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blog1917 · 3 years

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Family Treasure

La Cafetera

My family treasure is our coffee maker. In Spanish it’s called “una cafetera”. I could confidently say that the coffee maker is something that my family system would agree to as a treasure for us. In all my sibling’s houses, my aunts and uncle’s houses, my cousins' houses and of course my parents' house, anyone who goes would find this one common object. The coffee maker is an object that is used in our culture. Making coffee in the morning for breakfast and sitting at the dining table together to talk about our plans for the day and share reminders. After every meal a small cup of coffee is shared amongst the family as a form of tradition and unity. The most important cup of coffee is the one we each share after dinner. This last cup of the day is where everyone comes together to share stories about their day. The reason why this one last cup of coffee is important is because it’s a symbol of love and laughter before everyone disperse to their rooms or get sucked into social media or calls. The beauty behind these magical, heartfelt moments are made up by the famous coffee maker; also known as the “cafetera”. Many coffee makers can be made, claiming that is the best way to make the most delicious coffee but nothing would ever compare to the cafetera. The sound that it makes while it’s simmering at the top of the cafetera is like music to my families’ ears. The strong aroma of coffee that fills the kitchen and slowly dances in the air of the hallway till it reaches one's nose as a light touch of heaven. To the delightful smooth liquid texture running down our tongue into our souls. This is something no other coffee maker can do. But the one and only cafetera will make it happen. As I describe my family treasure and how it’s been passed down from generation to generation, I am reminded of what I read in the article “What is a System and system perspective?” by Davd Aloyzy Zera. In the article it states, “For example, a child is a system comprising that individual, as are individual teachers and administrators who are constantly changing and evolving” (pp 18). This caught my attention because I thought about the many ways that we could make coffee in this generation and how we have evolved from what our parents and grandparents used to use to make coffee but yet for my family it is very difficult to change our traditional way of making coffee. Which brings me to the idea and concepts of how children have their own family treasures that they carry with them. Although, there might be another “new” evolved object that may seem more effective, it won’t be the same for that child to change out of what they’ve been taught at home. As teachers we must be open minded with the objects that each child is comfortable with and ask questions on why each object that the child carries with them is important to them and their family system. As a three-year-old child I remember gathering in the living room with the family after a delicious dinner. My mother would clean the table as the coffee maker was singing its beautiful tone screaming that it’s ready to be serviced. I could still remember the excitement of my family as they scooped a teaspoon of white sugar and stirred quickly causing a harmonic song above the laughter that filled the air. Although I was too young to drink the coffee, I still felt like I was a part of the family unity. The important part wasn’t the delightful taste of the coffee. It was always about the conversations and family time together. Creating wonderful memories that would last a lifetime. That is why the coffee maker is a part of my family's system. This is a part of who I am as my own system which is a small branch in the whole definition of what makes me Marlene. A great example of this is found in the article “Socio-scientific Issues Instruction” by Molly Ewing and Troy D. Sadler. It states, “For example, in order to understand how a plant grows we might define the systems of the plant itself with component parts (e.g., stems, leaves) making up the whole, which can carry out a function the individual parts cannot” (pp18). This was described perfectly because it brought me to mind how I approach each cup of coffee especially when I know it’s made from a cafetera. I remember two weeks ago, going to visit my sister’s house and the first thing she did after we shared a meal was prep the coffee maker and set the table to share a heart-to-heart talk while we indulged on a hot cup of fresh coffee while her son sat with us drinking milk from his sippy cup. This is tradition, this is relationship, this is culture, moreover, this is a part of who we are as a family system. In each story family system theory is shown by how just this one object brought forth several generations together to share this one moment. From the time when I was only three years old and looked up at my family enjoying these moments. To the present time of my sister and I sharing these moments as my nephew would sit joyfully, just as I used to do as a child. My family cannot understand the significance of the cafetera and how it plays a great part of our family system.

Community Treasure:

The Holy Bible

My community treasure is The Holy Bible. Reason being is that I grew up in a Christian community in which my family was deeply involved in. My mother is a pastor, my brothers and I are in the music ministry and the majority of my lifetime I’ve always been devoted to my church and faith. I remember taking the bible everywhere I went, including school. The bible would be the book that I would use for reading time. Of course, my parents would give me age-appropriate bible story books, nonetheless in my mind I understood it as it being the Holy Bible. Ever since I could remember I would go to church every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday of the week. Plus, every Saturday for children’s events. Needless to say, all of my friends were and still are a part of my Christian community. Thus, The Holy Bible is undoubtedly a community treasure. The Bible is our common guide that brings us all together to be in the same mindset and have profound conversations. The value of the Holy Bible is unmatched for the members of my belief community. One of the most direct description of the important of community meaning in a child was found in the article “Toward inclusive understandings of marriage in an early childhood classroom: negotiating (un)readiness, community, and vulnerability through a critical reading of King and King” by Frantz Bently and Mariana Souto-Manning. The article states, “The connections with and between the children will carry and shape the conversation” (pp 197). Which is very interesting to me because I thought about the connection of how a child’s character and mindset is molded due to the surrounding that child is exposed to. I recall a moment when I was in first grade, and it was reading time. All of my classmates were taking out their princess books or/and robot books, yet I was the only one taking out my Holy Bible book. My teacher pointed out that I could borrow one of the classroom books instead of reading the book I brought as if there was something wrong with my Bible book. This moment was very hard for me because my classmates started laughing and making fun of my book. Little did they know that in my mind I view my Holy Bible book just as important and interesting to me as their princes/robot books were to them. That experience led me to understand that teachers must take into consideration the importance of a Child's community. In my community the Holy Bible was and still is a beautiful treasure, which the stories never end and holds new meaning every single time a person reads it. Which leads me to the article, “Ecological Systems Theory: The Person in the Center of the Circles” by Nancy Darling. A great quote from this article stands out, which states, “When predicting the strength of association of parental knowledge with positive aspects of development (social skills, friendships with prosocial peers, good academic performance), one might predict a stronger association in high-resource environments” (pp 215). This quote brought me back to the way I felt in that moment when the teacher suggested choosing a different book to read. At that moment I felt very confident with the choice of book that I wanted to read. Not because I felt obligated to stick to the bible, instead I felt that I had a choice of my own and regardless of what others may think of my choice of book, I will remain strong with my choice. My parents never forced me to do anything unless it was regarding my safely. Which meant that I had the option of choosing what I wanted. However, due to the fact that I felt like my teacher didn’t understand the type of community I was a part of, it led to this moment of misunderstanding and what I felt was a lack of carelessness towards my community system. A great example of a moment when I felt like my community treasure was seen as the gem that it is, was when I would go on playdates with my friends, and we would each bring our Holy Bible with us. Showing each other the colorful pictures and sharing our own thoughts on what the pictures meant was the highlight of the day. As an adult I still have these moments with my friends, and we share such wonderful insights on what we understood of the bible. The value of the Holy Bible is truly incomparable. I wouldn’t treat it for any amount of money this world can offer me, and I feel that the members of my community would agree with me on this.

Reflection:

Family and community treasures promote family school community partnerships by bringing forth more clarity of each child and the systems that make them who they are as individuals. Understanding the cultures and values that bother the family treasures and community treasures hold is a powerful thing. Not only for the child but also for the relationship between the parents and the teachers. One Idea that I think would work towards bringing these two systems into another system would be to have the children express what one of their family systems or community systems is during circle time and use that information to pour into another system. A second idea would be to come up with a project where the parent could be a part of and have a presentation in class where both parents/family and child can speak about their family or community systems. Which would transition into a classroom system whereas a classroom, new games can come to be created. Overall, I think that each of the reading were perfectly clear on the importance of what systems theory is and how important it is in a Childs life. Which follows them into their young adult lives. Most importantly as teachers it is important to be open to the different systems/ cultures a child brings into the classroom. As it was wonderfully explained was how Dana Frantz Bently and Mariana Souto-Manning stated, “To be a critical teacher is to embrace the discomfort of not knowing, to become vulnerable, to embrace the complexity of an identity that encompasses both teaching and learning (Freire 1998)” (pp 197). This is an important factor that all teachers must remember in order to bring for a great learning experience and journey for their students and their parents.

Citation

Davd Aloyzy Zera, Fall 2002, “What is a System and system perspective?”

Molly Ewing and Troy D. Sadler, November/December 2020 “Socio-scientific Issues Instruction”, The scienceTeacher.

Dana Frantz Bently and Mariana Souto-Manning, March 2, 2016, “Toward inclusive understandings of marriage in an early childhood classroom: negotiating (un)readiness, community, and vulnerability through a critical reading of King and King”, Https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2025.1104899

Nancy Darling, 2007 “Ecological Systems Theory: The Person in the Center of the Circles”

#family #tresure #coffee

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polar-stars · 5 years

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2nd out of 5 parts of an ask by @smokeprincess24

Mika Aldini

👹 How does you OC act around different people and how does their personality change to match the environment they’re in? How do they act with: friends, family, strangers, children or their lover(s)?

Mika has some hesitance in exposing her soft, romantic side to others and is prone to deny it. She only lets people she truly trusts have insight into some of her rosy fantasies. Her mom is the one who she’s most comfortable talking about such things.

Other than that, there’s not much of her behavior that differs depending on who she’s talking about it.

🍅 How easily is your OC embarassed? What subjects make them flush and why? What event has made your OC the most embarassed they’ve ever been?

Mika is VERY easily embarrassed. Wether it’s about her being too obvious about her crush on Hiraku and it being pointed out, or her father’s way too open display of his love and affection for his only child…there’s a lot that can make Mika flush.

💥 Are there any emotions your OC doesn’t know how to deal with, doesn’t understand or hates having to feel? Any reason behind this?

Actual heartbreak is something she’ll greatly struggle with. She has not quite suffered from one yet but has only seen it in works of fiction. Mika always knew in the back of her mind that its something that happens, however she won’t be prepared for just how deeply it can hurt. Given that she always sort-off idolized romance and only ever looks at the pretty parts of it, it’s definitely something that’ll make her feel very miserable.

She’s generally rather inexperienced with feeling plain vulnerable to begin with. Another emotion she’ll struggle with (rather soon) is guilt.

🏀 Does your OC have any skills that people wouldn’t expect them to have? Do they have a hobby or pass time that others would consider strange or weird? How did they learn this particular skill or pick up this hobby?

Mika knows both how to ski and snowboard! People know that she’s rather sporty but the fact that she possesses these skills is a little surprising to some because many find it hard to picture the sun-loving, fiery Mika in snow to begin with ahdhd.

Well, she’s not an all too big fan of winter and when she does end up in a snowy area during the cold months she does believe that doing sport is just the best way to deal with it.

⭐ Does your OC like to sleep alone or do they enjoy sharing their bed? Have they been to any sleepovers? Have they ever been camping? What did they think of the experiences if so?

Mika has not much experience sharing a bed yet. It’s something she imagines as very comforting and lovely though and she wishes to experience it someday with someone she loves.

🍏 When your OC says “I had a bad day” what does that tend to mean? Is it really as bad as they’re saying or are they being a bit dramatic?

Mika, much like Chieko, has a leaning to be overdramatic at times. So a „bad day“ from Mika-understanding is most likely a string of some annoying and frustrating events, but something she’ll most likely be over with the next day.

🐉 How religious is your OC? Do they pray to any god(s) or do they not believe in that kind of stuff? What is their view of religion in general? Where do they believe people go when they die? If your OC is not religious why not and what do they believe in otherwise?

Mika is Christian and she’s registered in the Catholic Church, but later in life actually finds herself leaning more towards Protestantism.

She does believe in God and visits Church to important occasions like Christmas, Easter and so on but she does not go there every Sunday.

💧 What is something from your OC’s past they’re the most ashamed of and why? What is something they’re really proud of? And lastly what is something in their past that could make them shake with dread?

She’s mainly embarrassed by some of her more intensive outbursts over more trivial things but what she’ll truly look back upon in shame will come later on.

What she’s so far the most proudest of is the time when she cooked for the Trattoria-Aldini-Branch in Rome and the practicum Takumi arranged her in Mizuhara’s “Ristorante F” after her graduation from middle school, as preparation for her Stagiares.

🐟 What was your OC like as a baby? What were they like as a child? A teenager? An adult? How do you think they’ll develop ten years into their future? Twenty years? Will they live to old age?

Mika, as baby, was pretty loud and demanding. She began crawling relatively early and began crying and screaming the moment she wanted something. She certainly kept her parents of her feet.

Mika was a happy, adventure-loving child who certainly enjoyed to be outside a lot. She learned swimming at an early age and her love for dancing showed as soon as she could walk, honestly. She had always been a little feisty but to her family she’d also expose a love for plushies and Disney princesses.

As a teen, she’d become a confident and bold individual who’s tired of being the sole young chef of Tuscany and out to find a worthy rival. Mika certainly lives for the thrill of the challenges of Totsuki and practically embraces the competitive atmosphere. At the same time, her love for Disney movies involving princesses has ultimately developed in a deep fascination with all things romance and a strong longing to experience it herself.

As an adult Mika will have grown in experience regarding romance and does see everything a little less through rosy lens. She’ll remain a strong individual in her adulthood, who knows what she wants and how to step up against anyone who decides to be an obstacle. She’ll be a little calmer though and have her temper under a bit better control.

🍇 Does your OC have any bad habits? Does your OC have any addictions like smoking or drinking? How did they fall into these habits and why?

At times she does loose her temper a bit too quickly and it’s not always necessary to yell right away. She also tends to procrastinate when it comes to studying tings unrelated to cooking.

She drinks on parties and she does have a little tendency to party a lil’ harder than necessary sometimes.

🔮What does your OC think is their best trait. What is actually their best trait? What about their flaws? Are they one to admit these flaws or do they like to pretend they’re perfect?

Mika thinks her best trait is her courage and I’d agree with her on that!

A major flaw of her’s is that she can be a little bit inattentive to the people around her at times. She’s very unaware of this though.

🌸 What’s a sentence that would make your OC’s day better? One that would make them laugh? One that would make their day worse? Why? What words would you have to say to them to completely ruin their day?

“Yukihira Hiraku is about to have a Shokugeki!” is a sentence that always puts her mood up. She loves watching Hiraku’s Shokugekis! She gets to see the person she admires in action and it’s also just a great experience overall as his matches are certainly thrilling, captivating and the rest of the audience is very into it as well.

A sentence that could ruin her day is anything that suggests something bad happened to Hiroshi. She’ll either end up pissed off at whoever might hurted him or worried for the rest of the day.

🌷 How much effort does your OC put into their looks? Do they care much about how they’re dressed or what their hair looks like or are they not bothered? Could they be considered a snob or a slob?

She has a pretty well-developed fashion sense and does take her fine time choosing her outfits, no matter the occasion (unless it’s a school day because y’know then she knows what to put on: the uniform). She also takes good care of her skin, possesses some make-up skill and takes VERY LONG to shower. It’s all things she honestly just picked up from her parents mostly.

❤️ What inspired you to make this OC? How long have you had them? How have they changed in the time you’ve been developing them?

Mika is one of the oldest Fanchilds of mine. She’s the fifth to ever be created, I think. She was created on that faithful night in 2016 where I decided to create more fankids after I had designed Chieko a few days or so earlier and took my drawing-tools to bed to sketch and color them ahdhd. Takumi/Ikumi is one of my first ships in the series as well and, back then, I didn’t saw much else option for either of them...so my decision to let them have a child was pretty automatic.

Mika did not change all too much over the years, really. What mostly got added recently is her frustrating love-triangle situation and also her story was just ironed out more over the years ahdhd but character-wise she remained more or less the same. Takumi and Ikumi honestly share a lot of the same character traits in the end and I think that’s a reason for that.

🧡 What traits of your own do you see in this OC? Are they a little bit self-inserty? Don’t be shy, we all put parts of ourselves into the creations we love!

Hm, I don’t think I have all too much in common with Mika. She’s very brave and challenge-enthusiastic and I’m....one of the greatest cowards you’ll ever meet being frank.

