#154 The Devil, exorcism & life as a demon incarcerator: 'Constantine' break-down

TRIGGER WARNING If you decide to watch the movie -  There is a confronting exorcism scene at the beginning of the movie and Suicide is mentioned 3 times, and one scene strongly suggests and shows blood and a suicide attempt. Please see your doctor or mental health professional if the scenes in this movie trigger you.

People have an innate fascination with demons, the devil and hell… is it the thrill of the unknown and what it can possibly ‘offer’ you?  In this episode,  you get an inside look at how the devil and his henchmen are represented in media, specifically movies. We are going to break down the movie Constantine, one of my all-time paranormal favourites and the fascinating ways demons and the Devil stars in this movie.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: Anna Schmidt (Host)  

Hello, and here we are at Perfectly Paranormal episode 154

My name is Anna Schmidt, and I'm here every week to share with you true paranormal encounters and information about devils, demons and dark energy beings that no one else talks about. Today, today, you get an inside look at how the devil and his henchmen are represented in media, movies specifically. We are going to break down the movie Constantine, one of my all time paranormal favourites and the fascinating ways demons and the Devil ‘star’ in this movie.

People have an innate fascination with demons, the devil and hell… it is the thrill of the unknown and what it can possibly ‘offer’ you, depending on your motive. The movie Constantine is a realistic (even though it isa work of fiction) eye opener to someone living the lifestyle of a paranormal worker. I want to start with the very end of this popular cult paranormal movie from 2005. I found the movie Constantine enthralling for many reasons in relation to the representation and interpretation of demonic entities and their behaviours.  The end representation of the devil has stuck in my mind for 15+ years now, and I would like to explore this first… 

PERCEPTION OF THE DEVIL: The devil is represented in a way that challenged my and probably many other people’s preconceived vision of horns, hooves, darkness and bad behaviours. Initially, there was a shock factor as you are greeted at the climax of the movie with a gently ascending human looking ‘gentleman’ dressed in a spotless white suit (complete with a white pocket handkerchief), presenting himself in a calm, controlled manner (his bare feet dripping with black tar and the black tattoos on his neck were an interesting way to represent the darkness). This astonishing appearance made me curious to see what he was up to… I am naturally dubious, so was the neat suit and clean appearance designed to trick the audience into thinking ‘Aw, he isn’t such a bad guy after all.’ Does the white suit make the Devil look less of a threat and more relatable? Possibly for some,  people easily fall for deceit and trickery, and let their guard down, thinking they can make deals with the devil. Or was the white suit a mockery of the light? Or all of the above.

I imagined many watching this movie hung on every word he said in a kind of charismatic trance… wanting to see where it was all going. I watched with a sense of discernment and didn’t trust his appearance as disguises are a typical way demons use to get close to unknowing people. I watched the calculatedness of his behaviours too … there was a devilish flicker of the eyes and a smile, controlled bodily gestures and carefully chosen language…he can’t hide his true nature. He was overjoyed at the bargain of Angela’s sister (suicide victim) being spared in exchange for Constantine’s soul. He didn’t see Constantine’s self-sacrifice until the final moments of the movie, where he exacted his revenge, removing Constantine’s cancer, his true devilishness showing as he left John to continue living, not ascending to heaven.

MYTHOLOGY: The spear of destiny makes an appearance in the movie with a central role in the plot of Satan’s son bringing himself forth into the earth domain through a human female. This dark symbolic connection to the birth of Christ is undeniable; it is crudely portrayed, but it is present and is thwarted!

DEMONS AND HELL: The movie Constantine holds true to the biblical concepts of demonic behaviour and their pure hatred for humanity as a whole, but especially those with knowledge of the darkness – exorcists and rogue demon incarcerator ( I don’t like using the words, slayer or hunter) such as Constantine whose psychic awareness kick started his journey in childhood and career in the paranormal world thereafter.

This movie keeps viewers glued to the screen, offering many moments of demonic drama and fiery battles in which good always overrides evil in the moment, but not completely. The battles are not glamorous, but seen through John’s eyes as a real-life struggle.

The viewer would have been drawn to the unknown qualities of demonic representation in the movie – the different types of demons, their behaviours, and the methods John used to vanquish them (No spoilers alert here other than there is strong mention of suicide, so be aware of that if mental health trauma affects you). People are constantly curious and fascinated by the dark paranormal, whether movies or paranormal investigations...they want to be scared ( there is the drama again). It is difficult for me to look at this from an unbiased approach, as I am a confessed paranormal addict, but I channel my curiosity into learning and educating the public from my personal and work-related experiences. 

THE REALITY OF THE STRUGGLE: This movie does to some extent mildly glorify demon ‘hunting‘ and exorcism as a constant never never-ending battle of good over evil. But it also portrays a strong sense of the reality of living the lifestyle of being known to the demonic realm… You can’t live a ‘normal’ life with the constant mind alertness and body tiredness, sleep deprivation, and solitude – feeling like you live on the fringe and ostracized from society, a bit of a rebel, almost unwanted and definitely underappreciated. Also, the constant psychic awareness and psychological struggle of knowing there is a demonic presence in the environment 24/7… this becomes the norm of those working in the paranormal world, and how do you relate to normal people? I relate to his struggle, and can relate to his life of a hermit is almost a comfort; you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone, but God sees you doing the good work, and that is a comfort.

EXORCISM: People are always curious about exorcism. I think it is the drama and adrenaline-pumping moments of not knowing the outcome. When I first saw this movie 15+ years ago, I too was drawn into the curiosity and drama during the exorcist at the beginning of the movie (having never seen an exorcism before in movies or documentaries). What kept me watching was the calmness, care for service and inner control of John Constantine… he had this no fear approach, that I really connected to.

TABOO SUBJECT: This movie delivers a strong message on the taboo subject of suicide three times. Twice for John, firstly after his teenage near death experience, he has to live his adult life knowing he will go to hell unless he can find ways to repent. But he doesn’t see the selfless sacrifice he needs to make to save another until the end of the movie. Also, Angela’s sister, who, after a life of psychic awareness that led her to feeling misunderstood, medicated, feeling lost and alone, and the demons got their hooks into her, driving her to the only way out that she could find for peace.

There is an interesting parallel look at what Hell might look like to an individual reliving their moment of death after suicide ( the sister of Angela, one of the main characters). The crawling demons in that scene, I found particularly fascinating interpretation of hell. They had the top part of their skulls missing, showing the space filled with miniature people writhing in pain and torment for all of eternity…  Is this a nod to the Bible saying behave yourself, otherwise this is where you will end up?

The message I take from this movie is to hold true to loving yourself for who you are, be truthful, honest, repent for your wrong doings, fight the good fight against darkness in all its forms on whichever level that is for you, and embrace self-sacrifice not ego. We can all be saved if we believe, have faith, practice living a good life and ignore the demonic whisperers.

What is your favourite paranormal movie and why has is stuck with you? If you want to share, you can email me at spiritualbeing44@gmail.com or find my Fb page : Spiritual Being Paranormal Services.

So, in episode I55, you will hear how demonic entities get close to us and how to avoid these tricky situations. I share what I have learnt from a lifetime of awareness of paranormal presence.

So, stay tuned and I look forward to spending some spooky time with you next week.

Thank you for joining me today, and don’t forget, if you want to share your paranormal experiences or have a question, email me at spiritualbeing44@gmail.com 

For information on paranormal house clearing visit my website:  

https://www.spiritualbe-ing.com.au/  

I look forward to sharing this spooky space with you again next week, and remember, life is perfectly paranormal.