the art of religious interpretation (midnight mass vs god's not dead)

[@faehammy571]

This feels like a college lecture meets older sister car discussion. I love it.

[@upinurbiz]

I went to college so you don’t have to *winks and does the snap finger point things *

[@natalieplambeck7168]

older sister car discussion best thing ever

[@Iamthatis137]

Love that description! Def the vibes! ❤️🖤❤️

[@ragevsraid7703]

perfect description

[@KrazyEngima]

She reminds me of heavily of my English IV teacher from highschool tbh lol

[@mschmalfeldt]

The fact that it's called PureFlix and not CruciFlix is a big missed opportunity

[@upinurbiz]

HAHAHA honestly omg

[@Chatrbuug]

With stories like God's Not Dead; creativity isn't their strong suit

[@cheezyfilmsproductions1842]

I honestly think it might be because they would think it's blasphemous. My mom is like that.

[@imagomonkei]

​@@cheezyfilmsproductions1842also they're evangelical, and crucifixes are a Catholic thing.

[@ripwednesdayadams]

reminds me of the old punk band crucifucks

[@SgtKaneGunlock]

its weird that Midnight Mass has more respect for Religion as a concept while criticizing it than gods not dead does in its whole trilogy

[@SilortheBlade]

In a rational view sure, but when you realize GND is just propaganda then it's not weird at all.

[@snuggldungeon]

I was thinking the same thing. Midnight Mass seems like a very honest assessment of religion from the capital g Gnostic perspective, and it seems like GND stumbled into being the problems Midnight Mass critically deconstructs.

[@Neku628]

@@SilortheBlade God's Not Dead is pretty much an in-your-face, screeching session given by an evangelical Southern Baptist preacher. I mean, I'm still fucked up by the original Left Behind movie trilogy with Kirk Cameron, because it's a hybrid of a horror film and mostly a propaganda piece.

[@ivorydunn8424]

​@@Neku628genuinely, reading the blatant propaganda of the Left Behind books in middle school is what made me start to question the religion.

[@kirielbranson4843]

@@ivorydunn8424I was so disappointed in the Left Behind series. I thought it was going to be a cool series about the biblical apocalypse and it turned out to be the worst written, shallow, unimaginative crap. What a wasted opportunity.

[@sailorg00n]

"Never trust a man who likes Ayn Rand" is the best dating advice before "Never trust a man who identifies with Rick Sanchez/BoJack Horseman/The Joker." the biggest and reddest of flags all.

[@calebkisby4069]

BoJack is a bit unfair; if you take out the substance abuse and narcissism, he's otherwise written to be very relatable for people who have come in and out of depression. Edit: Oh god I forgot about Penny

[@sailorg00n]

@@calebkisby4069 See, I feel like generally good advice is to, like... Avoid people with substance abuse problems and narcissistic qualities. Especially when you're looking for a partner. There's a reason BoJack's relationships never worked out. I can relate to a lot of BoJack's feelings towards himself, but I'm not going to openly compare myself to him as if it's a good thing lol. And yeah... Penny. Oof. Although Sarah Lynn's death IMO was the nail in the coffin for me.

[@dinosaysrawr]

See also: Rorschach and Tyler Durden.

[@toasterbunnie295]

or patrick bateman unironically. liking him ironically is a green flag tho

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

​@@calebkisby4069I'm a woman who identified as Bojack and let me assure you, it about ruined my life. I had to stop watching that show because it fucked with me so bad

[@notmyname213]

Despite having vampires in it, Midnight Mass is extremely easy to suspend my disbelief. Because having grown up Catholic, it is SO BELIEVABLE that a congregation would encounter a vampire (which is an ostensibly evil entity) and truly believe it's an angel.

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

I love that they dress him up in a little dress like the pope! Like, they had to measure that out and tailor the dress to fit him! It's insane!

[@JonCrs10]

I thought it was idiotic because the Bishop didnt get involved and scientifically study the vampirism. Catholicism isn't like a Nebraska non-denominational local church

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

@@JonCrs10 My understanding was that the island's isolation and the small size of the congregation meant that they could get away with a lot. And the people in charge of the church itself were deliberately keeping things from the mainland.

[@JonCrs10]

@carlycrays2831 do you know how priests are placed in parishes? The local Bishop absolutely would be aware of this before the priest showed up as much as the 4 Bishops of Kansas knew about "Pope Michael" despite his extreme fringe status. Its genuinely impossible to keep (for lack of a better term to describe a vampire cult) heresy under wraps. Especially today in such an interconnected world. Like, consider the whole pedarast priest scandal thing. Local bishops were quite aware of the pederasty going on because they're quite aware of ANY priest who violates the celibacy vow. You don't think they'd learn about this guy's vampire wine? Maybe screwing up the response to it like the pederasty, but they wouldn't be completely ignorant of it. Plus the Vatican has its own X-Files unit, which makes the secret vampire cult even more unbelievable, they'd be scientifically studying the angel blood as much as they study the Shroud of Turin or any Marian apparition

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

@@JonCrs10 Who is gonna tell them? The original guy can email or text them and tell them he's OK. Beth needs the community isolated so she can keep stealing from the church. Everyone else there is old or so busy that they don't go to church.

[@aberdeen1403]

"michael flanagan is nailing catholicism to the cross to see if it will rise again" that was SUCH a good line, i loved this video!

[@termythewormy]

Love the idea of a philosophy teacher that doesn't want to have debates. Meanwhile, my favorite philosophy professor asked us if hotdogs were sandwiches or not and just walked away to let us argue that one for an hour.

[@dc98424]

It’s a taco

[@termythewormy]

@@dc98424 that was my contribution to the debate but no one liked that answer 🤷‍♀️

[@spoopybat7880]

If a hoagie (aka submarine sandwich) is a sandwich than a hotdog is a sandwich

[@termythewormy]

@@spoopybat7880 an interesting proposition. Is this based on the supposition that they use the same type of bread? Because I would like to put forward that actually most hoagies use a firmer type of bread than a submarine, though they aren't fully split similar to a hotdog. Subs do use a similar type of bread to a hotdog, though they tend to be fully split. The bread issue is interesting, but if we're considering starch as the deciding factor, I would argue that the taco idea originally put forward by David is much closer to an accurate picture. There is a 90 degree difference between how a hoagie/sub is presented and a hotdog, whereas tacos and hotdogs are presented the same for consumption. I promise you I put this argument all in good fun. The hotdog/sandwich debate is based on the fact that it's really hard to create a group definition which includes everything you want it to while excluding everything else. Ex. Behold a man

[@sabinasabino141]

Hotdogs are Spirit, and as Spirit, the universal in the particular, reach toward the full knowledge of itself in-itself through the mediation of Being-for-itself as Spirit mediates its own understanding. (Hegel is fun.)

[@beawatson5224]

one of my favourite lines in midnight mass is when riley's dad finds his wife and talks about how he thought that he wouldn't be able to help himself eating others but turns out he can stop himself and his wife asks if he's hungry, to which he replies that he's starving. i think it's just a really great moment of "it's wrong to eat people" vs "god has asked me to eat people" and the person in the middle who doesnt understand any of it. I'm writing this at midnight so my words might be all jumbled and i might not be getting this point across properly also i havent finished the video but just wanted to share this smol thought

[@flanaganfilm]

Thank you for this, I'm obviously biased but I have to say I found it absolutely fascinating.

