I was brought up fundamentalist, which means I got a healthy dose of Biblical apocalypse stories complete with yarns of the Anti-Christ. I actually really enjoyed this part of my upbringing, but when Christian radio would celebrate any incursions into the public sector and classify it as religious liberty, I was utterly perplexed. Sure you’re happy that the State allows you to do the thing that you like, but it is a slippery slope to the Anti-Christ because then couldn’t the State force you to worship in a way that was in opposition to your beliefs then usher in the End Times? No, thank you. Well, apparently The Satanic Temple (“TST”) reached the same conclusion, and the Christian fundamentalists still don’t get it.
If Hail Satan? as a title is enough to make you clutch your pearls and run away in horror, then this movie probably isn’t for you. The original intention of the organization appears to shock and troll the public forum as a counterbalance foil to Christian fundamentalist actions. As a born and bred New Yorker, trying to get my attention usually creates the opposite result: I ignore it, which is probably why I missed that they were founded in a city that I worked in for a long period of time and held a ritual protest nearby my home. What did grab my attention is the preview for this movie, which briefly presented TST’s ideas. They are right. “Christian privilege” needs to be eliminated in this country to insure the religious liberty of all individuals.
Hail Satan? is actually a really funny, nostalgic and engaging documentary. It is ninety-five minutes, and it chronicles the life, purpose and expansion of The Satanic Temple (“TST”), which was founded in 2013 (not to be confused with The Church of Satan), and compares and contrasts it with Satanism as it was previously depicted in the media and practiced. It intercuts between detailing the history of TST, Satanism as a cultural and political phenomenon then shifts to testimonials from members around the country and world regarding how and why they joined and legal actions taken by TST to keep governing institutions accountable and insure that they treat all religions equally.
Hail Satan? could have tightened up its narrative. I wanted even more emphasis placed on Satanic panic as projection of the abusive elements of the Christian establishment, particularly child abuse. If and when this documentary is played in the future, viewers unfamiliar with the locations and the time periods may get confused regarding when something happened. Viewers from Massachusetts will definitely have a leg up on other viewers. There is a much needed explanation of why the Ten Commandments as a sculpture has become so prevalent in certain states and why people mistakenly believe that the United States is a Christian nation, which I felt should have come earlier in the movie. I also thought the TST’s seven fundamental tenets should have been introduced earlier because it feels as if it takes a back seat to the spectacle, which may be an effective mechanism to grab people’s attention, but also is the thing that simultaneously detracts from the message that they are so strenuously trying to promote.
Hail Satan? shows the tantalizing, innate tension within TST between its image and its practice. It briefly examines the conflict between the Detroit branch’s leader, Jex Blackmore, TST’s very own Anne Hutchinson, and the National Council. Whether the organization includes Satanists or Christians, if it is a human organization, you can set your clock to a woman being excommunicated and exiled for being too shocking, disturbing the status quo or rejecting respectability politics. TST clutches its pearls when she essentially breaks the law with a speech. She uses animal heads in her ceremonies, which seems to violate one of the tenets. TST clearly has some unexplored tension between its ideals and aesthetics when it actually practices what it preaches. It is a largely white, male led organization, which is not innately a bad thing, that seeks to work within the status quo (hi, I’m a lawyer and am probably the establishment) and is shocked to discover that they are the other whereas Blackmore may be the spearhead of the other who joined TST in hopes that it was as anti-status quo as its name and pose implied. Spoiler alert: it isn’t. I think that another documentary needs to show the future schism appearing within TST due to intersectional issues. The majority of TST may be pretending to be shocking for a purpose. She actually lives and breathes it. I have a tremendous amount of respect for her authenticity while not aesthetically appreciating it in practice (her comment on male nudity is spot on).
I walked away from Hail Satan? struck that the only real difference between TST members and most contemporary Christians whom I have felt comfortable worshipping alongside is that they were never exposed to Christianity that wasn’t fundamentalist and actually was Jesus or Holy Spirit centered. Jesus as a countercultural figure who was comfortable with society’s outcasts speaks to me in the way that Satan as an adversary, but a nontheistic, sociopolitical counter-myth speaks to them. I’m sympathetic to TST and have never forgotten that during the time of the Roman Empire, Christians were seen as atheists. TST is essentially an atheist religious group who refuse to relinquish community, reclaim and reframe religious symbols and have faith in a civics code of ethics just as we have an Apostles Creed. While I may not have attended many churches that were predominantly black, I am comfortable in the theology of liberation and social justice tradition that emerges from there. Being brought up in Manhattan and in majority Jewish communities also creates an appreciation for the tradition of looking back and relating to the underdog, the other and the minority and recognizing that being in the majority is only temporary, one must protect the stranger because you were once a stranger. Because I’m a lawyer, I’m expecting that they be treated with the same standard as Christians, and people respect and not examine their sincerely held beliefs.
As much as I find people trying to do the most tiresome, Hail Satan? shows that their heart is in the right place though they may be a little too in love with the establishment to truly embrace their ostensible aesthetic. I hope that they succeed, but am really interested in those whom they excommunicated who embrace the aesthetic and the economic, sociopolitical message. The (performance) artists are always the most radical, sincere and fascinating.