OCTOBER 30, 2014 4:15PM
Spiritual Gentrification
THE BELIEVERS
Released: June 1987
Director: John Schlesinger
Writers: Mark Frost (screenplay), Nicholas Conde (novel)
Notable Cast: Martin Sheen, Helen Shaver, Harley Cross, Jimmy Smits, Robert Loggia, Malick Bowens
Plot: A New York psychiatrist finds that a voodoo cult, which believes in child sacrifice, has a keen interest in his own son. (source: imdb)
Commentary: I hadn't seen this one since it came out on VHS in 1988 or so. I remember it was a time when "voodoo" ruled the motifs of several popular horror movies - Angel Heart, The Serpent and the Rainbow, and The Believers - and so I became obsessed with the topic.
Seeing it again with fresh eyes, I both appreciated it right down to its problematic themes. And it inspired some thinking, and possibly some topics for a future blog.
What did I like? Martin Sheen and several others did their job right. It was well paced and it worked as a thriller. For the 1980's New York afficionados, it's a fun treat. The supernatural aspects were for the most part handled appropriately aside from a few tacky horror movie gross-outs.
The plot summary neglects to mention a few things. It not only involves a suspected cult in the Latino neighborhoods of New York City, it also involves a Donald Trump-ish mogul with political ambitions (but played with much more restraint and class than Trump himself possesses), and a coterie of New Yorkers in the upper eschelons of society. Finally, although the central current throughout the film involves an Afro-Caribbean cult, it's not Voodoo or Vodun. It's Santeria.
And there's a layer beyond that. But I'll get to that when we talk about what we're afraid of.
Apologies if I get didactic and PC. The Believers is presented very seriously, not as a cheesy teen gore-fest, so to simply just say "voodoo" and conflate it with a whole bunch of sinister goings on and child sacrifice doesn't wash for me. Santeria is a living religion, it syncretizes Christianity, and it has been misunderstood and maligned, especially in the Satanic Panic-happy 1980's.
Queen of Salsa Celia Cruz sings a paean to St. Barbara, the Catholic, female side of the orisha Chango
In The Believers we have a trifecta of fears: economic anxiety, race and child abuse panic.
The last of these is simple to see. Child sacrifice is a central tenet of this evil fictional cult. And above that, it's angelic white kids getting all served up. Most horror movies of the 1980's are informed by the Satanic Panic, and to many of the weird circles that promoted the Satanic Ritual Abuse myth, Santeria v. Satanism isn't even up for debate. It's all the same thing.
Which of course, isn't true. And this movie pre-dates the incident in Matamoros, Mexico (and that's a horror movie waiting to be made), which involved Palo Mayombe . And though these murders were conducted by sociopaths, Palo Mayombe itself isn't any sort of child sacrifice religion.
It should be noted that The Believers actually does attempt to make a distinction. Santeria was a red herring for a more sinister magical practice. A Puerto Rican Santero was consulted, and ultimately, the narrative exonerates the religion from any black magic. That is, if you pay attention and don't think that all regions of Africa are interchangeable.
Now on to economic anxiety, which is also directly tied to the race question. Here we see a cult masterminded by, as I said, a Donald Trump type with political ambitions. Child sacrifice, even the children of the cultists themselves, equals economic prosperity and a curious placidity and lack of guilt in these rich, powerful Manhattan yuppies. It's Gordon Gecko slumming it in the Bronx in order to make it big.
Has anyone checked Ivan Boesky's basement?
That brings us to race in the film. The evil cult uses some Santeria and Yoruba-derived trappings, but as the plot of the film explains, it all began when two white American academics, husband and wife, were doing fieldwork in The Sudan. When their son was dying, they attended a local ceremony wherein the son was allowed to die in exchange for the life of a child in the tribe. This magical transaction gave them both power and financial security.
That child from the Sudanese tribe - named "Palo", yep - was adopted and became a living power conduit for the cult, perhaps better known in Western occult lore as a "familiar." The cult of rich whites venerates him and look upon him as very holy, and really do value the peace of mind he brings them. All the malignant hexes are performed by him.