[@lizabee484]

Fuck yeah. The fact that you found this video essay made by a pretty small creator (no offense meant to you Biz, you’re doing a fantastic job and your content is really quite wonderful) that has less than 1,000 likes and took the time to watch and comment on it kinda… gives me hope for humanity? In a way I have difficulty articulating. Edit: I figured out how to articulate it!!! Seeing bigger creators supporting smaller creators, especially being willing to engage in/with smaller creators’ works that build off of or relate to the larger creator’s own art, is just really f>cking cool. Open dialogue and genuine respect amongst different artists online isn’t something I see often enough, (for my liking anyway), and so when I do see it, it’s a lovely reminder that humans are cool sometimes, which is a feeling I think we all could use more of at the moment. Anyway- I’m stoked to see you in this comment section, dude. You make some fabulous work. And I hope you have an excellent day.

[@ellipszilonq]

Holy shit

[@Nodiee1]

Oh wow I definitely wouldn't have expected to see Mike Flanagan comment on some smaller KZbinr's video that I just happened to come across today. I love your work! But... uh. The degloving scene in Gerald's Game. Why Mike??? Just... why???

[@vincentbatten4686]

Thank you for what you did. It felt more liberating than I thought it would to be understood for once.

[@brat_prince]

.........are you really....Him?

[@AD-dg3zz]

I personally interpreted Reilly's death a bit differently. The vision he saw was just as he described before: a dream. A dream where the woman who was plaguing him with guilt had finally forgiven him because in reality, Reilly had finally forgiven himself. In a way, he sent himself to heaven because he was finally at peace with himself.

[@alexandravalerious3274]

i agree i thought rileys death was him finally forgiving himself and it was a dream the same way erin saw her version of death when she died. almost like the show respecting every individuals beliefs and interpretation of death and afterlife and even god because of the way the show allowed sheriff hassan to express his own faith both in contrast to bev and paul but also complimenting that both religious do believe in a god

[@AD-dg3zz]

@@alexandravalerious3274 yeah, that's one of the many subtle things that make this show great. Every character died in ways that were consistent with their own beliefs. Since Reiley was a former Christian, it makes sense that his death dream is a bit Christian-like. But to say he literally went to heaven, it really undermines him as an atheist character, even though the show was being respectful about his beliefs (or non-belief) up until that point. It'd be like saying Sheriff Hassan also went to the Christian Heaven, which sounds absurd and kinda disrespectful.

[@notmyname213]

Agreed. At no point does this series presuppose that the Christian God, or any god actually exists. The only thing we have evidence of within the text is that an entity that we recognize as a vampire exists. Whether or not Christian God is real in this setting is up to the beliefs (or lack thereof) of the person watching.

[@alexandravalerious3274]

@@notmyname213 yeah in the world of the show i got the feeling that whether or not god/a god exists doesnt matter so much as what the people do with that belief contrasting erin's faith with bev's and u have lisa of course who chooses forgiveness and loses the ability to walk because she does the right thing in helping end the vampire threat

[@ShadowProject01]

I pretty much came to the same conclusion. That the lady he killed came to collect him because he was truly repentant and upon his confession on that boat was given absolution, before that horrific snap back to reality

[@jackfrenchpresents]

I've seen a lot of breakdowns of Midnight Mass but none of them ever looked at it from the viewpoint of "there's a bug flying around", and came to the conclusion that "we're just gonna be friends with it", which is why this is the best one

[@Noura.McCaskill]

"if I can forgive you, then anyone can" seems kind of twofold even, because not only is Leeza telling Joe Collie she forgives him, she's ASKING HIM TO FORGIVE HIMSELF.

[@upinurbiz]

*sobs in catholic*

[@ruisenor8993]

"Just a priest standing in front of an alcoholic, asking him to become a vampire" fucking KILLED me LMAO

[@alisaurus4224]

SERIOUSLY 💀

[@crowquillgal1016]

I feel like a whole essay is needed on how traditional Catholic Patriarchy created so many Bev keane’s. She probably had Biblical knowledge on par with any Seminar graduate, studied theology in three languages, cleaned up bathrooms, grocery shopped and cooked for the Priest, organized charity things, invested all her time, all her sacrifices (celibacy/poverty/no hobbies/no friends cause she’s vile) and … No recognition. No promotions. No respect. No position of authority…. all because she’s not a man According to Riley’s mom, she’s always been awful…. but that sacrifice and contribution and Still no official recognition had to be just …gallons of dangerously aged psychic gasoline. Flanagan s writing never explicitly discusses that in obvious ways, but her motivations and behavior spell it out anyway.

[@alicjaz2771]

Thanks for this comment! I think she might have been different if she was appreciated and allowed to be a priest. Not that a person like her necessarily should.

[@JonCrs10]

@crowquillgal1016 FYI, thats not going to result in what you think it would

[@crowquillgal1016]

@@JonCrs10I’d like you to expand your thoughts here! Growing up in a Catholic community *very* much like Crockett Island’s, I had my own “Bev” in our town… and a bitter, hostile, and physically aggressive woman she was indeed! There are a lot of parallels with her behavior & Bev’s as written and performed- so the experience of others is something I’d enjoy hearing about.

[@Zanyotaku]

It was incredible work on the part of the director and the actress that within like 8 seconds of her being on screen anyone who’s met a person like Bev instantly knows her (and possibly fears her, I did). Like I saw her and something about the way she was introduced how the actress spoke, stood, all of it was instantly like “oh no it’s her.” Good work to like portray that entire situation so so accurately and terrifyingly. Bev was scarier than the vampires any day cause I’ve met a few Bevs in my life, and I haven’t seen nosfaratu yet. Even right down to one of the “Bevs” I knew hating a neighbor’s dog like crazy. The whole situation.

[@chelscara]

Knew a woman who grew up very dedicated to the Mormon church. And in high school she was reminded how useless and unimportant she was as a woman and that she could never ‘lead’ anything, she just needed to get married and have kids. By the time I knew her she was a staunch anti-Mormon atheist. They do it to themselves (the religions, that is) 🤷🏻🤷🏻🤷🏻

[@blinkfilms1]

Left behind quite literally traumatized me as a young Christian girl with undiagnosed anxiety and ADHD. Instead of normal object permanence, I was convinced I would never see my family again whenever the house got too quiet because the Lord had deemed me unworthy. It fucked me up for weeks

[@Jogjosmowwdkfs]

SAME! I was convinced that if I couldn’t hear them, if I just walked around the corner I’d see the clothes they were wearing in a pile on the floor

[@SoulDevoured]

Yep fucked me up pretty bad too. But tbf lots of the bible fucked me up.

[@JimJamTheAdmin]

I still have nightmares about the rapture. I always knew my bi little ADHD ass would never make it to Heaven and that fear was the last thing I had to shake off during my deconstruction. Fear digs in and refuses to leave.

[@Virjunior01]

How do you feel about it now?

[@happytofu5]

I am so glad I did not have to grow up with the concept of rapture here in a german church. The whole concept sounds so bonkers and terrifying. It was bad enough to believe all of my school friends would go to hell despite being nice people.

[@lynnedumas746]

My very Catholic mom LOVED Midnight Mass, I think she could tell it was made by someone who grew up Catholic and has complicated feelings about it(to put it lightly).

