I used to think that the days of playing lyrics to rock music backwards to decipher subtle odes to the Devil were far behind us. Besides, for the socially conservative, there’s Marxism (both economic and “cultural”), postmodernism, critical race theory and the ever so worrisome ‘woke’ ideology sneakingly hiding behind every opposition to a transgender bathroom bill or a takedown of Dr. Seuss. Now, Satan’s outright appearance in a music has many of them in an uproar.
The rapper and country star, Lil Nas X (Montero Lamar Hill) who released the incredibly catchy 2019 hit, “Old Town Road” released another hit a few days ago. Titled “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” the song and music video has drawn the ire of many conservative critics for its satanic symbology and homoerotic gestures (particularly when Lil Nas X gives the Devil a lap-dance before breaking his neck). As icing on the cake, Lil Nax X released his own brand of red and blue Nike sneakers that feature a pentagram and an infamous “one drop of blood” in each shoe, along with a host of other rich devilish symbology.
Undoubtedly, the music video contains both Biblical and classical imagery set to smooth sung lines and syncopated beats, and it touches on a myriad of themes that critics and other writers can better dissect than I ever could. However, the usage of Satan and its incredible push-bash from critics, as well as the high praise from fans, touches on the concept of Satan in pop-culture and the ways that the satanic is interpreted from those who embrace its imagery versus those who shun it completely.
The concept of Satan is generally understood to fulfill two roles in Western culture: The traditional role, of course, as the source in opposition to all things representing in absolute terms what we understand to be the Good, the Beauty, the Truth, the Moral. A semi-related role (albeit quite different when understood more practically) is the role of being inverse to a culture or society’s norms surrounding morality. The understanding of Satan (or more fittingly, “evil”) in culture has been either a figure who represents either the worst moral inclinations of humankind or the embodiment of society’s transgressive shifting of its Overton-window.
In terms of pop-culture, I can’t think of an earlier generational interest in the Devil than when the 1973 film “The Exorcist” was first released. Off the heels of the civil rights and “Black Power,” the second-wave feminist and gay rights movements, and towards the end of the Vietnam War (and a year before the infamous Watergate scandal), the classic horror film was one of the first of the genre to delve into the supernatural surrounding evil itself. And it did so with much acclaim, winning two oscars and nominated for ten, and also invigorating a cultural fascination with the occult (as well as a stream of B-list movies for generations to come, and a weak performance of an Exorcist sequel). It’s no accident that the movie did incredibly well during such a tumultuous, American period of history.
We’re a few months past from the January 6th insurrection on Capitol Hill. A global pandemic, impeachment trials and racial protests have rocked the minds of all of us. It’s also revealed the narcissistic if not nefarious impulses of our political leadership and our society’s priorities. The recent times have created the perfect environment for the Devil’s appearance. It doesn’t escape me that the severe push-back of Lil Nas X’s “Montero” video is related to his full embrace as a Black, gay man. It’s certainly part of the severe criticisms from a host of evangelical Christians and other social conservatives. It’s also an overt signal that America’s cultural values have permanently shifted, and that what once was considered off-limits and shunned decades ago is now fully-embraced as aspects of one’s identity. Whether morally or culturally, in the end, Satan is vanquished.