It shouldnāt come as any surprise that here at For Infernal Use Only weāre spending a lot of time keeping up with all the media coverage of Penny Laneās āHail Satan?ā documentary because ⦠well because itās probably the most notable thing to happen to Satanism for the last 30 years at least. Penny Laneās interview on this weekās Pennās Sunday School is a notable event though.

Penn Jillette has Always been a Fair Proponent of the Marketplace of Ideas
Iāve always liked Penn, we differ a little bit because he leans a lot more libertarian than I do politically, but one thing heās always gotten ārightā as far as Iām concerned is his stance on free speech, most notably demonstrated in a clip from Showtimeās Penn & Tellerās Bullshit:
[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bwGsOBTlhE”]
I love that clip because it telegraphs the discussion about ādeplatformingā weāve seen on college campuses of late by several years. Itās also funny while it questions the notion of speech-codes, which (for me at least) helps. If thereās anything Iāve learned talking to comedians and working with Andy on our podcast over the last few years itās that comedy is often the last refuge of the sensible.Ā
Full Disclosure, Pennās Name is in the Credits
If Iām doing my full duty here as a recorder of fact I have to point out that Penn Jillette does have a āSpecial Thanksā credit in the Hail Satan? credits, but honestly that could mean anything, maybe he just put Penny Lane onto some angel investors. Itās notable though because somehow or another itās clear that his opinion of the film isnāt entirely unbiased. On the other hand though, Penn has always struck me as someone who isnāt ashamed to call out hucksterism when he sees it. So itās refreshing that he doesnāt merely call out The Satanic Temple as just a P.T. Barnum-esque stunt. And Penn knows P.T. Barnum. Heās a graduate of the Ringling Brother’s andĀ BarnumĀ & BaileyĀ Clown College. That may not sound prestigious, but only around 1,400 people ever did. Certainly more people have graduated from the same program I went through in my college years. Iām getting off track though.
The point here is that I think deep down Penn Jillette understands, by way of his clowning, the impetus that causes people to put on horns and extravagant makeup when going to a Satanic ritual. Clowns are very particular about their makeup; so are Satanists. The Satanic Templeās legal council Stu De Haan is very particular about what his ritual makeup looks like. I am too. (My ritual makeup is basically Pagliacciās, if a clown canāt relate to that I genuinely wonder what business they have clowning.)
All of This is Beside the Point, Letās Get to the Interview
You can listen to the interview while you finish reading my nonsense here:
[su_audio url=”https://podone.noxsolutions.com/media/314/episodes/pss490a_8fm2.mp3″]
Now to be clear, Penny Lane is a very sympathetic documentarian, so sheās become a clear ally in The Satanic Templeās (TSTās) overall struggle, so between that and whatever Pennās āSpecial Thanksā credit actually means this isnāt a completely unbiased interview. But I would argue that no interview ever really is, especially when itās a podcast by a notable celebrity who has never been shy about his political positions and a documentarian who has obviously seen enough of what TST does to be sympathetic.
That said, both Penny and Penn are secular atheists, and itās interesting to hear them grapple with the implications of Satanism as a religion. Penny, for her two cents never felt the need for the catharsis that Satanism provides because she raised in a secular environment.
Penn, I think, recognizes theĀ aims and goals of TST but just draws his lines on what is an isnāt a religion a little differently. I think he recognizes the appeal of the community, the sense of showmanship, and the ritual dress-up. Just for him thatās not Satanism, thatās Clowning and he thinks of that as a vocation instead of a religion. Thatās fine. But Penn is also a stanch Libertarian and Iām fairly sure if he could register as Clown clergy and claim his Vegas magic shows are a religious revival so he didnāt have to have to pay income taxes on those earnings he would do so in a heartbeat.
My Favorite Part
āOne thing thatās interesting about Satanists, and again Iām not trying to make them sound perfect because they are just people and Iām the first to tell you they have some pretty crappy social skills. Iām not ⦠really Iām really not trying to paint them these perfect people. But at the same time like, again yāknow interviewing them and asking them questions about how they came to be who they are, like every single one of their kind of origin stories as a Satanist involves a bookstore or a library. I mean these are like some of the most well-read, kind of knowledge hungry rational like real thinkers, yāknow?ā – Penny Lane
Honestly, if thatās what Penny Lane has come away from her experience making a movie about Satanists with ⦠Iām perfectly content with that. Iām more than content! It gives me a generally warm and squishy feeling that Satanists are making their point! Yes, that is also my experience of these people, and I love that about them, and why I find kinship with them. Thatās why Iām here.
Hail Satan is making its theatrical debuts around the country this week. Check it out.
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