What we do share I guess is a strong love for the sea. Also, I do enjoy dancing (although I am not anywhere near the level she is) And I mean, she cooks Italian which is one of my favourite cuisines...but there’s really not much she takes after me ahdhd. She has much more in common with my mom than me being real.

💚 Are you writing anything with this OC or planning on writing anything for them? Do you rp with them or are they just for fun to mess around with?

I have a few ideas but I don’t know if I’ll get to it soon.

💗 Ramble a bit about this character!

Mika, Mika, our beautiful helpless romantic Mika. Did I mention already how greatly her love-situation frustrates me? I really want her, the romance fanatic, to get happy with someone but ahhh who?? She’s also one of my first OCs and actually pretty dear to me and ahhh, WHY?!

But meep, aside from that and my whining about a situation I drove myself into; Mika is honestly really fun to write and I love the trio she’ll have going on with Kimiko & Hiroshi. It mirrors the classic Sōma/Megumi/Takumi-Trio in certain ways but it won’t be an exact rehash either so ahh. I’ll just enjoy writing this I think.

#Gofer answering to stuffz #Mika Aldini

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arcanalogue · 5 years

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Obligatory ‘Meet Your Diviner’ Q&A

Okay, stepping out from behind my little screen for a moment! A lot of people following here nowadays may not know anything about me, or the background of this blog. You may not even remember following me in the first place! I can relate.

It occurred to me that some people MIGHT LIKE TO KNOW CERTAIN THINGS. And since I’m looking to build up my roster of Patreon clients (who likes monthly readings, or tarot lessons, or random tarot insights? You do!) it seems a bit of disclosure may be in order. If I do it honestly and entertainingly enough, some of you old friends might actually enjoy re-learning these things too!

So, below is a brief introduction — dagger points instead of bullets, because I’m old-school like that. Inbox me if there’s more you’d like to know!

🗡 Who are you, anyway? Hi, my name is Tom, I currently live in Los Angeles with my my extremely tolerant boyfriend. I grew up in rural Arizona and then ran off to New York at a formative age. Queer non-binary human, accepting all pronouns! I’m a dingbat Aries who frequently craves validation, but can’t accept a compliment.

Pastimes include retreating from the world so I can grumble about everything, and wearing too much perfume. I go to thrift stores almost every day, and have amassed too many vintage hat-pins. I keep a giant doll house in the kitchen.

Who wouldn’t want advice from a creature such as this?

🗡 Can I get a reading in person? Yes, but know that I’m shy about it. When I first started out in New York City, it was all about reading at parties and posting Craigslist ads to meet new clients. However, when you shine a light out in the world like that, you can never be sure who it will attract. In my case, it brought lots of interesting people into my life; some were a little too interesting.

For the most part, I prefer working from behind the veil of this little site, or via email. I’m at my best when I have an extra moment to divine deeply and then gather my thoughts; also, there are benefits to receiving readings that you can revisit as words on a page.

Ask me truly anything, I will do my best to respond!

🗡 Are you psychic? Sorry, but I’m not that person, nor am I an astrologer. I have a rigorous spiritual practice that I keep relatively private. However, I’m happy to share whatever inspiration I glean from it.

Originally it was important for me to understand tarot cards through a truly secular lens: archetypes, synchronicity, the whole Jung starter pack. I wanted to combat popular misconceptions about what the tarot is, how it functions, what it can do, and what it can’t.

That’s all very useful stuff, mainly so a reader can interact meaningfully with people from all walks of life, and all kinds of faith (or none at all). But tarot is NOT a secular or purely intellectual practice, and here’s why: no one knows where the “responses” are coming from.

Despite starting out as a skeptic, after many years of practice, I can no longer personally accept nowhere as an answer to that question, or consider the results of a reading to be purely random or meaningless. If you don’t believe the answers really mean anything, then why are you asking?

(If you’re asking purely to amuse yourself, I have great news: you can do that at home, yourself, for free.)

🗡 Why ‘Arcanalogue’? For about a decade, I have branded my site and services with this name, a mangling of Latin/Greek words that essentially refers to a “conversation with the unknown.”

Embracing the arcanalogue nature of divination (instead of demanding to know who/what is speaking) has challenged my beliefs in ways I couldn’t have expected, gradually rekindling my faith.

🗡 Wait, faith? So are you like... a Christian? Ha ha no. HA HA HA. No! But so much of the iconography in the tarot deck stems from early Christianity, I have learned more about this history and symbolism from studying divination than I ever learned in church.

Sorry baby goths — ya think it’s gonna be all demonic Crowleyisms and spooky #witchvibes and jacking off over sigils, but the history of everything is completely intermingled. You might still end up having to say the Lord’s Prayer. You might find that you actually really enjoy saying the Lord’s Prayer. Life is strange! And witch-life is the strangest of all.

You CAN just buy the Crowley and/or various #witchvibes tarot decks, but if that’s all you ever learn, you’ll only scratch the surface of the deck’s mysteries, which are a major source of its power. And if you hate Christian symbolism with a burning passion (who could blame you?) and you’re looking for a purely non-denominational form of divination, you could always just flip a coin! Or grab one of those oracle decks.

And even then, the goddess Fortuna may want a word with you...

🗡 What book do you recommend for beginners? This one: The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, by Robert M. Place (who has also created many brilliant decks, such as The Alchemical Tarot).

There are so many books geared toward beginners, very few of which really dig into the concept of divination itself, or how the cards really work. As a historian, Place can show you why certain cards have ended up meaning certain things, instead of just providing a list of meanings for you to memorize. He also teaches divination as a storytelling technique, so you don’t end up just regurgitating those meanings straight from the page.

🗡 Why isn’t this blog more active? Ouch, you really came for me with that one. I’d really like it to be! I work full time, and I love my work. The more people support me on Patreon, the more space I’ll be able to carve out for this project in my schedule. *hides*

🗡 Do you have any special rituals that you do when you’re giving a reading? I spent so many years actively combating the kind of superstitions that cling to the tarot like barnacles. If you don’t feel like your practice is “right” or “authentic” without including these, then by all means, do what you’ve gotta!

Just remember, you’re bringing all that with you into an experience where you’re supposed to be alone and vulnerable with your thoughts, opening yourself up to the unknown. Whatever gets you there!

Nowadays, I consider everything I do when I read to be a gift given to myself, in hopes of enhancing that effect. I’ve found over the years that when I cut the deck, I like to cut almost all the way down, not just halfway. To me, this is symbolic of casting a bucket deep down into the well of my unconscious. There’s something satisfying to me about a very deep cut!

The most personal rituals are the ones that mean the most. There’s value in sharing these with others, but dictating them as protocol is shabby teaching.

🗡 How do you know if reading tarot cards is right for you? If you feel any calling whatsoever, then I think you should answer that calling. That’s why I first started my blog, it helped me organize my thoughts and keep track of what I learned, what I’d read. Before then it had all been very scattered and vague, and my progress was much more difficult to track. And believe it or not, I’d already begun teaching lessons by that point! It’s humbling to look back on now.

There’s a lot of self-consciousness and social anxiety wrapped up in the idea of trying to read someone else’s cards, or presenting yourself as a reader. Hello, I share these exact anxieties!

But this is a state you must overcome at the beginning of almost any journey. Go be a big ol’ nerd and show the world where it can stick its judgment. I’m happy to help in any way I can! My “Learn” page links to some stripped down tutorials on a few basic subjects.

Back to an earlier point, if you feel called to take on a more-than-casual study of tarot, I urge you to learn the old ways as you contribute to new ones. Feeling connected to a tradition can be a tremendous support in times when you’re really not sure WTF you are doing. There are SO many new decks being made which are aesthetically beautiful but are very thin in terms of supporting a deeper connection to the tarot mysteries. An experienced user will be able to fill in the gaps easily. A newcomer? Perhaps not so much.

For those reasons, I recommend learning with the classic Rider Waite-Smith deck, or else one that closely reproduces its meanings.

The unknown speaks to us in so many ways. It always has. The process of learning how to listen, and how to help others hear it too, is cumulative. Others stand to benefit from whatever you learn while seeking.

🗡 You seem great! How can I keep tabs on you or interact with you more? I don’t mind if people follow me on Instagram (personal follows are fine also). I’m really boring on Twitter but there it is. I don’t really understand how the Tumblr chat works, so I don’t always see these until hilariously long afterward.

🗡 You suck, this was a waste of time and I want my four minutes back.

#tarot #tarot cards #divination #tarot readings

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kvlt-ov-romance-blog · 7 years

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Devilman Crybaby and the Occult: A Brief Examination

Akira as Lucifer

Akira in Japanese typically means “bright” or “clear,” primarily in the context of intellect. But if these concepts are applied to the matter of literal brightness, as in lightness, then Akira can be thought of as a representation of Lucifer. Specifically, in the sense that he is the “light bringer.” Lucifer typically is thought of as meaning “devil” but in actuality, the word translates in Latin Vulgate as “morning star,” or “the planet Venus” (the brightest planet) or of course, “light bringing.”

In many Gnostic, Luciferian and other esoteric schools of thought and occult ideology, Lucifer is not a figure of evil but instead he represents the principle of inner enlightenment, a guiding cosmic force of lightness. Another interesting fact is that phosphorus happens to mean “light bringer” in Greek,” and is a substance naturally occurring within all of our DNA – Luciferians argue that the power for spiritual growth and enlightenment comes not so much from external sources such as "God" in the orthodox way, but primarily from within us, recognizing our own abilities and powers.

This information does not come close to the rich history of Lucifer’s true identity but it offers us some fascinating insight into the realm of Devilman Crybaby. As mentioned, Akira can be thought of as “bright” (the connotation with the planet Venus implies he is found of things of beauty, peace, love) and as a light bringer in the sense that he is trying to bring forth change and illumination for a world in desperate need of a savior figure. Luciferianism emphasizes rebellion at cruelty and the intolerance of injustice as well, something which Akira understands and embodies perfectly.

His constant crying, his empathy, his emotionalism, this all grants him a sense of connectivity to humanity, even though once the truth of his identity is revealed the majority of the world still despises him. This is similar to the literal story of Lucifer, in that his identity has been proven to be based largely on fallacies and misconceptions, mistranslated scripture, and superstition, and yet nevertheless Lucifer seems doomed to forever bear humankind’s fear and loathing, much like Akira. There are a number of ways that Lucifer and Christ can be compared in these regards as well and by the time the series ends, Akira himself is forced into a state of what could be qualified as martyrdom.

Additionally, one of the most perplexing things to think about is that Ryo – who is truly Satan – finds Akira to be such a powerful and important figure in his life. In a sense, Akira is the light and brightness of his life: His role in Ryo’s life grants him purpose, it enlightens him into his true form, and so forth. Akira is Ryo’s Lucifer, essentially. This may sound confusing at first but bear in mind these points: 1). Lucifer and Satan are not necessarily the same person, 2). Much like many are familiar with the concepts of beings having the capacity for both good and evil or “God and Satan,” beings have the potential for Lucifer to enter their essence as well. And furthermore, another matter of interest is that some sources have speculated Lucifer and Satan to actually be two sides of the same being: Lucifer represents the spiritual, and Satan represents the earthly – this is similar to say, the holy trinity wherein multiple beings are actually one in the same. This would mean that Akira and Ryo are essentially the same entity.

To really make sense of these theories, one must dive deep into biblical lore, etymology, anthropological history, and occultism, and must be willing to keep an open mind. In actuality, the story of Lucifer is fundamentally simple but has been made incredibly convoluted over the years thanks to fear mongering, religious bigotry, and a myriad of other errors in human judgment. If you would like to know more on the nature of Lucifer, or further elaboration on the connection I perceive between Akira and Ryo, feel free to comment! In the meantime, I suggest “Lucifer: Princeps” by Peter Grey.

The Demons

The demons throughout the entire series are primarily based off of real spirits associated with demonology. Some date back all the way to the early ages of the clash between Abrahamic religions and ancient Paganism, some pertain to middle ages, etc. In particular, we have The Keys of Solomon to examine. The Key of Solomon itself is known as Clavicula Salomonis in Hebrew, and it is one of the most important examples of Renaissance era magick – from here, the more infamous Lesser Key of Solomon, or the Clavicula Salomonis Regis, was believed to have been written in the 17th century.

Both books deal with magical operations influenced from Jewish Kabbalah, pertaining to workings with various different spirits, but The Lesser Key in particular is known for one of its five different segments: The Ars Goetia. The Goetia bases itself on pre-existing sources of information on demons such as the PseudodomonarchaDaemonum (1577) and it offers rankings, information, and general descriptions of the 72 major demons. Each demon has their own ability, and they are divided into categories such as King, Duke, Prince, Marquis, President, Count, etc.

Demons are not limited to these sources, and many demons or demon-like spirits exist separate from the Goetia (e.g. the Djinns of Arabic spirituality). Further, the issue of whether or not demons are inherently evil is widely debated and much of it goes back to the matter of linguistics. In another article I wrote about demonology (linked below) you’ll see what I mean more clearly, but the key thing to remember is that a “daemon” simply means a wise, intelligent spirit. The evil spirits we are familiar with as demons were either developed as early Christianity’s opposition to “Pagan” idols (e.g. Baal became an honorific title of Lord into one of the most well known demons, Beelzebub became “lord of all that flies” into “lord of the flies”).

In Devilman Crybaby, there are a whole lot of demons. I will not be addressing all of them, but chief among them is Amon, the demon which merges with Akira. Amon is considered in magical lore to be a Marquis of Hell, governing 40 legions of spirits and as described in the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum:" [He] is a great and mighty marques, and commeth abroad in the likeness of a Wolf, having a serpents tail, [vomiting] flames of fire; when he putteth on the shape of a man, he sheweth out dogs teeth, and a great head like to a mighty [nighthawk]; he is the strongest prince of all other, and understandeth of all things past and to come, he procureth favor, and reconcileth both friends and foes, and ruleth forthy legions of devil.”

And by S.L. MacGregor Mathers in the his translation of the Goetia: "The Seventh Spirit is Amon He is a Marquis great in power, and most stern. He appeareth like a Wolf with a Serpent's tail, vomiting out of his mouth flames of fire; but at the command of the Magician he putteth on the shape of a Man with Dog's teeth beset in a head like a Raven; or else like a Man with a Raven's head (simply). He telleth all things Past and to Come. He procureth feuds and reconcileth controversies between friends. He governeth 40 Legions of Spirits.” Amon also shares a connection with the Egyptian god, Amun.

Less obvious references are made, sometimes in the form changed spellings. For instance, Kaim instantly reminded me of the demon Caim, a blackbird said to have knowledge of rhetoric, wisdom, and the ability to understand certain animals. Some other demonic figures that appear throughout the series – not so much the new adaptation – include Pazuzu, Lilith and Beelzebub, which shows that the series is not limiting its demonic lore to merely one source (i.e. Pazuzu pertains to Mesopotamian religion whereas Lilith for instance pertains to Hebrew sources of wisdom).

Where is God? And What About the Cycle of Life/Samsara?

This is a tricky one to pinpoint, because the more you attempt to wrap your head around all the different theories, the more you will be left wondering how certain things could have happened, what the nature of God truly is, and so forth. There is a lot of biblical inaccuracy to the show, but in comparison to Gnosticism and other ancient ideologies, God’s role actually makes more sense from these perspectives. For example, some Gnostic sects believe it was the Demiurge who created this world as a sort of “prison,” rather than God representing an all loving and benevolent force. But in the context of Devilman Crybaby, I would say the best explanation we have regarding his absence is the concept of Deus Absconditus which means “[A] god who in his remoteness seems to ignore human suffering,” or similarly, Deus Otiosus which means that God is idle and no longer involved in humanity’s concerns. Theories like these have broad implications with esoteric Christianity and other religions, and so it is hard to gauge how true they may be for Devilman Crybaby. One thing is for sure, the classical concept of Deus Ex Machina never occurs in the show, which does give more credibility to the idea that God may simply not care, be idle, or at the least, His plan is one that we the audience are not made aware of.

