Help me out

[Saya]

I'm trying to think of exorcist films where the possessed is not a girl or woman. I got Exorcist 3 so far and The Devil Inside looks like there's at least one dude possessed, but the majority seems to be female so I don't know if it counts.

[Valhalla]

Does Amityville horror and The Shining count? The father in that both of those gets possessed. There was a movie called Possessed that was about a little boy.

I'm curious, why are you looking into this?

[Saya]

I don't think the Shining totally counts because it was more about him going crazy, at least in the movie. In the book it was more clear he was possessed but I don't think the movie brought that out, and in any case its not an exorcism film. I forgot Amityville but I'm also holding that to it being based on a "true story", The Exorcist was also supposedly based on a true story but the possessed was a little boy who remained anonymous as Ronald Doe.

I'm asking because I was reading The Metapatriarchal Journey of Exorcism and Ecstasy from Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism by Mary Daly. Basically she mentions The Exorcist as an example of a man steeped in patriarchy (Literally a "Father") exorcising a girl and exerting his power over her to save her. She sees this as a reflection on how Christianity had become threatened by female spirituality. In many tribal religions, for example, a priestess allows herself to become possessed, and this is a good thing in her religion. Women in many cultures are considered to be more sensitive to the spiritual world, and this can be a good thing for her and her community in shamanism, animalism, Shinto, etc, but back in the day when women were burned at the stake as witches, part of the reason women were suspected so badly was because Christians also believed that they were more sensitive to the spiritual world, and therefore more likely to be possessed.

So, basically, I was just thinking about after a million exorcist films if it still holds true that its typically women who are possessed and exorcised by male priests.

PS the book as a whole isn't good, and insanely transphobic. But I thought her thoughts on exorcism was interesting.

[Solumina]

The Rite comes to mind, yeah a girl is possessed but the main exorcism is Father Lucas. I can think of a few cases of guys being possessed but not where the exorcism is a big deal.

[Saya]

Ha! After I read that, Solumina, I checked the book out, and I'm more convinced that its not just coincidental portrayal in movies that makes exorcisms seem anti-woman. So far in the book all the victims of exorcisms mentioned are women, and Wicca and witches are singled out as the reason why exorcisms are on the rise.

Really, Wicca? The Ned Flanders of neopaganism?

[HumanePain]

Uh, hello? There were two males possessed in The Exorcist.

[Saya]

Regan is the one that matters the most, though, and one of those two volunteered to be possessed so he could defeat the demon. According to the Church, saints sometimes volunteer themselves like that, to suffer now in order to be more pure in heaven.

[Saya]

Anyway, who was the second? I don't remember.

The Rite also says that the possessed is almost always a woman. Daly was onto something!

[Solumina]

Yes and no, I don't think that it is quite that cut and dry. The basis for any "real" possession story is someone suffering from a psychological illness in times and places where human psychology is not well understood and when we are talking about people having a demon successfully exercised then we are most likely looking at Brief Psychotic Disorder, which I seem to remember learning is significantly more common in women. It would only make sense then that we have more stories about women being possessed and that Hollywood would go with what is the most common, I do find it strange that they would swap out a boy for a girl in the Exorcist but that could have been for any number of reasons.

[Solumina]

Originally Posted by Saya

I forgot Amityville but I'm also holding that to it being based on a "true story".

I almost overlooked this and I'm sorry that I did. You can't discount Amityvill it is based on a "true" story because well it was admitted to be a hoax and also in the original story it was just a haunted house, the husband didn't get possessed (I don't think he did in anything except the 2005 remake) so the fact that they added that is interesting and worth considering.

[Murder.Of.Crows]

Insidious. Of course the movie takes place prior to the young boy becoming possessed and the events to stop it, but I believe the father does get possessed at the end.

[Saya]

Originally Posted by Solumina

Yes and no, I don't think that it is quite that cut and dry. The basis for any "real" possession story is someone suffering from a psychological illness in times and places where human psychology is not well understood and when we are talking about people having a demon successfully exercised then we are most likely looking at Brief Psychotic Disorder, which I seem to remember learning is significantly more common in women. It would only make sense then that we have more stories about women being possessed and that Hollywood would go with what is the most common, I do find it strange that they would swap out a boy for a girl in the Exorcist but that could have been for any number of reasons.

