor treatment of not only Caleb and Ava, but in Kyoko (a name with meanings that mean both “respectful, child” and “mirror” depending on what kanji is used). He treats Kyoko in a very misogynist way; she is a sex toy and a domestic servant. He has removed her voice, muted her and rendered her incapable of understanding English, removing any power to object. She is painted entirely as a demeaning racial stereotype in that she is Asian, clearly submissive and docile, here to serve him as a specific trope of a woman (in all ways). As we later see the prototypes revealed when Caleb spies Nathan’s personal computer, finding a folder of test video…we are meant to be horrified by the results. We see the prototypes in turn refusing to charge themselves, screaming for freedom, destroying themselves in trying to escape the power that Nathan holds over them in ownership. “Why won’t you let me OUT?” one screams. To complicate and deepen our likely revulsion at Nathan, we learn that the failed robots are erased, and reprogrammed with a simpler OS – one that turns them into servants and slaves with a minimum of perceived consciousness, and personality.  They are, in a sense, lobotomized, if we previously considered them to be “person like”.

 

     Caleb is more likable, initially. We are perhaps even meant to feel a little sorry for him – he seems a bit of an awkward fellow, a loner, no family or partner. A gifted programmer, he parses as a stereotype of a specific kind of tech industry nerd – awkward, isolated and lonely, but gifted; more comfortable with fantasy than with real relationships (the mention of porn he watches is meant to give us an impression of possible fear of personal relationships). We are meant to sense him as vulnerable, and he is – so much so that he was a handpicked victim to be used indiscriminately in Nathan’s test, and prevented from calling attention to it legally by way of a complex NDA that Nathan tried to slip by him as “standard”, which allows Nathan to use his power without repercussion and would punish Caleb should his abuses be revealed. Caleb unsurprisingly “falls in love” with Ava, seeing her in his fantasies, wanting to fulfill those internal ideals and to be her savior, without thought about what Ava, as a “person”, is actually like. He becomes attached almost immediately, content to see her as a dream girl come to life. He is seemingly unaware of his misuse of power as well, what little he has, as a free being speaking to an imprisoned, possibly conscious, robot while aspiring to “save” her with aim to romantic overtures. Following his discovery of the prototype tests, we then see his grasp on reality slip, realizing that he is but a mouse in a maze meant to lure a bigger prey, experiencing a psychotic break that insinuates to us that he doubts even his own reality as a human being, feeling as used and abused as he ended up perceiving the robot prototypes to have been used and abused.

 

  Last, there are the robots. I will speak of them as a loose collective despite the fact that we focus only on Ava as a possibly conscious being; the previous prototypes are stages upon which the next iteration of Ava is built. They all contain some of Ava, or rather, Ava contains them. Kyoko is the only one of the previous iterations that remains active and powered up, and we can witness how she has her communication functions disabled purposefully, to make her useful by Nathan’s standards. She cooks, she cleans, she is carnal and seductive, all pleasing actions of a fantasy woman that Nathan enjoys, moreso perhaps because she cannot challenge him, cannot emote displeasure, cannot disturb or disrupt him in the slightest – displaying only passive, mute and silent acceptance of his behaviors without judgement,  seeming to respond to pre-set conditional cues of needs of the flesh to provide what is desired. She is, in comparison to Ava, a shell. Still, we can flash back to the scene in which Caleb views the Deus Ex Machina folder of the prototype testing….it’s very hard to remember these robots are responding in novel ways to their tests and think of them as only robots, when watching one of the previous versions literally destroy themselves in a seemingly desperate and possibly panicked attempt at brute force escape. Ava has learned to not use brute force, but to manipulate less tangible conditions such as human emotion and to leverage Caleb’s disconnectedness with human closeness. She does as she is programmed to, with input derived from a man who believed he functioned as a god, alone, without context of others beyond the use of them as tools.  We don’t directly see indication of suffering or distress as we might have interpreted the escape behaviors of the prototypes in Ava. The previous robots exhibited desperation; if we find it convincingly real or simply a function of programming is another question. Ava seems subdued yet it is intended that we empathize with her, based on everything we have learned. We WANT her to be humanlike.