[@chubbybunny6975]

"to put it lightly" when the character who's the embodiment of hardcore Catholicism (Bev Keane) shows just how much of a coward she actually is and her faith is the weakest, when she runs from a death she helped create and "believed in", only to burn in the sun screaming and crying while everyone else peacefully accepted what was coming lmao. For context I'm not brushing off what you said, I'm merely expanding on the last bit by showing the irony! Ngl watching Bev burn had me cheering XD

[@erincorcoran5936]

Midnight Mass was so so cathartic and healing for me as an atheist who was raised lutheran. Especially compared to GND that I fully bought into as a young one lol

[@ScottDavid7]

THANK you. I don't care how many monologues it has, the way it greatly helped me work through my religious trauma put it into my top 5 shows/short series f all time

[@lizabee484]

It was the same way for my dad and I. My dad grew up in the pre-reform Worldwide Church of God, and has been the outspoken atheist of his very religious family since he went off to college. Needless to say, many of those religious family members have had problems with that, and reacted much the same way as the townspeople react to Riley when he first returns to the island, shall we say. I experienced different, but still definitely negative, interactions with those family members on my father’s side, which has also led to some significant religious trauma. Midnight Mass was the catalyst for my father and I to finally be able to talk about that trauma. At first in more general, roundabout ways, but it gradually became more personal, until we were able to openly talk about our individual religious trauma and frustration with the relatives that caused that trauma. It’s led to more intellectual discussions about religion and spirituality too, which is great because it turns out that’s something we both find fascinating. And we also got to talk about vampires! So it’s been a great experience all around. Incredibly cathartic, you are absolutely right.

[@erincorcoran5936]

@@lizabee484 I'm so glad you two were able to have that conversation, that's great!

[@cyndrift]

exactly omg. its just so dense and good and thoughtful and coming off the back of a childhood of christian propaganda something that presents me the religion used to make me feel such fear and guilt for so long, and just asks me what i think instead of telling me, somethjng which presents situations with shades of grey and good and bad and flawed and virtuous people on all sides is just so cathartic and refreshing and engaging to parts of myself that never got a chance to be used when i was younger for fear of being different or a dirty sinner in the eyes of my community. its a gift and im glad it was made

[@AllegoricSiren]

God, I remember crying at the end of GND1 as my sister and I watched it pirated in our house and we both send that stupid message to people in our contacts. We were both really young though. She’s still religious (but more independent than an actual denomination) and also discovered she’s queer and I’m agnostic and nonbinary but still love debating religion and learning about it and watching media with different takes on it, though sometimes hearing people who genuinely believe in Christianity makes me kinda anxious.

[@emc3000]

"The our father is the Party in the USA of Catholic prayer" had me almost doing a spit-take.

[@yeayou7764]

regarding the abraham and isaac story: your original read of it (that it’s about abraham being willing to kill his son for God and being rewarded for it) is shared by many people who like this story and you’re absolutely right that it’s horrifying. i learned a couple of years ago that there’s people that are taught of it specifically in condemnation of abraham, though, as it is pointed out that after this God never speaks to him directly ever again, so the story is taught as a failed test by abraham and not as something he was rewarded for.

[@reiy8401]

as someone who grew up surrounded by christians who firmly believed the interpretation that they should be willing to sacrifice their children for god, hearing the latter interpretation hit me right in the gut

[@smiklosovic8971]

Wow, that's really interesting! I was raised with the first version and I'd never even HEARD of that second interpretation.

[@mysideacc2770]

I grew up with the first reading, but the second reading sounds like a sermon I recently overheard while grandma was watching online mass, where the priest talked about the story of the prodigal son, where he teaches it as a lesson on proper communication rather than a lesson on how to be a good child (which is what i grew up with). To paraphrase what he said (and excuse the mistakes, it's been a while since I read the entire story), "The father gave his prodigal son so much because that was his only chance to provide for his son before he left, while his other son stayed with him so he could take care of him whenever. When the prodigal son returned, the father was so relieved that his son was still alive that he wanted to celebrate it. However, the other son was only told 'your prodigal brother has spent it all and returned, and your father wants to welcome him back by killing your prized pig'. The father's lack of communicating his love for his other son made him insecure, so then it was easier for his other son to misinterpret his reasoning later on as well. This is why it's important for parents to clearly communicate with their children and not simply assume that their actions are enough." I gotta say I like the trend of taking old bible stories and changing them to fit modern (better) values instead of just "cancelling" them and pretending they don't exist.

[@mermaidpotato]

I have no idea, really, the overall prevalence of reading #2, but I first heard it from a Jewish person who was presenting it as common among other Jews they knew, and the moral was supposed to be in line with questioning godly or apparently-godly orders. I've never personally heard any Christians take the stance that Abraham failed the test, and it's definitely in conflict with the American evangelical idea of faith I grew up with.

[@JamesWVanFleet]

I hadn't heard your second interpretation, that's super-interesting. Another theory I've heard is that it was a sort of etiological effort by Jews of the time to separate themselves from contemporaneous tribes who might've been more inclined to human sacrifice. "Oh, actually we don't do that, and here's our history of why."

[@JiixBooks]

As a Muslim the representation of the sherif is still one of my fav Muslim reps in western media especially with him getting the room to debunk stuff in that classroom (Ohhh Also the story of Abraham and his son is different in the Quran)

[@keepitprofessional2296]

Hey! I'm Muslim too, but from what I've known the Abraham story is pretty similar to the Christian story? Except that Ismail/Ismael was actually willing/understanding of why his father had to do it, from what I remember.

[@TheFirstLaughingFool]

From what I understand, the Jewish understanding of Abraham and Isaac is that the sacrifice was a test and Abraham failed it. He was supposed to say no, and the fact that he did try was the reason God never spoke to him or he's mentioned in the Bible again.

[@MrAwombat]

​@@TheFirstLaughingFoolfrom a Christian perspective, people generally interpret it as Abraham "passing the test". We also see it as a foreshadowing for Jesus. I'm but sure how Jews see it these days.

[@AM13226]

​@@MrAwombathard J bro. Not cool.

[@MrAwombat]

@@AM13226 oh, is it lower case? Even if I'm referring to the religion?

[@ltleflrt]

I found this because Mr Flanagan himself shared the link on Tumblr. I saw the runtime and was like oh I'll just watch it in chunks. Nah I sat through the whole thing in one go. Completely riveted. Good stuff 😊👍

[@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ]

Wait a f*cking minute. The creator of Midnight Mass has a Tumblr account? And he shared this? 1- I've got to watch the whole video and 2- I should open a Tumblr account myself.

[@raissa3791]

Hey don't be shy...... share his url pls

[@ltleflrt]

@@raissa3791 it's flanaganfilm :)

[@kells4315]

@@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ His tumblr is great, and you don't need an account to read it. :) He constantly writes really long responses to great questions about his works!

[@jbashyy]

I am a preacher at a church in Southern America. Good Lord. I cannot believe how good this video is. I cried while watching it, and now that it is over I am going to immediately start it over and watch the whole thing again to soak it all in. The level of understanding of Christianity you’ve shown here, as well as all of the literature references were extremely impressive. I just started reading Crime and Punishment and I know what the next book I will read is going to be. I’m just so impressed. You understand it better than a lot of people in my church, and I am so glad I got to watch this. Thank you for putting this much work into this, thank you for posting it to the internet. Amazing video. Hope you are doing well.

[@PhantasmalBlast]

Holy shit that “What do you want Paul?” Clip came out of nowhere and killed me

[@upinurbiz]

good help is all when I finally figure out how to make a video essay on The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals

[@PhantasmalBlast]

@@upinurbiz Well I have subscribed in anticipation of it!

[@rebekahjohnson5940]

@@upinurbizsubbing in hopes I see it someday ❤

[@_sleazy_c]

listening to this video at work and hearing "What do you want, Paul?" was like a gun cocking in an empty parking garage

[@grimtheghastly8878]

The bit about Nietzsche's philosophy being co-oped by Nazis makes me so sad because in life Nietzsche vehemently opposed literally everything the Nazis would eventually support and it was only through his sister who was a die hard Nazi who purposefully appropriated his life's work after his death that Nazis have become associated with his philosophy

[@gracecarpinter8623]

Another thing Biz got wrong about Nietzsche: he didn't write during the Age of Enlightenment. He wasn't even alive during the Age of Enlightenment - that took place during the 18th century, and officially ended in 1815.

