Rosemary's Baby
A few directors who wanted to lend an air of authenticity to their projects courted Anton LaVey. As the High Priest of the Church of Satan, he seemed a natural for the role of "Technical Consultant." Yet, despite the movies he actually consulted with, it has been his desire to be credited for one movie that he had nothing to do with: "Rosemary's Baby." The Devil costume was far too small for the 200 pound, 6 foot, Anton LaVey. Because the book was based on a novel, there was no need for a technical advisor. In short, Anton LaVey had nothing to do with this movie.
To be clear, I have no objection to the lie. This essay would exist even if Anton LaVey had played the devil without any makeup. This is about the desire of the Church of Satan to link itself with this movie.
Let us first examine the Church of Satan argument for the merits of this movie to Satanism. The plot of the movie involves Rosemary becoming pregnant, slowly learning that her unborn son is the central target of a conspiracy of Satanists, and fearing for her child's life. The surprise twist is that the Satanists do not want to cook the baby and eat it - they want to raise it.
The Satanists in this movie are quite ordinary (by 1960's standards), fairly old compared to the later image of disenfranchised "Iron Youth," and not at all interested in harming children. There is also a reference, purely coincidental yet accurate by Church of Satan standards, where they call 1966 the Year One. The Church of Satan, still very young and almost unknown at this time (1968, the same year the Satanic Bible was published), used the film as a vehicle for publicity.
How would someone from the Temple of Lylyth view this film? Adrian Woodhouse (the title character aka "Rosemary's Baby") is the result of rape. The "Satanists" in this movie approach Rosemary's husband after the death of their first Vessel through suicide (Perhaps influenced by the Satanic Cult). In the movie, it is stated that the first chosen mother was an unsuitable vehicle. It is assumed that the cultists did a spell to make her kill herself, or they simply murdered her and covered it up. It is never quite made clear in the movie, but the inferences are there. It is implicit in the book. I suppose they conclude that the shock of knowing that one is the mother to the Devil's Child is just too much to handle, so the mother must be unknowing. They convince Mr. Woodhouse of their power through blinding his competition in an acting job, and with his loyalty, and cooperation, drug Rosemary, give her to Satan to copulate with, and keep her on a diet of Tannis Root (a fictional herb), essential for prenatal Hanyou metabolism. Here we see the drugging of a woman, the raping of a woman, and the imprisonment (de facto) of the woman. If she did not seek out and find her baby after it was born, the cult would have just stolen the baby from her.
This seems a bit odd, as in Medieval accounts of Witchcraft the Witches willingly give themselves to carnal interactions with the Devil. Although his penis is described as massive, and occasionally as two or three pronged, it is said to be uncomfortable due to its death-like coldness and cold, black cum. The entire Witchcraze of the Early Modern period is two centuries of porn written about the Devil's cock. That so many lost their lives over this porn is sick and tragic. This movie is based on the premises of the Inquisition, Devils and Witches, cults and innocent victims.
Still, why not approach a woman directly? Even if we assume the Devil's Penis is cold, perhaps some warm lubricant like Vaseline, heated up to a suitable temperature may make the intercourse more enjoyable. At this point, all of this is pure speculation regarding the rules of the sci-fi reality of Satanic Manifestation as applied to demonic intercourse. Not being a woman, I can only guess at the proper way to go about ensuring sex with the Devil is safe and enjoyable. Obviously, in the movie, they kept track of Rosemary's ovulation so that they only had to drug her once. This movie is entertaining, but its close association with the Church of Satan scares me. It scares me because although I understand the need for secrecy, paranoia and rape to create the dramatic atmosphere of the story, it is bad taste at best, and degradation of women at worse, to drug someone into intercourse. The Devil of "Rosemary's Baby" is no better then the criminal who puts rophypnol in a woman's drink. Ultimately, the Church of Satan is condoning this action. Even the excuse that only the Devil has the right to rape puts the Church back in the Christian paradigm, where God has the moral authority to do things that humans cannot.
While an enjoyable movie, this film has nothing to do with the reality of Satanism.
Some have raised the objection that this movie is a work of fiction, purely so, and one cannot view LaVey’s intent by it. The question remains, then, why he lied about being both the Devil and the technical advisor. Let’s put the "Devil cameo" question aside – perhaps he wanted to be closely associated with Satan Himself for purely magical reasons. This essay is about his role (or rather his desire to have the role) as technical advisor. What does a technical advisor do? The technical advisor is there to make sure that the elements presented within the story have an air of realism. Assuming that LaVey did not want to imply that Satanism endorses viewing women as second-class human beings to be used as objects of breeding, then what exactly did he "advise" in his fantasy role? The best alternative is "authentic sounding gibberish for when the cultists are chanting." Unfortunately, it is too late to confront LaVey about what exactly he tried to imply with his lies. I personally think the gibberish hypothesis is just that: gibberish. You could get a list of demonic names from the Lesser Key of Solomon; but for a truly accurate representation of real Satanism in action - a representation that needed a technical advisor - it makes perfect sense to hire the High Priest of the Church of Satan. In this light, Anton LaVey’s fictional career as "Technical Advisor" can only be seen as a statement of the verisimilitude of Rosemary’s Baby.
The only other sensible alternative is that Anton LaVey lies for the sake of lying.
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© 2002,Temple of Lylyth
Photo credit, Roman Polanski
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