Fate

i think the subject of fate, or the motif of fate, is going to be a huge part of this film. Certainly in terms of the agendas, questions, and the drives of the crew, and the jockeys themselves. The murals are in what looks like a tomb. its not a place of celebration. Im thinking there are undertones of an egyptian burial chamber throughout the urn room. The carvingss and murals (to me) possibly depict the achievements of the race. THose, combined with a big head, tend to make me think we are seeing the arrogance of a race, lords of their creation so to speak. I doubt they found immortality. But if they did, i imagine they found it to be a curse. Maybe thats why they designed xenos, to end it? maybe, but unlikely. id imagine they arent as benevolent as we would wish our gods to be, but thats anthropomorphising gods, we want them to be like us on a good day. But find theyre like us on a bad day i imagine. I imagine a long life and many powers has made them bored. All empires fall. The lone space jockey we se in this maybe someone staying out of the way, or a normally dormant watchdog. (i'm guessing our arrival springs him to life, he turns on the atmospheric generating equipment, and checks out where we're from on his hologram starmap). fate of man, fate of godlike powers. Every king has his reign, and then dies....it's inevitable.......to me this is a huge hint as to a central motif of the movie. this makes me think that the jockeys had a problem, and are trying to eke out what life they do have while waiting for something. a solution maybe? no one knows. ut it does look like the only person who will fully undestand what is going on in that urn room is David. His expression changes when he hears "i hope you can read all this", and in the new itunes featurete he walks into the starmap room and says (something like) "a superior species i assume". i can't remember the exact words on the weyland site but theres a hint that he's programmed, or can be, to serve the superior species. maybe the fate of species is a question this film plays with the jockeys make races and seem to lose interest, we're just sim playthings maybe we are looking for answers maybe david is looking to create some form of kin too. the way he pats shaws cryobed makes me thnk he was on those lines before they land on lv223.

What if there is a parallel struck between David's 2 year stint taking care of the crew during hypersleep and the lone space jockey manning the way station. Perhaps the space jockey is taking care of things while the rest of his race slumbers somewhere waiting for the appropriate time to wake up, once past projects have come to fruition. Nothing too significant just a subtle parallel, we all know Ridley Scott is all about subtlety.

I think this is a terrific question. It seems that issues of Faith with be at issue within this Story - I would hope also Fate - but I agree, I wouldn't like to see that handled obviously; and not in a prophetical way. I don't want to see any pans across a mural and have someone declare, "My God! Do you see?!...It it all fits into place!...". I want [i]implied[/i] desolation - and for anything such as murals etc, to only help us understand that implication: desolation as a result of poor choices. It's a subtle distinction: I'd rather an almost subconscious prompting, not that everything "was foretold" - but that once 'A' occurred, 'B', had to take place: and that, from 'B', choice was compromised to the best of only slightly poorer options. This retains the element of choice and will and allows for Redemption through the choice of Wisdom - which would parallel the element of Faith. Simply playing the, "Fate", card, would kill it - "Oh, it was always going to be this way!" No. I'd rather it was, "It didn't have to be this way - and we could have prevented it!" I just find it a slightly darker and more mature perspective.

I don't think fate has as much to do with the story of Prometheus as the predictably disastrous consequences that arise when cultures meet that have vastly different technological development levels. I think this movie is going to play out like Conquest of Paradise in reverse. What I mean by that is picture a group of Native Americans mounting an expedition to Spain. That's essentially the plot for Prometheus. It reminds me of a line from this summer's most brilliant film, Battleship, (Yes, it's a wonderfully dry movie. If you don't love it then you are missing the whole point of its subtle satire. It is a scathing indictment and deconstruction of the modern popcorn movie that went over everyone's heads.) when the geeky science-type guy says, "And we're the Indians!" Alien was haunted house in space. This is Brave New World.

@takka_takka_takka I'm now going to see it only on the strength of this excellent commentary. And I wouldn't have.

totally agree with allin and t3...great stuff. AND that is what makes GREAT art, not just weak sauce entertainment.

Well if you look at the Orginal Alien Script... Inside the Temple they find hieroglyphs and drawings on the walls of strange creatures. But they cant make sence of them..... Not untill after the S£"! hits the fan and they see the grown Xeno (the Xeno in the script is different to the Alien Xeno, it has 2 legs and 4 tenticles). Thats when they make sence of it all. So again i think in Prometheus the Murals will tell maybe either like in the Alien Script, it will tell of events of how the Organism in Prometheus comes to be, its life cycle or maybe shows how the Xeno or other Organism (maybe ones in Prometheus) are created and evolve.

@BigDave, I could see that happening, and a lifecycle depicted through a mural would be pretty cool. What would be mighty odd to me, though, is if they only see a mural for a Alien-like creature. I guess I'm imagining that if humans and Aliens are created, isn't it more likely that countless other species have been created rather than only two? Basically, why stop at two (assuming your species creation efforts are going off without a hitch and you're not accidentally creating a species that destroys you). I suppose I'm projecting what I would do if I were capable of creating life--I'd create all kinds of stuff.

Fate for me is more congruent with the concept of "chaos" — that which is not easily predictable. "Destiny" is something else. The film (based on the trailers) seems to have an overwhelming sense of desperation. Weyland doesn't want to die. The Engineers (at least at this location) are on the verge of extinction. Clearly most of the Prometheus crew find themselves in the most horrific, desperate situations. Who's not desperate? [b]David[/b] He can't even feel desperation. He is the only communication bridge (intelligence) between us and the Engineers. MAYBE Vickers is in a similar boat, but I'm not sure. If she is a synthetic, I suspect that she's a bit more complex than he is. So, David, as a ‘plain ol’ robot’ (if he remains that way) seems to be holding all of the cards. I don't think the Engineers could or would bother to change him physically, but they could manipulate his programming in ways that I can't even imagine. I'm not so sure that the Engineers would be utterly dismissive of us. In the prodigal child metaphor, we (or somehow David: who is built in their image with but one degree of separation) might be their last chance for salvation. Dying (desperate) people (and cultures) and great thinkers tend to wax poetic. I wouldn't be surprised if any kind of story-telling (historically accurate, mythological, or otherwise) were present in the murals. Just look at this. [url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june12/japanscrolls_04-09.html]Itoh Jakuchu’s Colorful Realm[/url] If a single human is capable of this kind of "outlook," why would an ancient interstellar species be any different, or capable of any less? Perhaps the Engineers are at a very different place in their journey through fate. And coming to terms with their legacieS.

lone individuals in some human cultures may wax poetic, but, w arent seeing a human culture in the engineers. theyre alien. if we are their creation, and like them in some respects, then so to is the xeno, as its on the mural before our involvement its likely that ehy had a hand in that too. i think the film will revolve around how all these notions about what creators are like are based on no evidence, just pipedreams. We only have to look at how our own children get treated in some parts of the world to see that the bond of creator and creation is not always so strong. i wish this film was out on may 1st instead :-(