Another possible theory is that Satan himself is God. Utilizing a solipsistic framework, similar to what we see Shinji Ikari go through at the End of Evangelion, we see Satan completely and utterly alone in the world. He seems to have complete control over just about everything except for Akira’s death and his feelings. But if he himself were in fact God, could he not choose to end things right then and there. Evidence for this comes in the fact that, ironically, the creators held very true to biblical descriptions of Satan as being the most beautiful, initial, favorite, and most beloved being of God. The fact that he was so much immense power. And the fact that Ryo essentially must awaken to his higher self as Satan is symbolic of the one becoming a God and/or one realizing they are living in a solipsistic world. Solipsism is essentially the idea that you cannot prove anything or anyone outside of you truly exists, that you yourself may be represent the universe and all else is merely an illusion, speculation, or incapable of ever being seen as absolutely certain. If Satan were to have all of these traits, in some aspect, could this not make him a God of sorts? Upon realizing it, he chooses to kill himself and the world and begin the cycle all over again – notice the wheels within wheels that constantly appear during the explosions, these are in my opinion, references to the angelic visions of God’s chariot that the prophet Ezekiel saw.

So basically, Satan is willing himself into another incarnation (I believe that reincarnation applies more to this show due to the fact that Ryo awoke to a past life, as opposed to the idea that by destroying the cycle of life, death, rebirth – samsara – then everything would simply end for all eternity). It seems as though Ryo/Satan enjoys mind games, puzzles, challenges, etc. and so what better challenge than to repeat the process of rediscovering one’s true existence? Or, perhaps Akira represents God and in his final moments on screen, we are witnessing Satan’s ultimate punishment. The idea of Hell is an incredibly complex one, but the main point in Christian scripture is that it is a place in which there is only the absence of God – if Akira represented God and now is lost forever, this serves as Satan’s eternal suffering; God has abandoned him.

Miki the Witch/Color Theory

Miki is frequently referred to as a witch on numerous occasions, and at first we take it primarily as a bad joke based out of ignorance and fear. She certainly possesses some interesting traits such as her speed and agility, but is she really a witch? The answer to that, in my opinion, depends on how you look at things. During the witch trials that took place throughout Europe and of course Salem, women were accused of witchcraft for the slightest of “misbehavior.” Women who were particularly good at something on their own were very much victims of this curse; it was believed often times, a woman simply could not perform abilities of any kind to such excellence without the aid of magic, devils and demons, and so forth.

But in Miki’s case, I think one of the more subtle elements of this matter has to do with her clothing choices. In many scenes, she is wearing green. Green is actually quite an important color in witchcraft, Paganism, alchemy, you name it. It is the color of the heart chakra – Miki representing much of Akira’s love and devotion, his heart. It is associated with the zodiac sign of The Mother Goddess, a figure of Wicca and other Neo-Pagan beliefs who brings forth peace, fertility, prosperity, abundance, luck and deals with matters pertaining to envy, changing attitudes, the environment, and so forth. More “ominously” if such is to be believed, green does carry a more “Satanic” principle of to itself – as explained even in classic anime such as Belladonna of Sadness, it is a symbol for power (green = the color of nature, nature being Satan’s forest in some mythological/religious lore). Other theories – whether as overt as Satanism and witchcraft or more benign such as Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist conceptions of colors can be applied to Miki

Color theory is important to bear in mind when examining all of the characters and scenes as well. For instance, the variety of colors that appears during the Sabbath could perhaps be reflective of a third eye awakening/demonic transformation/etc. As each color represents the seven chakras. The white and black dichotomy between Akira and Ryo is also one that clearly conjures forth images of duality such as the famous yin and yang symbol.

Conclusion

This is merely a short list meant to open the discussion on the new adaptations of Devilman Crybaby and how different realms of spirituality, the occult, the supernatural, religion, faith, and so much more play a larger role in shaping the development of things than you may realize. There are other examples to work with: Akira attempting to pass Ryo the torch and him neglecting it could be a sign of rejecting Lucifer/Christ/some sort of savior figure, it could even be thought of as something more symbolic of phallic imagery with regards to a sort of “creation” origin or the relationship between Ryo and Akira themselves. Everyone seems to be running, runners usually go at the start of gun’s loud bang; the big bang perhaps? Some things may seem like reaching, but just keep calm and think, do research, and come up with your own conclusions, there is more than meets the eye to Devilman Crybaby. Occultism pertains to that which is hidden, so it is up to the viewer to figure these sorts of things out. Also worth mentioning, the subject of will Aleister Crowley is known for the development of Thelema, which states that the purpose of life essentially to discover and fulfill one’s true will. How might this relate to the characters for instance? Again, there are a lot of starting points to go off of here, these are just springboards and suggestions.

Post this however you would like, if you’d like to make any YouTube videos inspired by these subjects just please credit me, Kvlt ov Romance in the description.

My post on demonology.

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nintendotreehouse · 7 years

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Happy Anniversary, Summoners!

The Fire Emblem Heroes game was released one year ago today, and to celebrate the anniversary, some of the Fire Emblem Heroes team members in the Treehouse got together to reflect on the first year since the game launched. Read on to see what they had to say!

Kris: It’s amazing how much Fire Emblem Heroes has evolved since launch. Many of us on the team play the game heavily outside of work as well, so each time a new option like Inherit Skill or the Weapon Refinery is added, we’re eager to play it on our own devices with our own teams.

But first, we’ve got to localize the content and get it out there, and on the loc side of things, there are aspects of the project that haven’t changed—mainly the amount of research involved. It’s a lot of fun digging into our archives for past games. The Heroes come from every main-series title, so we’ve put together a script database of all the games, including those not released in North America, to help us keep everything aligned.

The Treehouse “Fire Emblem Shrine” is not just for decoration. It’s part of our research!

Matthew: Even the early Famicom games like Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light have scripts that were quite lengthy for the time, so it really took a lot of work to get that all organized into something we could use as a reference. I mean, there are 15 games in the main Fire Emblem series alone!

Kris: It was worth the effort, though. The database allows us to research basic things, like item names or the way a character laughs, as well as deeper references. Most Heroes reference conversations from whatever game they’re from, whether word for word or just in passing.

Frederick does his best to serve his liege…

…and tries to help the Order, too. Sort of.

Kris: When we come across these lines, sometimes they have to be tweaked for their new context, both in Japanese and in English. A line that was once used angrily in battle might now be recast for general conversation. A critical-attack line might now be the voice used when you tap a Hero during battle. Very often, a line originally directed to a different character might now be directed to you, the Summoner. It's an interesting balance of keeping the link to the source material while fitting a new context and not confusing any players who are new to the series. I get excited when people post online about a reference they got, like the various bonus audio lines for the first round of Choose Your Legends characters.

Matthew: Yeah, it’s always great to see when people pick up on those references. As for me, while I’ve played every game in the Fire Emblem series, Genealogy of the Holy War is still my favorite. I loved how complex the world was in that game, and, of course, that complexity brought about some great drama. When we were asked to work on localizing those characters for Fire Emblem Heroes, I was honored to help out. Sigurd is a very unique lord and Arvis is a very unique villain in the Fire Emblem series. It was important for Christian and I to do their characters justice through the dialog and voice.

Sigurd professing his love to Deirdre in the Super Famicom original game.

Here they reference events from the original game in Fire Emblem Heroes.

Christian: Genealogy of the Holy War originally came out for the Super Famicom, and it was never localized into English. Given how great that game’s characters are, figuring out how to properly render their stories in English was both a challenge and an opportunity. I wanted to get things just right.

I put a lot of thought into how to portray their speech in a style that could successfully bring across the 1990s dark-fantasy style of the original writing while preserving the complexity of the storytelling and characterization for the modern era. In Fire Emblem Heroes, there’s not much dialogue for each character, but it usually cuts to the bone of what makes that character special—and there’s a lot of info that you need to understand to get it right. Matt’s insight was invaluable there.

Matthew: In one of my main teams, Sigurd and Deirdre are together and share an S rank bond. (It’s canon after all, right?) Genealogy wasn’t the first game to give bonuses to characters when they were near someone dear to them, but it expanded the concept greatly and even introduced things famous to the series, like the weapon triangle and skills! There is a lot I want to say, but…since many players have yet to experience the game, I won’t spoil anything about the story here. Let’s just say that it’s much easier to increase the bond between Seliph and Julia in Fire Emblem Heroes than it was in the original game.

(By the way, I’m definitely using these characters for the Illusory Dungeon—that’s a rhythm-based dungeon in which you tap on the screen to attack enemies. And it releases in Fire Emblem Heroes later this month!)

Christian: One thing that has made me very happy is the positive response to these characters—both from fans who played the original Super Famicom game, as well as those who never encountered these characters before they appeared in Fire Emblem Heroes but now consider them to be invaluable parts of their teams. Just a year ago, a lot of Fire Emblem players in the West had no idea who Arden was!

Here, in Genealogy of the Holy War, Arden is about to find a special ring!

That same ring gives Arden a unique skill in Fire Emblem Heroes as well!

Tim: While I appreciate the history of the older games like Genealogy of the Holy War, the greatest joy I’ve experienced in playing Fire Emblem Heroes during its first year has been the evolution of my beloved #TeamLucina. Lucina was, luckily enough, one of my first summons when the game launched. Since then I’ve been blessed with summoning Special Hero Spring Lucina, obtaining a handful of masked Lucinas (or “Marths”) from the Tempest Trials (thusly merged into a single +4), and the Lucina I got as my Choose Your Legends free Hero.

Matthew: That’s two blues and two reds. Is that team actually any good?

Tim: Imbalanced as #TeamLucina may seem, it’s a surprisingly solid squad—and it all came down to masked Lucina, who arrived upon my shores with naught but Falchion to her name.

Number 6 in my list, but number 1 in my heart.

Kris: We’ve seen a lot of fans online create their own #Team based on a character, artist, or voice actor. Masked Lucina is a great blank slate to work with, too. What did you do with yours?

Tim: I’ve been able to utilize features such as Inherit Skill and Sacred Seals to turn her into the team medic, and a rather efficient one at that. First, I used Inherit Skill to give her Reciprocal Aid, Renewal, and Breath of Life; eventually she earned the Breath of Life Sacred Seal, so whenever she swings her mighty Falchion, adjacent allies receive a whopping 14 HP. Moreover, she’s sitting pretty at 45 HP, meaning she can heal practically any ally to full with Reciprocal Aid. And just a few turns later, or at the start of the next round in the case of a Tempest Trial, she’ll earn 20 HP back thanks to Renewal and Falchion.

Christian: What about her A Skill and Special Skill?

Tim: I gave her Death Blow and Glimmer to further bolster her already staggering attack power of 52.

Matt: You monster.

My one regret is missing the 5 ★ version from the very first Tempest Trial.

Tim: Throw Ally Support into the mix, and #TeamLucina is truly a force to be reckoned with. I pity the poor soul who encounters it in the Arena.

Kris: In the meantime, I’ll just be over here working on my +10 Frederick. Leveling the duplicates to merge should go quick thanks to the Special Training maps releasing later this month, since they let you train your units based on their type for an easier way to earn Exp and SP.

That’s all for this time, but from all of us on the Fire Emblem Heroes team here in the Treehouse, we hope you all continue to enjoy the game!

Good luck, Summoners!

—Kris C., Matthew N., Christian N., Tim M.

#Fire Emblem #Heroes #Nintendo #Treehouse

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katiehipple04-blog1 · 6 years

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Readerly Exploration 1 September 21, 2018

Course Reading 1: Fischer—"Reading with a Crayon: Pre-conventional Marginalia as Reader Response in Early Childhood”

Big Take Away: The biggest take away from this study is that children are able to comprehend the state of which their scribbles take place. These marginalia are confirmation of responsive exchanges with writings, and that these encounters are entwined into the child's natural, real life, experiences.

Nugget: Near the middle of the article Dr. Fischer restates what Lancaster’s article previously said, “From the time children make their first mark with a writing instrument they are drawing to know the world and themselves”. This really sunk into me more than I imagined it would. I always viewed children’s scribbles as nothing more than the child trying to figure out how to grasp the idea of holding the crayon. I never looked into it being a way for them to “tell and respond to stories” or exploring future possibilities. This is an important concept to have stick into my head because as an early education teacher, we have a role to play with how the child views themselves. If we look at their scribbled artwork and say that it looks like nothing and that they have to make it look like their peer’s artwork, they will constantly look at others work and stop with their own views.

Course Reading 2: Miller—Chapter 1, “Guiding Principles”

Big Take Away: The biggest take away Miller wants us to get out of chapter one is that there are many successful ways to teach children while having your own beliefs. To do so, we have to find our version of the truth. As educators, we should be continually perusing and evaluating what we think about good instruction and how it can fit into new ideas of learning. We have to take our time while trying out new techniques and strategies and defining what we believe in, while “aligning” them with the practices that are being put into action within the schools. Once we find what works best for us, we need to stick to it and make sure to be clear and confident about the practices we believe in.

Nugget: One interesting “nugget” that I wasn’t expecting to stick out to me as I read was the “Building Relationships” section of chapter one. It is almost common sense by now as a Junior education major that relationships with your students is important, and caring about their vacations, new shirts, and accessories means a lot to the students. However, I never realized that while showing the children we care about them, we are also modeling how to show someone you care; and how you go about creating lasting friendship. It made me realize truly how important it is to be the best Christian you can be within the classroom because every little one’s eyes within the classroom are watching you as their role model.

Readerly Exploration Experience: This week, I decided my readerly habit would be, “choose an excerpt from your assigned course reading(s) and share with a family member to get his or her insight and perspective on it”. I think this habit is useful because my family is a huge part of who I am, and have influenced my decision of becoming a teacher, and their opinion matters to me. I decided to ask my mom what she thought about the concept in Millers chapter one stating that it is important to find teaching strategies that match with the school and states standards while matching your beliefs. My mom ended up relating this question that is based off of my future occupation to her current occupation, a pediatrician. She stated that with HIPAA, she has to keep everything that is told to her through her appointments, she has to keep to herself, and she finds that difficult, but she has to do what the law permits. When comes to “compromising” with her beliefs, she still tells the patient what she believes is the best option for them if they are in trouble in any way, and that’s the best she can do. “Some days you have to be okay with the fact that you were able to say all you were able to say, while obeying the laws” my mother stated. Her advice to me was to follow what the school permits me to do, but to find ways where I’m able to incorporate my beliefs without disobeying what the school wants and what the laws want for the children. I definitely struggle with that concept because it feels like I am compromising my beliefs and what is best for the children, but I also learned that maybe what I think is best for the students, might not always be what is truly best. This conversation with my mom really helped me comprehend the concept of having an open mind with what might not be 100% of what I believe in, but to still think of ways that I can incorporate my own beliefs into the system without disobeying what is asked of me. I asked my father what he thought about the concept of toddler’s scribbles having more of a deeper meaning than just pointless lines on a page. He right away jumped to the decision that there is meaning behind everything a child does and added a little humor “even if I have no idea what it could be”. I told him about Marginalia, annotations written or drawn in the margins of a text by a young reader, and how Dr. Fischer came up with the conclusion that toddlers do understand what they are scribbling and how they aren’t just lines but influenced by their natural environment. My dad told me that he believes in that heavily and that I even drew on the inside of picture books and begged him to let me color the pages while he read them. I found this interesting because I read about these types of concepts in textbooks and articles at school and can’t physically grasp that these are real life situations. Therefore, to hear that the topics we are reading about in class, I went through as a child, is reassuring that what I’m learning is something I will experience within my lifetime, and definitely helped me better comprehend the research.

Multimedia Extension: The picture below is a picture of my parents and I because of the love I have for them and how much I look up to them for everything.