So, in a move that ties both race and economic anxiety, the Caribbean Latino religion Santeria is "gentrified" by greedy whites wanting to move up the economic chain.
In the twist at the end, even Sheen's love interest played by Helen Shaver, adopts Santeria after a gross and harrowing encounter with Palo's magic. While it's supposed to be a spooky shock ending that makes you question her, I don't blame her one bit. She's felt what this magic can do to her first hand, so why not turn to it for protection?
Furthermore, the academics who founded the cult took this black child from The Sudan and employed his power for their material and psychological gain.
Spiritual colonialism, if not quite slavery.
I tried doing some research on Sudanese paganism and whether or not it was related to West African Yoruba or Fon religions, and whether or not it involved human sacrifice.
My research was inconclusive, especially to the latter point. There's a huge wave of Satanic Panic in several African countries under which a lot of people and children suffer, and it appears that may include Sudan. It would take more time than I have to dig for truth.
And I'm suspicious of a movie that claims to be about Santeria but whose central magic user comes from the Sudan, which doesn't really have any ties to Santeria from what I can see. I suppose Palo could have studied all kinds of African magic to supplement his tradition - who knows. My guess would be the filmmakers didn't think it through and counted on the audience to just think "voodoo."
Palo is played by actor Malick Bowens, who appears to be quite talented based on his imdb history. And here he's given no lines. He's simply an insane-eyed boogeyman, stalking and hexing Sheen's character and those close to him, and just being all around scary. Intentionally or not, it plays to stereotypes of urban black men and "primitive" wild-eyed voodoo crimelords like Yaphet Kotto in Live and Let Die.
The Believers
The Serpent and the Rainbow
Live and Let Die
Check these reviews from blogger Paghat the Ratgirl and from no less than Roger Ebert, who notes:
Every voodoo movie ever made has depicted
bloodthirsty cults of savagely sadistic murderers, vengefully thirsting
for innocent blood. There has been a lot in the papers recently about
"Arab-bashing," the practice of creating strongly negative stereotypes
of Arabs on TV and in the movies. I'm in agreement. But what about
voodoo-bashing? Isn't it just as prejudicial?
Here endeth the analysis, and thinking all of this through makes me appreciate this film more, flaws and all. I'll be blogging more on this subject.
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Comments
R&R And I followed the link to El Padrino de Matamoros. You're right! There's a real horror story there. :-)
Thanks much jmac! I fell behind yesterday and today, but hopefully can remain on-schedule.
This is hilarious: “Has
anyone checked Ivan Boesky's basement?” I liked this film, possibly
because it stars Martin Sheen who, for some unaccountable reason, I find
absolutely compelling to watch—that upper lip thing he does is
marvelous, but mostly I think he conveys the beset, beleaguered
“everyman” archetype so well. Your analysis is so sharp it could strip
the bark from a tree. It articulated what for me was a vague
apprehension of the film’s thematic currents. Isn’t it interesting how
often economic insecurity comes up in these films. Says something about
the American mind, what it considers the truly horrible to be, doesn’t
it?
Jerry - Yes indeed.
This is the first time I've ever really noticed it, apart from the movie
"Drag Me to Hell". And I also enjoy Martin Sheen's performances,
certainly more than his tiger-blooded warlock bro Charlie.
Very interesting analysis. I haven't seen this movie but it has a lot of great people in it: director, writers and cast.
I saw this movie when I
was working in Europe in the late 80s-early 90s. It was on one of the
hotel in-house movie channels and I thought it was great and creepy in a
B-movie-ish way. Thanks for the reminder. I'm also a big Martin Sheen
fan. Wouldn't mind seeing it again now that you mention it as I didn't
pick up on the incongruity of the Sudan connection.
Abra - some of the movies that just stay with you for whatever reason come from such trips! Thanks for commenting.
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