Hi, My Name Is Satan 5

Hi.

What do we, as humanity, think Satan is? The embodiment of pure evil? A victim of circumstance? A champion of free thinking? A ridiculous superstition? A metaphor for a necessary component of balance in the universe? With the devil-as-character, writers, musicians, and artists can express their thoughts on these age-old theological/philosophical questions, regardless of religious affiliation.

Part 1: South Park, The Master and Margarita, The Power Puff Girls, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
Part 2: God, the Devil, and Bob; The Sandman; The Garden of Earthly Delights; "Sympathy for the Devil"
Part 3 (Beelzebub edition): Paradise Lost, The Sandman, Lord of the Flies, Beelzebub manga/anime
Part 4: "Beelzeboss," The Temptation of Christ, The Divine Comedy, Reaper

The Bible miniseries - The History Channel

So here's a topical entry. A few weeks ago The History Channel's miniseries The Bible got some press when many, including person-type-thing Glen Beck, noted that the actor playing Satan looked a bit like President Obama. And the resemblance is there: the show's Satan looks startling like an older, worn, seen-even-more-shit Obama. The actor is Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni, a veteran Moroccan actor. The History Channel was quick to deny any intent to make like Fox News and urge comparisons between the Democratic president and the epitome of evil, but not all are convinced. Photos of Ouazanni show that without his The Bible make-up, the resemblance isn't as strong (and that he's rather the silver fox). I have to admit that I haven't watched the show, but in clips of Ouazzani's performance he actually looks more like the Emperor from Star Wars. But still, the photos are uncomfortable, and invite even more uncomfortable questions. Like, was this intentional? And if so, was it to make a statement or to generate tons of publicity? Why is one of the nonwhite actors in the series in the villain role? Et cetera. If we ignore that controversy entirely, the only thing to note here is this miniseries, like Dante and Bosch, chose to go with the "evil expressed by external ugliness" and/or "ugliness as punishment" tropes. 

Let's see YOU look as good after years of Boehner tears.

Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan - Gustave Moreau

And continuing with racial themes, we again see the light/dark skin contrast in French Symbolist Gustave Moreau's 1882 watercolor, though the difference is a tad more subtle than in Ary Scheffer's ginormus The Temptation of Christ (seen in HMNIS 4). Here you could even argue Satan has the same skin tone as Michael but is just in different lighting, seeing as he's falling into the pit of Hell and all. As per Moreau's style, this work is gauzy and fantastical. Archangel Michael's decked out in gold armor that matches his flowing golden hair, golden halo, and golden wings. Although he usually has his legendary sword, here he has...a stick? A curtain rod? I'm not sure. Once again, we see Satan with bat-like wings in contrast to the angel's feathered ones, but he's pretty normal-looking besides that (no hooves, horns, or red skin). We also see that Satan's crown and triton have fallen symbolically as he is defeated by Michael with a triumphant up-skirt pose. 

Then Satan pulled out his camera and became the first paparazzo.

The Last Temptation of Christ - Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese's epic and controversial 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ is certainly not without racial issues either (Willem Dafoe?), but in this version Satan is actually the whitest white ever in Pollyannaish actress Juliette Caton. This version echos others by giving Lucifer classic (European) beauty that aids in his/her deception. With long blond waves, Satan here actually looks similar to Moreau's Michael above, befitting the fallen angel origin story.

Satan poses as Jesus's guardian angel and calmly explains to him on the cross how God didn't really mean for him to, like, actually die by Roman crucifixion, and that maybe he could just not do that? Having discovered that being crucified sucks, Jesus agrees. He marries all his lady friends and has a ton of kids, but doesn't get a TLC show because this was a time where polygamy and tons of kids didn't warrant that. So, that's pretty much his life, but then when he's old and dying, Harvey Keitel's Judas shows up and gives him a Brooklyn tawkin' to about how he wussed out and points out that his "guardian angel" is actually...SATAN. Having learned nothing from Dr. Evil, Satan fesses up and gloats about it. Jesus has a "I've made a huge mistake" moment and begs God to fix it. Either through God's will or because it was all a dream, he finds himself once again on the cross and is happy about it, having learned that being Jesus means you can't be the 1st century Judea version of a suburban accountant. 

Satan also learned nothing from Newsies, like to not mess with Brooklyn.