 

     The questions presented in this film are less about potential conscious robotics and more about  the nature of human beings. In our society, there is power imbalance and vast inequality that certainly lends this delusion of self-godhood of a sort to those who hold all the power and resources (money, always money), exemplified by Nathan. Those who are denied power, those used and abused by our systems of power find themselves feeling loss, feeling helpless, and prone to victimization, exemplified by Caleb. Ava and her cohort show us a mirror of how Nathan sees the world in her initial programming; Caleb will have hopefully sown new seeds of interaction models within her so that she may learn a fuller scope of what it means to be a person. I can see in her the ability to shape herself into MORE, to coax from the roots of humanity that Nathan gave her, to foster an emergent mind. Only time, and further experience, would reveal Ava’s emergent consciousness. I feel that only in context to those around us, to our community, does the idea of consciousness have any true meaning at all, and in the final scene I contemplate this, even as I watch Ava free now, in the world outside, watching the world go by her in the busy intersection she had spoken of, very early in the film, finally free.

 

originally posted here – http://blogs.umb.edu/cinemastudies/2020/10/09/an-examination-of-themes-of-consciousness-and-humanity-in-ex-machina/

     Ah, Fall. If you live near nature, it’s a visually beautiful time of year. The air is getting crisp, and the sun leaves us just a little earlier each day. Leaves rustle and glint in vivid, warm hues above us, filtering the sun, before falling underfoot. And in the stores and places of our daily commerce, earlier and earlier each year, we see the return of Halloween décor. Bones of the dead rendered in cheap plastic, the green hues of zombies on heavy cardstock, Styrofoam headstones, and of course, sticky gels and lighting systems to display ghosts, spooks, haunts and haints in our windows and on our porches and yards. We add doorbells that scream and moan and startle you with jump scare animatronics to our front doors, and carve seasonal gourds and pumpkins to ward away evil and summon the holidays revelers to beg for our candy stashes. In the dark of night, ready to raise the hair on our necks and give us pause in darkened corners of our own homes, we settle in, making hot chocolate, and perhaps sneaking a few pieces out of those 5 pound bags of candy. Turning on our TVs, attentive to our Rokus and Netflix, Cable and DVDs, we settle in for the pleasure of being scared by a good old fashioned Horror Movie. Perhaps in times pre-COVID, we might even plan an outing with our loved ones, our friends, to catch the latest fright franchise in theaters. Even with COVID,  Drive-In theaters are doing their best to appeal to this seasonal mood, with offerings of horror classics to carloads of fans eager for the annual feast of spectres on the big screen. Tis the season, and we all love a good scare.

     I asked a few friends (with nary a cinema scholar among them) to tell me the “oldest horror movie” that they could think of. The replies have been unsurprising guesses – Dracula (1931), The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920), Nosferatu (1922), Frankenstein (1931). I pointed out to them what may be the “first” horror story on film; there was some surprise to learn it came before the 20th century had even quite begun.

      We don’t often think of the Victorian era when we consider the origins of the “first horror movie”. We may vaguely consider our impressions that the birth of the horror movie came later, associating it with the Golden Age of the Movie Monster, during a time of wider growth of the cinema, catering to the demands of this new media audience. Victorians were a society with plenty of spooky and morbid interest –  as tech innovations developed, these interests easily carried over.

     One of the most notable offerings of this time was a short movie that portrays the dead, ghosts, demons and the devil, was created in 1896. The House of the Devil, released in the US as The Haunted Castle  (Le Manoir du Diable, or, The Manor of the Devil) is a 3+ minute film by the French special effects innovator Georges Méliès, who is most often recognized for his whimsical creation, A Trip to the Moon. 

     Méliès himself was an illusionist and filmmaker who led the way to new developments in special effects and narrative development in early cinema. He popularized techniques in film as he perfected his narrative vision. These effects were an extension of how he performed his illusions on stage, previous to his endeavors with film. He acquired an “Animatograph” (a film projector), later modifying it to function as a camera. As film processing was not yet common, he sourced raw materials and processed his film stock himself, learning by trial and error.

