Some quotes of note about the band Ghost’s He Is video by director Zev Deans
The word “Satire” is derived from “SATYR”. The humble beginnings of satanism trace back to a gentlemen’s club inverting the Catholic Mass to make the first ever Black Mass, essentially as a dirty joke to kick off their 17th Century meetings and orgies. Satire is perhaps my favorite tool in the shed, and when you make metal videos for a living, you don’t get to use it often. That’s why I get excited every time Ghost comes calling, because they understand the power of a good joke. For Ghost’s “He Is”, we set out from the beginning to make the ultimate christian country music video, and I intended to make it as straight forward as possible with no clear punch line in sight. I always prefer to make something that could be mistaken for the thing it is criticizing, rather than an outright offensive or extreme attempt to anger and repel the target of the joke. I feel like it broadens the audience a little, and becomes something people on both sides of the aisle can debate.
Everyone is familiar with Jim Jones, but I found myself fascinated with a lesser known Evangelical Cult Leader, by the name of Tony Alamo, head of Alamo Christian Ministries. This man did not convince his followers to commit mass suicide in a remote South American jungle, but his crimes deserve their own place in Cult history. After 30 years of un-checked power, Alamo was sentenced to 175 years in jail for Sex-trafficking of minors, along with a $425 million settlement for survivors of his abuse (x)