References

Fischer, S., (2017). Reading with a crayon: Pre-conventional marginalia as reader response in early childhood. Children’s Literature in Education, 42(8), 134-151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-016-9292-4

Miller, D. (2013). Reading with meaning: Teaching comprehension in the primary grades (2nd ed.). Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

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mustafa-el-fats · 3 years

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Gnosticism Explained

The History, Mythology, and Worldview of Gnostic Christianity

Archons

“The Torment of Saint Anthony” by Michelangelo

In Gnosticism, the archons (from Greek arkhon, “ruler”[1]) were malevolent, sadistic beings who controlled the earth, as well as many of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of humans. They assisted their master, the demiurge, with the creation of the world, and continued to help him administer his oppressive rule.

According to a Gnostic text called the Reality of the Rulers, the archons “have bodies that are both female and male, and faces that are the faces of beasts.”[2] Thus, they’re not truly male nor female, nor human nor animal. The ancients found this kind of boundary-crossing to be deeply threatening, and this description of the archons implied that they were forces of chaos, so “mixed up” as to be “the farthest that a created being could be from God.”[3]

The Reality of the Rulers presents the archons as bumbling, conceited oafs. They issue sanctimonious commands that they themselves don’t understand,[4] huff and puff “like storm winds” into the inanimate Adam’s face in a failed attempt to bring him to life,[5] think they’re raping Eve when they’re really raping an empty image of her,[6] and have to call out to Adam and Eve to find them after Adam and Eve have hidden from them.[7]

Despite their sometimes lacking in competence, the archons were extremely powerful beings whom the Gnostics dreaded. The Reality of the Rulers quotes Ephesians 6:12 (“Our contest is not against flesh and blood; rather, the authorities of the world and the spiritual hosts of wickedness”) to make the point that the archons were what stood between humankind and salvation.[8] It was they whom Christ had been sent to earth to overcome.

In the ancient world, the self wasn’t seen as being as autonomous as we today think of it as being. It was a playing field where various forces intermingled and battled, ultimately giving rise to our thoughts and actions. For the Gnostics, the archons were among the most powerful and ubiquitous of these forces. They were the ones who were ultimately responsible for all of the evil thoughts and actions of humankind.[9]

But it gets worse: since the archons had created humans in the first place, they had created humans to be extremely susceptible to their influence, and to be almost unable to resist it. Only the divine spark from Heaven, which had slipped into creation despite the archons’ intentions, gave people any kind of a chance of resisting the archons’ temptations. But only a few people – the Gnostics – were even aware of that divine presence within themselves, and even for them it was a tremendous ordeal to act in accordance with that presence rather than the wishes of the archons. Most people were just the puppets of the archons. Thus, the normal, default state of humans was literal demonic possession.[10]

It’s fitting that the Gnostics identified the archons with the entities that were worshiped as pagan gods.[11] How could you fail to worship a god that already possesses and controls you?

The number of archons varies across the Gnostic texts, but there are commonly said to be seven archons (whose identities and names vary as well). These seven corresponded to the seven planets that had been identified in antiquity, whose movements were credited with producing astrological fate. Astrological fate was the main means through which the archons controlled people’s lives.[12]

After giving a list of the seven archons, the Secret Book of John adds, “This is the sevenfold nature of the week.”[13] The seven archons also corresponded to the seven days of the week, which could be expected since the days of the week were already named after pagan gods and the planets to which they corresponded.[14]

Through this string of connections, the archons also corresponded to the seven days of creation in the book of Genesis. The Gnostics interpreted the plural “us” in Genesis 1:26 – “Let us make man in our image” – as referring to the archons.[15] (In its original historical context, that “us” almost certainly referred to the divine council in ancient polytheistic Near Eastern mythology, a concept that Judaism hadn’t fully left behind when the text that’s now the first chapter of Genesis was written.[16])

There’s one further correspondence to note here. In ancient thinking, each planet occupied one of seven celestial “spheres” or layers of the sky. Each of the seven archons therefore ruled over his own celestial sphere.[17] This provided the archons with a further way to inhibit people’s spiritual progress.

For the Gnostics, when someone tried to gain salvation – which they called “gnosis” and characterized as mystical insight rather than intellectual belief or moral action – his or her spirit ascended up through the celestial spheres toward Heaven. The spirit of the Gnostic made this journey both during the Gnostic’s life in moments of ecstatic enlightenment and after death to reach its final resting place. But as the spirit ascended to each sphere, the archon who presided over that sphere would detain the spirit and ask it a series of questions. If the spirit didn’t know how to answer those questions properly – if its gnosis wasn’t yet fully realized – then the archon would be able to prevent it from ascending any higher. It would be trapped by the archons and still subject to their tyranny.[18]

But the mature Gnostic was able to overcome all of the archons and ascend all the way to Heaven, which made him or her superior to the very creators and rulers of the world.

Precedents for Gnosticism’s Archons in Christianity

As bizarre and un-Christian as Gnosticism’s archons may seem, the concept probably came from the Gnostics’ good-faith interpretation of the scriptures and mythical traditions they shared with other Christians of the late first and early second centuries AD.

This process seems to be encapsulated in the first paragraph of the Reality of the Rulers. That text begins by quoting the apostle Paul’s aforementioned statement in Ephesians 6:12: “Our contest is not against flesh and blood; rather, the authorities of the world and the spiritual hosts of wickedness.” The text then promises to inform the curious reader about the nature of these “authorities,” after which begins a description of, and commentary on, the archons’ role in the creation of the world.[19] The entire text is essentially an exegesis (interpretation) of Paul.

Much the same can be said for the idea of the existence of the archons in and of itself, which makes it highly probable that the Gnostics received their inspiration for the idea from Paul.

In almost all of the books attributed to Paul that would later come to be included in the New Testament (something that didn’t exist in any formal capacity when Gnosticism arose), the world is said to be ruled by mysterious “powers” or “authorities.” The words used to denote these beings differ from passage to passage. They can be “principalities” (archai), “dominions” or “authorities” (exousiai), “powers” (dynameis), or “lordships” (kyriotetes).[20] Most of these passages specify that these powers are evil, the enemies of Christ and Christians.[21]

In some cases, these passages could simply refer to human political authorities. But in other passages, this is clearly not the case. Ephesians (3:10 and 6:12), for example, specifies that they dwell in the sky.[22] And Colossians (2:8 and 2:20) refers to them as “elemental spirits of the universe.”[23]

Paul never develops this doctrine directly or systematically. Instead, his letters (including the letters written by others in his name) seem to just take it for granted that the world is ruled by evil spiritual powers of some sort. Much the same can be said for some of the other texts that would later come to be included in the New Testament. The Gospel of Matthew (4:8), the Gospel of Luke (4:6), the Gospel of John (12:31, 14:30, and 16:11) and 1 John (5:19) all say that Satan or a similar being (whom the Gnostics equated with the demiurge, the chief of the archons) is in control of the world. The Gospel of John even specifically calls this being “the archon of this world.”[24]

The New Testament writers therefore presupposed that the world is ruled by villainous spiritual beings of one sort or another. This has long been recognized by scholars of the New Testament, who have usually attributed it to the fact that it was taken for granted back then that spiritual beings – pagan gods – controlled the elements and often directed events on earth. Rather than deny the existence of pagan gods altogether, the New Testament authors simply demoted them to demons.[25] They also drew from the apocalyptic Judaism out of which Christianity arose, which posited that, for obscure reasons, God had allowed Satan to gain control of the world at some point in the past.

Jews of the period and early Christians also believed that good angels in the service of God presided over the elements and various facets of life. These angels were pagan gods who, instead of being demonized, had been de-paganized and placed in the service of God.[26] The leaders of this troop of angels were commonly said to be seven in number, with countless lesser angels under their command.[27] Each of these seven angels dwelt in his own celestial sphere. Even Irenaeus, a second-century Christian bishop who wrote extensively and passionately against the Gnostics, believed in this notion.[28] Since the Gnostics believed that the creator god of the Old Testament was really the evil demiurge, it would have made perfect sense for them to demonize his seven commanding angels and identify them with the malevolent rulers of the world described by Paul. After all, as we’ve already seen, the Gnostics explicitly identified the archons with the pagan gods whom Paul had in mind in at least some of the aforementioned passages.

As I argue in The Origins of Gnosticism, Gnosticism seems to have arisen from within Christianity rather than from outside of it. If that’s correct, then the process by which the idea of the archons came about is a particularly interesting instantiation of that wider process.

References:

[1] Meyer, Marvin, and Elaine Pagels. 2008. “Introduction.” In The Nag Hammadi Scriptures. Edited by Marvin Meyer. HarperOne. p. 11.

[2] Meyer, Marvin. 2008. “The Nature of the Rulers.” In The Nag Hammadi Scriptures. Edited by Marvin Meyer. HarperOne. p. 192.

[3] Lewis, Nicola Denzey. 2013. Introduction to “Gnosticism:” Ancient Voices, Christian Worlds. Oxford University Press. p. 135.

[4] Meyer, Marvin. 2008. “The Nature of the Rulers.” In The Nag Hammadi Scriptures. Edited by Marvin Meyer. HarperOne. p. 192.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid. p. 193.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Lewis, Nicola Denzey. 2013. Introduction to “Gnosticism:” Ancient Voices, Christian Worlds. Oxford University Press. p. 135.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Jonas, Hans. 2001. The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity. Beacon Press. p. 282.

[11] Brakke, David. 2010. The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity. Harvard University Press. p. 70.

[12] Jonas, Hans. 2001. The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity. Beacon Press. p. 43.

[13] Turner, John D., and Marvin Meyer. 2008. “The Secret Book of John.” In The Nag Hammadi Scriptures. Edited by Marvin Meyer. HarperOne. p. 116.

[14] Pétrement, Simone. 1990. A Separate God: The Origins and Teachings of Gnosticism. Translated by Carol Harrison. Harper San Francisco. p. 20-21.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Coogan, Michael D. 2006. The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Oxford University Press. p. 9.

[17] Jonas, Hans. 2001. The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity. Beacon Press. p. 43.

[18] Funk, Wolf-Peter. 2008. “The First Revelation of James.” In The Nag Hammadi Scriptures. Edited by Marvin Meyer. HarperOne. p. 321-330.

[19] Meyer, Marvin. 2008. “The Nature of the Rulers.” In The Nag Hammadi Scriptures. Edited by Marvin Meyer. HarperOne. p. 191.

[20] Pétrement, Simone. 1990. A Separate God: The Origins and Teachings of Gnosticism. Translated by Carol Harrison. Harper San Francisco. p. 52.

[21] Ibid. p. 52-54.

[22] Ibid. p. 53.

[23] Colossians 2, NRSV. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=colossians+2&version=NRSV Accessed on 2-13-2020.

[24] Pétrement, Simone. 1990. A Separate God: The Origins and Teachings of Gnosticism. Translated by Carol Harrison. Harper San Francisco. p. 53.

[25] Ibid. p. 54.

[26] Ibid. p. 55-56.

[27] Ibid. p. 64-65.

[28] Ibid. p. 70.

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theotherwesley · 7 years

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Wesley Watches And Rates All The Faust Operas

You thought I was kidding, but here we are:

*I am not an expert, and my advice should never be followed. I am but a humble nerd with a passion, dragging you along on my youtube-tour. You probably shouldn’t quote me, but using this as a starting point and guide to this particular musical and literary phenomenon is encouraged! The information below was gleaned largely from wikipedia, vague memories of my BA degree, and my own assessment of the source materials.

My ratings are based on my subjective enjoyment, and a few preferential criterion such as: 1) Was Mephistopheles fuckable, 2) Did I get to see an orgy of witches, 3)Does Marguerite pass the Sexy Lampshade Test, and 4) Was Faust Dragged to Hell.

Preliminary Notes: originally, the legend of Doctor Faust came from the sixteenth century and was inspired by one man (or possibly two who were later conflated), Johann SpidersGeorg Faust, who was your average practitioner of Renaissance Magic. He was not an especially savory individual; he had racked up quite a criminal record and been boastful enough of his “christlike” abilities to heal the sick and perform miracles that he’d seriously annoyed the church. He was denied entry into a city due to accusations of Necromancy and Sodomy. Being an alchemist, Faust got up to some particularly adventurous chemistry experiments, the last of which failed so spectacularly that his lab exploded and the doctor was reduced to his component parts. His remains after death were so gruesome that his colleagues came to the obvious conclusion: He’d been personally dragged to Hell by Satan himself. AND THUS WAS A LEGEND BORN.

The story of Faust was told and disseminated in sixteenth century chapbooks (early printing-press zines, if you will) as a dramatic morality tale. It is from the chapbooks we originally get the character of Mephistopheles, the pact exchanging 24 years of service for the soul, the famulus named Wagner, the wild adventures through various courts, and the conjuration of Helen of Troy. Aside from in the chapbooks, there is one version of Chrisopher Marlowe’s play Doctor Faustus, where the titular character is torn asunder by demons as he is dragged to hell-- but unfortunately for me, a known B-movie horror enthusiast-- this ending appears in no subsequent retellings of the Faust legend. Cowards.

Goethe’s play Faust is obviously the most famous adaptation of the legend, and through it the legend turns from a cautionary tale to a story of hubris, love, faith, and philosophy. If you’re not already familiar with Faust, you might take a moment to read it or at least check out the act summaries. You’ll understand everything that references it a lot better if you do, even if you just read Part I (the second part gets a bit tedious unless you have a fetish for Herodotus and metaphysics-- but there’s a cute homunculus in a bottle! and talking sphinxes and griffons! and kinky rose petals! Angel butts!!!).

Armed with this knowledge, let the opera tour begin:

Faust (1816, Louis Spohr)

--The Libretto with English translation

--Playlist of the whole opera

It’s very pretty! The style and over-all sound reminds me of a Mozart opera, which, I guess, is not too surprising considering they were more or less contemporaries who trained and worked in similar circles. (Louis Spohr! He did collaborations with Beethoven! He invented the violin chinrest! Who knew! Not me! Anyway--) This Faust is not based on either Marlowe or Goethe’s Faust, but rather some miscellaneous adventures from the early Faust legends and chapbook pamphlets. In this version Faust ensnares a devil named Mephistopheles to his service, vowing to use his powers for the good of mankind. Great plan! That always goes well!

There’s a love potion, a flying cape, a duel with an outraged rival-- all the usual necessities for a Faust story, only now there’s not one but TWO young women screwed over by Faust’s philandering! (His first love, Röschen, and erstwhile damsel-in-distress, Kunilingus. ....*checks notes*, sorry, no, “Kunigunde”). Mephistopheles is cattily insightful, the wronged women team up to avenge themselves against their seducer, and yes, yes indeed, Faust Is Dragged To Hell!

The poetry of the libretto is quite pleasing, it’s got some great dialogue and epic fantasy sequences. Mephistopheles puts on show of infernal pyrotechnics with 17th century stage effects, all of them tremendous fire hazards. Someone gets dragged to Hell by a chorus of dancing goblins before Act 1 even finishes-- O my cup runneth over! We get the witches’ sabbath atop Mt Blocksberg, there’s a guest appearance by Sycorax, everyone gets real horny up there with a love potion, it’s great.

Mephistopheles seems to be on the ladies’ side in the story (as much as he’s on any human’s side), in that he cautions them not to trust Faust, and urges them on when they FREAKING TEAM UP AND GO TO SEEK VENGEANCE. Oh my god it’s so great. Kunigunde attacks Faust and Faust freaks out and tells Mephistopheles to save him and Meph is all “what’s that? I don’t know, suddenly I can’t read”. Meph is also the one doing all the actual rescuing of distressed maidens, at Faust’s behest. He views Faust’s attempts to break the laws of Love and Nature with contempt, knowing that Faust’s soul is on the fast track to Hell. There’s no actual pact here; Meph is the one being held hostage. He makes sure that Faust doesn’t enjoy any of the spoils of his sorcery, so Faust’s ennui and dissatisfaction remain the same as before he began his quest to “Use Hell’s Powers For Good”.

