Saturday, April 20, 2013

Marion Lichty: reading # 2


Cabin in the Woods is about a group of friends going on a normal camping trip, or at least that is what they think.  Unaware of the circumstances surrounding that particular cabin, the group of five sets off and settles down in this creepy cabin.  The cabin is the location of one of the sacrifice grounds, which is controlled by a network of people in an underground facility.  The five friends will decide their own fate by choosing one of the objects in the basement.  As the movie progresses, the people are killed in order to satisfy the gods that live below and keep them dormant for another year.  Unfortunately, all the rituals ended up failing and the gods were not happy.
The article that is related to Cabin in the Woods was titled Human Sacrifice.  This article discussed the reasons behind ritual sacrifices.  One main reason was to please the gods or spirits.  The chosen individuals are killed in a way to please the gods or spirits.  If they are appeased, the humans will not suffer their wrath.   Another reason for human sacrifice was for the rulers to have servants in the afterlife.  The article also discusses the different place ritual sacrifices took place, such as Europe, China, etc. 
The movie, Cabin in the Woods, portrayed human sacrifice in a modern setting.  The same rules applied of course.  The five friends were killed in ways that entertained the gods.  Also the movie showed a brief scene of other rituals in other locations like Japan, and Europe.   In addition, the pervious sacrifices were successful; however, the last one was not and the gods were outraged by the failure.  For a movie set in modern times, it did a great job depicting human sacrifice.

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