In 1973, Hollywood produced its best scary movie ever. The movie was based on William Peter Blatty’s novel “the Exorcist” and had as its subject sensational demonic possession. The story line went something like this: a little girl in an affluent house of a famous Hollywood actress was supposedly possessed by a quite vigorous, violent, ancient demon and it was left up two priests to exorcise him from the girl. The demon’s name was Pazuzu.
He was supposed to have his origins in Africa, but was actually worshiped by those ancient people who once inhabited Iraq and Syria and they imagined him to be brought to their lands by the southwest wind, the bearer of disease, and famine, which would have come out of the Sahara from the perspective of the believers.
In the movie the Demon apparently had a long standing grudge with an old Jesuit priest, Merrin, for having exorcised him out of a little boy years ago in Africa; and so with revenge in mind, Pazuzu possessed a very young and innocent American girl now living in Georgetown, USA. some thirty years after the original encounter with the excorcist. The purpose for this new possession was to call the old priest back into a test of wills, good vs evil, virtue vs corruption, innocence vs perversion, and all that jazz. Needless to say his “infection” of the little American girl was quite brutal and quite salacious. At the time the movie was released, the American public, not yet exposed daily to the devilish humor of the comedy channel(cable tv not being available at the time) found the movie quite horrifying and “psychologically disturbing”. Vomit, and hysteria frequently accompanied each showing.
Millions flocked to see this movie, and most were deeply affected by its stunning psychological assault. The nuanced allusions to psychotic illness and extreme depravity, along with “supernatural” effects combined to make this movie – by most accounts- the most frightening movie ever made – even today the movie still holds this title, though it seems to elicit hysterical laughter as the most common response these days. Times have changed-thanks in large part to the comedy channel.
So much has changed that it often seems as if the demon Pazuzu has become a popular figure in our pop culture. He’s no longer viewed as vile, corrupt, or even evil, but kind of real, alternative, and quite plausible. In some places, even an anti-hero, an advocate of human discontent of sorts.
The movie is in a way quite prophetic when you think of it. The evil spirit lives and works in Iraq and Syria originally, but soon after manages to infect the soul of an American family. What more prophecy do you want?
Is this not what happened to us with our involvement in the Middle East over the past one hundred years? Have we not brought upon ourselves an evil spirit that keeps us fighting pointlessly in places like Syria and Iraq, and Lybia, and Afghanistan, and Iran and Israel and Palestine, and so on and so on? Have we not now managed to bring a plague both on the people of those lands, and on ourselves in the process? And to what ideal can we really attribute all this effort in the Mid East to but greed, malice, delusion, mockery, and defilement of our most sacred principles? Is this evil self abuse not what the wars in the Mid East really come to? Can we ever leave these wars behind? No! We are possessed, against our will no less, since the majority of Americans want no part of it really for it does not in the end profit the American ideal of individual liberty and self determination, yet here we are decades later still involved in this evil ritual that are the wars of the Middle East.
To what other spirit could we attribute these abominations if not to Pazuzu? As we wage murderous air wars over what are in the end defenseless people abused and disabused by our “superior” civilization- which most sacred Idol could we point to that would be more fit to honor these pursuits than an ancient middle eastern evil being of plagues? Instead of bringers of light and wisdom, we have become a plague upon these people! We have become a veritable curse upon these people of the Middle East!
Moreover foreign affairs are so vile and ugly overseas, that one cant help but see the awful coincidence between Pazuzu’s supernatural evil and what we are now seeing in Iraq, Libya and Syria and most other places in the Middle East. We are both possessor and possessed by evil perversion and delusions of grandeur and privilege.
Although we are sheltered by our well meaning benevolent media, in reality the horror of these wars is quite gruesome, quite supernatural, awfully acute and psychologically disturbing. As millions of people are blown away, millions starved to death, and millions made to wander the earth homeless and desperate, and forsaken while they curse fate, and God himself for having given them such misery; and all the while, just a short distance away in Europe, there is prosperity, peace, and plenty. We see a real plague in the Mid East these days and its as if we have raised a monument to this lord of the shit flies, in the personage of this hollywood popular personality that is the Demon Pazuzu, a spiritual lord of pestilence and disease.