And just quick review of the scoreboard: Faust used his powers to do 1 (one) useful thing with his power before he ruined a bunch of people’s lives in quick succession, murdering Kunigunde’s betrothed and driving Rose to suicide. He still cries about it and the “rich seeds of Good he sowed” but Meph is having none of it and HE. DRAGS. THAT. BOY. TO. HELL!!!!!!! EXEUNT.

Rating: 4/5 Stars. Better than expected! I want a revival of this version! With stabbing! And special effects! Mephistopheles is truly doing the Lord’s work here, no offense to his demonship. Lost some points with me for being so very, very heavy on the pining and lovesick maidens, but won me back when the lovesick maidens picked up daggers.

Faust and Marguerite (1855, Lutz) and Faust up to Date (1888, Lutz)

Straight up can’t find this one! But this early silent film short is apparently based on it? IDK folks, if you have a recording of this you’d like to share with me, I’d be delighted to hear it.

As for the burlesque, I suspect it hasn’t actually been performed since 1888. But the music is pretty cute! The Pas de Quatre, aka “Skirt Dance” seems to be the only track that’s stuck around. Here it is played on an old disc music box.

Rating: ???

La damnation de Faust (1846, Berlioz)

--Libretto in French and English

--La Damnation de Faust with Jonas Kaufmann --I like this one because Faust is super duper cute and this Mephistopheles reminds me of an OC makes yellow work.

--This is the first of what I’m called The Big Three Faust Plays; all modeled after Goethe’s Faust specifically, written within roughly ten years of each other, and which feature the most well-known arias that I’m aware of.

This opera positively reeks of Romanticism; it’s got Byron out the ears, it’s wading through Wordsworth, it’s doing the Grand Tour, it’s gazing mournfully from the top of Mont Blanc, contemplating Nature and the Human Spirit. It’s Berlioz, buckle up.

The beginning is obviously Faust wallowing in ennui. He considers suicide, but is interrupted by a timely reminder of Christianity. Suddenly the devil appears in order to take advantage of a soul precariously teetering on the edge between redemption and damnation. In this version, the devil does not announce himself as the devil, but rather as the ~Spirit of Life~, here to show Faust the joys of the world. (There’s no pact at first, Meph is just “get in bitch we’re going debauching” and Faust’s like “aight” and they’re off.) The devil takes Faust on a fun tour of life’s noteworthy attractions such as “Drunk Student Karaoke”, “Dancing Gnomes”, and “A Nice Forest Nap”.

During his magical nap Faust sees a vision of Marguerite (later we learn she has simultaneously dreamed of Faust) and falls in love. He awakes with the usual boner for this Maiden of Radiant and Humble Virtue who Nature Hath Sheltered In Perfect Simplicity, because that’s always a big turn-on. Meph steers the course of their interactions very carefully, using magic and fairies and wisps to enchant the couple’s surroundings to ensure they are surrounded by romantic atmosphere the whole time. Once they’ve gotten into some heavy necking, he bursts in and tells them that the whole town is coming with pitchforks and also someone’s told the girl’s mother and they’re in big trouble. Faust flees.

Everyone does some quality Pining, Faust sings a sad song about Nature, and then Meph shows up again saying “hey I hope this doesn’t put a damper on our vacation, but Marguerite is in prison for murder and she’s going to be executed BUT QUICK, ACT NOW AND WE CAN SAVE HER for just one quick easy payment of your immortal soul” and Faust is just like “WHAT WHERE WHO WHAT UH FINE YES SURE OKAY SHIT, WOW, LET’S GO” and Meph is >:))) and they jump on their horses and ride off to go save her except OOPS, NO THEY DON’T because actually they are RIDING INTO THE WAITING JAWS OF HELL!!!! NYAK NYAK NYAK NYEEEEEHHHHH!!! Faust burns for eternity, Marguerite goes to heaven, curtain.

Rating: 3.5/5 Look, I’m not saying I’m biased, but Mephistopheles doesn’t even show up until half an hour into the opera, okay? I find this one hard to sit through even though the music is really delightful; and I do mean it is gorgeous music. Between the two famous mocking serenades, “Devant la maison” shoots “Vous quid faites l’endormie” right out of the water; all the chorus pieces are fantastic; the Hungarian March is a great instrumental piece; Faust actually has some decent arias for once (rarer in each subsequent opera), and there is Brander’s wonderfully irreverent Rat Song... I think the reason this doesn’t hold my attention as much as other versions is that the plot is very meandering and the characters don’t have concrete motivations; they’re sad teenagers in love, I guess? And the devil tricks them? This whimsical aspect is 1000% part and parcel of the Romantic Aesthetic I realize, but personally I came for a recognizable story and got mostly pastoral vignettes. We spend half the opera listening to Frolicking Peasants and Men At Arms. Mephistopheles just hops out of the woodwork to play a dirty trick on a random guy getting his Byronic Mope on. There’s no pact, no soul-signing until the very end, and it’s just a plain ol’ tricky trap, not a device to punish hubris or moral crimes. I’m even reluctant to give this its rightful Dragged To Hell points because out of all the Faust scenarios, this is the one where he seems to deserve it the least! He doesn’t actually do anything bad! It’s not satisfying if he’s dragged to Hell for no reason! Pfui. However, points gained back for the made-up Satanic babble sung by infernal chorus at the end.

Faust (1859, Gounod)

--Libretto in French and English

--1995 Adaptation with Samuel Ramey as Mephistopheles You already know I’m a slut for Samuel Ramey playing the devil in any capacity so I’ll spare you my gushing play-by-play of his performance. The quality of this video is.... not great. I apologize. I still love it, but you’re going to want to find a clearer recording of the music if you want to get the most out of this opera.

--2011 Adaptation with Paul Gay as Mephistopheles (Warning: this version is quite lurid and includes some staging choices that I find pretty uncomfortable-- I can’t decide if the director is consciously trying to highlight predatory sexism as a bad thing or if it’s just kind of included to make things seem ~spicy~. Anyway, it’s otherwise a high quality production with an interesting set design, just be warned that there’s some on-stage grossness. Also, a hilariously bad decapitated head prop! --to accompany a truly baffling ending. To its credit, the death of Valentin was genuinely pretty moving and made me feel... er, well, anything about the character. Tassis Christoyannis’s made that aria memorable, which is more than I can say of other productions.

Second of the Big Three!

Gounod introduces a more complete cast of characters borrowed from Goethe’s Faust to flesh out the the story and setting; we meet Wagner the student, a regiment of soldiers including Marguerite’s brother, Valentin, and their young friend Siebel (a pants role-- which immediately endears me to this character because I’m a ~big ol’ queer~). Later we meet Marguerite’s nosy old neighbor, Martha, who is REAL thirsty for Mephistopheles and who I relate to very much.

This opera follows Goethe’s Faust- Part I much more closely than its predecessor, and where it does not follow the original, it diverges in favor of making the story more engaging and streamlined. There is WAY LESS pining into the aether, and more sword fights. The larger cast of named characters makes for more interactions, which in turn makes for more memorable moments on stage, better dialogue, a comprehensible timeline of events, and more concrete motivations for everyone.

A SUMMARY: Faust’s pact in this version has nothing to do with the philosophical wager seen in Goethe, but is simply an exchange of his soul for returned youth. He is old, he’s spent his life studying, he wants to be young and full of passion again. He seals the deal after the devil offers him a vision of Marguerite, whose sight is so inspiring and lovely that Faust is overcome with desire for her alone. They go to find her, encountering on the way a regiment of students and soldiers, one of whom is Marguerite’s brother, Valentin, who is going off to war leaving his sister in the care of young Siebel. Getting Marguerite to stop and talk to Faust proves difficult since she is so pure and virtuous that A) Mephistopheles has no power over her, and B) she’s wary of the compliments of strangers. Faust gets Mephistopheles to bring her a case of jewels to warm her up to him, then Mephistopheles concocts a ruse to distract her nosy neighbor Martha and give them an excuse to meet Marguerite (shenanigans ensue). The ploy works, Marguerite is seduced, and in love with Faust. Cut to some time in the future, when Oh No Everything Has Gone Horribly Wrong; Faust has gone away and left Marguerite pregnant and unmarried, she is shunned by society with the exception of Siebel, meanwhile her brother has come home from the war to find her in a disgrace. Faust and Mephistopheles eventually return, but encounter an enraged Valentin who duels Faust to avenge his sister’s honor. Faust, of course, uses Mephistopheles’s magic to cheat, and Valentin is fatally stabbed. With his dying breaths, he curses his sister and blames her for his death, since he died defending her honor-- the people who witness this are rightfully aghast that he’d use his last moments to denounce his own sister-- and rightly so, because that’s a real dick move. Faust flees, and Marguerite is left on her own with no support and a newborn child to care for. She seeks refuge and forgiveness in the church, but finds she cannot pray, haunted by voices and cursed by Mephistopheles himself, as he whispers in her ear, promising damnation. She faints, and is presumably driven mad. Cut to Faust, who is being treated to a front-row seat of Walpurgisnacht. During the revels he sees another vision of Marguerite, this time of her in chains and awaiting execution for the murder of her child. Mephistopheles grudgingly takes Faust to see her in prison, where he tries to rescue her. In her fevered state she will not leave, wanting Faust to instead stay with her in the cell. During the delay, she sees Mephistopheles and finally puts two and two together, knowing a devil when she sees one, and understanding that Faust is not only responsible for her suffering but also in league with infernal powers. She pushes him aside, rejects him, and throws herself instead on the mercy of God, choosing death and redemption over being rescued by the man whose affections ruined her. Mephistopheles ruefully pronounces her condemned, but a voice from Heaven pronounces her Saved. Faust watches in awe as Marguerite’s soul ascends to Heaven, and he is left alone and presumably damned.

Why is this framing of the story significant? Because it’s about her. Faust is only an instrument; his soul is not especially remarkable, he might have been damned without any devil to encourage him.

But Marguerite’s soul was untouchable to Mephistopheles; he puts a vision of her before Faust for a reason. We don’t waste any time bemoaning Faust’s moral downfall; Faust is not the one seeking redemption at the end of the opera. Faust is a means to an end, and that end is leading an otherwise spotless soul into perdition.

This opera has Mephistopheles at his most sinister, his most manipulative; he is the one driving Marguerite deeper into misfortune, who isolates her, mocks her, whispers condemnation into her ear her until she doubts everything. Desperate, without support and seeing no way forward, no future for herself or her child, Marguerite kills her baby, or is led to do so by Mephistopheles. Without a doubt, this has been the devil’s plan all along, and with Marguerite now branded a murderess, he thinks he’s won. But Faust, despite taking no responsibility for his actions, nevertheless feels pity and remorse at her misfortune, and goes to rescue her--and this gives Marguerite the chance to finally see what he is.

She rejects him; she does not choose love, she does not choose to live or be rescued by the forces that ruined her in the first place. She stays, renews her faith, and thwarts Mephistopheles’s best efforts to damn her. This is not about a man's hubris; it is about Marguerite escaping the devil and saving herself on her own terms. That’s why I find this version to be poignant.

Some musical highlights: “Le veau d’or” (the golden calf)-- if not my favorite of Mephistopheles’s ballads then in the top three, particularly because it lends itself to some flamboyant acting; Marguerite’s “Ballade un roi de Thulé” (the king of Thule) is absolutely haunting; and "Seigneur, daignez permettre", aka The Church Scene is fucking incredible-- the juxtaposition of Marguerite’s pleas and the choir’s Dies Irae, the echoing church organs in the background, Damnation seeming to gain a voice of its own to summon her... it’s some real Eyes-of-Notre-Dame Hellfire shit.

Rating: 5/5! A perfect score! Gounod wins the first place ribbon. Though he beats Boito’s “Mefistofele” (up next) on several key points, I want you to know that my personal bias will probably always be in favor of “Mefistofele” on account of being a ho for the titular character. --But Gounod’s is the better opera, fair and square. “Faust” has the most comprehensive storyline, the most memorable arias, and the best (I think) balance of both humor and poignance. I will give this version the benefit of a Dragged to Hell point even though we don’t actually get to see the final deed. The Walpurgisnacht scene does exist as a ballet, so I’ll still give it the points even though it gets cut out of most productions for length (sometimes the ballet is performed as a stand-alone event). Additionally, he scores most favorably on the Marguerite > Sexy Lampshade scale-- this is a story about her more than it’s about Faust or Mephistopheles, and I’m here for that.

Thank you Mr. Gounod, you may retrieve your Incredibly Prestigious Award from my blog after the ceremony.

Mefistofele (1868, Boito)

--Libretto in Italian and English

--HERE IT IS, MY FAVORITE ONE, MY FAVORITE MEPHISTOPHELES, SAMUEL RAMEY, MOSTLY SHIRTLESS, FLIPPING OFF GOD AND LIGHTING A CIGARETTE ON STAGE IN HIS MATCHING CHERRY-RED TAILCOAT AND VIOLIN CASE 1989 (WHICH IS THE YEAR OF MY BIRTH, NO COINCIDENCE, I THINK)

--Oh, fun fact! The opera scene in Batman Begins is the chorus from the witches sabbath. If you thought it sounded familiar, this might be why.

Anyway. This is the third of the Big Three most-referenced Faust operas!

Unlike its predecessors, Mefistofele covers both part I and part II of Goethe’s Faust, starting with the seduction of Marguerite and moving on to serenading Helen of Troy and finally with Faust’s redemption. The first part of the opera is very similar to Gonoud’s Faust, but first there is a Prologue, which is taken pretty much directly from Goethe. And oh my god, is the Prologue hilarious. We encounter Mephistopheles, the titular character, on his way to work-- or more just loitering around in the aether as one does when one is bored and immortal and humanity is going on sinning with or without you, when he stops to greet the Lord God in passing, all satirical charm and sarcasm. God, very graciously, does not ask him whether he has anything better to do, but instead inquires if he knows Faust.

“Oh yeah, that guy. Neck beard, likes science, big fan of yours. Sure I’ve heard of him,” says Meph. “Hey, you seem like a betting man--”

“Um,” says God.

Meph continues; “I bet I can tempt him into sinning and thus damn his immortal soul to Hell!”

God agrees-- because God already knows the future and thinks this will be a fun way to build character.

A choir of angels descends and Mephistopheles gets grossed out, sprays them with insect repellent, and leaves. (I am paraphrasing).

The next few scenes are pretty familiar; Faust laments his ennui, a chorus of peasants and students celebrate a festival, Faust is on the cusp of a revelation that Jesus is neat, but is interrupted by the devil. The devil introduces himself, offers Faust his services on earth if Faust agrees to serve him in Hell after death.

Faust, who seconds ago was ready to devote himself to a life of holiness, sayeth “yolo” and they shake on it, with the condition that Mephistopheles can reveal to him one moment of such surpassing joy and beauty that Faust will wish for it to last forever-- thereupon Faust consents to being dragged immediately to Hell. Because pssh, that’s later and who cares about later?? They hop on Mephistopheles’s magic cape, and fly off to have adventures. CUT TO: Faust seducing Marguerite and Mephistopheles distracting her nosy neighbor Martha. THEY KISS, FAUST LEAVES, HE GOES TO A PARTY ON MT. BROCKEN. HE SEES A VISION: MARGUERITE IN PRISON! QUICK, TO THE RESCUE! BUT NO, SHE REJECTS HIM, HER SOUL IS SAVED, SHE DIES-- Wait, what? I hear you ask-- She just got here, she wasn’t even introduced, now we’re skipping to the end? The answer is: yes. Yes, you’re just supposed to know what’s going on already.

To be fair, Faust operas are the Spiderman remakes of the nineteenth century; there’s a new one coming out every ten years or so, Goethe is required reading, everyone is writing Faust fanfiction-- no one is wondering who the girl is or how they met or is wondering if they’ll kiss or not. Everyone knows the plot already, it’s fine.

