Insects and Religion

When you think about Guillermo del Toro’s Mimc, the last thing that should come to mind is religion. Maybe cockroaches, sewers, giant insects and subways but not religion. However, if you pay close attention to the film you’ll notice that there are religious symbolism and aesthetics hard at work; hidden deep within the film’s plot and special effects lies something very religious. There several scenes that take place in cathedral-looking buildings and some of the major events take place within a condemned church. I think that Guillermo was trying to get at something with and I believe it has something to do with how science has sort of backstabbed what popular religion has taught people. In turn, by tampering with nature through scientific means we have created something that we aren’t able to control.

For starters, the name of the new breed sent to destroy the disease-carrying cockroaches was the Judas Breed. For those of you who know about religious, Judas was one of the 12 disciples of Christ who, for the price of 30 pieces of silver, turned him over to the High Priest Caiaphas who then turned him over to Pontius Pilate’s soldiers. Eventually, Jesus’ capture led to his inevitable crucifixion and death. Judas was known for betraying Christ and committed suicide by hanging himself. The Judas Breed (a combination of cockroach, termite and mantis) works very similar to the way the story of Christ’s betrayal played out only with bugs instead of people and eradication instead of crucifixion. The Judas insect will work its way into the cockroach tunnels, seemingly undetected and untouched by the cockroaches, and would secrete an enzyme that attracts the roaches. Thinking everything is okay, the roaches begin to eat the enzyme, which speeds up their metabolism and kills them. The Judas Breed effectively gained the trust of the roaches only to kill them.

As the story progresses, the Judas insect begins to evolve to resemble a human but still maintains its insect qualities and hunting strategies. By seeing humans as the invading species, the insect turns against us to use us as food and to eliminate competition. Again, the theme of betrayal and backstabbing is played out. It’s also interesting to note that when the Judas insect becomes a fully evolved adult, with it’s sharpened forelegs and long wings, it resembles death itself… the grim reaper in insect form. This may not have anything to do with religion but many religions see the Grim Reaper as a symbolic representation of death.

There are several cathedral-like buildings; there is a library with a giant stained glass window that resembles a cathedral, the sewers are large and open like cathedrals and even bare architectural similarities. One of the ways to get to the Judas insect hive is through a church where a priest was pushed off a building by a Judas insect. Aside from the library, it seems like an area with a mere resemblance of a church has bad things happen in it. A young boy, who later gets kidnapped by a Judas insect, is told by his father that the church across their apartment is a bad place. The church is run-down, musty, deserted and has broken statues of Christ and his followers. I see the church as a representation of an old “idea” dying and a new “idea” (religion) becoming the dominant practice. People have turned their backs against the church and now look to science for guidance. In the end, nature has the final call and we were betrayed by it or so the movie has proclaimed.

Manny, the young boy’s shoe-shining father is seen as a caring but very independent Christian who carries around a cross with him everywhere he goes. Spoiler: it’s sad that he was brutally attacked and killed by a Judas insect but I think the fact that his cross, shown as a protector, failed to so do in the eyes of science’s greatest invention. The only religious person in the whole movie was literally backstabbed by an abomination of science; the relationship between religion and science couldn’t have been shown better.

I’m absolutely positive there is more to the story than what I could uncover. As offbeat as Mimic may seem, it’s a pretty well made movie that dives into the battle between modern science and popular religion. Though any allusion towards religion isn’t spoon-fed to us, it’s not that hard to see once you notice the beginning and how the camera tries to focus on the flickering neon cross. Some people might pass this off as being a passable Guillermo del Toro film but I think he was trying to say something here. I do want to close this article by saying something that always fascinated me about insects work; they don’t have any remorse, they’re hard-working and they aren’t governed by laws or gods… they do what needs to be done to protect their colony.

The massive stained glass window in the library.

The Mist: The Psychology of Religion

Religion has always been a tool when talking about or making a horror movie. It seems as though every other film debunks it, exploits it or trashes it but not many films actually tap into the psychology of religion and why so many people are religious. In movies like The Omen, Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby or Warlock (I’m picking ones that really take an axe to religion), the religious fanatics’ belief is true but they worship this God to the point of killing in his name. It’s not necessarily explaining religion but rather showing us how far people are willing to go to prove themselves. Then you have a movie like The Mist, which actually brings up a topic in religion that has been greatly analyzed academically but not so much in film. Aside from the monsters, the main human antagonist is the town religious zealot Mrs. Carmody. She preaches the “good word” of God and sees the monster invasion as a sign of the apocalypse. She believes that God is angry at how we are destroying his “paradise” and exploiting each other so, in order to appease God and to make the monster disappear, they must offer a sacrifice. So you can tell that she is absolutely nuts but lets break things down a little.

Note: I am discussing the movie and not the book.

Many people have analyzed how the supermarket has broken up into two distinct factions; you have the God-worshippers who believe that a blood sacrifice is worth it, and those who are rational and believe in escaping and finding help. I read that that it’s sort of Darabont’s (and perhaps King’s) commentary on the Bush Administration. It makes sense because it seemed like the world was divided in half with those who believe in religion (Republicans) and those who believe in rationalization (Democrats). It’s an interesting concept that could go further than just the fractions but rather comparing the monsters to terrorism and how it was made to believe that terrorists were attacking the American Dream. But how does religion play into the state of affairs?

