Samuel & Red Witch

A man embraces the consciousness of crime and befriends a sinful woman, prompting higher forces to bend to his 'influence.'

Gosh, I couldn't stop writing with stories recommended by others or inspired by the questions/critiques of others, so I'm instead retiring with a short-story inspired by my own original ideas/questions.

This modernism morality vignette was inspired by the films Bedazzled and Constantine.

Cheers (signing off),

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What is the mark of a man? What is his place in the universe? How does he dream and for whom or what does he build great monuments? A man is nothing if not individualistic, but is he completely original or part of one giant human family? Where is his uniqueness? Can he create something out of nothing, or must be fashion his craft by building on the genius of others? How is a man like a priest or a mime or a 'mimicrist' or an 'evangelist' for a civilization? Let's look at Samuel, an American boy abused by his obstinate father and forced to always wear vests. Samuel's father always makes him wear a vest, be it with a shirt and tie or just shirt and slacks! Samuel wears coats instead of sweaters, so he can wear a vest. That's what Samuel's father wants him to do. Samuel grows up with a sense that the vest is an article of aesthetic clothing designed to make him praise the 'casual intellectualism' of Wall Street and perhaps the Roaring Twenties and time of the figurative Great Gatsby!

When Samuel becomes a man, he decides he's a real psychopath. He throws off his vest and picks up a silencer-pistol and uses it to stalk and kill 'idle' cops in NYC. He kills them and takes their bodies home and cuts them up and skins them to make furniture and body-masks and skin-vests. Samuel now calls himself 'Leather-Head' since he is now preoccupied with the 'aesthetics' of crime and vests made of the human skin of his dead victims (cops!). Samuel (aka, 'Leather-Head') is an American Psycho, and he's contributing to our universe with deeds of maniacal subversive anarchy. He's not praising or serving an ideal or civilization but rather trumpeting the 'anti-customs' of hell and sin. He's a man of alienation and man devoted to the 'aesthetics' of rebelliousness. Samuel wears his victim-procured skin-vest and stands as a 'paragon' of darkness...and ostracism.

Samuel meets a gorgeous and sinful Wiccan woman, a New Yorker who follows the practices and beliefs of the Occult and Satanic worship. Her name is Scarlet, and she calls herself the Red Witch. Samuel marries Red Witch and they have a passionate and lustful affair, engaging in all kinds of fornication. Meanwhile, he remains a silencer-wielding maniacal serial-killer in the American city. Red Witch vindicates Samuel's distaste for civilization, and she ornaments his fury and unholy wrath towards social customs and normative values. If Samuel is a lost man, then Red Witch is his personal muse (or siren!) of hell. Samuel decides that by trumpeting the physical beauty of Red Witch, he can 'persuade' the American media to romanticize her and thereby prompt comic book writers to portray him as somehow 'intriguing' or even...strong!

Samuel and Red Witch reign of the 'dark city' in a time of great crime and confusion in America. This parallels the rise of consumerism and globalized capitalism and the power and convenience of the media. Perhaps Samuel and Red Witch are prophets of claustrophobia, or perhaps they are 'messengers' of what comprises the unbearable angst of criminal 'urges' in metropolitan systems of overbearing 'normalness.' Samuel and Red Witch are deadly and ugly in their wrath towards normal life and civil behavior. They represent the dark side of the imagination. If Samuel is not the AntiChrist himself, he may certainly be a 'dragon-like' servant of chaos. Who then reminds us of the creative reliability of the 'normal' American city?

GOD: Samuel and Red Witch are strangers.

SATAN: They're the descendants of Adam and Eve!

GOD: How can they ever trumpet the civics of civilization?
SATAN: Well, they'd need to adopt some form of recognizable patriotism?

GOD: What would that be exactly?
SATAN: I'd recommend they watch some Euro-soccer on cable television.

GOD: Euro-soccer?
SATAN: Sure; there're exciting club-soccer games in Spain and Italy and England.

GOD: Who cares about Euro-soccer while the American city is crime-ridden?
SATAN: Relax; Euro-soccer television is enjoyed by millions peacefully worldwide.

GOD: Well, how can this 'Euro-soccer' bring spiritual therapy to Samuel and Red Witch?

SATAN: Let's imagine they watch club-soccer games together on Saturday nights.

GOD: Yes; and so, what?

SATAN: So they watch, say Juventus (Italy) games or Valencia (Spain) games together?

GOD: Right; and, so, what?

SATAN: They notice the colorful team uniforms for Juventus/Valencia and feel cheerful.

GOD: About what?

SATAN: The colorizing of teamwork and socialization rituals such as Euro-soccer media!

GOD: So Samuel and Red Witch will be appeased and care less about natural wrath?

SATAN: That's the idea; Freudian approaches to social behaviors yield normal activities.

GOD: Do you believe Freud replaces the comforting messages of Jesus Christ?
SATAN: Well, Jesus is quite a popular 'figure' in Europe, and soccer fans are often Christians!

GOD: Don't be arrogant; what does Juventus/Valencia have to do with Samuel's redemption?
SATAN: If Samuel enjoyed Euro-soccer games with Red Witch, they might pray about teamwork.

GOD: The task of modern government is to then persuade men to praise group activities!

SATAN: That's the potential of Facebook, unless it's corrupted by junk food, apathy, and sloth.

GOD: Alright; perhaps my archangel Michael will help Samuel pray about 'sports IQ.'

SATAN: We'll see how Samuel responds (spiritually)!

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