[@giulicrys8553]

he had a whole falling out with his sister because she married a nazi

[@InsecureCreator]

Nietzsche would just call the Nazis a bunch of weaklings who needed to construct some racial equivalent to his ubermensch concept because they are stuck in the exact stage of human development he wanted to escape.

[@lpchambers3681]

@@gracecarpinter8623There are two ages of enlightenment, she probably meant the second one

[@mattgilbert7347]

He was a brilliant Reactionary. He was the Godfather of Postmodern Conservatism.

[@brendondonoho270]

The idea of "unsaved" people existing as prizes to evangelicals is a really sharp point!

[@rosesweetcharlotte]

Unless we just don't go with the program, then we're a problem

[@mysideacc2770]

every time i hear westerners talk about christianity it always feels so surreal, yall are way stricter and serious-er than any church i've ever been a part of in the philippines. like the communion thing, philippine mass is pretty chill and every part is technically optional (tho grandma might give you the stink eye), and i haven't taken communion since i think 5 years now solely because our local church is a huge minor basilica and i do not want to have to queue all the way to the front and then walk back to my seat. same with the whatsitcalled, confirmation? (not sure of the english term) the only 'requirement' i've ever encountered for it is "you gotta let the teachers know you're christian and will be joining so you don't get accidentally left behind and miss it (like a field trip)".

[@wednes3day]

NGL that description also sounds closer to what I've known things to be like in central/western Europe .... US christianity sounds scary ^^' (And also kinda scary/uncanny in the sense that it's using the same terms to refer to groups of people but describing completely different groups from what I've grown up with those words meaning ... like US catholics and protestants sound so foreign enough to register as almost distinct denominations/sects(? idk proper words) of the EU versions)

[@sherlocksmuuug6692]

@@wednes3day Agreed. To any normal person from Western/Central Europe, be they Christian or not, religious people in the US look batshit insane. They are basically cartoonishly evil tribals chomping at the bit to sacrifice "infidels" on the golden altars that they bought for their decrepit goat-eyed priest because he told them "Je'ebuus" wants them to give him money and children. Even ignoring the literal cult tactics, the constant calls for violence against "others" and the fact that most American evangelical groups literally want to destroy the world (this is not a joke), America's most religious states also have actual child marriages as a legal practice. American fundies believe it is the right of parents to basically sell their children to an adult to be abused for life, with some states having no restrictions on the age of *a literal child* being married, as long as the parents approve. And they do this by the tens of thousands. It's like a progressive muslim looking at a bunch of Wahabists. Only difference is that the American fundies are still barely being kept in check by the federal government and so haven't been able to go all out yet. Emphasis on yet.

[@wednes3day]

@@sherlocksmuuug6692 that sounds a tad more extreme than what I've seen of mainstream us (Christian) groups (maybe also me giving the benefit of the doubt when filling in blanks) but .... thinking to some of the stories of the more zealous folks uhhhh that doesn't sound unrealistic for some of it to read like that 😅 (Also feels like it might overlap some with non-religious folks in terms of us vs them group tribalism? Idk if I'm using tribal in the same way you are though)

[@kailee7489]

Same thing happens in Spain. For some reason US Christians are kinda weird

[@TweedleDeedleyDee]

I have to assume a lot of it is catholicism not being the accepted mainstream cultural religion in the United States (it's protestantism). I'm not Christian, but I'm from a very catholic Caribbean country where Christian culture is like how you're describing, but for example, my religious upbringing was much more similar to the American perspective she's describing in the essay

[@JohnGenericName]

I felt like Midnight Mass got way too wordy in some of the monologues but I love the idea of religious people seeing the benefits of something like vampirism to be a blessing from God. Becoming superhuman through the lens if religion very well could be considered a miracle, especially when you can feed on someone and bring them back from the dead. Nevermind the fact that you can't go out in the sun and you have to drink blood, those are just "tests" of your worthiness. It's a really unique way to explain why someone would want to become a vampire. Edit: Also thank you for pronouncing Ivan with the right syllable stressed.

[@caspianhardin7521]

I love the way Midnight Mass presents vampirism too!!❤️

[@ryanb5127]

I saw the first gods not dead in theaters with my youth group and afterwards I brought up that it didn’t really see non believers as people, only monstrous obstacles. Everyone else just sort of shrugged then moved on with other discussion, now I’m a deadling

[@JuggerNATE93]

Born and raised in a Catholic household, and I giggled pretty hard at "Content Warning: This video contains discussions of Catholicism" i've just never seen that in a content warning before 😂

[@betterlatethannever4536]

First of all, thank you for talking about Midnight Mass because I watched it a year ago and it was A THING. I grew up Baptist not Catholic but my Mom was raised Catholic so that flavor definitely seeped into my life and Bev is very universal in all types of Christian communities. Second, as someone raised by ppl with seminary degrees, I LOVE the thoroughness of thought and philosophy you are serving here, this essay is amazing and I'm so happy YT rec'd it. Can't wait to see what you do next.

[@shinyary2]

Heyy, I grew up Southern Baptist! No Catholic connection for me, though. For me it was really weird having been told my whole life that Catholics are mostly just "lukewarm Christians", nearly all of which would be going to hell, either because of said lukewarmness or because they were worshipping idols (Virgin Mary, the crucifix, etc.), and then watching Midnight Mass and... sans the robes and stuff, the culture in the church in the show is exactly like the church I grew up in. I knew every one of those characters (except the whole leadership of the church, male and female, was basically Bev, and I didn't meet a Father Paul until later in life, sadly). I'm not religious anymore, so this show touched me deeply on so many levels. I'm also really happy to see such a thoroughly researched (and entertaining!) essay about it.

[@iheartblock3792]

This video convinced me to watch midnight mass lol. but goddamn, the level of dedication and research put into this is *immaculate*

[@upinurbiz]

yes anytime I can convince sometime to watch that masterpiece of a show I think I’ve done my job (also thank you lol)

[@koolgool]

Your take on Riley's death was a bit different from mine. I kind of saw him seeing the woman he killed forgiving him as exactly the kind of death he predicted he might have: That was his final dream to end all dreams.

[@mxpants4884]

Same! Now that I heard the more religious take on it I can see the deliberate ambiguity. I think my default interpretation might be filtered through my background as someone raised by atheist/agnostic parents.

[@elena_1776]

@@mxpants4884 That's such an interesting point! I was also raised agnostic and had the same interpretation of his death scene, and I didn't think about the fact that someone coming from a religious background would interpret it differently

[@postrachsmietnikow]

​@@elena_1776 same and same! And honestly given that the creator comes from a religious background I think it was indeed ment to be ambiguous like that.

[@jakeking3859]

After watching the first 30 minutes of this video, I was so intrigued by Midnight Mass that I went and watched the whole 7 hours of it. And I loved it. The way it was shot, acted, the writing, everything was so perfect. I loved the way they frequently kept the 'focal point' of scenes to the sides of the frame, encouraging you to look at everything in the shot, the positions of the camera, the way they use your instincts in that one shot in episode 2, the way the reverend played his part...it was so nice to watch a show so clearly crafted with so much love and attention to detail. Thank you so much for introducing me to this series. I probably would never have watched it otherwise. On the flip side, it sparked a whole religious debate with my mum, who is a Jesus person, where I am not. Which was kind of frustrating, but I was the one to bring it up, so I guess that's on me, lol.