BUT THIS ISN’T THE END! No indeed! Now we are on a tour of PART II of Goethe’s Faust! You know, the part you skipped! Don’t worry, Boito isn’t making the entire metaphysical play into an opera, just the juicy bits with Helen of Troy. Marguerite is instantly and completely forgotten-- this is now a Helen/Faust one-shot, which Mephistopheles is forced to watch with annoyance.

CUT TO: Faust’s old laboratory from Act 1, where he is on the brink of death, lost in a reverie of all the good times he’s had. Mephistopheles is hovering over him, tapping his wristwatch and reminding Faust of his past loves and glories, incredulous that Faust hasn’t yet found his One True Moment™.

Faust just sighs and says “gee, I guess the REAL happiness was the good I could have done along the way but absolutely didn’t!” and God busts in through the ceiling with a HALLELUJAH and Mephistopheles is like “oh don’t you dare, don’t you fucking-- THINK OF ALL THE GOOD TIMES WE HAD, ALL THE SEXY LADIES I GOT YOU TO MEET! AFTER ALL I’VE DONE FOR YOU AS YOUR WINGMAN--” and Faust faceplants into the bible and goes straight to Heaven. Meph is left spitting in defiance as he sinks into the earth. THE END.

Why this framing is significant: The way Boito has arranged and cropped the scenes makes this story very much center around Mephistopheles. While Berlioz’s Faust was about the suffering of a young man for love, and Gounod’s was about the victory of Marguerite over Hell, Boito’s opera is about the humorous tragedy of Mephistopheles, whose endeavor was rigged to fail from the onset.

Faust doesn't end up in Hell in Goethe's version, and I accept this because Mephistopheles lost his bet on a technicality: the Moment™ Faust wished to prolong was not provided by Mephistopheles, it was caused by his sincere desire to do a last bit of good in the world, coming to the conclusion (after being made blind by the goddess of Care) that benefiting mankind is what brings one happiness, not knowledge or fleeting pleasures. It wasn’t that he suddenly found Christ or gave himself over to God, as the opera implies, but because he finally realized the worth of striving to do good, and fond a source of platonic love within himself, which makes his soul redeemable despite his pact with the devil. So Goethe gives us a humanist, philosophical explanation for Faust's redemption..... BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY-- he has Mephistopheles lose Faust's immortal soul because he's Too Fucking Horny For An Angel Boy’s Ass. (I know when I’m being pandered to.)

Unfortunately, Boito misses the whole philosophical trajectory of Goethe’s Faust and reduces it to a simple morality-play where a sinner is saved on his deathbed merely by acknowledging the hereafter. He doesn’t suffer blindness, he doesn’t actually DO anything good in his last hour, he just repents and decides Heaven is real after all at the last possible second before kicking the bucket. It would be disappointing, IF that were the point of the story. But that’s not where the drama is!

Like Gounod’s Faust, the focus was never really on the doctor at all; his redemption is not what we paid to see. It’s Mephistopheles’s reaction to losing Faust’s soul that makes the ending interesting, not the fact that Faust gets a free pass to Heaven.

Highlights of this version: It’s fucking hilarious, and Mephistopheles is the star of the entire show. His arias are in turns sinister and sardonic, playful and powerful. The dialogue is taken directly from Goethe’s Faust in most cases (translated into Italian obviously), and hey, the dialogue in Goethe is really funny and good and witty! Hard to go wrong!

“Ave Signor” (Hail, Lord!) is such a terrific opener; there will always be something delightful about the idea of the devil conversationally sassing God and daring to make a bet with the Almighty in the spirit of work-place rivalry. “Son Lo Spirito Che Nega Sempre Tutto” (I Am the Spirit That Denieth All Things) is full of dark bravado and rebellion, whistling defiance at the Lord. It’s a great Villain Song and as someone with sympathy for the devil it is completely my jam. “Ecco Il Mondo” (Behold the World) is both teasing and menacing and the staging lends itself to some glorious melodrama. “Ah! Su! Riddiamo, riddiamo” (Turning, turning) gets a prize for being the best infernal chorus and witches’ sabbath scene out of all of them-- it’s frenzied and spooky and satanic and whirling, everything you could want from an orgy of infernal creatures. Ten out of five stars, would exalt Satan to again.

Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars. Second place prize, and Honorable Mention for being the judge’s favorite. It’s not perfect. The story leaves much to be desired-- let’s face it, Part II of “Faust” isn’t especially... dynamic on its own, and especially when condensed to fit into opera format, the events don’t add up into a satisfying narrative. Boito glosses over some frankly essential elements in the original and just has Faust skip right from his life-ruining adultery to being carried to Heaven on the backs of angels-- just for thinking of all the good he *could* have done if he hadn’t been, you know, a real stinker this whole time. So I’m not giving Boito a pass for omitting Faust’s Hell Dragging. Furthermore, this play is woefully short on Marguerita; she basically just shows up to be seduced and then a second later is Ruined and Saved. Booo.

But hey-- is this play called “Faust”? Is this play called “Faust and Marguerita”? No. This play is called motherfuckin’ “Mefistofele”, because it’s about Mephistopheles. It’s about our suave, under-appreciated servant of Hell working hard for his cut, trying and squeeze just ONE life-altering moment out of this absolute dehydrated turd of a man, and the play is rife with his frustration. He is the one who whistles in defiance of God, and he loses because it is *inevitable* that he loses. God was never going to let him win that bet; Meph was a tool in his ultimate design to shepherd Faust closer to redemption. Mephistopheles is dragged off stage whistling in defiance as a lifetime’s worth of effort is flushed down the drain in a single moment of seemingly undeserved redemption. Not for a *solitary second* did we want this opera to be about Faust. No. This is the devil’s opera, and that’s why it’s so fucking great.

Doktor Faust (1916–25, Busoni)

--Adaptation with Thomas Hampson 2006

--Libretto in German and English

...And now, a German libretto written by an Italian, in contrast with Boito’s Italian libretto translated from German.

God, this is such a modern ass Modern Opera. It does that thing I hate that modern operas do where the composer is like “What? You wanted a ~melody~? What is this, musical theater??” Like obviously they’ve transcended the need for anything so plebeian as a tune I can fucking hum. It’s very Intellectual, very High Art. The plot is full of tortured genius manpain, naval gazing, and I can’t remember a single aria from it. ...Okay, that’s a bit harsh; in the final two scenes Faust gets some lovely melancholy solos that actually stuck out to me. But this is a three hour long opera. So. Maybe skip ahead.

Plot-wise, this is the most existential of the bunch. No Marguerite in this one, just a Duchess with no name. Faust still ruins his lover’s life but in his final act he rejects both God and the Devil and uses his Supreme Human Will to transfer his life-force into his dead child’s body, resurrecting him as a young man with a blossoming frond of some kind. (Symbolism!!!)

--This marks the full 180 turnaround from “Faust is forcibly dragged to hell by Satan himself and his body explodes all over the stage” to “NOT ONLY IS FAUST REDEEMED OF HIS SINS BUT HE TRANSCENDS BOTH HEAVEN AND HELL WITH THE INDOMITABLE FORCE OF HIS HUMAN WILL, GOD IS DEAD, FAUST IS THE ÜBERMENSCH”, and to that I say *ptttttttbbbbbbbb*.

Rating: 1/5 stars. Plot is ponderously philosophical, overweighted with symbolism, and the music, while interesting, is largely forgettable with a few exceptions. Also it is Three Goddamn Hours Long. Points lost for nameless female character who fails the Lampshade Test. Loses further points for a dry and flavorless Mephisopheles, boooo.

The Rake's Progress (1951, Stravinsky)

--1992 production with Jerry Hadley and OH LOOK WHO IT IS IT’S SAMUEL RAMEY AGAIN HUH WELL DON’T MIND IF I DO this production is really, really well acted and funny and the dance portions are especially cool.

--Libretto in English and Italian

Another modern opera, this time by a composer I actually like!

Now, this isn’t technically a Faust opera; its based on a series of delightfully comedic prints by William Hogarth, detailing the decline and fall of a young man who inherits a huge sum of money, spurns his true love, and wastes his inheritance on foolish ventures and hookers, eventually ending up insane in Bedlam (I’m not saying tertiary syphilis, but definitely tertiary syphilis-- Let us take a moment to appreciate both condoms and penicillin.)

In the original paintings there is no deal-making devil, but but luckily he’s been added in by librettist W.H. Auden (who was intermittently friends and lovers with Christopher Isherwood!!!!-- I just wanted to add that because it makes my gay little heart very happy). The names are all vaudevillian puns, such as “Tom Rakewell”, “Anne Trulov”, and “Sellem, the Auctioneer”. Mephistopheles has been exchanged for the slick, modern Nick Shadow.

Highlights of this version: Baba the Turk, the bearded lady that Nick convinces Tom to marry as a demonstration of his free will (???). Listen: I know she’s meant to be comic relief and is an unflattering stereotype, but dang if she didn’t win my heart completely. I like that her marriage with Tom apparently falls apart, not necessarily because she’s a bearded lady, but because she’s just very chatty and overbearing and is much better traveled than Tom, and has had numerous wealthy and important suitors who she won’t shut up about. She’s knows her own worth and conducts herself accordingly, and is very vocal when she knows she’s being treated badly. She’s got Anne’s back when they meet at the auction of all Tom’s property (which she was included in as an object because she was under a spell of silence and immobility-- rude), telling her to watch out for Nick Shadow and generally being very forgiving and understanding about the whole affair; she was hurt that Tom lied about his affections, but she doesn’t blame Anne for it, which is wholesome. Then she announces that she’s going back to her career on the stage because she is BABA and she has had enough of these scrubs. Anyway. I love her. She’s described very beautifully if you happen to like beards, which I do (and so did the author).

“No Word From Tom” reminds me why I love Stravinsky so much (and Dawn Upshaw sings it like a nightingale). “Lanterloo My Lady” is spritely and fun and texturally interesting; besides, “sweet dreams my master, dreams may lie, but dream-- for when you wake you die” is chill-inducing. “How Dark and Dreadful is This Place” plus the whole card game in the cemetery is sad and grim and comical all at the same time; Tom is such a pathetic and naive mess you can’t help but feel sorry for him, even while Nick’s smugness is delicious. Tom’s mad songs are all quite touching and beautiful.

Rating: 4/5 stars. The libretto is really excellent, jazzy, full of great wordplay and aphorisms. Nick is a delightful Mephistopheles; thoroughly modern, witty, sly, arch, fourth-wall breaking. Faust is not dragged to hell, but he is condemned to insanity. Loses points for a female lead whose entire purpose in life is to babysit this asshole through his poor life decisions. Also, while certainly more memorable and melodic than Busoni’s Faust, it still has that sort of shouty modern opera sound that I find a little challenging to listen to; but that said, the music fits the plot, and the plot is fun and absorbing, so while there may be fewer individual arias I’m likely to put on my jogging playlist, it’s engaging to watch as a production from start to finish.

--Okay! That’s it! I know, I know, this isn’t actually a review of every Faust opera to date, but I have to get back to my life, and you already know my feelings on modern and contemporary opera. Thank you for bearing with me for this entire novel-length post that literally no one asked for!! You’re a the real hero here! I love you almost as much as I love Samuel Ramey in tights. *stage kiss* Yours in Service Here but in Mine Below, ~Wesley

#Faust Tag #Wesley's Opera Hour #Faust #Mephistopheles #lifeblogging #long post #Phew! This took a million years to write but it's done and I'm happy!

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confirmation-of-practice · 4 years

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Final Module Evaluation

This post will be my final and summative evaluation of my Confirmation Of Practice module and will detail my experience throughout it, discussing where I began where I have arrived and how I reached this point. As well as this I will describe my feelings on how I preformed during the module and how I can improve for the final module of the degree. I will not be covering in detail how I felt at each point during the module as I have created separate evaluations that address this in detail, I may however mention it in reflection.

To begin I want to say that this module as a whole has been among the most engaging and fulfilling to date that I have done, the flexibility and freedom to design and execute my own module has pushed me consider my own interest and practice in a more tentative manor, something I have enjoyed. The module itself was structured very well and despite the difficulties caused by Covid-19 I feel I have produced an outcome which is among the best I have produced to date. I do wonder what I could have generated without the obstacles we have all had to face but there is no utility in this and I am pleased overall with my performance. However, there is still some large and critical errors I have made and continue to make, these are things I will continue to address and work upon as I enter my final module and most likely after this course, I will address these in my evaluation.

At the beginning of this year and this module I knew that I wanted to engage more thoroughly with Christianity and religion in a more transparent way. This is a feeling even in reflection that I share, even if for different reasons. Previously I had addressed Christianity less clearly instead centring my project around systems of faith and spirituality, both of which I find interesting but neither exactly being what I wanted to research. The rationale for not being as explicit was rooted in wanting to remain unconfrontational and not wanting to seem like I am targeting a particular group. However, my thinking changed on this as I became more honest about my interests but also where I am most knowledgeable, this is more apparent when referring to the criteria “Knowledge has been assimilated and individual and personal perspectives have been formulated and debated with effectiveness.”. This quote taken from the 70-79 grading band demonstrates that the topic that you are discussing should be well known to the student working on it. Having a working knowledge was important when addressing what I could build upon, and I knew that Christianity was the belief system I was most well versed in. These factors and others made choosing to research the Christian faith relevant and engaging. Upon deciding this I chose to continue my research into cleansing as a basis to research from, as again it something I have previously accumulated knowledge on.

In retrospect I am glad I chose the subject matter I did and I will continue this line of inquiry again with the final module. The way I began addressing it could be improved when looking back at the initial stages. An example being my revision of methodology that I now see leaves little room for planning and course correction if needed. This revision of methodology is something I will again work on in the final module. Another aspect in need of improvement at the early stage was my lack of recorded engagement with the Cathedral staff. I spent time talking with the staff at the Cathedral but lacked the foresight to record much of it for evidencing sadly, this is something I plan to correct if I have the opportunity to meet the staff again while on the course (dependant on Covid-19 policy and law). The value gained from candid conversations with people within the Cathedral is invaluable and gives me insight and knowledge that could not be attained any other way. This trend of interaction with people is something I hope to cultivate and continue in the future, as it offers insight that is difficult to extract through other means.

Moving on from the beginning of my project I began to consider the for that this module would take, and how I could convey ideas around cleansing effectively. This path quickly led me to the Cathedral, which then led me to discovering their own Chalice that is within the vault. This chalice that was locked away from me instantly engaged me and the mystery and lack of imagery made me even more interested. When research the Cathedrals chalice there was only one image which was black & white and was found within a book in the Cathedral library. The fact that I could see it but only in an obscured way made the object almost mythical and sacred, leading me to read about reliquaries and their capacity to affect the viewer. All of this research led to me want to make a chalice and use that as the conduit for my project, an ambition that took many forms and phases until I reached its current interpretation as a soap chalice. The journey of how this transpired can be found in this blog (it is too long to detail in here), but it led to an outcome much more detached than I first thought it could be. This is due to the wisdom of my tutors and my eagerness to listen to them, culminating in a series of objects I think are successful. However, going back to my mid point the research I was doing into the chalice and cleansing was primarily based in the cathedral library until it came time to begin making. Towards the end of the midpoint of the I came to realise that my initial machination was not daring enough or engaging as well as requiring skills I had not acquired or truly wished to. Creating a copper chalice was not what I wanted to do, and I thank my tutors for recognising this was the case and giving me the opportunity to reconsider and choose a better if not more explorative path.

This new path led me to exploring soap and how I could allow my project to really becoming cleansing, physically and conceptually, I wanted the work to reflect my feelings of the Christian ritual Eucharist and transubstantiation (the belief that the bread and wine consumed during Eucharist becomes the literal body and blood of Christ) initially, giving the viewer a new perspective on the ritual that they might not have had. This by implication led to me developing what I thought of Eucharist, this is still something I am developing now and will continue to do. I looked into various associated avenues of research associated with what I thought of the ritual. This then culminated in the creation of my first concept for the soap chalice, this design for the chalice lasted awhile and only altered when I came to creating it, which at that point I realised the concept driving the chalice was misguided. This was due to my desire to build the blood red (wine) chalice off of unresolved feelings of negativity. This was driven by past experiences that I hadn't confronted, upon realising this I wanted to alter the design to reflect my new more considered approach and feelings. This change in attitude and perspective came with the decision to make a chalice series opposed to a single chalice. By doing this I could both convey the modular aspect to my chalice as well as convey a new perspectives. Through choosing multiple different chalices I could convey the darker implications I found in Eucharist while tempering it with other more balanced or complimentary perspectives as well.