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

Young, gorgeous, impressionable rich boy Dorian Gray is presented with two choices early on in this novel: sweet, sensitive painter Basil Hallward, who is in love with him; or flashy, clever-tongued socialite Lord Henry Wotton. Uh-oh. Unfortunately for Basil, much like with Milton's Lucifer and Eve, it only takes a few alluringly immoral words from Henry to lure Dorian onto the path towards destruction. Henry remains Dorian's tempter throughout the novel, always there to pooh-pooh away any feelings of guilt or reflection, while Basil, with his insistence on stuff like sincerity and kindness, becomes dull to him. When Dorian's fiancee commits suicide, Basil, despite having been heartbroken over the engagement, would offer comfort and introspection. Henry, meanwhile, writes off the incident as something mildly exciting but easily forgotten - and Dorian decides Henry's way is easier.

Dorian is no helpless victim, however. Henry casts no spell on him other than appealing to and nurturing his worst nature. When Dorian commits his worst act - the murder of Basil - it is Dorian's own ultimate rejection of Basil's unconditional love and faith in goodness. In the following chilling scenes where Dorian blackmails a chemist ex-lover into destroying the body for him, it's clear that Dorian's malevolence knows no bounds and is not solely controlled by Henry. Like the worst devils, Henry urges and allows the basest elements of humanity to do his dirty work. But Henry's appeal works not only on Dorian but on the reader as well, voicing many of Wilde's best-known epigrams. One can't help but be delighted by Henry's lines even while knowing his terrible intentions.

The novel, published in 1890, eerily seems to foreshadow the cruelty and egomania of Oscar Wilde's young boyfriend Lord Alfred Douglas in Dorian and Wilde himself in lovelorn martyr Basil. Did Wilde prefer to think Douglas's worst tendencies came from some Henry Wotton? Did he see the parallels at all? Regardless, in the context of devils, I think Lord Henry Wotton would get along infamously with Ray Wise's Satan and Lucifer in the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil."

Wilde and Douglas in one of their many Glamour Shots portraits.
Douglas's hat is stupid.

Young Avengers So Far (Spoilers)

YA in a nutshell.

Okay, so Kieron Gillen's run on Journey into Mystery ended a few months ago, and I had a comics fan breakdown. I wasn't even sure I wanted to read Young Avengers, but, alas, here I am. But I'd like to think I'm older and wiser now, able to keep my Yamblr feels at a lofty distance while preparing myself for the possibility that the ultimate YA issue will reveal that the characters we've come to know and love have actually just been crudely assembled felt puppets that Cyclops has been using to amuse himself in X-Men jail or whatever's happening over there. I do still feel that killing off Kid Loki was a dumb move (for various reasons) from a smart person, but at least he's got Damian Wayne for company now.

Young Avengers #3 came out yesterday, and three issues in seemed like a good place to stop and reflect. Despite my apprehension, few make comics as intelligent and charming as Gillen, and it's been easy to be won over by Young Avengers. The very first pages of YA #1, where Kate Bishop (aka Hawkeye, but not the one with the penis) and Noh-Varr (aka Marvel Boy, presumably with a penis) wake up after a hook-up, set the tone with wittiness, ridiculousness, and sex positivity. The sequence in YA #2 where Loki traverses the comic's gutters and breaks through its panels to rescue Billy and Teddy is a delight. Plus the art by Jamie McKelvie is gorgeous, with clean, bold lines that radiate energy. America Chavez (aka Miss America) pouts and fights with style. Billy and Teddy (aka Wiccan and Hulkling) brood and cry like they're posing for Lichtenstein. McKelvie's image of Noh-Varr dancing to an unnamed 1960s "close harmony girl group" was so sexy that it was picked up by some scammy internet ad:

The Hawkeye Initiative is working!

Anyhoo, so what's happened so far? Well, after the last Young Avengers grouping ended in death and disaster, its various members are regrouping. Billy tries to be a good boyfriend by bringing Teddy's dead mom back to life. But the "mom" is actually an inter-dimensional parasite who quickly possesses Billy's parents and sorta-birth mom as well. They go with Loki to Asgard for help, only to be savagely attacked by Loki's birth father and nagged at by America's moms - all of whom were presumably dead.

As YA #3 came to a close, our young heroes had a brief respite at legally thirteen-year-old Loki's favorite club, but before they could finish their plans for world-saving or their underage drinking, the group of fake/possessed parents appeared and captured them...threatening death! Meanwhile, Kate and Noh-Varr are presumably either battling or having brunch with the Skrull after frantically pulling their clothes back on.

