10.21.2014

Halloween: Joan of Arc

Jamie immediately after giving birth and preparing to run from Uncle Michael
Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers references Joan of Arc in the beginning of the film. It is in a joking manner at first and would be very easy to miss. During Michael Myers mission of finding his last living relatives, Jaime, Michael's niece, makes a phone call to a comedic Halloween radio show as a last stitch effort for survival. While crying "He's coming, He's coming", the radio show host criticizes the victim saying "Let me guess what your name is, Joan of Arc? Did the voices tell you that?" The director using Joan in the start of the film foreshadowed the role of voices in the film.

Paul Rudd, before he became a comedic actor
saving Jamie's baby and the family in
the Myers home.
Although that is the only mention of Joan of Arc by name in the film, the question of hearing voices (in this case evil voices) is present throughout the film. It started with an elderly woman warning that a young boy that lives in the Myers' house hears the same voice the serial killer heard the night he killed his family. She gave a spooky explanation to why the boy hears an evil voice that tries convincing the child to kill his family.


The voice by the end of the film proved to be a doctor manipulating a poor child who had grown up knowing the history of the house he lived in. Since the film did start with a direct reference to Joan, the director may have ended it with his opinion of Joan's voices. The voice in this film was manipulated by a doctor that knew how to make a 6-year old boy believe he heard an evil voice. Joan could have had voices but it could also have been a manipulation for her to fight in battle and make herself the woman prophesied about. Of course Joan accomplished great feats regardless if it was truly voices telling her what to do or her own doing.


Chappelle, Joe. Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers. DVD. , 1995.
Picture Sources:
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3 comments:

  1. Rachel Millsap10/22/2014 12:37 AM

    Cindy-

    I thoroughly enjoy your pop culture references and finds regarding Joan. I also appreciate your blending of Joan and the upcoming holiday, Halloween! An interesting contrast perhaps worth noting is how often Joan's voices in modern references are depicted as a negative or "crazy" thing, while they were largely respected and believed by her French cohorts in 1429. Do you believe "hearing voices" has any modern positive connotations?

    Rachel

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  2. Unknown10/22/2014 2:15 PM

    Cindy,
    I have never seen any of the "Halloween" movies but it is curious to find a historical reference about Joan of Arc in a horror film. I'm curious to know, do you yourself believe that Joan heard voices or was it simply a form of manipulation to achieve her goals?

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  3. shelley w.10/26/2014 5:16 PM

    Thank you for reporting on this, so I can sleep at night peacefully. Interesting reference!

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