[@chewyjello1]

Yes! It's by far my favorite movie. It offers so much catharsis for those of us affected by religious trauma. I've imagined sharing the movie with my parents in the hopes that it would help them understand the "spiritual journey" (I guess you could say) that I'm on. But in the end I don't think they would have the capability of watching it with sophistication and nuance that's required to understand it. When you are used to being spoon fed a reality of black and white from the church, you seem to lose the ability to understand anything outside of the simple non-nuanced moralizing lense you've been taught to look through.

[@lizd.2343]

Definitely watch his other stuff! Amazing

[@dbnicely]

Mike Flanagan sent me here. I'm listening to this in bed to wind down instead of a Cillian Murphy book narration. Subscribed.

[@unnecessarycherry2757]

Hi, decided to comment as a 17 year old girl rewatching this for the second time to fully grasp everything you point out in this video. I’m from Slovenia and I was raised in a village with population of 100-200 people and going to church (we’re catholics) since I was born. I was literally an altar-girl for almost 10 years. After I finished confirmation I sort of moved to the capital city of Slovenia to pursue my education, completely stopped going to church (first visit since then was literally a month ago when I went to midnight mass for christmas). I became an atheist and the first one to quote Marx with “religion is the opium for the masses” hahah. Can’t really say I have religious trauma, but I definitely had some bad experiences, especially with the people you would describe as “devout christians”. Lately I have been watching a lot of videos like this one, making me question my decisions and opinions about religion, but basically I just wanted to say that I can only aspire to one day reach this form of intellectualism and extraspection that you get to in this video. I just want to say THANK YOU and if you ever have the time to make a sequel I would love to hear your takes on the series Lucifer, because I think they make an interesting interpretation of how religious figures would act and behave in the “real world” in these times and how mortals react to it. I certainly have some disagreements about some interpretations made in the series based on the knowledge I gained raised in the catholic church. Have a great day and thanks again!

[@lepercolony8214]

I would suggest finding the rest of that Marx quote, Marx's engagement with religion is more complicated than many people - for or against Marx - believe.

[@roeroeroen]

Tangentially related to your comment, if you're ever curious in engaging with other stuff like this I really recommend Theramin Trees! He discusses and deconstructs a lot of religion based trauma. Belief it or Not is also another channel that talks at length about Christianity but he's usually moreso focused on deconstructing Christianity in general.

[@raquelnunes9793]

Michael Flannagan is one of my favs creators. Bly manor broke my heart, hill house was inspiring, midnight mass was… amazing good lord. The visuals ❤

[@shinyary2]

Imo he's the best filmmaker working today. His characters are so lifelike, and his themes are so rich and deep. Love every one of his shows.

[@Artifying]

Bly absolutely destroyed me and I loved every second of it. I hate that people think it’s a perpetuation of the “bury your gays” trope because I actually think it was a beautiful, heartbreaking, and extremely clever subversion of it.

[@shinyary2]

@@Artifying Hard agree. Avoiding "bury your gays" doesn't mean "gay people can never die." It just means don't kill off your gay character so that you don't have to have the supposed controversy of gay stuff happening on screen, or because your story has to have some moral punishment for being gay. Bly Manor avoids both of these traps, and some people's preference for less dark queer stories shouldn't turn to accusations of "it's problematic" for what's really a very solid gay romance.

[@raquelnunes9793]

@@Artifyingits like when people include minorities in their writing and to avoid racism or xenophobia, they swerve so far to the other side and becomes a “noble savage” type of character. Like some black are bad but that doesnt mean ALL black people are. If i were to commit mass m*uder it wasnt because im an immigrant. I think it comes from a genuine impulse to move away from racism but its not based on real people. Its taking the humanity from the character. Its the author sanitising those tropes. They may be cleansed, but they are still there. If all that doesn’t make sense, please excuse me lol it 4am atm xD

[@goldenlokosian3740]

Loved this so much! Gotta say though, this opened my eyes to something I was not at all aware of. I was raised Mormon (though I ended up leaving the church) and your original interpretation of the Abraham and Isaac story IS what I was taught. By my bishop, by my teachers, by my community, by the children's and teenage media I was fed, and even by the Prophet and Apostles, I was taught the interpretation that God will ask us hard things and it was purely a story of obedience in the face of a monstrous command. I was taught that the ram WAS the reward for his obedience along with the implication that God likely would have killed Isaac anyway if Abraham hadn't obeyed, as it was through him that the promise his offspring would multiply to fill the earth would be fulfilled. It's such a surreal experience to have this new perspective on the story, especially since I haven't been a theist for years and that story had fully fallen back to unconscious memory.

[@chewyjello1]

I was raised Southern Baptist and was taught both interpretations. The SB's in my area have a very high tolerance for cognisant dissonance and don't seem to think things through enough to even see the contradictions of so many of their beliefs. They just swallow down whatever is spoon fed to them with no questions. It's easy enough for children who "don't know thier place" to stump the adults with questions during Sunday school, which usually just leads to discipline for not showing respect to adults lol. My parents always seemed confused about what exactly they were supposed to believe regarding predestination vs free will in particular. I used to ask so many questions that circled around all the logic-black-holes in their belief claims, but they just couldn't admit there were any contradictions. In the end, the answer was always faith. The mysterious ways of God and all that. Not very satisfying for anyone that does not have a deep seeded psychological reason to delude themselves.

[@alias201]

I was raised Dutch Reformed in South Africa and I was definitely taught the first one. Abraham did well by nearly murdering his son and God was merciful for sending the ram instead. Obedience, no matter what. Edit: I've been an atheist since I was at least 19, so I haven't thought about this story in ages, but it's really messed up

[@RootingForYouRoot]

I was raised Catholic in Mexico and we were taught the reward for obedience version

[@zme2712]

I think the other interpretation was made up to ease the cognitive dissonance. I grew up JW and we were for sure taught the don't question god, obey no matter what take

[@swiftlymurmurs]

@@alias201 Coming from the place the Dutch Reformed church originated... Oh boy, our protestantism really is a special, deeply bleak flavour of christianity huh?

[@coffinpuffs4539]

the chair creaking in agreement throughout the entire video is what's single handedly keeping me alive during my 5:00 AM no sleep binge.

[@Light-fi1mj]

Watching Midnight Mass has gotta be the most religious and/or connected to god I’ve felt in years. Which is kinda ironic, but I just really related to Riley as a character and seeing this analysis and having it all laid out is just so interesting! It makes me want to rewatch the show even though I literally finished it Last Night.

[@K.Marie119]

Watching the GND movies from the perspective of a dark comedy makes them infinitely more entertaining.

[@yesipan]

this taught me more than an entire semester in a religious philosophy class did edit: i just got to the part where you talk about abraham's bible story and i always thought the same thing and i grew up very catholic...oh my god you just blew my mind i was always so frustrated cause i didn't get why we were supposed to think this was a beautiful story cause to me it was just horrifying

[@jaz121]

i wasnt raised religious at all, so i couldnt really relate to midnight mass, of course that doesnt mean i didnt enjoy it, hell its one of my favorite shows BECAUSE the concept is so alien to me. but the best thing was watching it with my catholic stepmom. shes very chill about religion, doesnt try to convert anyone or make them abide by the dogma, she doesnt follow much of it anyways. her perspective really helped me see the nuances that i couldnt really understabd on my own. we talked about our feelings about religion and the church, its hypocrisies and all, bonded over hating bev and crying over how beautiful rahul kohli is. really expanded my view of catholicism.