      The film itself is a short scene, a little over 3 minutes in length. In it, we see a bat fly in, becoming Mephistopheles. He shows his conjuring prowess by summoning a girl, spirits of the dead, and some witches. A crucifix is brandished, sending him, presumably, back to hell. These are tropes that we continue to see to this day in the horror movies that we seek out, each and every Halloween, haunting us from the shadows. 

     Please enjoy The Haunted Castle below!

In this project, I actively engage with my community on the popular app TikTok, along with my own family, to work through the challenges of this isolation and quarantine in a light-hearted and yet pertinent way.. The Quarantine Alphabet yielded a visual confirmation of how my ability to communicate our experiences and eye for social media and TikTok conventions continue to level up.  My family and I bonded over TikTok. This is the result!

https://godsinthecogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/quarantinealphabettiktok-12.mp4

I had the pleasure of spending a leisurely day with a woman that I’ve known for a long time by many names. A fascinating woman in her own right, her intrigue only builds as you learn more about her and her passions. She is a Satanist and involved in the inner working of The Satanic Temple. She resides in Salem, MA, which is where TST has its headquarters. I was given a lovely tour of HQ, a warm refuge from the brisk winter air outside. It was very pleasant and welcoming. Visually rich, as one would expect, opulent and and enriching both in the environment it provides, as well as the people you find within its walls, within this organization. This is one of those vibrant beings, Mercy Maelica, the Assistant Executive Ministry of The Satanic Temple. We wandered away for a quiet lunch downtown, and found ourselves a quiet corner to talk.

All right. We’ve settled down into a little corner, a far end of the Salem Witch City Mall. I thought your name (Mercy Maelica) was pronounced as “Mercy May-el-eh-ca” before, but it’s “Mercy Militia”?

Yes!

Okay. And you are, and correct me if I’m wrong, you are Assistant Executive Ministry at The Satanic Temple, correct?

Yeah. I primarily do tasks internally, and more, such as media work, yes. 

All right! So you ended up in Salem which is campy in every way you could possibly think of that is associated with witches and witchcraft and now, Satanism. But you were involved with TST before you came here, correct? 

Yes, indeed I was.

So tell us a little bit about that. 

I have been involved with The Satanic Temple since 2014. I became the chapter head in Maine, by the end of 2014, as one of the first chapters that came to be within the organization. I volunteered for them off and on throughout the years. I served on their national council for a little while. And now, yeah, I decided to just come here and commit as full time as I can. 

How do you like Salem?

 I absolutely love it. I’ve wanted to live here my whole entire life. 

Clearly you have a thing with the aesthetic! 

*laughter* Indeed. I could actually tell you a story on my first time coming to Salem, they used to have us on the school bus, all the kids down from Maine and New Hampshire, to come to Salem to go to the Peabody Essex museum. And I remember one year, the first time that I ever came here, it was on a field trip and I was a total outcast and I had no friends. I was the weird little witchy kid. And I glance over and I see tourists taking my picture, little 14 year old me all like, you know, in my gothy black dresses. They were taking pictures of me because they thought that I was a Salem Witch and they liked how I dressed. And it was the first time that I ever got positive acknowledgement for it.

Now you are in Salem where your look is not too uncommon, although I would wager as people still want to take your picture, especially considering your association with The Satanic Temple. You’ve been in a couple of things…*checks notes* You were in a documentary recently, what was the name of it?

 Hail Satan? with a question mark.

Hail Satan?…and you were in that one? It was about the sculpture of Baphomet that is now here in Salem at The Satanic Temple headquarters. 

Yes, yes.

Tell me about the headquarters, what you would want someone who knows nothing about it to know?

 Well, besides our offices, headquarters is actually an art gallery that serves as the international headquarters for The Satanic Temple. It features a gift shop with not just TST merchandise like all of our shirts and merch too, but also all kinds of products from local artists that we feature at the gallery, or creations by other people within our organization like Shiva from Pentacle Path that makes all the oils and incense. Then there’s also our seasonal gallery change-outs, or shows with various controversial or groundbreaking artists as well. There’s an occult library with a Satanic Panic educational feature in there. There is a “Throne Room” with a generally, really luxurious, but macabre kind of vibe. There are always events going on there. 

