Artistic and Literary Themes Present in Alien Covenant

WillGro

I'd like to start a thread on the art and literary themes present in Alien:Covenant.  If you see anything that is related to art or music and want to explore your thoughts on the overall film, please do! 

hox

The Carlo Bugatti Throne Chair is a nice touch. Very expensive. You can buy them if you have money like Weyland does.

The Nativity by Piero della Francesca is at the National Gallery, London. I wonder how Weyland got his hands on it. I might go and see it this weekend. If you look carefully, there's a neomorph in the background. Well, it might be a donkey, but it certainly has teeth.

Kethol

If we are starting from the beginning, there is also Michelangelo's statue of David in this room, which is echoed later in David's lab by the pose David placed corpse of the Engineer in, but in reverse.

sherris

We all noticed Rosie had a Star Of David necklace.

Now she was killed by one of Davids morphs.

I wonder if anyone can think of a way of linking that or the reason Rosie (or any character) wore that particular piece.

I love this sort of thing but i dont have any knowledge around it

hox

The reason is partly explained in the novelisation. When Rosie comments on the Engineers being giants, Oram says he doesn't believe in giants. She pulls the Star of David to her lips and says "I do". This would be an allusion to David's biblical defeat of Goliath.

SpellboundSynapses

Rather than an allusion to David and Goliath, it might be a reference to the Nephilim https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephilim

sherris

hox - 

I read the novel but like i say dont know much about religions. 

But that sounds great to me. I never thought about it like that. So David bringing down the "giant" Engineers could lean towards that. Anything else ? What is that star all about ?

WillGro

Love this poem, always have.  Thinking about it and the relevance to the story line, when David speaks it. Something about the fact the machine will not die, and is potentially superior to man in that our achievements will all be meaningless in the long run.

WillGro

Also, the Isle of the Dead is used in the film, for David's home.  This was so common in Nazi Germany that people always recognized it.  One of Hitler's favorites. Clearly a spin on David's idea that the machines are the superior race.

WillGro

The specific choice of the Carlo Bugatti chair is puzzling as well.

hox

Very good catch on Isle of the Dead, WillGro. I hadn't spotted that one.

NB, I saw Pierro della Francesca's painting at the National Gallery. It's massive, like the size of a man. I was expecting It to be much smaller in real life.

NassaDane

I was curious, the part where David talks about blowing on the nose of a horse, is that a line from Lawrence of Arabia? It's been so long since I've seen that movie but that line sounds like it would have came from it. If not, does anyone know where its from?

Starlogger

@NassaDane I'm not sure it's a specific line, but it is something that Native Americans have done in order to bond with their particular horse back when they were the true and rightful owners of the lands here in America.