Misunderstood Genius II, The Heretic

No pressure here.

When I first commented on Alabama high-school-graduate Natalee Holloway's disappearance, I was concerned that I might have said things that were insensitive to her family -- after all, if this woman actually turned out to be the victim of some kind of tragedy, nobody could have put their foot any further into their own mouth.

But the more I hear Natalee's mother talk, the more I'm convinced that Natalee ran away fom home...and will not reappear until college starts next fall.

Despite the persistent media-spin to the contrary, I'm convinced that a lot of good can come of this dubious situation. The title of this post is intended to allude to another dubious bit of circumstance that had a fairly happy ending...

Most avid film fans know that William Friedkin's 1973 horror masterpiece, The Exorcist, was followed up by (probably) the worst sequel ever made, John Boorman's Exorcist II, The Heretic.

I'm sure Friedkin was frustrated about this lame add-on. And so must Boorman have been. They were both victims of a Hollywood studio-system that emphasized Branding (i.e., capitalizing on the good name of a box-office hit) over Content (the script, the acting, and the editing.)

Indeed, Boorman really got the short-end-of-the-stick on Exorcist II .

At the time, Boorman was one of the most promising directors in Hollywood (best known for the 1972 anti-classic Deliverance). Needless to say, the studio-cut Exorcist II totally soured his reputation with the American public for years afterward.

(To Boorman's credit: nobody, not even veteran Willy Friedkin, could have deodorized a stink-bomb so putrid as Exorcist II.)

So, what does a bad horror movie have to do with Natalee Holloway's disappearance, you ask? It's a fair question. But I'm not sure I can adeqately verbalize the answer.

Deep down, I believe that Natalee is a victim of her own unwillingness to subjugate herself to local ignorance, much like Boorman was throughout his career.

When Natalee decided to "vanish" (my current hypothesis--your mileage may vary), she probably envisioned a future unfettered by her mother's checkered influence (I'm still of the opinion that Natalee sought to temporarily escape her power-tripping-religious-fanatic mother for perfectly sound reasons).

But the plan backfired. As soon as Natalee's fanatical mom snuggled up to the media (and other like-minded fanatics) there was no turning back. What person in their right mind would rush back home after all that negative publicity?

Ironically enough, John Boorman came back home after his Exorcist II debacle.

Hence, I make the admittedly remote connection between the current situation and a notoriously bad horror movie, hoping that somewhere out there Natalee will read and understand.

After E2:The Heretic bombed, Boorman must have thought his life was over. But it wasn't.

Boorman went on to direct some of the most popular movies of the 1980's (Excalibur and The Emerald Forest), including one of the best films of modern times, Hope and Glory, a sensitive and humorous look at the trials and tribulations of the people who didn't fight in World War II.

And nobody else could have made it but Boorman (the movie is largely autobiographical).

The point here (remember, I'm writing for Natalee's sake) is that the world doesn't relvolve around some upper-crust neighborhood in Alabama. People all over the world have suffered humiliation as a result of fanatical control-freaks. Fellow sub-genius John Boorman is one of them.

I don't blame you for wanting to get away from your mom, Natalee. From what I've seen, she has a fabulous gift for "estimating the truth" (that is, for concocting appealing-sounding lies) to make herself appear more pious than she actually is.

I'm familiar with the mentality because my former step-mother did the same thing. She even had me disciplined by the pastor of the church for stuff other people did. If that doesn't qualify for fanatical, I don't know what does.

Your mom seems to have traits common to all self-deluded dictators.

1. She's never (absolutely never) wrong.
2. Her children (and other subjects of her absolute rule) feel nothing but love for her.
3. She always acts appropriately, no matter what the circumstance.

Maybe there are people out there who understand. Maybe there aren't. Just know that some of the greatest minds in the world have tread some pretty difficult paths in the quest to make sense of their existence.

And not all those paths were perfectly straight.