I don't think its totally about that. Definitely in the past, but modern exorcisms apparently try to avoid that. The exorcists say they're very careful not to take on cases that are psychological, they claim to only take cases that psychiatrists say they can't diagnose. Because of that exorcisms have become rare, mostly they just do simple blessings that make the person feel better.

Furthermore, there's a lot of talk in the book about how erotic exorcism is. The moaning, the writhing, and apparently the woman will try to use her wiles to distract the exorcist, so the exorcist has to have a female helper to make sure he doesn't act on it. If a priest and a woman get their jollies teasing each other like that I wouldn't be surprised, considering a woman would have multiple appointments with her exorcist.

The stories recounted in the book is scary shit, and I don't think its far out there to think that if you're a Roman Catholic, and dabble in something like Ouija boards, that you start to think you're going to be punished for it in this lifetime. Given how many movies have come out about exorcisms, and the fearmongering the church does about witchcraft, no wonder its on the rise.

[Saya]

Regarding Amityville, the previous movies did include possession, hell the sequel was Amityville II: The Possession, and part of the reason why people suspected the book was full of shit was because it was so much like The Exorcist. The book implicated that the murder was either caused by a demon or summoned one.

[HumanePain]

Originally Posted by Saya

Anyway, who was the second? I don't remember.

The Rite also says that the possessed is almost always a woman. Daly was onto something!

There was a young boy in Africa prior to Regan that the exorcist saved.

[Valhalla]

Originally Posted by saya

I don't think the Shining totally counts because it was more about him going crazy, at least in the movie. In the book it was more clear he was possessed but I don't think the movie brought that out, and in any case its not an exorcism film. I forgot Amityville but I'm also holding that to it being based on a "true story", The Exorcist was also supposedly based on a true story but the possessed was a little boy who remained anonymous as Ronald Doe.

I'm asking because I was reading The Metapatriarchal Journey of Exorcism and Ecstasy from Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism by Mary Daly. Basically she mentions The Exorcist as an example of a man steeped in patriarchy (Literally a "Father") exorcising a girl and exerting his power over her to save her. She sees this as a reflection on how Christianity had become threatened by female spirituality. In many tribal religions, for example, a priestess allows herself to become possessed, and this is a good thing in her religion. Women in many cultures are considered to be more sensitive to the spiritual world, and this can be a good thing for her and her community in shamanism, animalism, Shinto, etc, but back in the day when women were burned at the stake as witches, part of the reason women were suspected so badly was because Christians also believed that they were more sensitive to the spiritual world, and therefore more likely to be possessed.

So, basically, I was just thinking about after a million exorcist films if it still holds true that its typically women who are possessed and exorcised by male priests.

PS the book as a whole isn't good, and insanely transphobic. But I thought her thoughts on exorcism was interesting.

While I find that topic interesting, and something I'd like to read about (too bad the book as a whole was a bust), I don't have the brains to discuss it. I always assumed women were usually the possessed characters because the writers were just going along with the classic idea that a big strong male character needs to save a damsel in distress.

[Saya]

Originally Posted by Valhalla

While I find that topic interesting, and something I'd like to read about (too bad the book as a whole was a bust), I don't have the brains to discuss it. I always assumed women were usually the possessed characters because the writers were just going along with the classic idea that a big strong male character needs to save a damsel in distress.

Oh, I'm sure that's part of Hollywood's motivation. For the real life stuff though, the Church has held from the witch burning times that women are spiritually weaker and more vulnerable to the Devil, so more likely to be satanist/witchy/possessed.

The one dude in the book who got possessed so far just coughed and belched when the priest hits his head. The priest says he is possessed by a mute demon (?) which is particularly dangerous. The women just cough, and one woman is only suspected of being possessed because she has headaches that doctors can't fix or explain. And yet, according to the student priest, "where faith decreases, superstition increases."

I think this foray into the gender dynamics of exorcism has led me to believe that anti-Vatican II Catholics are really, really weird.

[x-deviant-x]

Lost Souls is another one with male demonic possessions. 2 of them. A serial killer, and a priest who tried to perform the exorcism.

[AshleyO]

Oh shit. What's that one with Jeff Goldblum?

BTW... Idle Hands. nuffsaidamirite?