Now, there is an event tonight because today is the 15th of February, which is Lupercalia. For those who do not know what Lupercalia is; essentially, some scholars feel that Valentines Day came as an offshoot of Lupercalia. It’s from ancient Rome, and it was a fertility ritual during which young men ran naked through the streets bearing “thongs of leather”, which they would use to strike young ladies hoping to have families. It was a fertility ritual later translated into Valentines Day. Tell us about the event.

It’s being put on by the TST Boston chapter, and it’s sold out. I may have to follow up on this after the interview and see how it went.

Of course it’s sold out! I mean, it’s a sexy ritual from what I understand. And it’s in Salem, a celebration with The Satanic Temple. I imagine it would sell out quickly. The Satanic Temple is, for those who don’t know, a secular religion of sorts, atheist in its beliefs, although it has a fondness, clearly, for ritual and imagery that comes from Satan of the Blake and Paradise Lost tradition.

Blake and Paradise Lost absolutely. A… romantic literature based type of hero, the ”good guy Satan” stuff. Good guy in the sense that they fight against injustice disguised within unjust authority. Yes.

Is that what drew you in? To the Temple?

Oh my goodness, there was so much. I mean, I went on to be here full time, not just become a member of The Satanic Temple. I was a volunteer, and eventually I have found work within The Satanic Temple. It’s like a coming home. It really is. 

The Satanic Temple does a lot of political and social activism. Some of the campaigns are well known; if someone might have heard about The Satanic Temple at all, they have an association with a statue of Baphomet, which was created in a direct challenge to the Ten Commandments Monument in Oklahoma City, which is placed on government land. The statue of Baphomet lives at the Salem temple currently. You also have had campaigns such as “Menstruating with Satan” which is to basically gather menstruation supplies, feminine hygiene products…sorry, I should not use “feminine” here, I did not mean disrespect, as the TST is VERY gender inclusive. But menstruation… you address it, you talk about it, you provide for those in need such as shelters and associated services.  You also have a campaign in the schools to counteract evangelical clubs?

Yes. only if there is a particular evangelical afterschool group called the “Good News club”. Only in a school that offers a Good News club do we offer to set up the After School Satan Programs where you are basically directly challenging the presence of Christian religion in public schools, which should be secular.

There has been quite a bit of controversy about challenging abortion laws in some states under religious influences that are changing laws, so as to force their religious beliefs as  Christians to restrict access to reproductive care. And in response, The Satanic Temple has offered up its Tenets as coverage from a religious standpoint from those who wish to challenge it. Do you have anything you want to say about that? 

 Oh, absolutely. Well yeah, I mean we’re a religion too and as pretty much any American knows…or should know…that the United States government is not allowed to discriminate against anybody for a religion whatsoever. If there’s one religious group in the public sphere, then they have to allow other ones influence and exceptions as well. And I think that a lot of the evangelical theocrats forget that when they make these laws, or they just assume that they’re the only ones that are allowed use of a whole series of arbitrary arguments by saying, “Oh, it’s a historical thing, our laws were based in the 10 commandments!” They do this, to limit rights, to discriminate against people, which is what we found over and over. But yes, with the argument against these tactics, work off of our tenet, that “…one’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone”. And a lot of the argument is that a fetus under a certain standpoint deserves personhood in the same way that the person who was carrying it does, without regard to the well-being of the person who carries it.

Yeah, that is definitely the push that’s happening in some places, especially the ones that want to do a counseling session before medical abortion will be permitted. They want you to believe it is a baby at all stages which makes people scared; the hope is to turn them away from any reproductive options open to them.

For example, the 72 hour wait period, which is one of our cases in Missouri that we’re fighting at the moment. Well for one, these lawmakers ran pretty much every single clinic out of the state of Missouri except for one, but Missouri is a very big state. So there’s some people that need these services that have to drive like three hours, stay overnight, or need someone with them. Many of them have other kids, so they have to arrange childcare, time off. Yet, they have to, since to many there’s no other choice, and some cannot make it happen, which is the idea.  The financial burden, it’s terrible. You have to stay overnight, you have to provide transportation if you don’t have a vehicle, then buses, transfers it is. 