In fact, this “sentiment” seems to have gone, viral, even universal. The movie, and its lead character, Pazuzu have been exported to just about every place on Earth. Many of these nations now make their own movies in his image. And when it comes to the Mid East, its as if all the major powers of the Earth, and all its people and religions have shown up at Pazuzu’s temple, in Northern Iraq to fight like wild dogs in heat. The prize this time instead of a little innocent girl’s body and soul, is now oil, natural gas, and power, and the final object of the contests is which of these wild dogs at last gets the bitch; but still the hatred, violence, pure evil, dire omen, and putrid stink, rotting body parts and gore are all there, just as in the movie. There is nothing “natural” about any of this. Its all quite “supernatural”, so much so, its almost phantasmagorical!
Sure this war was, and is about oil and gas, Russia, and the US and the Sunnis and the Shiites and Israelis and Palestinians, and Kurds, Turks Iraqis, Iranians and Libyans, ; colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, and nationalism, and greed and malice and all; and yes all these wars are about ancient hatred, and primal emotions, and grand delusions, and horrific bloodshed and injustice, and endless centuries of reckless desire and endless disparagement of human ideals…yep that’s true, but they are also a tremendous “hey there” to the Demon Pazuzu as well. This never ending war is a real tribute to that demon of the evil winds, the locusts, the plagues, the shit and the blow flies. For this war promises to be a an everlasting plague upon the Earth as it will probably ignite the European bon fire soon enough, even as Ukraine lies in wait. And from there, perhaps a species ending global holocaust in a third flamingly hot, radio actively sickening world war. Its as if the entire world is living an evil spirit that’s come to possess us all, and in some way or other we’ve all managed to let “Captain Howdy” into our living rooms. Much like the George Bush administration’s second war on Iraq which was actually televised on prime time. As if it were the movie of the week.
The future seems ripe for this Lord of the winds and plagues to conclude in one world ending Huracan of complete corporal ,moral deprivation, and devastation. Oh yeah there are proposals for peace, cease fires, agreements and a whole lot of other bull shit, but in reality the situation does not seem likely to change any time soon enough to keep the poor young priest from being possessed himself by the spirit from hell and then murdering the innocent little girl and jumping out the window in one last vile act of self destruction, and self condemnation. And he will be condemned by all when he winds up at the bottom of the long stairs, with his head pointing to hell.
Soon enough, we might all come to feel we’re living in a real scary movie.
But in the meantime we can all see how frocks, pulpits, priestly robes, yarmulkes, sacred texts, shorn beards, Mohammed, Jesus, Abraham and Moses are all stripped naked and made to run in the dessert sands of the Middle East shouting all sorts of unspeakable obscenities at those others who are less sacred, less chosen, and less preferred by each respective chosen deity of worship.
Yes there are those few remaining “exorcists” who still have some real true pizzazz left, not yet corrupted by greed, glitz, and vanity, but these stalwart souls are few and far between. Most of them are digging up dead civilizations trying to resurrect the good old and sacred dead only to find they are forever battling the relentless evil, degenerate winds of the present. And they are losing the battle, for their own possession is only getting worse.
Its interesting to see little children blown to bits, innocent human beings burned to a crisp, body parts all over the place, and the unending stink of infernal death wafting gently over whatever it is that remains after each successive bombing or raid or incursion has concluded(for the sake of “civilized” society, of course.) But we must ask at last to what spirit, what deity can all this abomination really be dedicated to? In whose name are we doing all this?
Its interesting to think how each and everyone of the actors in these wars defiles some sacred pact with their God, how each dutifully justifies their own atrocities while firmly accusing the other of murder, debauchery, and terrorism. The Demon grins, laughs and spits all kinds of funny vomit as the merry show progresses. Pazuzu’s laughter can be heard all over the world as all his suppliants gather for his happy festival in Syria and Iraq. Each of the gleeful participants willing to defile exceedingly, and more so than the other in unrestrained fealty to the evil star-crossed, winged being, now a popular movie star personality.
