Katolska kyrkans roll i skräckfilm En rollteoretisk analys av Katolska kyrkan i filmerna Exorcisten och Ritualen.

Abstract

My problem comes out of the bigger question “why the Catholic church is featured in horror films whenever a religious organization is in one?” I have detected in the horror films that I've seen that when a religious organization is in a horror movie it's the Catholic church that gets to act as church and religion. I have chosen the following problem: How is the Catholic church presented in the horror movies The Exorcist and The Rite, and how can one understand these presentations from a role theoretic perspective? Since role theory has it's background in the world of the theater with it's actors and roles, it came naturally to use role theory, and specifically Goffmans dramatic model. I've used this model in a film analysis of the movies. My source material in this bachelors essay are the movies: The Exorcist (1973) and The Rite (2011). Focus has been on The Exorcist, since The Rite is a new film, I've only been able to treat it in a lesser degree. Through the roles of Father Merrin, Father Karras, Father Lucas and Michael Kovac the Catholic church is presented in the films The Exorcist and The Rite as an international organization that's listening, and when it undertakes an assignment carries it through. The Catholic church is an organization with old rites that is in use to this day, and is a modern organization that is up to date both with the times and the scientific research. The Catholic church is present where the people are. Through Father Karras, Father Lucas and Michael Kovacs doubt they become human characters, through which also makes the organization a human one. The Catholic church is an organization that is prepared for the encounter with the evil forces. To give ones life for another human like Father Karras does when he sacrifices himself for the sake of Regan, is only featured in The Exorcist.