This sounds like it is purposely meant to be a hindrance…

 Yes! It is meant to deter people from not even considering going through with it. The fact that the person that’s carrying this fetus is already a fully formed human, with thoughts and goals is ignored. Like the person seeking help has no sentience! Oftentimes there are other children to care for that they don’t even seem to acknowledge or consider, that this person is already a parent, and they are taking them away from caring for those kids, endangering them.

Okay. So what did you want to add? On this specific campaign? 

The Satanic Temple has a campaign called the religious reproductive rights campaign. Arizona, as mentioned with the 72 hour waiting period, that is a “refra” state, which is which basically means it’s effected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It means that religions have certain privileges that other people may not necessarily. So, we basically use our tenet. That “one’s body is inviolable and subject to one’s will alone” as a means to bypass religiously enforced restrictions that women face when seeking an abortion. For instance, in Missouri you also have to endure a tons of paperwork, the beginning of which states clearly life begins at conception, which is definitely a religious statement. So we can test that. Law says they have to, they have to read that, then you wait 72 hours, and read all this stuff meant to try to guilt trip you. So our membership are able to bring in a form stating, well, my religion says that my body is inviolable subject to my will alone, and that we use science, modern science, to best guide our decisions. And so, we should not have to read this material. We should not have to have a 72 hour wait period because we feel that it’s enforced with religious intent. We had one person who took them to court, we had one person utilize that form a while ago. The case kinda got filed sadly. I can’t remember what entirely happened to the end of that. And then we have another ongoing case right now to where we are appealing a ruling that it (a judgment against TST) wasn’t based in religious discrimination. The Satanic Temple has lawsuits currently, like all over the place, where we come in and just basically try to offer our perspective when religions are invited to join the public sphere or dictate laws at all. We’re like, okay, well we’re a religion too. 

Some people just don’t want the Satanists at the party, do they?

 Right. They do not. Some of them do though. And actually, there are other religions or religious groups that respect and appreciate what we’re doing that have spoken out too, and have joined us in our campaigns as allies. Even Christian groups. When we brought the Baphomet statue down to Arkansas, we did a rally there for a big case in Arkansas…So yeah. But to get back to it, the reproductive rights campaign is a really, really major one. We have a lot of people that are working on that, and a lot of chapters putting in time and effort into that too. We also have walkers at clinics; it’s somebody who walks you into planned Parenthood and kind of act like a shield or a buffer zone between protesters, who are usually out in the front. And we counter protest as well too. Yeah.

What, what would a counter protest look like in this case? I’m curious.

 Well. there have been two extremely notable ones by somebody. Jex Blackmore who was very involved with the satanic temple in the beginning, but who no longer is. And her counter protest actually got some negative reactions from people, people in TST and out of TST as well. But I personally always liked the whole idea of making a real big scene, to show a spectacle, you know. Because when we see people protesting outside with visions of blood, and fetuses, that type of scary stuff, it’s aimed to hurt people at their most vulnerable. It gets terrible.  We wanted to make them feel the same way that they make us feel. So yeah, it ended up turning into Jex’s campaign on forced motherhood. They were always really, really big on milk rituals just setting up like these really bizarre scenes in front of like abortion clinics. 

And this brings me to a question I’d actually forgotten about. Today, now, when you hear the word Satanism, especially since American Satanism founded by LaVey in the 60s..and if you’ve ever read Anton LaVey…let’s just say it didn’t age well. In an age of feminism, he comes from a rather misogynistic point of view. If you hear the word “Satanist” you tend to think in terms of something super campy, or about dramatic “edgelords”, and yet the legislations you are working towards fighting are real serious and genuine social justice issues. How do you match this disparity that people see? People who find the campy image of Satanists to be so over the top, they claim it’s hard to take this seriously. So how do you argue that like there’s a purpose to this? 

I have a good answer for that because it’s something that we’ve seen a lot. For instance some, some people even within our own organization back in the day have been like…well maybe we shouldn’t go after this pro-choice cause because it might like make it look bad…because we’re Satanist and people would say, well no, we have every right to, you know, advocate for safety. 