Judging by our present leading candidates, the merriment can only grow. Few politicians can resist a visit to the awful party, it seems.
When it comes to the Middle East, neither Priest, nor Pastor, nor Rabbi, nor Imam, nor president, prime minister, premier nor King nor Queen, nor common man, nor woman, or even child can resist dedicating a dark corner somewhere in their church or temple or stately building or palace , or home or hiding space secretly devoted to this supernaturally malignant, mocking being. In every shadow his personage appears, in every daily compromise with each moment of silence he makes his way, ever defiling, ever deriding, ever corrupting whatever “Sacred” orifice he can find. And in every orifice, he places a seed that will only grow. And everyone of these obeys, humbly bows, makes the sign of the goat, and lays itself prostrate before this most malevolent mercurial spirit each time they remain silent for fear of monetary retribution or media backlash, or social chastisement. For in the end, the only real defense against the Lord Pazuzu is that they must either stand together against him on pure and moral principle, or be singled out by him and there destroyed one by one in the shadow of their own abode.
And in the end, their flocks will have little faith in them but much for the demon. A demon is far more colorful a public figure than a holy man, or any political leader – in most cases.
The United States having trespassed on the demon’s ground twice, in Iraq, now feels it may have to go a third time to defend its gains, yet each visit, another guarantees. The Muslim Royalty, having their wealth usurped seek to protect it by any means necessary, the Jews their sacred Israel, the Christians their Jerusalem; and the Russians, their soft underbelly and Southeastern flank, the United States its money, and Europe its “honor”..the Shia their integrity, the Sunni their superiority, the Kurds their little fire, Assad his legacy, the Turks their inheritance, Iran its history, and Iraq its legacy….all good reasons I’m sure. But each of these must pay the devil to get what they desire, and gleefully they do.
I’m sure there are millions of parents, priests and politicians over all the world who must honestly wonder why their children are into “Black Metal” and “Satan’s Music”… well “you need not wonder why there is no time left for you”. Children are actually quite smart, in most cases smarter than their parents, and quite a bit more honest. Somewhere they caught on perhaps to all the vanity in the mirror, to all the excuses given, to all the bestial dispensations in the theater of utter monstrosity that is war. And somehow they feel the need to justify their society, justify its actions to themselves, live with it so to speak(perhaps even to justify the actions of their own parents.) But how? And then perhaps slowly they realize darkly that there is one path for them to take, and for many, its the only path that’s left for them to take, and so they do, and then they have acquired their “wings”.
As the war in the Middle East gains fury and strength( and believe me it will) the Lord of the Shit Flies will corrupt all before him: all faith, all conscience, all reason, all restraint, all ideals, all principles, all volition, and all excuses, and all these will eventually bow to his desires as the ever increasing number of blow flies consume the ever increasing number of corpses and spread all consuming corruption over all lands and all seas, corrupting both air and earth, matter and soul.
Unless of course, somewhere out there there is an Exorcist still worth his frocks, and still having some stale cloudy holy water left to toss on the Paz; somewhere in the cavernous bottomless dark abyss of Morea. Of course he(or she) will need to be quite popular, and it’ll be difficult to match Pazuzu in popularity. The Paz is a bonefied Rock Star! But if we shine enough light on this wondrous, mighty, evil fly, and make enough noise, and shout him out, he just might just be satiated, get sleepy and go back to the shadows, and give us some peace, at least for awhile .
We often hear in television commercials that what happens over there, stays there and maybe it is true for Las Vegas ; but this is not true of Iraq and Syria. One day you too might hear some vague noise in your attic or your basement, or in some dark corner of your home, and you might think its just rats, or squirrels, or vagabond raccoons, but soon you may find your daughter or your son, your little brother, or sister, or your very closest companion just made a fantastic new friend whom you will come to know, intimately! And then life will imitate art.