People are often entertained by films that deal with the end of the world or a specific regime. End of Days is an apocalyptic film that uses male and female bodies to demonstrate Christian and biblical themes. The feminine body is used as a tool in the masculine hero’s diabolical seduction (Kathrine, 2009). There is a battle between good and evil as Satan fights to rule over the earth. The devil is recognized as the symbol of all evil (Heit, 2014, p 30). A male hero takes the place of God to fight Satan and his efforts to take over and rule the earth. According to Wyman (2004), if people believe in the depictions of Satan that are so prevalent in movies, he becomes a less terrifying figure since there will be an Arnold Schwarzenegger to perform an exorcism. Typically, the apocalyptic genre originates during times of social instability and uncertainty (Kathrine, 2009). In End of Days, Satan takes on a man’s body on the eve of the millennium to have intercourse with the chosen Christine and give birth to the antichrist.
Jericho rescues Christine from the attacking Knights of the Holy See, and she wonders what all that has to do with her while eating an apple. Christine happens to see figures of shrieking human beings on the apple. The apple traditionally symbolizes the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, whereas the shrieking humans answer Christine on what it has to do with her (Kathrine, 2009). Jericho saves Christine from Satan’s attempt to have intercourse with her. He sacrifices his life to prevent Satan’s possesses of him from raping Christine. Jericho’s struggle to fight evil reflects Michael’s war in heaven (Kathrine, 2009). The act of Jericho sacrificing himself to prevent Satan’s victory in taking over the earth is a reflection of how Jesus Christ gave his own body for the sake of the people. The film is based on American culture that views the male body as the source of physical masculinity that brings about that salvation.
The End of Days demonstrates that Satan is capable of possessing a human being. The notion of Satan as an abstract comes from the Middle Ages (Wyman, 2004). At the beginning of the film, the devil exists in thought but later chooses to possess Gabriel Bryne. Although the most prevalent images of the devil in the Middle Ages were human and beastlike, many religionists believed that the devil was a spirit that could possess humans (Wyman, 2004). The film never explains why the devil chooses Byrne’s body. Themes of possession and exorcism are frequent in American films (Wyman, 2004). Christianity believes that God is capable of performing exorcism. The film views the character that expels evil to be God-like.
Conceptions about the Devil have changed with time. The devil was once viewed as a naked man surrounded by darkness (Wyman, 2004). Films view the devil as a spirit who uses women in his mission of conquering the world. The man is viewed as a hero who prevents the attempts by Satan to rule over the earth. According to Wyman (2004), regardless of how they are portrayed, most films about Satan go ignored by the general public, theologians, and most academics. The woman is not viewed as a hero in the film End of Days but rather as a character whose body is used to seduce men, tempt the heroic male and endanger fellow human beings by allowing the devil to end the world. The masculine protagonist resists satanic seductions to redemptively abandon his own life through aggressive violence (Kathrine, 2009). Wyman (2004) supports Finley’s argument that there would not be as many films about the devil if he were not an intriguing figure.
References
Heit, J. (2014). undefined. McFarland.
Low, Katherine (2009) “Satan’s Seductress and the Apocalyptic Hero: The Body in American Apocalyptic Films at the Turn of the Century,” Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 13: Iss. 2 Article 6. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol13/iss2/6.
Wyman, Kelly J. (2004) “The Devil We Already Know: Medieval Representations of a Powerless Satan in Modern American Cinema,” Journal of Religion & Film: Vol. 8: Iss. 3 , Article 7. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol8/iss3/7