[@legendswarble2845]

I'm an atheist myself, and I really connected with MM, but so did my Christian dad. I think it has a universal appeal in that, at no point does it say that religion or the religious are bad. It never really validates any one belief system but instead makes a team of heroes from a Muslim, a theist, an atheist, and a Catholic. To me, so much of the significance of it was heald in its ability to look at the human condition and show the good, the bad, and the complex. The only people it condemned were the people who used their beliefs to elevate themselves by putting down others. Anyway, to stop rambling, I'm very glad this story was able to connect with so many people. I love a story that anyone can find some way to connect with and not feel alienated. I connected to it so strongly, I worried that Christians and theists wouldn't, but I'm glad to see I was wrong. It really was remarkably done

[@alexandravalerious3274]

i was raised religious but not christian or any of the book religious so it was hard to relate to and understand the more theological discussions bc theyre concepts i wasnt really familiar with wich made it hard to relate but it was still a cool show to watch ig if ur not religious but grow up in the western world through cultural osmosis u can still pick up on the allegories

[@theautisticguitarist7560]

Rahul Kohli is just *chef kiss*

[@JorguinTorpedo-ff5vk]

There's no Hypocrysis 🫵 I Never watch that show but seeing how good the Video and how thoughtful the video are, I Gonna dig in!

[@rossanapalma5904]

I'm 40 minutes in (after having watched the Snapewives video) and I have to say, I have always loved philosophy/religious studies/anthropology but went another route when deciding what to study at university. Your approach of applying these concepts and analysis to popular media is fascinating and so so interesting. This made me want to revisit all the authors and thinkers that high-school made me like, but also label as "old dudes that are interesting but maybe not that relevant anymore". Looking forward to finishing the video and to your future work!

[@rossanapalma5904]

I'm done - and yeah nothing to add apart from thank you. So much space and opportunity for further reflection and research that I'm so looking forward to lose myself in over the next few weeks until another fixation comes around :)

[@chrisrydburg9741]

Thank you for this thoughtful analysis. As someone who has struggled to reconcile faith for many years, Midnight Mass remains a pinnacle of me understanding my religious trauma and how to move forward. Thank you for articulating so many thoughts and feelings I've had over the years. Great video!

[@onioncrow]

whenever i'm stoned i gravitate toward your channel and find myself binge-watching all of your videos lol. they're incredible. i wish i could write essays even a tiny bit as good as yours, i'm studying writing and literature, i should be good at essays, but they always turn out badly for me. i can write poetry and stories but essays elude me. i just want my goddamn degree so i can get a job i might not hate ;-; i'm so tired.

[@upinurbiz]

being watched when you’re stoned is the highest of compliments (also - honestly essays are such a wild beast & these take months & months while being my sole focus, something you definitely can’t do during one semester with 2-3 other classes to worry about! If it helps, though, my tried and true formula is: tons of research, outline (vibes only) then select all of the quotes you like from the research, input the quotes into the outline where they line up vibe-wise, then just fill in with a lot of “and then so and so says *quote* based on *scene/fact* which aligns with *quote*” get it all down then worry about making it sound natural/interesting once the skeleton is there! Good luck you got this!

[@onioncrow]

@@upinurbiz i saw this a little while ago but forgot to reply, sorry, finals and shit are kicking my ass. thank you so much for your reply and advice, i appreciate it, this very useful. i wrote an essay last week on mcr, the tortured artist, foundations of decay, etc for a class following your advice. it's probably the best essay i've ever written. i owe you the first a i've gotten on an essay in years. definitely not a monster of an essay or a masterpiece like yours, but i'm happy with it, and i feel less horribly anxious about writing the next essay i have to write.

[@risaetta2109]

love the creation and use of the term deadling

[@upinurbiz]

hahaha thank you (or rather thank the fact that “person for whom god is dead” was taking too long to type)

[@icetera6195]

I can only imagine what it was like trying to pull all this together. You covered so many complicated and nuanced concepts in a way that was intelligent and genuinely human. It was brilliant and I was riveted

[@upsetstudios1819]

This is the best video essay I've seen in years. It's thoughtful, well written, well told and has so many good questions

[@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ]

What surprises me is that the video was released 7 months ago and most of the comments are from this month, january 2023.

[@j.avocado]

​@@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ i just found it as well, the algorithm is weird

[@EmoAnimeFanGirlLOL]

came here after rawdogging your Flowers in the attic video and could not be more pleased. my god you wonderful thing you are so good at words "we are here to always go one step too far. to go the road less traveled by until we fall off a cliff" [15:41] Howling

[@FakavaKiller]

I'm here because Mike Flanagan himself recced and posted this video to his Tumblr!

[@ailsalillywhite2018]

When I first watched MM I was wretched for about two weeks, prone to crying jags, totally raw. It was just exactly what I needed, a wonderful dose of suffering and religious trauma. But after I stopped crying, screaming and throwing up, I remember thinking to myself that all my favorite KZbinrs were atheist or Jewish, or just generally not super familiar with Christianity or it's associated literature, so I was unlikely to get a good analysis from anyone I already knew of and that I would have to keep my eye out for a KZbinr who could unpack it as the story deserves. Thank you so much for this ❤ I'm a wreck all over again ❤

[@chelscara]

4:49 I got “asked politely not to come back” after interrupting the ark story for asking too many questions about the boat. I was 8.

[@strawberryfox8819]

I just wanna say, I admire Mike Flanagan so much. The easter eggs of constantly using similar or the same actors in his projects, his personal touch in directing and his story telling is always top notch. Just absolutely amazing.

[@jmg1977]

im literally BEGGING YOU to release the ending song on spotify or KZbin or LITERALLY ANYWHERE I LOVE IT

[@upinurbiz]

wait are you serious bc I will

[@jmg1977]

@@upinurbiz I AM. i literally tried to find where you credited the song when it first started playing 😭

[@chaoticgood12]

SECONDED PLEASE DO IT FUCKS

[@brooklynlopez3562]

I second this I want it so bad

[@loremasterG]

​@@upinurbizpleaaaase, that song was amazing

[@ysodora8030]

I feel like the plot of Midnight mass in some ways is like a slightly exaggerated mirror to how I experienced losing my faith. I was raised Catholic, went to church every Sunday attended Catholic school. But I’m also Canadian and as part of our Social Studies curriculum we learn about the historic tragedy that was the Catholic run residential schools. These schools weee used by the church and the state to mandate Indigenous assimilation into the predominantly English and French Catholic culture. Hundreds of children died at the hands of abusive priests and Nuns. And the few others who survived are dealing with trauma so bad it’s affected them for generations. It took me five years to unpack my feelings around God and cognitive dissonance. And another five to untangle myself from the church and its community. If God is real, then he has created genocide, if not by commandment then by inaction. And if God is perfect then he cannot exist. For folks with the means and desire to help out Canadian First Nation, Inuit, and Métis groups, here an article of relevant charities: circleacts.org/best-indigenous-people-charities-nonprofits/ It may also be of interest to seek out the stories regarding residential school victims from their own communities to understand the issue in more depth, as it’s not my story to tell.

[@upinurbiz]

WOW. I know we had similar residential “schools” in the US that abused indigenous people and children but I don’t know enough about it to know if there were any religious ties (though it’s the US so who am I kidding) so it’s definitely something I’ll need to look into the connections of. I know very little about the religious landscape of Canada so this was very insightful and I’m grateful for your input! Also thank you for the link!!!

[@elfinvale]

oops, meant to say the lutheran church *in Queensland*, my state, where a huge number of Germans settled. (eg my maternal family, who apparently were suffering religious persecution cuz they were Protestant. that's at least according to family lore!)