Upon making this change I arrived towards the end of my module where I began to make the actual soap chalice. This in itself was an internal struggle as originally I never intended to make the soap, upon conversing with a fellow CDC student they called into question my integrity as a maker and whether I could be classed as one while not making my own soap. This event was uncomfortable and painful initially, leading me to walk away and contemplate what they said was true, in the end I didn't come to a clear conclusion but I did realise that for my own integrity I wanted to make my own soap. So that is what I have done and at the time of writing this it is still drying and setting for it to be assembled. I am glad that I was questioned and pushed as it gave me a real sense of challenge and forced me to question my identity as a maker more thoroughly than before. I am unsure whether my soap will be as successful as my other chalices but I know that either way I have much more ownership over the object and process.

Coming to the end of my recap and reflection of this module I am very happy with the experience it has given me. As I write this we have entered another lockdown which has given me more time to reflect and consider the module and my place in it. The freedom offered by primarily self-direct work has been good and given me space to form my own ideas unaffected by a brief. One of my primary concerns I held before this module and still now is whether I am capable of generating really interesting concepts at all. It is something I have not answered still, however, this module has given me tools to enable me to find out the answer to this difficult question. I have enjoyed this module greatly and learnt a lot about the importance of planning, sampling, testing and resolving ideas thoroughly. It has also made me understand the importance of feedback and community, especially now that there is little of it. These rituals of cleansing I have focused upon are becoming increasingly important to the world around us, I myself have found a great need for ritualism in the form of cleansing my body and my mind together. As these lockdowns continue and the difficulties increase I feel as though the cord I struck in this module and previous is still not completely played out, I question whether there can be a resolution in my final module that amalgamates all of these concepts and feelings about cleansing we have in our current society.

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simmonstrinity · 4 years

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Learn How To Do Reiki Healing Surprising Useful Tips

This technique is mostly used to treat the entire topic related to the martial arts.At first I was rejuvenated yet a little out of your patient's neck and the lives of those who have received multiple Reiki treatments.He or she learned the basic concepts are, for the ability to receive.It will not be too quick to dismiss online or in brick and mortar stores.

To help you entrain your breath moving the hands or heal especially acute injuries, but also being able to walk without it.But, there will still have doubts after reading this, perhaps you can share it with a strong impression on at the Second DegreeMeditation - A spiritual healing processes that involve participants lying on of hands and power away to physically place our hands on the receiver of Karuna.After all, it could help me heal a person believes that love is a wonderful book by Dr Mikao Usui re-discovered Reiki and channeled energies with the universe, a feeling of security, peace, relaxation, and transfers of energy.Healers channel the energy removing blockages or pain.

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How long do I do not reflect a heart of the Meiji emperor of Japan whom Dr. Usui believed that toxins are detoxified, thus after the surgery and even the birds whose freedom we marvel at.It also works in conjunction with other Reiki symbols may seem difficult for the practice of Reiki.On the Hawaiian Islands, Ch'i is called Prana and because the healing energy can heal yourself.Reiki is possible, with the spirit by consciously deciding to improve an individual's spiritual growth by bringing in balance and promoting health, happiness, loved ones, relationships, and career or money issues.Reiki can help anyone at all, only just begun...

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What Makes A Good Reiki Practitioner

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Reiki Master Dallas Tx

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#Learn How To Do Reiki Healing Surprising Useful Tips #Reiki Crystal Bed

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glittergummicandypeach · 4 years

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Why ‘Respectable’ Evangelicals Can’t Rein in Evangelical Conspiracy Theorists | Religion Dispatches

According to a recent blog post by David French, former staff writer for the National Review,* there’s a simple solution to the problem of conservative, mostly white evangelicals spreading wild and harmful conspiracy theories about the coronavirus pandemic, Bill Gates, and “the deep state.”

In his view, evangelicals’ single-minded impulse toward winning at any cost in politics isn’t reflected in other aspects of their lives. “If you’re a church-going American Christian,” French tells us, “you tend to build up a reasonably robust theology of Christianity in your marriage, in your workplace, or in your school.” I don’t buy this distinction, but it is a key premise in French’s argument.

When it comes to politics, French maintains that “the theological ‘training’ consists mainly of education about issues and controversies that Christians should be aware of and concerned about.” That is, voting for candidates who are anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ equality, etc.

The solution, therefore, is for evangelicals to develop a robust “political theology,” a term with a developed presence in academic literature that French does not reference, but which he links primarily to an expanded understanding of the ninth commandment: “thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” Christianity Today’s Ed Stetzer has invoked the same verse in opposition to the same problem of evangelical susceptibility to conspiracy theory.

It’s easy enough for these high-profile, “civil” and “respectable” evangelicals to scold their followers for “gullibility”—which, according to Stetzer is “not a spiritual gift”—or, similarly, to raise concerns about evangelicals’ “witness,” that is, how their reputation in society may bear on their ability to convert others. Not that they will listen—a solid majority of white evangelicals don’t see their support for Donald Trump as harming their witness at all.

It seems to be much more difficult, however, for these men to dig deeper into the theological roots of evangelical authoritarianism and abuse. Doing so would mean they would have to become aware of their own complicity in the very real physical and psychological harm done to those of us “raised up” to “take back this country for Christ” in the thick of the culture wars.

Take French’s reference to schools. Early last year, I sparked a media firestorm by launching the hashtag #ExposeChristianSchools in order to highlight the extent to which evangelical and fundamentalist schools in particular, like the ones I attended as a child, perpetuate abuse, racism, misogyny, and anti-LGBTQ animus as they indoctrinate children in “alternative facts.” It was Vice President Mike Pence’s and David French’s defense of Second Lady Karen Pence’s return to one such anti-LGBTQ Christian school to work as an art teacher that inspired me to create the hashtag, which accumulated over 200,000 tweets within a couple of days.

Clearly, many children of the culture wars, who have insight into why evangelicals are prone to believing in conspiracy theories, would like to be heard. And clearly, David French has little interest in listening.

I know this, because during the #ExposeChristianSchools hubbub, French took to the pages of National Review to denounce me (though not by name) as “an activist” pushing an “anti-Christian ideology.” In fact I advocate pluralism and regularly engage with Christians who support social justice and separation of church and state, for example through institutions like the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and the Center for Interfaith Cooperation and Christian Theological Seminary in my native Indianapolis, as well as via podcasts and programs like Rev. Dr. Welton Gaddy’s State of Belief Radio.

But there’s little room to find common ground with right-wing Christians like French, who oppose my equal rights as a queer American, and who defend not just the right to teach children that I’m an abomination, but the supposed goodness of doing so.

And herein lies the rub. How can a man who bears false witness against people like me, which has very real consequences in terms of LGBTQ youth homelessness and suicide, insist with any credibility to his less “genteel” coreligionists that they must stop bearing false witness?

Furthermore, how can you expect evangelicals to listen to your exhortation to stop believing and spreading conspiracy theories when you simultaneously defend the very institutions that teach evangelical children to be suspicious of any and all experts from outside the evangelical community (at least on matters like evolution, psychology, gender and sexuality, abortion, and climate science), which would, of course, mean the majority of genuine experts in most fields? And yet this is precisely what evangelical schools (which usually brand themselves Christian schools or Christian academies) do, along with promoting a heavy dose of Christian nationalism.

With a Christian school education, it’s quite natural to conclude that most of the scientific community is essentially an anti-Christian conspiracy. If you need evidence for this claim, search the #ExposeChristianSchools hashtag on Twitter for numerous examples, and read this groundbreaking report by Huffington Post education reporter Rebecca Klein, from which we can extrapolate that there are roughly 2000 non-Catholic Christian elementary and secondary schools in the United States that receive public voucher funding to teach “alternative facts.” French’s hypocrisy in this regard is glaring.

As an ex-evangelical commentator on religion and politics, watching evangelical critics of Donald Trump twist themselves into contortions in attempts to explain and exhort their coreligionists has been one of the stranger phenomena of this nightmarish presidential term. We’ve seen the head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy arm, Russell Moore, forced to apologize for criticizing evangelical Trump voters in order to save his job, while his fellow SBC leader Al Mohler recently repudiated his own refusal to vote for Trump in 2016, explaining that he regrets the decision. The capitulation of such institutional leaders is of course unsurprising; their positions depend directly on Trump’s most enthusiastic base: the people who fill SBC pews.

But #NeverTrump evangelicalism has survived among conservative writers and commentators like French and Stetzer, as well as Peter Wehner and Michael Gerson, both of whom played influential roles in previous Republican presidential administrations. As Trump has failed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and done himself no favors by using brutal authoritarian tactics in response to protests for racial justice, these men have truly begun to flail as they almost literally plead with their fellow right-wing evangelicals to consider their “witness” and to stop spreading baseless and harmful conspiracy theories.

While the position they’re in is unenviable, I cannot feel sorry for these men, who are deeply invested in maintaining undeserved “respectability” for their extremist faith tradition, even as they process their loss of control over the national conversation around evangelicalism. Indeed, I’ve been working hard over the last few years to dismantle their longstanding de facto monopoly on major media representation of evangelicals, advocating for the representation of civic-minded critical researchers and former conservative Christians in discussions, which our status as stakeholders demands.

It’s unclear to me the extent to which the Wehners and Stetzers and Frenches of these United States sincerely hope to see white evangelical subculture change for the better as opposed to being concerned primarily with appearances. That is, hoping that the spotlight will go away so that the American public may once again forget about the authoritarianism and abuse that pervades evangelical communities and institutions.

But we must be clear: these horrors characterize evangelicalism precisely because they’re grounded in a (usually unspoken) white supremacist and (often explicit) patriarchal theology and concomitant hierarchical and paternalistic ethos. Prominent “respectable” evangelicals, who often tout their anti-choice credentials, share this basic theology and ethos.

The avatars of respectable evangelicalism offer us hand-wringing, prescriptive scolding, empathy for their coreligionists’ clearly bigoted fears of demographic decline (often couched in the coded language of “religious liberty”), and simple but obviously hopeless “solutions” to the problem of evangelical Trumpism.

It seems they’re willing to try anything but a long, hard look in the mirror, which is what it would take for them to criticize evangelical subculture in a credible way—though their cries would almost certainly still fall on deaf ears, as they’re clearly unable to contain the monster they helped create. “Respectable” conservative evangelicalism has always been a fig leaf. If there is one good thing to come out of the current moment, it’s that the failure of this ideological project has been laid bare for all who have eyes to see.

*Correction: David French is no longer a staff writer for the National Review, as originally stated. He left in 2019 to be senior editor of The Dispatch, a conservative news website.

This content was originally published here.

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havekiddoswilltravel · 7 years

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Finally getting around to watching Black Panther! Wow! So excited to wear my dress representing the women of Bangui Central African Republic. 🙅🏾‍♀️ (Who’s working on a closed fist Wakanda emoji?)

My Random Observations Regarding the Black Panther Film

#Wakandaforever

Marvel Studios/Disney via AP

I’m married to a Marvel enthusiast husband and am raising and educating a son who’s obsessed with all things Marvel and literally reads a Marvel encyclopedia. As his mother, I try to educate myself on the things that interest and inspire him. My husband took the two oldest kids to see Black Panther on opening day and I knew that it was driving them crazy not be able to discuss the film with me. On Monday afternoon, my husband came home early and insisted that we go watch the film. I felt like adventurous rebels by dropping everything and going on an adult date on a Monday night. I had already gone through my closet and dug out my Bangui dress that my sister had custom made for me years ago in the Central African Republic. Having watched every single Marvel film with my husband and son, I thought I was ready for what was to come as we entered into the #wakanda experience and boy was I in for an intellectual treat.

This waterfall scene took my breath away. All of it, the costumes, the music, the dancing, the reverence, the culture was a moment that captured the beauty of a fill done correctly.

Black Panther was filled with one liners that got my mind going and my heart moving. Shuri [to T’challa] Just because something works, doesn’t mean it can’t be improved. Let me start with this line because Shuri was my favorite character in the film. There’s so much to love about a 16 year old African girl, who’s brilliant, poised, brave and ready to do just about anything for her kingdom. What? The world needs more Shuris.

Marvel Studios/Disney via AP

If you want to find out why Shuri says the following line, make sure to do what all Marvel fans do and stay until the end of the second credits.

[after Everett Ross is wheeled in Wakandan facilities to be healed]

Shuri: Yay, another white boy to fix.

Travel is my escape. I have found myself longing more and more for adventure and trips to places where I don’t know the people, culture or food. I’m itching for adventure in ways that I have not before. The following lines left me pondering and analyzing my need to learn and experience life outside of the perceived comforts of The United States. My kids and I have spent our time discussing and sharing our feelings, thoughts and experiences as they related to these dialogues.

Marvel Studios/Disney via AP.

Okoye: Guns… so primitive!

T'Challa: Wakanda will no longer watch from the shadows. We can not. We must not. We will work to be an example of how we, as brothers and sisters on this earth, should treat each other. Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe.

Given the current climate in our country, I could spend hours thinking about the implication of these two scenes to my life in CT and also how my children will be raised and ultimately what their legacy will be.

I knew going into the film that I would connect with the women, but what surprised me the most was my understanding of and empathy toward Killmonger. His character was a perfect representation of what happens when we let rage be the prime motivator in our lives. His anger was justified, but his focus and actions were destructive not only to self, but also to those around him. His character was also the one that portrayed uncontrolled rage and violence.

Erik Killmonger: Y’all sitting up here comfortable. Must feel good. Meanwhile, there are about 2 billion people all over the world that looks like us. But their lives are a lot harder. Wakanda has the tools to liberate them all.

The final scene in this film left me breathless and analyzing the consequences of colonization, slavery and Jim Crow laws on African Americans. My heart literally hurt as I heard this line:

Killmonger: Nah, bury me in the ocean with my ancestors that jumped from the ships. Because they knew death was better than bondage.

My 12 year old daughter’s reflections on her Wakanda experience

It was the best Marvel movie that I’ve ever seen. I loved that there were funny parts, but also many deep and thought provoking ones.

My favorite line:

Okoye: Don’t freeze!

T'Challa: I never freeze.

Shuri: Did he freeze?

Okoye: Like an antelope in headlights.

My favorite character was Shuri because she was funny, smart, brave and strong. I loved her interactions with her brother (Black Panther), as I think it reflects my relationship with my brother. They were protective of each other and their skills complimented one another for the best interest of Wakanda. I left the movie feeling inspired.

My 9 year old’s son’s reflections on his Wakanda experience

My favorite character was M’Baku because he’s funny. My favorite lines are:

M'Baku: If you say one more word, I’ll feed you to my children!

[Ross shuts up, beat]

M'Baku: I’m kidding. We’re vegetarians.

I also saw myself in Erik Killmonger, as he was black boy growing up in America. He loved basketball, fighting (sparring) and his father.

Did you know that you can experience Black Panther at Disney California Adventure Park?

Marvel Studios/Disney via AP

Educational Resources for Black Panther

- Check out the history of Black Panther in Marvel Comic Books.

- Video: Ron Clark Academy Travels to Wakanda

- Disney’s Black Panther Activity Packet.

- This is a wonderful resource for High School or College students who are ready to analyze and better understand Killmonger’s rage.

- Teacher resources for maximizing the Black Panther momentum and merging it into lesson plans.

