#I like the presumably Grecian influence on this one

[bingiessm]

ANOTHER LONG POST for the Bridgerton over-analysis corner! SEASON 3 TRAILER & PROMO ANALYSIS

I JUST NOTICED SOMETHING!!

THAT IS VIOLET BRIDGERTON! IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIRST "NON-INTRO" SHOT WITH FRANCESCA!

The first shot of any main character in the entire trailer is this one. Francesca is dancing with a suitor, the camera pushes forward and directs the eye right to Violet who is standing right in the middle, but with an unknown man in front of her.

Oh, I think there are going to be so many parallels between these two this season--especially in terms of romance. They have mostly been seen together or with "suitors" during all these promos and/or in direct comparison/association with one another.

MORE EVIDENCE:

SECOND SHOT of either of them: they are together--and are shown to be equals here, as compared to how Violet was when she presented Daphne or Eloise to the Queen:

Violet, with her other two daughters, was standing BEHIND them! (Also on their right side.) Now she's on the left, standing at Francesca's side--presenting them as equals.

Also, she isn't matching with Francesca like she was Eloise and Daphne--her outfit for this event changed slightly between the first two seasons (take note of the collar and crown), but has now changed dramatically. She at first presented herself as a fellow debutante (take note of the white dress and the gloves), but now is sporting a silver dress with long sleeves with clear grecian influence.

Violet has CHANGED, she isn't a background to or support for her daughter, she is her own person in front of the whole ton. She is also being "presented" in a way, but as this new self.

There is a new Viscountess, more of her children are married and leaving, and (as of Queen Charlotte we know that) she has had a lot of realizations about her marriage and sexuality. The world she knew as Viscountess and wife to Edmund is slowly changing, fading away to something new that she is beginning to embrace.

I think we will see her come more into her own, and not just as a mother or widow--this will be reflected in Francesca, who is going to struggle with finding a relationship that lives up to her mother & father's (and those of her siblings), especially watching her mother finally start to move on.

Right after this sequence is a sequence of Violet and her presumed new love interest, directly associating the two--they are also linked with the narration "what is the primary force that guides us along our paths?" A question I feel will be explored by the both of them.

It seems as if Violet is accepting this new love this season. Francesca, on the other hand, will struggle with romance this season. Every time we have seen her on her own, or with or having just spoken to suitors she seems unsure, worried.

Violet watches her sit at this ball (the Four Seasons one) and takes a breath and sighs in an interesting way--sort of knowingly but resigned(?).

It is also interesting to note within this dynamic that this is Francesca's first season, but not Violet's--as a mother or debutante.

TRAILER ANNOUNCEMENT:

Also, when looking at their appearances in the trailer announcement, it is interesting to see the difference in how they both were portrayed.

Violet is looking, then pulls back to look on in question, as if realizing something, but is curious for more. Francesca opens it and looks unsure again, twisting her mouth. I feel like this is reflective of how their seasons will be.

I just find the clear connection between their stories that the trailer in particular wants us to take note of to be very interesting. It is exciting to see how they will both grow/change. Especially being mother and daughter, which is a dynamic that has been explored to an extent in this show (thinking of Daphne and Violet in season 1, but even that didn't feel fleshed out), but not much. _______________

BUT ANYWAY to others who have read my other Bridgerton posts, omg thanks for chatting and indulging me in this.

I just finished a big film shoot for a project so this has been a nice reprieve from the stress of that.

Hope you are doing well!

[fresh-prince-of-denmark]

Interpretation of Alt’s poem Choice in Mikoshi (Part 2): Old Man Yells at Cloud

Cyberpunk spoilers ahead:

Part 2 let’s unpack Johnny’s version of the Mikoshi poem! If you haven’t already read my post on V’s poem, please read that one first here! 

