Calvinball Mythology And The Void Of Meaning

Interesting read although I disagree that Prometheus is a "terrible film". The author seems to suggest that the movie is a failure simply because it does NOT support the existing canon in the most obvious ways. And while many fans (including myself) would wish for more clear-cut plot definition, Prometheus stands on its own storytelling and represents a different branch of the same tree - that the universe is a very large place and we are simply one tiny grain of sand on a vast collection of desolate beach.

^^Well put OldGuy.^^

Jonathan McCalmont’s critical piece on modern culture's lack of mythologially grounded motifs is compelling but I highly disagree with his assessment of Prometheus as an artistically failed piece. I thank the stars that it does not sew up all the unanswered questions of the Alien universe in order to create a complete and convenient mythology, which this author argues that we greatly lack. While I would agree with his observation that modern western culture is both lacking in and craving mythology and meaning, I believe he missed the mythological elements and symbolism of Prometheus completely. Read this piece carefully and use your own mind to analyze McCalmont's assessment of Prometheus and you will find that its as if he lacks the asthetic ability to appreciate a truly remarkable film or maybe he just needs to find fault as a critic. There are many movies that do miss the mark but filling in all the plot holes is not the way to repair Prometheus and it does not need repair. It already works quite well. Where Jonathan McCalmont is correct is in his assessment of modern culture and the tragic plight of a generation that was promised a better life if they followed the rules, which they did only to discover that they had been shammed by those in power and holding all of the wealth for themselves,i.e. the super rich 1or 2 percent who own our lives while we are forced to content ourselves with escapist fantasy. Even realizing that we have been duped does not make me bitter about quality entertainment like Prometheus, it makes me bitter about our collective cultural dilemma that provides us with nothing for the majority that barely survive but are left to turn to fantasy to fill the void.

Ahhh, yeah, OldGuy, you put those words so very lovely together.

@ Nostromo001: I like where you are travelling, hope you don't mind company as I hop aboard and join the ride.

Can't wait 'till that game releases in Feb. Love Dead Space. xx

Not at all Subsume, always up for quality company. There are a few members here that make good sense and I have learned much by reading their posts, including yours. I just added you as a friend. The one thing that most of us share here is an appreciation for a movie that was well written, produced, acted and directed. When I find a movie of this quality, or music or art or literature, I often dissect it to discover how the maker(s) accomplished it. If I had my way and was well connected I would go into film making. I did manage to acquire a good education with a recent PhD in O Chem, and this taught me to think critically and to hopefully communicate effectively. Its a requirement of being a scientist that you analytically troubleshoot problems and communicate your experimental results and always back up your thesis with references when publishing. Of course here we are working as a group to unravel the mysteries of Prometheus but still the same methods should apply, just to a more casual extent. This is why I have challenged a couple of posters who's ideas are either far off field, contradict what documentary evidence we do have,or fail to realize that they are expressing an opinion not a fact. Cheers!

@ Nostromo001: Glad to know this and thank you : ) I have very similar standard as you do, or to say, am critical, whether it be art, music and literature. I am very much into 60s era music and music generally speaking and am learning to play the guitar ( I own a Strat Fender and Epiphone bass and very soon am about to get a Gretsch) and I draw from time to time but I strive to put an honest effort in what I do. I feel you about wanting to get into an area of interest but for circumstances, once, I wanted to become a cartoonist/animator, but that's going off the topic. I agree with you : ) : ) : ) : )

I'm also an artist and my website for any members who are curious is [url=http://artistbrucekford.com/index.html]here[/url]. OK now back to Prometheus.....

I read this article awhile back and it blew me away, such a canny observation of popular culture followed by epic ignorance of the finer qualities of Prometheus itself, as if the parallels they were citing were all the evidence needed to jump on the condemnation train. The phrase that really got me was ' Artistic failure ' ...really? Did they see the film? Where does this jadedness come from, this emptiness the reviewer bemoans in pop culture while practically radiating it themselves? Ahg. I've seen this over and over again the last few months, it's so boring. And one last thing, I don't think there's anything deluded about creativity, the marvelous ideas I've seen here were all inspired, that's how this movie was made, to generate speculation, to perpetuate the speculation that's been going on for 30 freaking years. Maybe these people are just jealous that their miserable pontificating won't last near that long.

I'm gonna build me a Javelin gun with a line cutter slung underneath that sets enemies on fire when DS3 is released Svanya ;-) it looks good for weapon building, but I'm really not sold on the co-op thing. I want to see the story from Issac's perspective, and not have to worry about playing with someone else as this Carver guy to get the whole thing. That is just rude as far as I'm concerned. But, it's EA, so I'm not surprised they did it. Jerks they are.