Satan

Satan (?????? Standard Hebrew Satan, Latin Sátanas, Tiberian Hebrew ????n; Aramaic ???????? ?i?nâ: both words mean "Adversary; accuser") is an angel, demon, or minor god in many religions. Satan plays various roles in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocrypha and the New Testament. In the Hebrew Bible, Satan is an angel that God uses to test man for various reasons usually dealing with his level of piety (i.e. the test in the Book of Job). In the Apocrypha and New Testament, Satan is portrayed as an evil, rebellious demon who is the enemy of God and mankind. These two ideals are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Satan in entertainment media

Generally when Satan is depicted in movies and television, he is represented as a red-skinned man with horns on his head, hoofs, tail, and pitchfork, while often times he is represented as a plain human being, and, in rare instances, only his voice is heard. Popular portrayals of Satan include Warner Bros. cartoons (such as Satan's Waitin' (1954)), William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973), Richard Donner's The Omen (1976), Ridley Scott's Legend (1985), End of Days (1999) and Comedy Central's South Park. Al Pacino starred as Satan in the movie Devil's Advocate. In Constantine, Satan is portrayed by Peter Stormare as a human. In BBC Radio 4's comedy Old Harry's Game Satan is played by Andy Hamilton. In Little Nicky (2000), Satan is a familial position that is passed from father to son, with Rodney Dangerfield portraying the elder Satan and Harvey Keitel the reigning Satan.

Related Topics:
Warner Bros. - 1954 - William Friedkin - The Exorcist - 1973 - Richard Donner - The Omen - 1976 - Ridley Scott - Legend - 1985 - End of Days - 1999 - Comedy Central - South Park - Al Pacino - Devil's Advocate - Constantine - Peter Stormare - BBC Radio 4 - Old Harry's Game - Andy Hamilton - Little Nicky - 2000 - Rodney Dangerfield - Harvey Keitel

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In Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, the main character (played by Mia Farrow) becomes pregnant by Satan and has his child. In The Ninth Gate, the main character (played by Johnny Depp) is involved in finding a missing book with details for summoning Satan.

Related Topics:
Roman Polanski - Rosemary's Baby - Mia Farrow - The Ninth Gate - Johnny Depp

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In Marvel Comics, several high-level demons, such as Mephisto, Marduk Kurios, and Satannish, control different aspects of Hell and claim to be the Biblical Satan. Some have theorized that these demons constitute a "composite Satan", while others believe they simply utilize the name of an even more powerful demon to sow fear among their enemies.

Related Topics:
Marvel Comics - Mephisto - Hell

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Including Satan as a personification of evil holds many narrative opportunities. South Park, for example, makes a political point by portraying Satan in an abusive sexual relationship with (the apparently more evil) Saddam Hussein. Others have portrayed a human character's struggles with Satan to mark human foibles and failings in the attempt to live a good life — for example, Bedazzled (1967, remade 2000) and Oh, God! You Devil (1984). And in the horror/suspense genre, including Satan provides for a gripping, nearly all-powerful foe, as seen in The Omen trilogy.

Related Topics:
South Park - Saddam Hussein - Bedazzled - Oh, God! You Devil - The Omen

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One intriguing use of Satan in recent horror fiction and film is the evangelical aim of William Peter Blatty in his book and the subsequent film, The Exorcist. He has explained that his goal was to portray the ultimate evil as a way of reminding the world of the need to believe in the ultimate good, God.

Related Topics:
William Peter Blatty - The Exorcist

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The science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 offers an interesting perspective (not only for this case, but many gods of various religions). The alien character Sokar, a Goa'uld, takes the persona of Satan, and become one of the most powerful of his species, possessing a great army with which he wanted to take control over all other System Lords and subsequently the galaxy itself. He even created his own Hell on Ne'tu (alike Apokolips, another fiction hell analogy), the satellite of his homeworld Delmak, where he sends his enemies for torture and punishment.

Related Topics:
Science fiction - Television series - Stargate SG-1 - Sokar - Goa'uld - System Lords - Hell - Ne'tu - Apokolips - Delmak

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Him, a character on the animated series, The Powerpuff Girls, is a cheerfully evil, red-skinned, cross-dressing demon, and is a parody of HIM (His Infernal Majesty).

Related Topics:
Him - The Powerpuff Girls - HIM (His Infernal Majesty)

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Satan has also featured in modern popular music. Many rock stars, such as the Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden and AC/DC, and even crossover artists such as Terri Gibbs, have recorded songs about Satan. Many of Osbourne's albums (both solo and with his former group, Black Sabbath), for example, have criticized devil worship, although some Christian groups have interpreted it as glorification. The Rolling Stones recorded a song called "Sympathy for the Devil," which was later covered by Guns N' Roses for the movie Interview with the Vampire which was based on a novel by Anne Rice. Terri Gibbs' crossover song "Somebody's Knockin'" features these lyrics: "... Lord it's the devil. Would you look at him ... he'd have blue eyes and blue jeans". American group the Pixies sang "If man is 5 and the devil is 6 then God is 7!". On the 2004 Insane Clown Posse concept album about Hell, ', Satan is referred to as "The Witch". In Randy Newman's own 1993 musical and subsequent 1995 studio album version of Faust, he plays Satan. Some listeners have claimed to find Satanic messages concealed in other popular music by playing records backwards.

Related Topics:
The Rolling Stones - Ozzy Osbourne - Iron Maiden - AC/DC - Terri Gibbs - Black Sabbath - Sympathy for the Devil - Guns N' Roses - Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice - Pixies - Insane Clown Posse - Hell - Randy Newman - 1993 - 1995 - Faust - Playing records backwards

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