Hello, fellow kindleboards authors and avid readers. I'm interested in starting a new thread about the uses of voodoo in modern fiction. This could become an interesting discussion of the ways in which popular conceptions of belief systems have been shaped by, among other things, Hollywood. Few belief systems are a better example of the amalgamation of culture and beliefs due to historical circumstances than is voodoo. By definition, voodoo has become a mixture of traditions from different continents. Though composed of diverse ingredients, certain influences from African roots, mixed with Christian overtones, and blended in the cauldron of the slave trade, cannot be ignored. Bandied about in the middle twentieth century by Hollywood as a romanticized and forbidden example of "otherness," voodoo became associated with savagery, zombies, perceived racial hierarchies, etc. How much of a disservice has this historical context produced for modern adherents to various faiths, and to those interested in history and anthropology, etc? Please post if you have thoughts.