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Summary
- In The Exorcist: Believer, Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) theorizes that she wasn’t involved in her daughter’s exorcism because “I’m not a member of their damn patriarchy.”
- Twitter user Dr. Laura Robinson, a Ph.D in Religious Studies, argues that while there are patriarchal issues in the Catholic church, MacNeil’s line is misaligned with the original narrative.
- Dr. Robinson argues that Chris’ relationship to faith, sexism, and her daughter’s health is much more nuanced than what is portrayed in The Exorcist: Believer
One element involving Ellen Burstyn’s The Exorcist: Believer return has been criticized by a religious studies expert. Burstyn starred in the original 1973 classic The Exorcist as Chris MacNeil, who approaches Father Karras (Jason Miller) for an exorcism when her daughter Regan (Linda Blair) shows signs of demonic possession. Karras brings in the expert Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) and the pair both perform the exorcism, sacrificing their lives in the process. The new movie features MacNeil being asked why she didn’t participate in the exorcism and saying, “My opinion? Because I’m not a member of their damn patriarchy.”
On Twitter, the day after the Exorcist: Believer release date on video-on-demand, Dr. Laura Robinson took issue with this particular Chris MacNeil line. Robinson, who holds a Ph.D in Religious Studies with a focus on the New Testament from Duke, acknowledges that there are patriarchal issues inherent to the structure of the Catholic church, but argues that the line undermines the story of the original movie and Chris’ relationship to the exorcists who saved her daughter’s life. Check out Dr. Robinson’s thread below:
Dr. Robinson calls the line “galling,” theorizing that the filmmakers “didn’t see The Exorcist” and explaining that “Karras was initially cowed by Chris, not the other way around.“
She explains that, because she wasn’t religious, “she had no reason to ascribe authority to Karras,” also explaining that because of Karras’ ongoing crisis of faith “the idea that he’d stand on ceremony against a friend does not fit with where he was emotionally at the time.”
Dr. Robinson states that “Chris wasn’t present for many of the medical tests that led to the exorcism for her own mental health and the need for doctors to speak privately to Regan without interference or bias. Chris doesn’t go to Karras’s first interview with Regan for the same reason.” She also asserts that “No one forced this on Chris.”
She insists that Chris “knew Karras and what kind of a person he was.” While she had a shorter relationship with Merrin, it was also friendly and “Chris didn’t ask to attend the exorcism and get rebuffed; she didn’t ask because there was already a norm [that Chris did not attend these things.]“
She also brings up the issue of how dangerous the exorcism was, saying that “Chris was not an exorcist and could not add anything to the proceedings.” Likewise, “Merrin wasn’t not always sure he even wanted Karras there, given how vulnerable he was to the attacks.“
She also explains that the exorcism was an emergency situation and “if Chris got hurt, no one had time or capacity to help her without risking Regan.“
Dr. Robinson also postulates that, had Regan killed Chris, she might have been arrested and the exorcism would be “off and Regan would die.”
She also points out that, had Chris attended the exorcism, she would likely have died too and left Regan an orphan. She goes on to say that “The Exorcist was already about sexism” and Chris’ struggles with the patriarchal medical community.
She suggests that many of the men in the movie also pre-judge Chris because they “expect the preteen daughter of a single mom actress to be boundary pushing.”
She says that, because of this, “Chris’s tenacity against male power IS her story” and also forms the core of her friendship with Karras because he “is the first man who’s really listened to her.”
She does reflect that “It’s not a dumb idea to deal with sexism in the Catholic church in a modern movie, but these are simply not the characters Blatty created.“
She says that, while the system is indeed patriarchal, “Karras and Merrin aren’t vectors of [sexism.]“
She argues that, “for [Chris] to stick that label specifically on two people who died saving her daughter, one of whom she knew well, is a wild break with the character Blatty created.“
Every Way Chris MacNeil’s Character Has Changed in The Exorcist: Believer
Chris MacNeil’s “patriarchy” line has been one of the more controversial moments in the movie, which was largely panned by both critics and audiences. For the reasons that Dr. Robinson so clearly lays out, it can sometimes be challenging to square the Chris from the new movie with the Chris of 50 years ago. Although she does not appear for very long in the movie, leaving more time for the original The Exorcist: Believer characters who aren’t legacies, there are many other ways that her appearance in the movie differs from her original portrayal, both large and small.
The most important difference in the movie is the relationship between The Exorcist‘s Chris and Regan. The Exorcist: Believer revealed that MacNeil wrote a book about her experience with Regan’s exorcism in the hopes that it could help other struggling parents, though in the process she alienated Regan herself. In the movie, it has been many years since she and her daughter have spoken, challenging their close bond from the end of the original movie.
MacNeil’s career has also entirely changed in the wake of The Exorcist. While she was a movie star working on a blockbuster movie during the events of the original, The Exorcist: Believer sees her having shifted her life’s focus more or less entirely over to spiritual study. While this may have been a natural effect of living through such an intense experience, the differences in Believer can add up to make Chris feel entirely unfamiliar from the last time she was seen onscreen.
Source: @LauraRbnsn/Twitter
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