To recap: Alt has two different poems she reads as you enter the Mikoshi depending on who is in control. V is given an excerpt from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot, while Johnny is given Sailing to Byzantium, by Yeats. At first I thought the connection obvious, but the more I stare at this passage the more hidden connections I see:

“Once out of nature I shall never take

My bodily form from any natural thing,

But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make

Of hammered gold and gold enamelling

To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;

Or set upon a golden bough to sing

To lords and ladies of Byzantium

Of what is past, or passing, or to come.”

The overarching theme of the poem from which this section originates is about dying in order to transcend beyond the limitations of the earthy world. The opening line of this poem is probably its most famous: “That is no country for old men.” The speaker, presumably an older man, is watching as the youth become so caught up in their own lives that they fail to question their own mortality.

The speaker has traveled to the country of Byzantium (Now Istanbul not Constantinople) now  to seek a form of immortality; not of the body, but of the soul. The speaker’s body is aging and dying, and he hopes to find a way for his soul to continue to “sing.” He petitions the “saints” (which is actually reference to golden tiles on a mosaic) to destroy his flesh, “fastened to a dying animal”, and teach his spirit to “sing” so that it may live on in the form of art.

This is where Alt’s passage leads us: what the narrator plans to do once he has left his body behind. He will not be reborn as anything “natural” (flesh and blood), and instead wishes to become “a form as Grecian goldsmiths make/Of hammered gold and gold enamelling” (referencing a piece of golden art that would have been made to hang above an emperors bed). Or, he will become a golden bird resting on golden branches, sharing his knowledge with the world of the mortals through song; now unshackled by “what is past, or passing, or to come.”

The poem is arguing that the truest form of immortality comes from art; the body may die, but the artist lives on. Johnny originally seeks to change the world with his art, his music, trying to “shake the world awake.” He is unconcerned with success and money, and more concerned with his art waking people up to the realities around them. The people of NC, in this circumstance, are the youth of Byzantium; so caught up in their own lives, they don’t see the bigger picture, or see the death and injustice that happens around them (either this, or they are too concerned with survival to have time to contemplate such issues). Johnny is the golden bird hoping to sing his knowledge at a new generation, while also hanging above the heads of the corporate elite “To keep a drowsy Emperor awake.” This is his method of ensuring he Never Fades Away.

We can read this two ways: Is Alt trying to influence Johnny’s choice on whether to take V’s body? Or is she simply reflecting his own inner narrative? The poem stands in stark contrast to V’s poem — which asserts that one’s individual life does not matter, and that one will never change the world in any significant way. Johnny’s poem tells us the opposite; asserting that his art, and by extension his soul, did matter, and did have an impact, almost telling him that it’s okay to give up his physical form as his art will keep his soul alive. This puts Johnny and V in stark contract to each other: V represents the youth of Byzantium, fleeting and superficial, bound to the rules of mortality and the cycle of life and death (which tracks considering V will die soon after Mikoshi anyway). Johnny, on the other hand, represents the immortal self (naturally, since the engram/blackwall basically grants immortality depending on how one interprets what it means for the idea of the afterlife and the soul), and how your art and impact on the world will live on long after one’s physical body. Yeats, like Johnny, is obsessed with the idea of transforming the world in nearly all of his poetry, while Eliot questions if it’s worth even trying to change the world, or if all efforts to do so are futile.  

Interestingly enough, Yeats is referenced through the game in other ways. The names of his poems appear as side quests such as “A Prayer for my Son.” Sailing to Byzantium also first appeared in a poetry collection titled “The Tower,” which includes a poem of the same name. Not only is The Tower an important tarot card in the overall theme of the game (representing radical change and transformation), but Johnny specifically has a tattoo of The Tower (tarot card) on his arm. The Tower Tarot card can be found, simply enough, at the ruins of Arasaka Tower. Is this meant to represent Johnny’s “transformation,” from his physical form to an immortal one? Or something much less literal? 

