#i can say that as a Religion major

[hauntingsunshine14]

SPOILERS FOR ALIEN ROMULUS

no seriously like spoilers for the ending not just a bit in the middle

It's just a funny (hilarious) bit of foreshadowing but still spoilers

I'm driving home from watching this movie with my mother, and we're both just yapping about how we liked it, and I was suddenly reminded of what I noticed about Isabela Merced's character Kay!

Early on in the movie, we get a shot of her in bed after she tells Rain that she's pregnant, with a flat oval necklace clearly displayed.

This isn't the exact scene, but example:

you can kinda see the necklace once you zoom in

This medal is easily identifiable even from the distance/lack of detail thanks to Catholic guilt! yay! This is a Miraculous Medal (pictured below)

This is a necklace that centers Mary with a whole bunch of lore attached that details how St. Catherine Labouré saw Mary in a vision (twice technically) and the second time was instructed to

 “Have a medal struck upon this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck. Those who repeat this prayer with devotion will be, in a special manner, under the protection of the Mother of God. Graces will be abundantly bestowed upon those who have confidence.”

tldr: it's a very common and recognizable representation of Mary, they often have these medals at catholic churches as back when I worked at mine they were literally just sitting in the lobby.

What made me laugh so profusely in my car ride home is that Mary is considered literally THE mother in Christan lore and Kay does in fact give birth at the end of the movie... to what is essentially Weyland-Yutani Jesus.

Technically she took David's goo injection and produced the 'Offspring' (apparently what the horrifying human/xenomorph is called) (I prefer W-Y Jesus)

This is a wonderful bit of foreshadowing for the ending sequence, coupled with the engraving of Romulus and Remus and the Capitoline wolf, as well as the painting that was zoomed in on right before of a mother and child. And kinda as well to the whole thing about Weyland-Yutani trying to 'play God' with humanity's evolution.

But, on a larger more franchise-wide scale, this foreshadowing continues on with some of the themes from the previous two movies concerning origins and beginnings, as the whole Mary/Jesus thing is technically speaking, the 'origin/beginning' part of the New Testament. This is shown very plainly in the titles (Prometheus, Covenant, Romulus) which are all pulled from various origin stories - Greek, Abrahamic, and Roman. Prometheus stole fire, the covenants in the Torah/Pentateuch, and the founding of Rome. All different stories about the growth of humanity, ranging from how to live all the way up to founding empires. These ideas somewhat parallel the actual events of the movies.

B/c we watch David - and therefore Weyland-Yutani - discover the goo, experiment on it, learn how to interact with it, and then attempt to build a new empire with it.

It's a very messy analogy and kinda? does not fit with the Mary thing in Romulus, but in very broad strokes it ties in well enough, which for the whole confusing Prometheus/Covenant situation is par for the course.

Overall, Alien: Romulus is an amazing addition to the franchise and at the risk of sounding cheesy is literally a breath of fresh air. Right down to the pacing of the movie, it's classic Alien. I loved it, and even if you haven't seen any of the alien movies or even if you've only seen the first, and even if you have these spoilers, it's a fantastic experience!

(and for all the alien: isolation lovers there's such a cute nod to the game in the movie)

[eddiediazenjoyer]

can i speak. i think that eddie Catholic Guilt is hard to believe and dare i say. not real. for many reasons. one of them being Not All Latinos Have Catholic Guilt especially not in the way that white catholics conceptualize it. and TO ME it’s a bit of a cop out . and i don’t think we should believe eddie when he says that’s the reason for literally anything bc it’s a really convenient excuse for being insane and repressed but i just don’t think it’s true . and i think that something much more nuanced is afoot (aka a complex racial identity and relationship with expectation).

