jobloffski
Posts: 1837
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: elsewhere
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From the article referred to above:
"Prometheus in Greek mythology was the Titan that was given the job by Zeus to create Man. He gave mankind a number of gifts including fire. Prometheus also tricked Zeus into giving Man the best parts of animals that were sacrificed for the gods. This annoyed Zeus who sentenced Prometheus to be chained to a rock and have his liver eaten by an eagle. Apart from the tenuous link about creating man, what else does anything in the film have to do with Prometheus? Not much, it’s just an illusion to make you think that the film has depth."
The relationship between the creator and the created, and the created turning on the creator and hating the creator for creating him and wanting to know why he was made is the key element of the Frankenstein story, which was originally subtitled The New Prometheus. Many sci fi stories feature such thematic material, of those created by the creator, because the creator wanted to 'be god' and the angst of the created, not happy to be what he was created for and wanting autonomy, and answers for why he was created. This stuff is all over the film Prometheus.
It is in the relationship between David and Weyland (creator and created, creator loves his creation, David is both servile to and rebellious against the reasons for his creation and he, out of curiosity to discover, goes beyond what he was asked to to (LIKE PROMETHEUS and his reward is that he gets torn apart LIKE PROMETHEUS)
Between Weyland and his daughter (creator and created, Creator disappointed with his creation and its existence and actions cause the creator anger, and he punishes (removal of affection) her for not being exactly what he set out to create. This punishment repeatedly hurts her, in the same way, over and over again (JUST LIKE THE PUNISHMENT OF PROMETHEUS IS
CARRIED OUT REPEATEDLY IN THE MYTH). She essentially resented her creator and wanted to usurp him and it brought about her destruction, JUST LIKE, etc)
Between Wayland and the engineer...he wants the knowledge of his creator, because of his achievements compared to other men, he believes himself entitled to the secrets of immortality (seeks parity with the gods, the god's response is to destroy him JUST LIKE PROMETHEUS)
The curiosity exhibited by Doctor Shaw implies a right assumed to be on a level playing field with the creator and to be entitled to the knowledge of the gods (JUST LIKE PROMETHEUS). Her 'punishment' for her search for parity with the gods is to end up being subjected to repeated agonising abdominal trauma (JUST LIKE PROMETHEUS).
The engineers engineer life. What they engineer clearly (by implications that are very strong, no matter how dumb the writer of the article must be not to see it) cant be controlled and just do their bidding, and what they create destroys them (what the gods fear if they don't destroy PROMETHEUS). The engineers intended to destroy their creation (humans) presumably fearing that their creations would seek parity with them, and therefore they wouldn't be superior, so the cheeky created must suffer (the lesson of the story PROMETHEUS from the POV of the Gods).
The engineers cant control what they have created, it has inclinations of its own and follows them (like prometheus). The Humans cant control David completely, the creation has inclinations of his own, and follows them, causing dangers for his creators (like prometheus).
The film is totally suffused in many ways with the core themes of prometheus, which is why the film is called prometheus. The myth is a metaphor for its message, and the presentation of relationships and motivations in the film reflect that message in various ways. The idea of prometheus is why the film exists, and why it has that name. It is bigger than the characters which is why the characters are 'sketchy'. They're not that sketchy though. And more than one viewing shows clearly a development of the relationship between the two survivors at the end via such things as the android asking Dr Shaw if she is okay, which is signifcant, because he is behaving more human than the human Holloway, who doesn;t ask her if she is okay. David is both protector and amoral follower of his own impulses as well as largely doing as he is told. Like a child, he is capable of being both caring, and just doing stuff to see what happens, and while the actions seem cruel or evil viewed objectively, it's about the impulse to know, to experience, not to be told what to do, or think by parents who want them to follow their example/orders and not disappoint them with inclinations of their own (children get told off for not doing what they are told and particularly bad parents lose their tempers and hurt their children for not being obedient enough, and taking the parent/child as the 'real world' comparison for the metaphor of Prometheus, we are all 'created' by 'beings that are 'superior' to us initially, then as we gain self awareness we try to seek out our own purpose, some find it, some don't, many suffer the rensions of always being a child in their parents eyes, some feel the destructive sting of parental disapproval).
Kinda, we are all Prometheus, yadder yadder yadder).
Why do the scientists behave like idiots, or become afraid?
I don;t know what the experience of experts is that is encountered by others, but here;s mine: experts are experts only when they are in a comfortable, controlled environment within the boundaries of what they know. Take someone beyond the limits of their expertise and they are as lost as they might ever as been as children seeing things for the first time (I'm clever in some ways, but a fucking imbcile compared to others in fields where they are the experts compared to me). They are not the experts anymore when they are no longer on the ship. They are as insignificant and unintelligent as the cells in a petri dish, becoming corrupted by a virus that is itself mutating as it seeks to find a viable form in which it can survive independently. That is the process being acted out in the story of Ridley Scott's Prometheus. The insatiable desire to know more about where we come from, and the dangers of trying to satisfy it.
But people are stupid when they're 'on a mission' . So stupid in this film that they call the ship Prometheus, presumably because they like the bit of the story about the bold challenge to the authority of the gods but don't take so much notice of the warning of the story, that Prometheus suffers eternal torment for his challenge to the authority of the gods. But like Prometheus, the desire to fulfill the goal they have in mind overrides all thoughts of the consequences of their actions. And they all pay the price, one way or another.
The writer of the article seeks to trash a film that is about a certain set of ideas above all else, with the other elements of the film conveniently falling into place to serve those ideas. But because he completely fails to notice those ideas actually ARE the film being played in various ways for the entire running time, all he notices are the contrivances put together to allow the point of the film to be able to play out.
Or there are none of these things at all in the film and my own powers of reasoning are energetic, but puppy enthusiastic and puppy dumb. Whatever, the film is one of my favourites ever at this time. So there!
< Message edited by jobloffski -- 25/10/2012 3:12:30 PM >
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Yes, dreamers dream and doers do. But if dreamers DON'T dream, doers don't have anything TO do. Everything that is only here because people exist, only exists because someone thought of it., or in other words, dreamed it.
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RE: Prometheus (2012) - 
RE: The Master returns - 
Three stars? Out of how many, 100? - 
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