Devil in the arts and popular culture
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The Devil, (Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles) appears frequently as a character in literature and various other media, beginning in the 6th century when the Council of Constantinople officially recognized Satan as part of their belief system.[1] In Abrahamic religions, the figure of the Devil, Satan personifies evil.[2] In music, the Devil is referanced across both classical and popular music. Connecting the devil to certain music can be used to associate the music with immorality, either by critics or by the musicians themselves. In television and film, the Devil has a long history of being used and often appears as an extremely powerful, purely evil, antagonist. He also may appear working behind the scenes, in disguise, or in secracy to influance a story in the forefront. In narrative works, the Devil is often associated with concepts such as the Antichrist, Hell and the afterlife, and the apocalypse. Especially in media from the early 1900s, creators might have been compelled to portray the Devil with another name or in a non-classical fashion to skirt censorship laws that discouraged showing the Devil as a character. Occasionally the Devil appears not as an entity but rather is used as a name for something that is very sinister or malevolent in a narrative such that the characters feel it is the Devil.
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A devil (lower case) is an "evil spirit, demon, fiend" (OED).