Roy Lichtenstein, Do You Know How Lucky You Are?, 1963

Young Avengers has had an entertaining and promising first three issues, and this interview with Comic Book Resources gives some hints at what's to come: shitty jobs, emotional breakdowns, and maybe or maybe-not finding out "what the hell is going on with Loki." So far, we know very little about what has happened between Loki's extreme existential crisis at the end of Journey Into Mystery and his current running around New York like a maybe-malevolent Mimi Marquez.

Young Avengers #4 will be out on April 24.

What we also know so far:
Kieron Gillen loves throwing bear traps at children.

Images:
The club can't even handle them right now: YA #3
Sexy ad: various, obviously, but here it is on Gillen's tumbr.
Teddy crying by a wind machine: YA #1
Beartrapaganza: A+X #5 and YA #3

Much Ado About Whedon

Sorry for the title. We're going to see that title a lot, aren't we?

Anyways, the trailer for Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing was recently released (film opens June 21). There is jazz and all the people look the same except for Coulson a.k.a. Clark Gregg. I'm not crazy about the trailer. Despite the contemporary setting, it looks really, really similar to Kenneth Branagh's 1993 movie version, with a lovely estate playing a character in both. In fact, Whedon has said that his mansion, designed by his wife Kai Cole, inspired the production. On the other hand, we can be assured that this version will not have Keanu Reeves struggling with his lines while being massaged by incredibly good sport and fine Shakespearean actor Richard Clifford. I am looking forward to the film very much, and I'm confident Whedon will do an excellent job with it.

The 1993 cast. Keanu, you tried. Denzel, Emma, and Kenneth were perfect.
Hero, you don't have to marry Wilson from House. Really.

What I am most excited about:

-Clark Gregg as Leonato. He is perfect for Shakespeare. When I was re-reading A Midsummer Night's Dream after watching The Avengers (not related), I couldn't help but think about what I would do if I had to cast all the Avengers actors in Dream (obviously*). Gregg, I thought, would be a perfect Theseus. He's got that ability to play older, dignified, but not flaw-free men.

-Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof as Beatrice and Benedick. I looooove Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh in these roles, but I'm also interested to see what this talented pair does with this smart, sharp, secretly-softies couple.

-Nathan Fillion as Dogberry. What Michael Keaton did with Dogberry in the Branagh version was a perfectly valid way to play an Elizabethan/Jacobean clown character (imho), but it felt a little out of place in the film. As we saw in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and countless Firefly outtakes, Fillion can do a cheeseball that's a bit more restrained.

-Seeing how feminist Whedon deals with the misogynistic elements in the play. What I find so interesting about Much Ado is that it has one of Shakespeare's most positive couples (Beatrice and Benedick) and one of his worst (Hero and Claudio). I'd never want the text or intention changed, but subtle acting and directing choices can really make a difference (just think of different productions of The Taming of the Shrew). It looks like Whedon's handled that well, as he says that they "stress[ed] the human not the hymen" in the adaptation.



*For the record, here is my cast. I have a lot of time to think on the bus, ok?

Theseus: Clark Gregg. Mr. Regal.
Hippolyta: Gwyneth Paltrow. Mrs. Regal.
Egeus: Stellan Skarsgard. It's Stellan Sarksgard. The Bard's not going to be a problem for him.
Lysander: Jeremy Renner. He'd have a good level of controlled intensity when arguing his case to Theseus.
Hermia: Scarlett Johansson. Small, fierce, pretty.
Helena: Cobie Smulders. Tall, comedy chops.
Demetrius: Chris Evans. Can do the douche thing.
Oberon: Samuel L. Jackson. I'd love to hear him boom, "Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania!"
Titania: Natalie Portman. She was on a computer screen, so she counts. And she could nail this role with storminess and sensuality.
Puck: Tom Hiddleston. He could actually do just about any role in this play, but he'd be fun and awesome as Robin Goodfellow.
Bottom: Robert Downey Jr. Classic ham. Just imagine him doing the Bottom's Dream soliloquy. I'm going to imagine this whenever I'm sad.
Peter Quince: Mark Ruffalo. Mostly for the stuttering prologue scene, bless.

I have no idea what you'd do with Chris Hemsworth. I don't think you could even toss him in one of the workmen roles. Maybe Francis Flute, as a joke when he plays Thisbe? I really have no idea. He'd be a fine Lysander, but I still think Renner'd be better. Let's just go with Francis Flute.

BUT I ACTUALLY HAVE A BEARD!