Paranormal State Too Close to Normal for Comfort?
Paranormal State Too Close to Normal for Comfort? by Roxanne McDonald
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Ambivalence towards and paranoia about “Paranormal State” does not mean they are not out to “get” us…. |
Ambivalence towards and paranoia about “Paranormal State” does not mean they are not out to get us….
I can’t decide if I am delightfully creeped out by “Paranormal State” or am justifiably concerned and therefore bristling for a reason other than the show and its theme making for really interesting entertainment.
In one respect, the Primer tones (voiceovers in that ancestral yet futuristic speaking through a 20’s mic and from the past and future at the same time) and Blair Witch Project dubiousness (is it real? fine line) make for a fairly fresh reality TV show appearance (despite suggesting derivation).
In another respect, the exaggerated use of men of the cloth (to come in, Exorcist style, and perform rites of exorcism and blessing) and the evocation of God (right on the heels of the evocation of the malevolent spirit) suggest some kind of perverse throwback to times of hysterical Puritanism and hyperbolic dependence on GOD versus the big bad DEVIL.
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