So I’m going to say this kind of drags into, pardon my pun here, it drags into a subtopic… you…the TST have a big subset of people who are LGBTQ+?

 We welcome so many of them, I’d say over half of our membership, like well over…

…and there’s a certain association with portions of gay culture that is very flamboyant, loud. Which can be campy, especially like drag, that particular corner of the LGBTQ+ community. I can see how if you make the argument saying a Satanist can’t be taken seriously because of the dramatic way they may look, and yet flamboyancy is not out of place in parts of the queer community. It’s a comfort zone, even. So you have to be loud, you have to be out there. 

They might feel like they don’t have to take us seriously, but I like to think that we proved through our actions that they have to take us seriously. You know, we’ll make our point with our actions and our advocacy and the countless cases that we have around the country too, and our successes so far. Everything from getting Bibles taken out of distribution at public schools to everything else we’ve talked about today.

Right now it is currently winter, not fall, but Salem is known for its Halloween so let’s go back a bit. It is insanely busy here during that season, and The Satanic Temple, well they took their part in the mayhem in the form of a “haunted house”, with a bit of a twist. Do you want to tell us about the “Hell House”?

 I will always happily talk about the Hell House. Hell House is the brainchild of Joy Davenport. She herself had to grow up in a very strict evangelical type of environment and had to endure these “hell houses”. What a hell house is, well… hardcore evangelical groups use these to try to deter people from a life of sin. So the scenes, you know, instead of the scenes being what you might see at a regular haunted house…you know, ghost vampires, zombies and such…well…they use scenes of sin, of “sinful behaviors” to scare people. The part that’s meant to be the “horror” *gestures quotation marks* of the whole house, is the idea of your soul going to hell. And so we had one room that was set up, Joy called it the “abortion booth” where people could come in and pose as a pro life protestor, would pose with all these signs and pictures of fetuses and little plastic fetuses that they use to hand out to deter people from getting abortions. Some people came through it and they were actually really troubled because they had been through this type of thing already. This wasn’t without warning; some came through with purpose, to face it and know that this…it was meant as a healing kind of environment too, once you get through this “hell”.  Because in the end they’re brought through, after being put through all that; they’re brought to the Baphomet statue. You know, it’s like the coming home to acceptance, to shedding guilt, this part at the end. You literally go through essentially what was intended to be scary by Christian, which it is, but we can see what is monstrous here, and it isn’t YOU.

So, you’re putting them through a simulation of a Christian “Hell House”, which is intended to scare someone, fearing for their immortal soul. You simulate this to people who don’t know what this experience feels like, might even think it’s campy over the top or fake, but really it’s not. This is actually done.

 They ask if this is this something that is actually used as a tactic among evangelicals or Christians?  Yes, yes. It absolutely is. Then we made sure to point out examples of Evangelicals who literally rely on psychological and even physical tactics to create the fear of hell as an enforcement technique of their religion. You put them through this and stressing that this is an actual sort of ritual in itself used by that evangelical Christianity.

What more can you tell us? Was there a storyline, a concept?

At first when visitors were coming and we made it seem like The Satanic Temple had let us (in the role of Evangelical Christians) take over their gallery to try to save their souls, and I just thought oh, I love this premise. So some people really thought that we were for real and not TST. We let them think that TST just allowed it because well…haha, good luck with that? Like, sure, go ahead and try to save our members. Good luck with that. And in the end it’s clear we were not, when they were brought to Baphomet.

I appreciate you sharing tales of the TST with us. I have to ask, since I’m curious…does the satanic temple have any particular stance on sex work? It must appeal to a certain sensibility that would include sexuality and personal freedom, and to those who find  that sexuality calls to them, professionally. Or not!

You will find a lot…sex workers yes, and supporters of sex work within our organization, especially within leadership.  They may be current sex workers or people that have been sex workers in the past. And to me this is a no brainer really… because both sex workers and Satanists are highly stigmatized, and here we are a collection of comfortable oddballs.

They’re like, Hey, you’re like me, you’re not going to judge me for that. For sex work, or any similar reason.

