Something Beyond Comprehension Is Happening on This Street, in This House
Grzegorz Nadgrodkiewicz
kwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.plInstitute of Art, Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland)
Abstract
The article deals with The Exorcist (1973) directed by William Friedkin, and the most popular interpretations of this film, which most commonly referred to the demon possession of Regan MacNeil, as a metaphor for socio-political unrest and the crisis of values in the USA in the late 60s and early 70s of the twentieth century. The author contrasts these typical readings of the classic horror with more recent interpretations expressing the fears of the last decade (such as the fear of the consequences of the American military presence in Iraq, or of sexual child abuse). The author suggests that the common factor present in all those interpretations is the tendency to interpret it in religious categories, or as universal struggle of good against evil. Such was the original intention of both Friedkin, and William Peter Blatty, the author of the text that the film was based on.
Keywords:
William Friedkin, manicheism, Regan MacNeil, horrorReferences
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Authors
Grzegorz Nadgrodkiewiczkwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
Institute of Art, Polish Academy of Sciences Poland
Filmoznawca, absolwent kulturoznawstwa ze specjalnością filmoznawczą na Uniwersytecie Łódzkim. Asystent w Zakładzie Antropologii Kultury, Filmu i Sztuki Audiowizualnej w Instytucie Sztuki Polskiej Akademii Nauk. Redaktor „Kwartalnika Filmowego”. W kręgu jego zainteresowań badawczych znajduje się m.in. film religijny i biblijny, kwestie duchowości w kinie oraz zagadnienia dotyczące związków filmu i teatru. Artykuły naukowe i przekłady publikował m.in. w „Kwartalniku Filmowym”, „Kontekstach” oraz tomach zbiorowych.
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Copyright (c) 2008 Grzegorz Nadgrodkiewicz
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In issues from 105-106 (2019) to 119 (2022) all articles were published under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence. During this period the authors granted a royalty-free non-exclusive licence (CC BY-ND 4.0) to use their article in „Kwartalnik Filmowy”, retained full copyright, and agreed to identify the work as first having been published in our journal should it be published or used again.
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