[frederickwiddowson]

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 16:19-31 comments: of Hell, Hades, Greek, and Norse derivative mythology

Luke 16:19 ¶  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20  And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21  And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27  Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29  Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

 Jesus, continuing with the sin of covetousness and greed the Pharisees were apparently known for, describes the end destination for those who would depend on and worship their wealth. It is a warning to those who would listen. In this passage it is clear that Hell is a real place of suffering. Hell is spoken of as a place of fire early on.

 Deuteronomy 32:22  For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

 It is commonly understood among conservative Christians that before Christ’s resurrection that Hell, the place of suffering, was next to Paradise, the place of joy and peace. Here, it is said that there was an unbridgeable gap between them. The Greeks, who were represented as traders and mercenaries throughout the Ancient Near East from the earliest times and even fought on the side of Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh Necho at Carchemish as mentioned in Jeremiah 46:2, were often the hired men of Jeremiah 46:21. They took many slaves as spoils of war including many Jews.

 Joel 3:6  The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.

 It is very possible that Greek versions of Hades, their word for Hell, were formed by what they heard from their Hebrew captives just as later Greek writers would say, during the Christian era, that Greek mythical heroes were amalgamations of Bible characters. For example, Hercules may be a combination of Samson and Jonah due to the experiences he supposedly endured some have thought. Even Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian who lived hundreds of years before Christ supposed that the Greeks lifted their mythologies from Egypt. Archaeologists, linguists, and mythographers have concluded that the Greeks got their mythologies from the Ancient Near East, which the Bible confirms in part.  The Greek view of Hades as a place that contained not only suffering but a place of joy and rest confirms this view.

 Hel, in Norse mythology, is not a good point to start with as virtually all we know about the Norse gods was written by Christian writers during the 13th century and beyond, presumably from older sources but who can say for certain. It has been noted that early writers said even their mythology came from the Near East.

 We have the Bible, given by inspiration of God to its writers and copyists and translators which is wisdom and understanding rather than word-for-word dictation as I have explained and referenced previously from Job 32:8; 2Peter 3:15; and 2Timothy 3:16 with the original autographs not ranked as high as the words we have to read. See Jeremiah 36:32. It is the doctrine of preservation from Psalm 12:6, 7 and Psalm 119:89 that works alongside of the doctrine of inspiration to give us the Bible we have today.

 Hell is in the heart of the earth but Paradise, like the ark of God, has been removed to the New Jerusalem after Christ preached to the spirits there.

 Matthew 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

 Luke 23:43  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

 1Peter 3:18 ¶  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20  Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

 2Corinthians 12:4  How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

 Revelation 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

 Revelation 11:19  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

 Here, in this passage, just as the rich man wants to enforce the social status he enjoyed over Lazarus during life in Hell, so Abraham foretells that the wicked will not be influenced by Christ’s resurrection and even His preaching to them in their deplorable and abhorrent state will not impact their evil-focused minds.

 I want to address another issue having to do with words in the Bible. In Hebrew the word Sheol is translated as either the grave or Hell, based on the context. In the New Testament, the suffering of Hell can be expressed by the Greek word Hades. With a million words in English we can be very specific in our naming of things. And yet, words like love and hate are often used with many different definitions understood by the context as in, “I love my mother,” versus, “I love pizza.” In Hebrew and Greek the meaning of a word, too, is dependent upon the context. Do not be deluded by skeptics who criticize the word Hell from Sheol or Hades. It would make no sense for God to start a fire in the lowest grave as per the verse quoted above from Deuteronomy or to mix Hades, where torment or joy could be experienced, with Hell, a place of only torment until the final Lake of Fire consumes those who have rejected God’s mercy. The words those people had were used to describe things God put on their minds.

 A similar mistake is made by modernists who take compound words like Theopneustos in 2Timothy 3:16 and transliterate it as God-breathed rather than the correct given by inspiration which I’ve defined previously. Compound words mean more than their component parts run together. You would say you were going home to watch football on your television, not your far-off seeing, now wouldn’t you?