to me he was really like. barely raised catholic tbh. he was raised AROUND folk/cultural catholicism which ofc impacted how he was raised and his perspective. but this kind of catholicism is so different from institutionalized (and white) catholicism it's difficult to even compare the two. and i honestly don’t think that the catholicism is the main problem. like his parents just don’t strike me as being devout in the way that imparts guilt onto their children (they have fun OTHER ways to do this). i think they are traditional and crucially. catholic when it’s convenient and when it allows them an avenue for control (biggest example here is eddie getting pressured into getting married to the girl he impregnated as a teenager.) but to me. this stemmed from complex cultural traditions and beliefs. which catholicism is an easy simple explanation for . but isn’t really the root of the problem. it's a part of it ofc but honestly i think things are often ascribed solely to catholicism bc catholic guilt is a widely applicable perspective when it honestly doesn't make much sense. like i think that eddie being a mixed race mexican-american has more to do with anything than catholicism does. and again. these things are interwoven. but not in a way that it makes sense to blame capital c Catholicism for things where culture (and cultural catholicism) makes way more sense as an explanation

like ik that eddie talks about how he was raised going to mass every sunday etc etc. but even the way he says that he just... stopped... says so much. like the fact that he was even allowed to do that tells me that his parents honestly never really cared that much about that kind of devotion. and the way he talks about it really makes it sound to me like he was one of those kids that never really bought into it at all and so the institutionalized teachings of the church never really got to him. what did get to him however is the folk catholicism/mexican-american teachings of Right and Wrong (aka you get somebody pregnant you commit to them. you feel emotions you tamp them down in order to protect others etc.) and this is not necessarily Catholicism in it's classic conception.

i have no idea if this makes sense and it is really hard to explain how this interplay works if you haven't grown up in it but basically.... hegemonic constructions of catholicism are vastly different from the kind of "catholicism" that i think eddie was raised in. and bc of that i think that "catholic guilt" is a weak explanation for eddie's perspective and best and just. inaccurate at worst. and we should NEVERRRR listen to eddie when he gives too clean of an explanation for his repression. that man is a liar

[kindaorangey]

well i'm comforted by the knowledge that book!armand has some faith in the christian god (and, like, that this faith is vital to his character) because it means theres absolutely no fucking way they'd just do that one-to-one in the show and so we're one step closer to an exploration of show!armand's relationship with islam

[randomnameless]

Everytime I see your Pat lolcalization posts, I can't help but think if this is him overcompensating for voicing the character of n*zi germany in the first seasons of the hetalia anime.

I can't say and I'd rather not say anything about Pat's intent or own agenda or whatever -

But the interesting "lolcalisation changes" and direction give to VAs really seem to favour a certain reading of the events happening in FE16 and to this day, I still can't understand how that managed to be released without getting at least some flak.

Sure Fates' lolcalisation is a tough nut to beat and nothing comes quite close to what happened to Fates to FE16/Nopes, and yet I wish I am joking when I say nearly 80% of the lines involving Supreme Leader and/or Rhea/the CoS should be double checked, because "Dany expy bringing a revolution" has to fit in the story that is FE16, and that's talking about the washed down version of Dany some people have and not the one who uses violence for the greater good, until she starts to realise that the "greater good" is as solid as smoke and runs away from the - well-intentioned ! - mess she created.

Again, I don't think anything was malicious with the lolcalisation Fodlan got, is it just a case of misunderstanding the game and slapping archetypes and "trendy notions" to make this "strange" game sell like hotcakes in your home market?

Or is it another case of "think of the children Susan" where Susan sure as hell can't endorse a character presented as the heroine sprout disgusting things and advocate for imperialism 101 so the heroine is now rewritten?

Or is it the lolcalisation team - after looking at the jp script - try to make the general idea of "you must feel bad for this character" somehow work, because they thought no one would seriously want to walk with her and feel any sort of sad uwus for the "you have pointy ears, you cannot rule over humans" red emperor? So they modified the script and directed the VA accordingly ?

IDK, but I think if you've been long enough on this blog you know my stance on localisation and lolcalisation but this discrepency between the two versions (or at least two audios) really took me by surprise when the game was released in 2019 lol

[comradedragonite]

It's...interesting how much liberals carrying water for Kamala will talk about how she really wants a ceasefire and cares about the Palestinians the administration she's a part of is helping genocide. Yet she'll have Bill Clinton campaign for her in Michigan where he gives the most deranged anti-Palestine speech one could imagine Democrats making. He literally said Palestinians don't deserve their land because their ancestors practiced Judaism thousands of years ago.

[orcelito]

Don't know whether it's a product of my upbringing or just part of who I am, but I really do tend to shrug off things that seem to send others into massive guilt spirals. Like, what's the point? Either you meant to do it or you didn't. If you meant to do it but regret it now, make what amends you can & resolve to do better, then move on. If you didn't mean to, be honest about it, apologize if need be, & try to do better. Then move on.

