I get increasingly frustrated with the polarity of our society. Shades of gray too easily go out the window, with everything reduced to good and bad. Which is why I rather enjoyed Exorcism Versus America's Naive Movie Industry. While I don't agree with all of the points, Hollywood certainly has contributed to the neat and tidy view of both evil and the Devil, and how they are easily identifiable and understandable.
But blame certainly doesn't fall only on Hollywood. The fundamentals of the nature of Satan, for example, differ considerably between traditional Jewish and Christian understandings. The Jewish Satan was more much complex, while the Christian Satan tended to resemble a stereotypical arch-villain. All he's missing is a twirlable mustache.
We like our villains. They're easier to comprehend than real people. I've been in Madison, Wisconsin twice in the last two weeks among the protesters, which have included a handful of Gov. Walker=Hitler signs. Really? Is that really a reasonable equivalent? I disagree with Walker strongly. I think his politics are going to be catastrophic for my state, and I think his tactics ethically stink. That doesn't make him evil. That doesn't make him the equivalent of a genocidal, war-mongering dictator.
Dividing the world into good and evil is neat and tidy, but it's not realistic. There's a lot of middle ground. And if there is a Devil, I can only imagine he's laughing at those who want to oversimplify the world into such categories.