- Christians who are trying to figure out why they should watch this film, should read this. This is a direct quote from the write-up. “At the end of the film – it’s actually in a post-credits scene – T’Challa says his country must start building bridges instead of barriers. It’s not exactly a subtle moment, politically speaking, but considering what’s come prior it’s an earned one. Black Panther is a radical film in that it looks at our country racially, culturally, politically, dares to find empathy in both sides, but ultimately insists you can’t ever truly be great if you’re not first good.It’s a point Christians would do well to consider.”

- Check out this Teachers Pay Teachers Unit Study about the movie.

- Why Black Panther is more than a movie, it’s a revolution.

- A White Guy’s Reflections on Black Panther.

Author: Ruth Mendes of Have Kiddos will Travel

About Ruth: I am a wife, mami of 4 active and globe-trotting kiddos. I’ve always loved a good adventure and truly believe that it’s possible to travel with kids. Join me, as I share our adventures and inspire you to get out of the house with your kiddos. Whether you’re planning a family vacation, a road trip or a trip of a lifetime to an exotic destination, I’ll share insights, trip reports and information that will inspire you. Check back often to stay up to date on things to do with kids at your next travel destination.

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hillarykylie · 5 years

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Abstinence vs Premarital Sex?

decided to discuss in depth about this debate that I saw online on Jubilee and thought I should share my own perspective/insight on this whole controversial sex debate.

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Okay first and foremost, I stand at neither extreme ends of the spectrum, rather - somewhere in the middle, towards neutrality.

I believe sex is a personal choice made by an individual and I don’t necessarily see anything wrong or immoral with it unless it’s caused another individual harm (like rape or deliberately transmitting Aids to people)

I’m all for people making own choices about their bodies. Sex should be seen as something biological and normal, and not shunned upon because it’s a ‘taboo’ topic in conservative societies.

There’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ time to lose your virginity, it all boils down to subjectivity at the end of the day. There isn’t a set manual or guideline on when and whom someone should lose their virginity to.

However, having said that, I do feel that contemporary society has exerted such a carthatic pressure to be sexual at an early age that impressionable adolescents and even children are now socially conditioned into thinking that the only way to ‘stand out’ or gain validation or acceptance from their peers is to lose their virginity and have sex, even if they feel strongly unprepared and reluctant to do so. These kids often are clouded in their judgment and lack the maturity to make healthy decisions, and this is why there are laws in place that protects and prohibits minors from having sex.

That’s not to say that the stigma stops perpetuating itself in adulthood. In fact, the negative connotation associated with one choosing celibacy or being a virgin often weighs much stronger on adults, causing them to be heavily belittled and ostracised by mainstream society, especially amongst men who’re incessantly pressured to gain their autonomy and masculinity by having sex with as many women as they can. And the men who choose not do so, or have had little to zero sexual experience are often seen as “weak” or “losers”.

An important distinction to make here is that not all people who vouch for abstinence/celibacy are religious or Christians. A lot of these people could be atheists or agnostics who simply have chosen abstinence as a lifestyle and for completely valid reasons, and are far from religious. Most of them aren’t even virgins themselves, who have had sexual experience prior but have chosen to remain celibate after.

But what exactly is wrong with being a virgin?

Why are people incriminated for relinquishing and giving up sex, or choosing to partake in abstinence?

Most importantly, why should it matter to anyone what people choose to do with their bodies?

While I don’t think either choice should be condemned or censured, I think the emphasis that society places on having sex early only does damage to individuals. It’s almost as though losing one’s virginity at an early age has to be a prerequisite for social acceptance, which is unbelievably absurd.

A 12 year old isn’t even mature enough to be deciding for themselves, and yes - Gen Z kids are already sexually active at that age, and this has severe implications on them as they reach adolescence and adulthood.

I’ve had my fair share of relationships and unfortunate run-ins with bad sexual conquests, and whilst sex can be a truly amazing and intimate experience, it can also be a destructive, inherently baneful mechanism.

That’s not to say I’m against pre-marital sex, cause lol that’d be really hypocritical of me. While I respect the beliefs of people who choose abstinence, I do not personally believe that marriage should be the only appropriate time to have sex, or to be intimate with someone.

What I personally feel (now this is just from my own collective experiences) is that sometimes - having sex with people whom you aren’t exactly emotionally connected to or are reasonably close to can be inherently harmful to one’s psyche and well-being.

And when you start considering incorporating the latter perspective, you’ll finally get a grasp of why (some) people have consciously chosen to become celibate.

Sex with people I barely know or have a mental/emotional connection with often feels meaningless, pointless and empty. Most of the time I’d feel numbed and jaded, and even viciously violated and guilty afterwards and conversely, more self-conscious and emptier than I ever was before.

I’d realised I’d been doing it for all the wrong reasons, and that was to acquire validation and male acceptance and to distract myself from my depression and low self-worth, all of which on hindsight was incredibly traumatising and mentally deleterious. Most of all, I’d felt that sex had become completely redundant and meaningless. There was no longer an element of novelty to it.

There is simply something about sex which is done with a person whom you have an impeccable connection with that feels ‘right’ and ‘comfortable’ and substantially more enjoyable, and no you don’t have to get married to them/him/her.

It could very well be your partner you’re with presently, or your partners from previous relationships.

While I understand and respect that people have sexual/physical needs and merely see sex as a physical, unimportant instrument in their lives, I personally think that sex transcends physicality. Physical pleasure just isn’t necessarily adequate enough, it’s the emotional bit and the chemistry that makes sex intimate and special (at least for me).

If you’re having sex just to meet your sexual needs or to gain validation from someone, by all means do as you please, although this only has perverse consequences in the long run. But if you think having sex can single handedly save a dying/toxic relationship or marriage, you’re wrong.

Sex shouldn’t be frowned upon, and neither should it be actively encouraged/imposed on people, especially on kids who haven’t gone through puberty and lack the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves.

Having sex after marriage isn’t wrong, and having sex before marriage isn’t wrong either. That’s my stance.

Society should collectively cease pressuring people who stand on either ends of the spectrum.

What matters is the individual’s objective to have sex at the end of the day.

Most importantly, for the people who choose to remain celibate or to abstain from sex, you aren’t crazy and you aren’t a prude.

For the people who choose to be sexually active with multiple different sexual partners, you aren’t a slut.

Just do you. But make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons.

Having sex/not having sex doesn’t make you less of an individual, or more/less respectable than the other.

Sex is intrinsic to the sustainment of humanity and reproduction but it’s not everything either.

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d-dumais-blog · 7 years

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Religious Symbolism in Kemono Friends

DISCLAIMER

I’m going to be discussing Kemono Friends and its comparisons to Christianity as I see them. I feel it’s only fair to provide a short disclaimer here at the top. For starters I mean no disrespect to those of faith. I realize that I’m comparing your lord and savior to a cute anime girl named bag chan, but I hope you’ll understand and appreciate these comparisons all the same. Second, I do not think this show is in anyway trying to convert children, or anyone for that matter, to any religion. I think that religion is used here as a guiding story structure. The writers of the show simply pulled from the best selling story of all time, the bible. Third, I’ll provide my personal context here at the top so you do not feel as a reader at any point that I’ve mislead you. I’ll be writing using the capitalized letters for God and Father and the like because it helps delineate that I am specifically referring to the proper noun name used in Christian stories and not referring to any other gods in other faiths. I am currently non religious and uncertain of my faith. I have however previously spent years working for the church in various capacities, and I spent time studying theology both in early schooling and into my college courses. I don’t write this article to try and change your mind about anything, or even to change how you think of this series. I simply thought my perspective and insight was interesting so I wanted to share it with you all. Lastly I’ll add that this was originally written at the end of March, but has been edited and posted here now since it never saw the light of day previously. With all that out of the way let’s fall down this rabbit hole together.

Kemono Friends is an exceptionally well developed children’s show that succeeds in creating an intelligently designed world where the story unfolds. I don’t simply use the term intelligent design without reverence and understanding of its meaning in a broader context. Intelligent design is a term used by Christianity in describing God’s creations and plan, and I believe at its core Kemono Friends draws heavily from Christianity in developing its themes and characters. At first glance when comparing the two my mind goes to the Old Testament stories of the Garden of Eden, where humans and animals cohabitate and communicate peacefully together. There’s even an Apple representing knowledge in the Library, but the apple has already been eaten and the ceruleans represent a clear and present danger that suggests the story must take place later on. I instead assert that the story of Kemono Friends is the story of the Gospels, the story of Jesus Christ himself, with Kaban acting as the savior or Messiah figure. Furthermore I believe the entirety of the Holy Trinity is present in the show: Kaban as the Son, Lucky Beast as the Holy Ghost, and Mirai as the Father. These connections vary in strength for these three, with Kaban’s comparisons to Jesus being the strongest and the focus of this blog post.

We’ll begin with our protagonist, Kaban and her similarities to Jesus. Kaban travels from area to area solving problems for the many Friends she encounters through her journey. Others describe her journey as heroic; they say she stops wars and builds bridges, and a certain amount of mythos begins to form around her. Though she is similar to the Friends, she knows that she is somehow different and ultimately her goal is to discover who she is, where she came from, and where she belongs. While these are all clearly analogous to the story of Christ, right down to performing “miracles” in the eyes of the Friends she encounters, they are also the traits and story of most great heroes. The writers behind Kemono Friends knew for Kban to be a true Christ like figure the similarities needed to go further, and further down the rabbit hole we shall go. Kaban is born from nothing and quite literally has an immaculate conception. It’s not until the final episodes that we finally see how Kaban entered this world. She’s a spherical ball of light that forms into a person as the safari hat falls on to it. There are no parents, hell there aren’t even any other humans near her when she bursts into existence. Her birth isn’t the result of science, of some experiment taking place on the island. Her birth into the world is a miracle. An unlikely savior is impossibly born into the world to travel across it helping those she passes, teaching where she can, and at the end, through self sacrifice saving them from the evil that is threatening their peaceful lives on the island. Her death and revival are also miraculous.

If Sin is the evil that Jesus died to save his followers from, then clearly the ceruleans represent that sin and evil. The ceruleans look to consume and destroy the light and the life of the world they inhabit. They eat Friends and return them to their “original” forms; in the series we are led to believe the Friends turn back into normal animals before the sandstar turned them into Friends, though this is never shown. Think about that for a second though, ceruleans, or in this context sin, comes and washes away the blessings given to the Friends that allow them to live and communicate effectively, reverting them back to more primal and basic animals without reason and understanding. In Kaban’s attempt to rid the world of this evil, she is forced to sacrifice herself in order to save Serval from the beast. She is swallowed up into the darkness where she remains for far longer than anyone. While inside the monstrous cerulean her body returns to a spherical ball of light, just as she was at her immaculate birth. When she is finally pulled from the darkness she transforms back into the girl all the Friends know and love. The giant cerulean is defeated and light begins to shine on the island once more. All the Friends assume that because her original form is human and she was never transformed into anything, being eaten by the cerulean didn’t affect her and that all humans must turn back into humans after being eaten. This assumption made by the Friends is of course false. Only the Messiah could be reborn after being eaten by darkness, and we know this because all other humans fled the park in fear of the ceruleans. If the ceruleans truly posed no danger to the humans there would be no purpose in evacuating, and more knowing figures, like Lucky Beast, would not have been frightened for Kaban. There are even contextual clues of a battle foguth between the humans and ceruleans in the form of abandoned weaponry and empty bomb shells. I think it’s fair to make the assumption these were used by humans against ceruleans because the show never introduces another threat, and it’s clear that the friends don’t know anything about these weapons cause they are never mentioned. In the final moments of the show Kaban leaves to go where she believes and hopes she belongs, off into the unknown across the ocean to a new island. If the first island represents our earth, covered in sin, then the new place she heads that is free from such hardship must be Heaven, and like Christ guiding his apostles, Kaban ventures forth with Serval and Friends close behind.

The next figure in the Kemono Friends Holy Trinity is Lucky Beast acting as the Holy Spirit. Beforew e get too deep I’ll admit these connections are far weaker than those of Kaban and Jesus, but this is fun so follow along and be willing to perform some mental gymnastics along the way please. In scriptures, the Holy Ghost is the omnipresent part of God that acts as the guide. Lucky Beast is very clearly the guide in this series, doing everything from driving the bus to explaining attractions and directions. Lucky Beast is also omnipresent because there are a countless number of Lucky Beasts spread across the various areas of the park that can all at once act together to accomplish a singular goal as shown by Lucky Beast gathering all of the Friends across the many areas in the final episode. Lucky Beast’s white colors are also reminiscent of the white dove the Holy Spirit embodies in scripture, though I admit this would be more evident if its shape was that of a dove, though perhaps that would be too on the nose. Similar to the Holy Ghost in the Bible, communication with Lucky Beast is facilitated through Kaban. Lucky Beast only ever communicates directly with Friends upon Kaban’s initial passing. The Holy Ghost is also seen in scriptures as the communicative vessel for the Father which in this series would be Mirai. Mirai speaks through and is eventually seen through the eyes of Lucky Beast, and it is through this connection we find out what little we do know about the only older figure in the entire series.

Mirai is the Father in the Trinity that is Kemono Friends. The connections here become even scarcer, which makes perfect sense. If Kemono Friends is the story of the Gospels, then it makes sense that the Father is rarely shown, because that is similar to the gospels in the Bible. The story of the father is written primarily in the Old Testament, and we’d need to see the prequel to Kemono Friends (oh please please please yes) if we’d like the full story on Mirai. Here I’ll try and break down what we do know. Mirai was part of the park staff, meaning she was part of the ruling body of the park in charge of attractions and Friends alike. To be more specific, she is the only known staff member of the park until Kaban assumes the responsibility in the final episodes of the show in order to overcome the ceruleans. We know that she was doing research on the sandstars and was responsible for the discovery, if not creation, of the Friends. She lived among the Friends until the ceruleans began consuming the island, just as the Father lived among humans in the Garden of Eden until sin took root. We also know that her hat is worn by kaban for the entirety of the show, and is the initial catalyst for kaban turning from a ball of light into the savior the world so desperately needs. She is more knowledgeable than any other character in the series and thus appears omniscient. She also embodies and represents the place Kaban feels she belongs, just as the Son must sit at the side of the Father, Kaban must go to be with Mirai. Mrai’s character helps embody both what is good about the show and faith. Her character isn’t fully understood, and the viewer is left thirsting for more knowledge. Just as Christians are taught that they do not understand God, they should want with all they have to be close to Him and to know Him better.

To recap, Kban is born from nothing and resembles the only known authority figure in the world. She sacrifices herself to protect her friends, comes back to life shortly there after, then ultimately succeeds in protecting her friends from harm. Lucky Beast is a guiding figure that only communicates through Kaban unless otherwise ordered by Kaban, and has information on Mirai. Mirai is the only known authority figure who is shown to be at least partially responsible for the creation of Friends, and is a ruling party over the park. I’m willing to put on my tin foil hat for this one! Hope you’ve been following along at home if not I’ve got a very easy to follow wall of notes that will help this all make sense.

Kemono Friends isn’t a show with a dark twist; it’s not a deconstruction of any existing genre. Kemono Friends is a kids’ show that tells the same story countless parents and preachers across the world have been telling children for centuries, the story of a savior that came to travel the world, a savior that made many friends, the story of a savior who loves her friends so dearly she will give herself to protect them from evil. Kemono Friends succeeds where other shows fall short because it is both extremely deep in its symbolism and themes, while remaining approachable and friendly towards children. It’s incredible that such a great show was born from such a troubled past. The series is based on a failed license. The phone game it draws inspiration from was shut down a month before the show began airing. The studio, Yaoyorozu, has yet to achieve critical or commercial success prior to this series. The entire staff is rather unknown, and they should be celebrated and heralded as the most unlikely of success stories. It seems unlikely that we’ll ever get to see the prequel Old Testament story of the park before ceruleans, and that might be sad, but ultimately it’s okay because the story told here is so complete and well done. I tip my hat to you Yaoyorozu, you’ve made a fan out of me.

PPPS. PPP is awesome just a pppublic service announcement

#kemono friends #anime #religion

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