David Drayton, our down-home American hero, states in the beginning that Carmody is preaching to four followers and that by the next day she would have four more, and so on. Ollie, our comic relief, tells the group of freethinkers that humans are naturally a violent race and that we will jump on anything that promises us the most answers. I’d say that one major theme of the film has just been directly stated. It’s very interesting that he brought that up because it’s a point that has been proven many times throughout history. Many post apocalyptic films are based on the notion that religion will reign because it offered more answers as to why the world ended. Carmody takes the stand and tells everybody that God is pissed; if you see massive monsters attacking and killing people, logic states that this isn’t possible because such things don’t exist in nature. However, religion states that these things do exist in hell and are known as demons. Facts are immediately thrown aside (because there are none) and religion is given the podium because it provides the facts. Not many of us would believe that a portal to another world was opened. Furthermore, I see it as being connected to the old saying; “There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.” There are bombs blasting all around you, you could die any minute, your scared and frightened, nobody you now is going to help you, who do you turn to? The person beside you is dead, the person on the other side is shooting at the enemy, and all you have is God. Now, replace the bombs with giant insects and the bullets with torches. It’s the same thing.

On that note, Drayton adds to the conversation by stating the extremes that people will go to when scared, provoked and pushed into a corner. It’s basic psychology that if we are frightened and somebody is backing us into a corner, we’ll go crazy just so that we could be set free, even if it mean that we loose our sanity. This would explain why Carmody jumped to the conclusion that God demands blood; her logic is that if ritualistic prayer and worshipping isn’t working… than sacrifice is the only other option. She brings up a story, a particularly outrageous one, of how Abraham sacrificed his only son Joseph to prove to God that he is a believer. The problem with this story and the whole comparison is that it’s outrageous. Why would a friendly, caring God make people do such things to prove each other? If God is so caring, why would he unleash demons from hell upon the Earth and then demand blood sacrifice? It’s all a method to scare and control people, so in essence, Carmody is setting the establishment of human society all the way back to the Medieval Ages. This was back when the Church inspired fear to control the towns, kingdoms and villages. I think the best example of showing how crazy we will go to stop the bad things from happening is when Carmody orders her followers to stab and offer one of the soldiers to the monsters. It’s such a powerful scene because he pleads and begs people to cease and even goes on to tell them that he was born in their town, that he’s one of them. It’s sad when the people you grew up with turn on you because they have been brainwashed with fear and false answers. He became a martyr to show people just what we are capable of doing when in the shadow of fear.

I think the biker guy says it best to Carmody, “Hey, I believe in God but I don’t think that he’s the bloodthirsty asshole you make him out to be.” There is no problem with religion or religious people, there is a problem if you are an extremist who is willing to kill and press you religion upon others.

Strangely, there is so much more to comment on. You can go the 9/11 route and see the monsters as foreign entity or terrorist destroying the American Dream/small-town America. You can see it as the monsters raping the good ‘ol American values. You can compare instances in the film to stories of the Bible; in fact, Carmody does this throughout the film. You can compare the events in the film to the Bush Administration. You can expand on how Carmody is a Christian tyrant and the people in the supermarket are the sheeple. There is so much that could be said here but I only wanted to throw in the psychology of how people act when scared. I hate to bring this movie up (because it’s not a horror movie) but in Book of Eli, Carnegie is so desperate to get his hands on a Bible. Why do you think this is? Because he knows the value of religion. He knows that with religion, in desperate dismal times, people will listen and obey you. It’s basic psychology. Those who offer the most ‘truth’ will be the leaders and we all know that truth can be very subjective.

Two Religions, One Demon

I remember when Exorcist: The Beginning came out and everybody was trashing it or at least it seemed that way. When I finally got around to seeing it I loved it and enjoyed it ever since. It wasn’t until recently I became interested in the demonic possession films and I decided to re-watch Exorcist: The Beginning because my feelings for it may have changed. They didn’t. I still enjoyed it but there was always something about it that I felt sort of tackled the issue of religion. It doesn’t necessarily bash Christianity but rather… challenges it in the sense of comparing it to other religions. Every religion out there is the same as the next and as shown in the movie, all the major wars in the world have been fought over religion when most religion is the same. That’s what stuck out to me in this film.

First of all, I find it funny that the setting of the film takes place in Kenya and we all know that most of the tribes down there aren’t Christian. From what I remember studying, Christianity derived from the Middle East and not Kenya so right off the bat it’s going to be a film that clashes with different religions beliefs. Throughout the film Merrin talks about the demons of Christianity and how they may have possessed a young local boy. However, at the same time the Turkana believe an evil spirit may have possessed the boy. Before Merrin or Father Francis have a chance to exorcise the boy, the Turkana send a group of high priests to do a ritual chant over the boy so that they can purge him of evil.

To me, I find it rather fascinating that both the Turkana and the British believe that there is an evil in that land and that the evil has manifested itself into some form. However, both parties have a different name for the evil and they both believe the evil came from different places. As I stated before, all religions is essentially the same; there is a good and there is a bad even though the origins of these forces are different. This film provides two different perspectives of religion and these perspectives can be seen as two polar opposites: the British believing in Christianity (The good) and the Turkana believing in their primitive gods (The bad). It really challenges the aspects and formulas of religion and I think that is one of the strong points in this film.