[@elfinvale]

omg, i just realised my entire comment disappeared and only my clarification comment remains 🤦🏼 i tried to link to the Healing Foundation, the organisation here in Australia set up to help surviving members of the Stolen Generation, but i forgot that KZbin doesn't like external links. basically i was sharing about how the Lutheran Church - in which i was raised - helped the various governmental organisations steal First Nations children here and that i'd had no idea until i was an adult. The colonial powers really just copy-pasted their strategy on to every new land they came to 🙃

[@DreyriAldranaris36]

Thank you for sharing this with us.

[@neonpinkqueen1403]

"If god is real, then he has created genocife, if not by commandment then by inaction" Is such an amazing sentence, thank you for it

[@pariahred13]

This randomly came on with autoplay from a horror movie review guide. Had never heard of this channel. Instantly in love. I have a new pretend digital best friend.

[@upinurbiz]

hell yes

[@pariahred13]

​@upinurbiz it is one year later! I forgot I already watched this when it came on autoplay! And I'm a Patreon member now!

[@pariahred13]

Wait... his Twilight era... I didn't catch that last year. How dare you.

[@wherethewildthingswere]

ex-muslim, still living in a muslim household in a completely muslim country. i doubt i will ever truly be able to escape the clutches of this ideology into which i was born, but midnight mass gave me such a profound catharsis as i watched it, i felt like i was freed from something.

[@warmlacroix_9820]

holy shit this is one of the most well-researched essays I've ever seen, in any platform. The understanding of Christianity is so well treated, especially when on the Internet religion is treated as so black and white. Everything you connected with nitzcheche and dostoyesvky, even bringing the ridiculousness of the GND franchise makes for a so much deeper reading of Midnight Mass. "In 'The Bothers Karamazov' the belief in God brings nothing but questions; in 'God's Not Dead' it gives us answers; and in 'Midnight Mass' it gives us justification." Beautiful thesis statement for an amazing essay

[@FIRING_BLIND]

The shame I feel at having seen God's Not Dead in theatres when I was a kid....I remember doing the thing at the end, and texting " God's not dead" top everyone in my phone at the time. Pure cringe. I hate the movie now. The cases of "Christan persecution" listed at the end of the film.... they were just mad that college counselors can't refuse services to gay students who pay tuition like everyone else.

[@dorotheabell9155]

Fun fact about Left Behind: there's a whole "Left Behind: Kids" book series following kids that were left behind the oldest is like 13 and I think the youngest was like 8. I was obsessed with them as a kid. One of the kids dies in an earthquake it was traumatizing to read

[@sarahellis7429]

i don't have a thoughtful comment to add at this point but i just want to say this was incredible. your writing, the way you uniquely string concepts together, your presence on screen, the narrative, the humour, its just chefs kiss. looking forward to seeing more!

[@lucrezia5414]

as a recovering catholic Midnight Mass was such a cathartic and yet traumatic view. I loved it. it dug out stuff I had kept buried for 20 years. 1000/10 would recommend.

[@Cvisscher]

I'm only just starting the video but I was raised by Baptists and it blows my fucking mind hearing someone having a religious upbringing and not being intimately familiar revelations early enough to be permanently scarred. I knew that shit before the loaves and fishes

[@caileymarietattoo]

Oh my god how have I never been suggested this video before! As someone who was raised southern Baptist (all the guilt of Catholicism but none of the style) I was extremely bitter towards Christianity for a while since it basically traumatized me. But recently I’ve been extremely interested in the philosophy and the stories of Christianity as a separate entity from “The Church” and it’s been such a healing experience. I absolutely LOVED midnight mass and this video is so ridiculously interesting I’ve loved every second. You have a new sub! Thank you for your perspective and thoughts :)

[@leicean]

An ad with a christian sermon came on and I let it run because I wasn’t looking and thought it was part of the video 😂😂😂😂

[@nadie7368]

LMFAO

[@intofinnair]

sooo i know this is late but I've looked through the comments and haven't seen anyone say this but you're right about Dostoevsky and the translation except for the word 'lawful', Ivan says 'добродетель' which translates to virtue (that's according to wiki but can also mean goodness or morality), so it's more like 'If there's no immortality, then there is no virtue'. just wanted to clear this up as a native russian speaker с:

[@upinurbiz]

THANK YOU! Translation is always messy but I feel like Russian to English translations in particular tend to be insanely off base and lot of the time and there will be like 55 different versions of one line, it’s great to hear from native speakers who can say “yes this is what the official word would be but here is how we use it in context” so THANK YOU 🙏🏻

[@intofinnair]

@@upinurbiz you're welcome!! ✨ you said you like Dostoevsky so I thought you would appreciate some context from the original. also having done translations in both these languages (non professionally lol), it can be reaaally tricky to find the right words and yeah I've encountered some really weird translations haha

[@theaelliott4737]

This video is incredible. You made the very academic parts so easy to understand! Motivating me to actually work on my uni essays. Also your song burn down is beautiful please put it somewhere else too !!!

[@ConcerninglyWiseAlligator]

11:52 If you actually read Nietzsche, it is a HUGE leap. Übermensch refers to people who think for themselves and redefine the culture of the future instead of reproducing that of the past. The nazis merely liked the sound of “Übermensch” and coopted it to signify ideals that Nietzsche had no part in formulating. The two to blame for giving the nazis their ideas were Bismark and Helena Blavatsky, who respectively put the “nationalist” and “ethno” in the nationalist ethnostate the nazis envisioned. Also, he was not senile in WWII, he didn’t live to see WWI.

[@koryndv]

I hate to say that KZbin has been feeding your videos to me on my fyp for the last week or so and at first I resisted clicking… I’m glad I finally did because these are incredible!! I cannot believe you haven’t blown up yet.

[@diana_brownie]

The whole video waiting for the clip where Riley's mom says "you aren't a good person" and i was worth it, sooo good, love it, chef's kiss

[@kayleerogers969]

This was so incredibly well researched and so in depth that it’s rocketed up to be one of my favorite video essays I’ve ever watched. You’ve even convinced me to read Dostoevsky which is a feat 😂

[@Orion_Is_Sleepy]

This channel is deeply and drastically under appreciated. I can’t even describe how much of a changer you’re going to be. Holy shit.

[@FIRING_BLIND]

11:46 - ironically, Nietzche was highly opposed to anti-Semitism. Some of his work regarding justice and envy unfortunately played into some anti-Semitic tropes, but he was still highly against antisemitism himself. His SISTER though.... big time Nazi. She reorganized some of his works in a way that made it appear to support Nazism and it's practices. I personally think Nietzche didn't support eugenics either. Partly because he himself probably would've been targeted. He was fairly blind, and disabled ppl do not benefit from eugenics. Like the Ubermensch wasn't supposed to be a physically super man. He just played into the idea of one metaphorically... but the idea was that the uber mensch makes his own rules. The definition of Ubermensch on Google gives you "the ideal superior man of the future who could rise above conventional Christian morality to create and impose his own values, originally described by Nietzsche in Thus Spake Zarathustra". Because a big part of his philosophy was that ideas of good and evil.... we made all that up. Which means we can remake it, and change it. It's part of why his work is so influential on modern political theory. The idea that we made everything up.... it's a big part of a lot of modern political thought. In fact, ACTUAL Superman plays into this-and he was made by two Jewish men. He followed his own values of truth and justice. Of honesty and compassion. And he didn't see himself as super because of it. Which is what made him a true ubermensch. An ubermensch doesn't think of himself as an ubermensch. But again, his sister republished his works, and seems to have left that part out.

