The My-Stery: Wiccan and Voodoo?

While looking for the System of a Down’s “Chop Suey” video, I saw the video for Godsmack’s “Voodoo.”

The song was supposedly influenced by Wes Craven’s The Serpent and the Rainbow, a movie that is problematic in of itself, portraying Vodou and indigenous religion in a kind of simplistic view, using them once again as a basis for a horror film. Even the few facts in the film about Vodou and Haiti are not enough to counter the the stereotypical “evil” black characters and “black magic” aspect of the film. Also, there is no acknowledgment after the beginning of the use of the drug that turns people into “zombies” for U.S. capital profit. Reading some of the comments on Youtube, just makes it worse (let’s just say some it is blaming Vodou for the earthquake).

In the music video, a Wiccan ritual is performed along with some references to voodoo, including Baron Samedi, drums, and zombies. The lead singer, Sully Erna, is a member of the Wiccan religion. Does the video depict a contrast between the religions, like in the Florence and Machine video, or is it comparing the similarities of the two? It is less clear than the Florence and the Machine video, but it still may be placing Wiccan as better than Voodoo (Vodou), especially since its based on the film. What do you think?