Beating yourself up truly serves no purpose. What are we, catholic? If there is a god, I truly don't think they'd care, anyways

[technicolorxsn]

Arthur c clarke is rly convinced birth control is the sign of modernity and progression huh?

[jewishbarbies]

Hey, I have read one of your recent posts about Oscar Isaac, and I wanted to ask about the acceptance of someone who's Jewish only on their father's side. Is it that crucial?

I'm asking because my partner is Jewish, while I'm not, but we both really want our future kids to carry the Jewish culture too. Do you think they will be excluded from the community or there can be some problems like that?

I think it generally depends on the denomination and community itself. If you raise your children jewish and you're apart of the community, i think they'll be considered jewish. either way, a lot of people will consider them jewish, but some denominations won't which is why it depends. ethnically, they will always be jewish. a jew is a jew is a jew. being considered religiously jewish has its own set of rules depending on the kind of judaism you'd like to practice. i'm not super knowledgeable on a lot of technicalities, so take this with a grain of salt, but it really all just depends.

[daisyymay]

I really feel bad because I'm again tired of people talking shit about things they don't understand and I don't want to be that person and I really understand where the misconception came from but it's so annoying because all the 'hot takes' came from a pedestal of superiority based in nothing

[bishoukun]

This is just literally physically not healthy or feasible for some people to do. All of our bodies work differently. If you take away caffeine from us we will literally end up in the hospital not because of withdrawal from the caffeine, but because the things we need that have the caffeine in them are necessary for us to survive. Literally. Our body doesn't work the way others might expect it to. But it's also unrealistic in just a cultural way. When people stop needing to force themselves to be awake and aware in order to make ends meet, be comfortable, or generally exist, then maybe. At the end of the day, though, when you say these things to people, you are attempting to control and alter their entire lives through their diets and that is not even remotely okay. If people saying "you need to stop eating meat!!!!" isn't okay (and it's NOT) then neither is telling them any other dietary instructions, particularly when you have no contects for that person's circumstances or how their body works. You may be contributing to eating disorders by being this kind of asshole, so just don't. Don't be this asshole.

hate when people are just like “cut out tea and coffee” like it’s nothing like it’s not the biggest sacrifice you can ask of a person i’d rather sell my family and friends to the devil mephistopheles than renounce warm caffeinated beverages be serious

[mourningcttlfsh]

dude my sister always has the craziest stories from her job. she works at like a law office (she isn't a lawyer herself. i forgot what her job is tho) and supposedly there was one lady (let's call her A) who had worked at that place for THIRTY YEARS (?!?!).

so A for whatever reason got really jealous of my sister's... manager? i think? who had worked the job for less time than her but she had gotten pretty good promotions. but both of them were pretty much getting the same pay, it was just a difference in title.

apparently she got so jealous that she deadass tried to curse my sister's manager??? like, for real. like this isn't just a weird rumor going around, this actually happened, she was caught on camera going into her office and putting weird powders and shit in there. and afterwards the manager got REALLY fucking sick. so then they told A "hey we won't fire you now but this is really bad and if you are caught again we will fire you." she did it. again. she tried to curse her again. this is insane. obviously she got fired.

tldr a woman who worked at a law office for thirty years got fired because she tried to curse one of her coworkers twice

[kstarlitchaotics]

I'm sorry but if to those who only fill their cup half way of preaching the Bible daily online and off not showing any caring towards people like how Jesus actually showed he never wrote the Bible not to say that you should use the Bible yes but they're only guide lines Jesus himself never wrote anything about the Bible itself only with Matthew Mark Luke & John and his other followers and so on Jesus himself did not write the Bible no matter who tells you he did not to follow Jesus just show kindness in general even to those who you disagree daily or even to your enemies Jesus never turned away to those who came for him they have done he came to them for hope that he would help them if one chooses too yes he went and preach but he did it with kindness and understanding to the Born again forcing people into accepting everything that one claim that Jesus had done in the name of him as using the Bible as an excuse-Jesus would honestly I think would be disappointed he would not approve the fact people are using that against the sinner people I find this ironic sometimes that even by going about his teachings certain hard core within the Christ faith can be blindsided Christians can point out how Mormons are fake messenger so can certain Christians who only go by writing and not the teachings of Jesus himself