[@caderedwood9199]

As someone who still identifies as Catholic I adore Midnight Mass and I loved this break down, it's such an important critical analysis

[@emborhansen1251]

I mean this in the best way possible, this was a gorgeous sermon. It reminded me of what I loved about Christianity, the meant to be unconditional love of neighbors and bottomless redemption and forgiveness. There is and will always be beauty in those ideals, but they are achievable outside of the Christian bounds.

[@bagelprince3]

midnight mass is one of my all time favorite shows. SO powerful and the characters feel real and human. loved your video! youre entertaining and have good taste hehe

[@mauriziobruni5728]

I'm here because Mike Flanagan himself just recommended your video essay on twitter.

[@jmarch3467]

As an ex-Catholic and private school kid who loved Midnight Mass, I honestly cackled, paused, and subscribed when you said you got kicked out of CCD.

[@MozzleStead]

Wow. Just this incredible, hilarious, thoughtful, creative commentary which is going to go make Midnight Mass again. Came here because Flanagan referenced it. But, holy moly, I was raised Catholic, in Puerto Rico, which is well, extra Catholic, which is why Midnight Mass was so moving, and special to me. But this makes me see it anew.

[@savannahz1290]

Ever since I watched Midnight Mass back at the end of 2021 I have wanted a video like this, someone thoughtfully deep-diving into this show that had such interesting and poignant things to say about faith and organized religion. Turns out you made the video I have longed for MONTHS ago!! The GND parallels were just icing on the cake, haha. THANK YOU for all your hard work; it really shines through.

[@packman2321]

This won't be the most informed version out there (I''m running off a week's study during undergrad on the binding of Isaac) but I think there's some interesting layers to the story of Abraham and Isaac in some earlier versions: Firstly, there's an interesting context in that people sacrificing their children to God wasn't that uncommon in the period (normally after a disaster). 4 Maccabbes discusses a woman who ended up sacrificing seven of her sons in this way and some versions even extend 4 Maccabbes 14 to include a passage where she sends one of her surviving children to criticise Abraham for his pride (verse 26 according to my notes, though all versions I can find with a google search cut 4Maccabbes at 14:20 which suggests these verses are like the ones in Daniel where he fights a dragon with rice cakes [i.e. cut out for being weird]). So Abraham's command to kill Isaac isn't unusual for God in the old Testament. The weirdest part is that He's asking Abraham seemingly before the disaster. The second one though is the kicker. There's debate in early versions about whether the ram Abraham sacrifices was sent by God (the angel appearing only in later translations). Some scholars have suggested that the story is actually Abraham going up the mountain and then trying to fool God into thinking he's killed his son, because he legitimately can't go through with it. This reading is weird and I don't remember enough to put it fully in context, but I like to think that it speaks to a God who's relationship with Abraham would let a failed test slide. Anyway, I'm sure there's more that could be said on Abraham and Isaac, but those are the two facts I remember. I'm really enjoying these videos! Not much in the media criticism field puts my BA in Philosophy and Theology to use.

[@mxpants4884]

Any idea if there's historical support for the descriptions of other groups engaging in human sacrifice (particularly of your own children)? It seems like something I've mostly heard about as an accusation about a neighboring group of people to other them (or indigenous groups).

[@damejanea.macdonald2371]

Learning the plot of Midnight Mass solely through this video was a trip. It was a good trip and one where I got a lot more out of it with all the references you were able to provide than if I watched it directly, but it was also a trip with moments where, after an hour about an AA meeting involving a discussion of theology, I thought the horror mentioned in the genre was a psychological horror, and then suddenly a vampire leapt across the screen and ate someone.

[@Gee-StevieG]

“By the time Father Paul is just a priest…standing in front of an alcoholic…asking him to become a vampire -“ That’s not my biggest takeaway from this, but it’s a funny one :’)

[@mothboy8859]

1:53:37 "are they all just abraham waiting for a ram to be brought up the other side of the mountain?" is such a cool line

[@bananas999]

Created a new playlist called "life changing" for this video essay. Thank you so much for making this. I was raised very much a "God's Not Dead" type of Christian and have been battling my own feelings that blind faith without independent moral thought is not enough, and what to do about that. I feel your analysis of Riley has helped me get one step further toward an answer. Will be checking out the brothers karamozov. Thank you!

[@beverbii]

Omg this was the most powerful midnight mass interpretation Ive ever seen! I litterly started crying halfway ; ;

[@rainicornlady]

I’m watching this for the third time, so here’s an atrociously small amt of dollars per hours entertained because this is my favorite well to revisit

[@joshuayocham3774]

You remind me of my best friend who passed a few years ago... all the hours spent drinking and babbling, your music and aesthetics hit home in a way I have missed so much. Please keep making videos.

[@mythrules146]

This is going in my "rewatch endlessly" rotation immediately

[@User7even8ight9ine]

Thank you so much for making this, I love this so much, it is so interesting and cool--I have like no thoughts to offer I need to sit in a dark room and maybe rewatch Midnight Mass and like idk, thank you for your hard work!!

[@sydneyarchibald9316]

I stumbled on your videos earlier today but I'm already obsessed! Seriously keep up your amazing work I can't wait to see more!!

[@heidi3963]

I need to rewatch Midnight Mass now! Bev Keane is the most fascinating character to me. She is so deeply evil and selfish, and so convinced of her own righteousness that nothing can deter her. Her final, miserable moments are amazing!

[@casuallydepressed]

Girl, these videos are great! Imma need more!

[@upinurbiz]

legit working on it as we speak 😬😬

[@pedro.balbino]

I can't quit watching this essay for the last two weeks. I have devoured the show already, and I keep re-watching this video. This masterpiece is media critique at its most heightened level, and I'm so glad I discovered it. Please, continue this great job.

[@lukarion2045]

Great Video! And thanks for the out of nowhere starkid reference, that broke me for a sec xD Also same with the Isaak story, also always had your reading, didn't even know the other one existed (but I was raised catholic, so maybe they were more pro the fearing god side)

[@bigbugjpeg]

i had to finish this in two days and this... this is beautiful. i needed this video and i think allah continues to lead me to places like this in order to feel secure and comfortable despite knowing i will stay questioning. your work was impeccable, the way you tie themes and stories together with transitions -- just a masterful script, i hope you give yourself lots of credit. that was very informative but also very powerful. thank you for this.

[@darthbane5676]

Personally, I’m a Christian, albeit a pretty progressive one, but I think that if he didn’t want you to keep questioning, he wouldn’t have made you such a curious being.

[@bigbugjpeg]

@Darth Bane ;-; thank you so much for these kind words...!!!

[@juanitaschlink2028]

Fantastic essay. You got me extremely interested in two bit of media I haven't seen and Christian/catholic dogma. Sweet.

[@cthulhuwu_]

Just found this video off twitter. Snappy editing, lovely sense of humor, and a topic I could talk about for HOURS. Instant sub!

[@salyx]

You mentioned Muslim input, so I’m hoping you allow links: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYupnXmhfLh_g9E I have really enjoyed seeing detailed breakdowns of this amazing show. I’m really surprised your video didn’t show up during one of my many searches!

[@upinurbiz]

YES I will always welcome links to further reading/clarification and corrections and that video is great! Gives so much context to a lot of the Muslim representation in midnight mass compared to other media to so 10/10 recommend people watch this.

[@salyx]

@@upinurbiz awesome, glad it helped enrich the media for you! The comments also add more to it as well.

[@The-bird-outside-your-door]

This is the video that started me down my path of deconstruction ( of my faith ) and I just wanted to come back and say thank you.