Levitation is an activity that we associate with the possession of evil spirits, and exorcism with the banishment of such spirits, and this is clearly depicted in image (d), but the impression of evil is further conveyed by the use made by the director of such techniques as camera angles and lighting. The low camera angle ensures that we are aware that she is hovering unnaturally in the air, whilst the combination of camera angle and lighting casts giant shadows upon the wall. The contrasting dark and light colours deepen the impression of evil, with the young girl in white, portraying a picture of possessed innocence, contrasting strongly with the shadows around her. It would be useful to know if the film was made in colour as this may affect deepen the impression of evil in the image, with a stronger contrast of colours.

This is one of several questions that we need to ask of a fictional feature film such as this, in order to determine the usefulness of the source to the historian. We can see fashions, etc. from contemporary films, or stereotypical views of characters from the past, but there is far more to it than that. The main point to make about using such a film is that it is not really the story itself that interests the historian, it is what the film shows about the attitudes of those who made it and watched it at the time that it was made.

The first thing to do would be to ensure that the entire film has been watched, so that the ‘still’ is set in the context of the entire film, and then deeper questions can be asked. Surrounding documentation needs to be considered in order to determine who made the film, and whether their beliefs impacted upon the way that the story was portrayed. We would question who watched the film, and who deemed that it was not fit for video release until 1999. We are interested not only in when the film was made, but why there is still interest in it now, and what changes in attitude have occurred which makes it acceptable for video release in Britain now. For instance, was there religious pressure placed upon the censors, which has now lessened, and with other changes in attitudes and technology the film is perceived as relatively dated and harmless. What differences were there in the culture between America, where it passed the censors with few problems, and Britain, where it caused controversy? Film are obviously intended to make money, and we would be interested to know what changes the filmmaker was prepared to make to ensure that the film gained the widest possible release?