Voodoo is believed to be one of the world’s oldest religion based on ancestral and nature-honoring traditions. The religion began in Dahomey, present day Benin, in West Africa around 6,000 years ago. What began as an “underground practice” became a recognized religion in April of 2003 by Haiti’s first elceted president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide (Guynup 1). Currently close to 60 percent of the population of Benin, Africa practice and worldwide over 600 million people practice Voodoo (Robinson). Although the religion has been around for thousands of years, the general public still misunderstands the follower’s intentions and beliefs.
A book titled Haiti or the Black Republic written by S. St. John gave a false account of the Voodoo religion. The book, written in 1804, “...described [Voodoo] as a profoundly …show more content…
This book influences Hollywood’s view of Voodoo that the general population is aware of. In Child’s Play, a movie based on a murderer becoming a child’s toy to avoid being caught by the police, shows Voodoo used for dark purposes. Serial killer Charles Lee Ray performs a Voodoo ritual to put his soul into a young boy’s doll, possessing the toy and using the vessel to perform more murders. Aother film, The Serpent and the Rainbow, shows the supposed “dark side of Voodoo”. Said to be based off a true story, the movie follows the story of a man passes who away but then a Voodoo priest brings him back to life. The man lives as a reanimated corpse for the next two years. Not only does Hollywood represent this dark vision of Voodoo in movies, but this idea is also shown in daily
A book titled Haiti or the Black Republic written by S. St. John gave a false account of the Voodoo religion. The book, written in 1804, “...described [Voodoo] as a profoundly …show more content…
This book influences Hollywood’s view of Voodoo that the general population is aware of. In Child’s Play, a movie based on a murderer becoming a child’s toy to avoid being caught by the police, shows Voodoo used for dark purposes. Serial killer Charles Lee Ray performs a Voodoo ritual to put his soul into a young boy’s doll, possessing the toy and using the vessel to perform more murders. Aother film, The Serpent and the Rainbow, shows the supposed “dark side of Voodoo”. Said to be based off a true story, the movie follows the story of a man passes who away but then a Voodoo priest brings him back to life. The man lives as a reanimated corpse for the next two years. Not only does Hollywood represent this dark vision of Voodoo in movies, but this idea is also shown in daily