In the 1973 film The Exorcist, a certain scene rose to prominence. The possessed girl lays prone on her bed and the demon, in a show of strength, makes her body levitate. The camera angle is from above, looking down, as the poor girl resembles Christ on the cross, arms spread helplessly to her sides. The priests, Karras and Merrin then chant, several times, “The power of Christ compels you”, while gesturing in a chopping motion, as if wielding a divine sword. Eventually, the chants work and the girl succumbs to the force of gravity.
I was raised Catholic and was taught – for some reason – several prayers in Latin. Yes, I, a brown Indian man was convinced by a Sicilian priest, that God, in his divine omniscience, somehow valued a European language over others, that language being Latin. Several Catholics believe this to be true, all while telling themselves that this belief is divine in nature, and in no way connected to the racist tendencies of us mere mortals. Anyhow, at one point in my life, I memorized the Roman Ritual of Exorcism, in Latin. In Latin, this is Exorcismus in Satanam et Angelos Apostaticos. I cannot remember the phrase “The power of Christ compels you” existing anywhere in that ritual. The closest phrase that I can recall is this – in nómine et virtúte Dómini nóstri Jésu. Roughly translated as “in the name and power of our Jesus”. [1]
Where is this going, you might wonder?
Ah, like several Boomers, I too, worry about “The Children”. I too, consider their safety and the messages that modern society sends to their impressionable minds. This is why I watch infernal cartoons such as Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol and Dora the Explorer. I view Paw Patrol as a sinister Canadian platform to convince Americans that the State is singularly evil and that Capitalism solves all problems, divine and corporeal. Guns are needed as are private ambulances. That is a story for another day. Today, we focus on Dora the Explorer.
Dora Marquez is a Latina who embarks on a series of quests while interacting with various talking animals. This is a kid’s show so let’s gloss over the fact that the animals can talk and focus, rather, on the subtext.
Dora’s companion is a monkey with red boots. This is a visual metaphor for the archangel Uriel, often depicted via the colour red [2] and who is the angel of wisdom. Boots, in the world of Dora, often helps the Latina girl on her way and drops pearls of wisdom.
The nemesis of the duo is Swiper, an orange talking fox. The colour is significant. What colour are the fires of hell? Orange. Dora and Boots (the angel Uriel, remember) have a chant that makes Swiper disappear. That chant is “Swiper no swiping” and is repeated three times. You may have made the connection already, but let me spell it out for you. That chant is the children’s equivalent of “The Power of Christ compels you”. In the exorcism chant, the power of Christ compels the demon to release the possessed. Here, “Swiper no swiping” compels the demonic fox to cease his diabolical deeds.
Ha.
Do you see it now? Dora is actually an Exorcist. The show’s title is Dora the Explorer. Explorer and Exorcist both start with the letter E. Boots is the Angel Uriel, sent to assist Dora on her earthly adventures. Swiper is an inner-circle demon of the Earth element and Dora exorcises him through her chants.
Do you see it now? Those crafty Americans are sending subtle messages around the world to impressionable children that they should join the Holy Army of the Catholic Church and should do battle against the legions of Hell.
How did we miss it?
[1] http://ecclesiamilitans.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/LEO-XIIIs-EXORCISM-Latin-English.pdf
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uriel