Hollywood – surprise, surprise – has largely committed a great disservice in its cinematic and televisual depictions of Satan.

Tinseltown’s Devil often splits into two archetypes: the cartoonish, red-skinned, horned figure delivering campy one-liners, as in The Simpsons or South Park, or the suave, histrionic charmer with a mischievous smile and guttural cackle, like Al Pacino in The Devil’s Advocate or Jack Nicholson in The Witches of Eastwick.

One of the very few edifying commentaries about the Evil One appeared on the big screen 30 years ago in August 1995. In the final scene of the crime thriller The Usual Suspects, the antagonist Verbal Kint infamously tells his police interrogators, “the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.” 

Advertisement

Talk about one of the most prophetic lines of dialogue in the history of entertainment, even if it is almost a straight lift from a 19th century short story by Charles Baudelaire. 

It speaks to how the deceiver of this world has been, unfortunately, astonishingly successful at shrouding his true nature as a ruthless, humourless tempter and destroyer who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).”

It is imperative that all of us take off the blinders and acknowledge the true essence of Satan if we hope to experience a restorative New Evangelization. If Our Lord Jesus Christ took the Evil One and his power seriously, shouldn’t we?

During the temptation in the desert, as presented in Matthew 4, Satan offered Jesus from atop a high mountain “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor,” if Christ bowed down in subservience.

Jesus repelled him, saying: “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.”

Advertisement

Noticeably, Our Lord did not declare that Lucifer had no such dominion to make such an offer. The reason He did not was because it was in the Devil’s scope of authority to advance such a proposition.

1 John 5:19 warns the children of God “that the world around us is under the control of the Evil One.” John 12:31 designates Satan as “the prince of this world.” Paul characterized the Devil in Ephesians 2:2 as “prince of the power of the air.”

Naturally, the “air” the apostle wrote about could allude to the invisible spiritual forces at Satan’s command, indwelling in the “sons of disobedience.”

But returning to the matter of Hollywood, could it not be suggested that Satan is the prince of the power of the airwaves? Has it not been the best tool in his arsenal to direct our gaze away from the shadowy evil he is perpetrating in our midst, whilst also projecting a disarming caricaturish façade of himself?

So much of the content we consume is in alignment with the Devil’s twisted vision: immoral behaviours such as lust, violence, materialism, and blatant dishonouring of parents is glorified. Case in point: It is very telling that any movie that romanticizes abortion receives a rapturous critical reception, while films that espouse pro-life virtues are vilified. Should we expect a similar dichotomy to emerge in the years to come for features that centre on euthanasia?

The “breads and circuses” of our time also try to get us to idolize the actors, athletes, figures, musicians and “reality” stars who populate our screens. Satan is very keen to untether us from meaningful time in prayer with God by establishing new false worship altars via our televisions, computers, phones and tablets.

When we honour God with prayer, scripture study, and acts of service, He bequeaths us the consciousness and wisdom necessary to recognize how Satan has operated in the past and the deceptive devices he is employing today. Therefore, we are better equipped, through God’s grace, to repel the dogma of fear Satan tries to implant in us.

Advertisement

Conversely, unhealthy veneration of the programming flooding the airwaves puts us on the path to becoming fear-driven, hateful and spiritually desensitized prey for the prowling lion seeking to devour us.

To save ourselves being caught in those devilish traps, it’s worth regularly reminding ourselves of St. Paul’s call to action in Ephesians 6:11-12: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the Devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”