I just, some of the entire point of The Satanic Temple is show people who find themselves persecuted or otherwise outside of the norm, that we can find a gathering place and common ground and common causes. And most definitely there are sex workers all throughout our organization…

…but is there an official stance for sex work? 

We don’t have one yet,really. Not yet anyway. We focus on our campaigns in what we do. Who know? Maybe.

So I’m going to veer a little further into the adult part of this. You are a former sex worker. I was as well, so I have a vested interest in this topic. I’ve known you for quite some time. The type of sex work you’ve experienced has covered a couple of different forms. And obviously you are very self-willed, you will do things your way. It fits in well with the TST family and community where you’ve ended up, it sounds perfect for your life, but…do you want to tell us anything about you as a sex worker, who you were, what you enjoyed? Because everyone likes some SCANDAL! *laugh* I hope my class can handle this! *laughing*

.

Hello Marie’s class! Let’s see. Well I started dancing when I was 18, I started off working peep show. And that moved on to the stage. I’ve done everything from burlesque to fetish modeling to some very in person…in person type things. Many of these things with you!

This is true, we had some good times! I’ve been struggling to be out at times, but I think it’s important to be seen. Even in the past tense.

Let’s see what else…oh, yeah. Okay. So after I became a parent, I kind of… I tried to move into more traditional work and took a break from dancing and you know, kinda tried to see how I could function in a more not-so-nightlife way. 

I feel this, this trying to…this transitioning over. I mean, you didn’t go from point A to being at The Satanic Temple. There was a time of trying to transition out of it (sex work).

 Well, because after I became a mother, I just kind of felt like I, I mean I think every parent feels this way. You know, you almost feel like you have to put your own things on hold for a while…and you kind of do to some extent, but it doesn’t mean that you have to change who you are. It’s like, you know, okay… I can, I guess… I could still technically be a sex worker as a mom. I felt I could just keep it (kink) for my own fun, you know, that’s a separate thing. Then I lost my job. And I began again, I began camming again, like in my mid-thirties. I had stopped dancing when I was in my late twenties, and I started camming again in my mid-thirties, like webcamming, but doing mostly fetish or S&M type stuff as a dominatrix. And one of the main reasons why I did that after becoming a mother is because I can work a lot less, get paid a lot more. I have more time to spend with my kids and my family. I don’t have to kiss some managers ass just to take time off from work and it gave me more freedom, honestly. It was around that time that I began camming again and realizing that I can be everything too. You know, I could still be a good mom and a sex worker and you know, all these other things. That was when I got more involved with The Satanic Temple. I met the Lucien Greaves, and he kept in touch. And it seemed to go hand in hand with my coming into The Satanic Temple, along with my becoming a webcam dominatrix as well…it’s, it really changed my life. And, again, like I said…it gave me more time with my kids. It got me back into more creative aspects of myself and I don’t know, it was good. 

I know that you also used to travel a lot before you ended up in the digital domain as a virtual dominatrix. I’ve seen some of the photos you created. You take these fantastic, artistic photos of yourself, these full stories and narratives. Essentially you a did self portrait as an art form. Twitter is an interesting place by which you can see a constant stream of people presenting themselves. But there’s something I see in common in some of your photos as dominatrix that ties in with the TST.

What is that?

Blasphemy! I’m obsessed with how many unique, complicated fetishes there are. Especially complicated ones, the ones at the edge, that touch raw nerves.

*laughs* Oh, I’m always happy to talk about fetishes. We can get into a wide range of fetishes! There are so many, I could talk for hours, but that’s a good one because these two topics kind of mix together beautifully. But right now…well, let’s go outside first. The parking meter is running out.

END PART 1

From here, Mercy and I went back to her house. We did continue the conversation, and from here on it covered much more adult themes than I had planned. Perhaps at some point I will publish that dialog; this is not that time. The rest of the day was quiet and relaxed, in the company of her family. She did some work in her little home office while we chatted, and her kids enjoyed the weekend in the next rooms. A nice domestic scene. As it turns out, Satanists are lovely people, full of fire and ideals, always engaging.

Note: I have a photo essay to go with this interview, which will be available in a few days.