[frederickwiddowson]

Luke 16:19 comments: Hell

Luke 16:19 ¶  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20  And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21  And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27  Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29  Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

 Jesus, continuing with the sin of covetousness and greed the Pharisees were apparently known for, describes the end destination for those who would depend on and worship their wealth. It is a warning to those who would listen. In this passage it is clear that Hell is a real place of suffering. Hell is spoken of as a place of fire early on.

 Deuteronomy 32:22  For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

 It is commonly understood among conservative Christians that before Christ’s resurrection that Hell, the place of suffering, was next to Paradise, the place of joy and peace. Here, it is said that there was an unbridgeable gap between them. The Greeks, who were represented as traders and mercenaries throughout the Ancient Near East from the earliest times and even fought on the side of Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh Necho at Carchemish as mentioned in Jeremiah 46:2, were often the hired men of Jeremiah 46:21. They took many slaves as spoils of war including many Jews.

 Joel 3:6  The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.

 It is very possible that Greek versions of Hades, their word for Hell, were formed by what they heard from their Hebrew captives just as later Greek writers would say, during the Christian era, that Greek mythical heroes were amalgamations of Bible characters. For example, Hercules may be a combination of Samson and Jonah due to the experiences he supposedly endured some have thought. Even Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian who lived hundreds of years before Christ supposed that the Greeks lifted their mythologies from Egypt. Archaeologists, linguists, and mythographers have concluded that the Greeks got their mythologies from the Ancient Near East, which the Bible confirms in part.  The Greek view of Hades as a place that contained not only suffering but a place of joy and rest confirms this view.

 Hel, in Norse mythology, is not a good point to start with as virtually all we know about the Norse gods was written by Christian writers during the 13th century and beyond, presumably from older sources but who can say for certain.

 We have the Bible, given by inspiration of God to its writers and copyists and translators which is wisdom and understanding rather than word-for-word dictation as I have explained and referenced previously from Job 32:8; 2Peter 3:15; and 2Timothy 3:16 with the original autographs not ranked as high as the words we have to read. See Jeremiah 36:32. It is the doctrine of preservation from Psalm 12:6, 7 and Psalm 119:89 that works alongside of the doctrine of inspiration to give us the Bible we have today.

 Hell is in the heart of the earth but Paradise, like the ark of God, has been removed to the New Jerusalem after Christ preached to the spirits there.

 Matthew 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

 Luke 23:43  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

 1Peter 3:18 ¶  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19  By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20  Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

 2Corinthians 12:4  How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

 Revelation 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

 Revelation 11:19  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

 Here, in this passage, just as the rich man wants to enforce the social status he enjoyed over Lazarus during life in Hell, so Abraham foretells that the wicked will not be influenced by Christ’s resurrection and even His preaching to them in their deplorable and abhorrent state will not impact their evil-focused minds.

 I want to address another issue having to do with words in the Bible. In Hebrew the word Sheol is translated as either the grave or Hell, based on the context. In the New Testament, the suffering of Hell can be expressed by the Greek word Hades. With a million words in English we can be very specific in our naming of things. And yet, words like love and hate are often used with many different definitions understood by the context as in, “I love my mother,” versus, “I love pizza.” In Hebrew and Greek the meaning of a word, too, is dependent upon the context. Do not be deluded by skeptics who criticize the word Hell from Sheol or Hades. It would make no sense for God to start a fire in the lowest grave as per the verse quoted above from Deuteronomy or to mix Hades, where torment or joy could be experienced, with Hell, a place of only torment until the final Lake of Fire consumes those who have rejected God’s mercy. The words those people had were used to describe things God put on their minds.

 A similar mistake is made by modernists who take compound words like Theopneustos in 2Timothy 3:16 and transliterate it as God-breathed rather than the correct given by inspiration which I’ve defined previously. Compound words mean more than their component parts run together. You would say you were going home to watch football on your television, not your far-off seeing, now wouldn’t you?