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

i revere vedic gods but i am wary of modern hinduism. i generally like hinduism and look to it as a source of inspiration for how a revived paganism can look in the west but i'm certainly not all-embracing of hinduism.

a lot of hinduism really resonates with me. but also, much of it feels very foreign.

one thing that really stands out to me is that there is apparently a pretty big theological divide among hindus with regard to indra. in my studies, it seems like most hindus don't even really recognize indra as a deity. instead, they consider it a title or a position.

gives me really bad vibes.

[crescentmp3]

it is pure tragedy that i must pick a numerical path and only focus on numerical lessons and then only on computer lessons in university if i want to be a computer scientist like i hope.

[grecoromanyaoi]

also acting like judaism and islam are inherently more spiritual than xtianity, like theyre inherently more progressive than xtianity, like theyre the "good" ~moral~ religions to xtianity's "inherent evil" or that they arent forced on ppl is like, hilariously historically revisionist at best, straight up erasure and dehumanization at worst.

and im not an antitheist and im not saying judaism and islam are """bad"""" religions or that theyre inherently oppressive and again, it all comes down to the tools people use to enforce stuff like misogyny and homophobia, which religion has historically been a major one. (im a religious jew myself)

but like. if your solution to opposing antisemitism and islamophobia is to treat these complex, living religions, with many many (billions with a b in islams case) different followers and interpretations as simply "cutesy uwu spiritual and nonthreatning", youre not actually opposing antisemitism and islamophobia. like there are more options than the binary "blind hatered" and "blind romanticization historical revisionism" lmfao. youre just making it harder for jews, muslims, ex-jews and ex-muslims to talk about their experiences lol.

and like. the only way i can describe that phenomanon is 'europilled americel'

[blueskittlesart]

All children raised religiously are being abused. They're sweet now but in thirty years see who's voting for Trump Jr or who ever the fuck.

ok let's talk about it. for context i've been working with children aged 2-6 in both school and home settings for almost 10 years and have met kids raised in basically every major religion in the world. I was personally raised completely agnostic.

religion is not inherently abuse. religion is a moral framework. All religions have the potential to become high-control groups or perpetuate abuse, and certain religions are more prone to those issues than others. that does not mean that teaching your child about the god you believe in is abusive. the abuse comes when your religion perpetuates a lack of choice, which, as I have already explained, most of the religious children i have worked with are not experiencing. Religion at such a young age is often primarily about stories, which preschool aged children LOVE. The bible functions similarly to, say, a my little pony episode to these children, in the sense that it's a fun story they get to experience which teaches them an age-appropriate moral lesson at the end. (and by and large, these kids are only getting the age-appropriate stories and lessons. I do not know any evangelical children who are being taught about the rapture and i don't condone that kind of fear tactic, but again, that's not what's being discussed here. we're talking about RELIGION, not high-control groups that happen to use god as a mechanism to perpetuate their abuse.)

in that same vein, religion in preschool aged children largely functions as a moral framework, which, in certain situations, can genuinely be very helpful. the christian and muslim children I have worked with especially are very often the ones that are the best at resolving conflict. they understand the concept of "treat others the way you want to be treated" and they're able to articulate it to their peers at an age where their morality is still developing and children often think in very black and white, self-centered ways. With rituals like prayer, church, etc, at such a young age they tend to consider them bonding activities. they have friends at their church or temple. their entire family prays together in the same way an agnostic family may enjoy a family dinner. again, I'm not denying that these rituals have the potential to be used to control or abuse, but they are not INHERENTLY abusive. they're normal. religion is a normal part of life for a VERY large percent of the population. telling your two year old about heaven isn't inherently going to strike the fear of god into their heart. more likely it's going to make them tell their babysitter, very earnestly, that when they go to heaven they're going to bring their legos so that we can all play legos together in heaven.

it is very likely that you, personally, have people in your life who are privately religious and you never even knew, because religion is not inherently a public statement of identity nor is it necessarily conducive to fringe or radical beliefs. it is a part of the human experience. you need to learn to be normal about religion.