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Prometheus Spoiled On Political Grounds

Date: Jul 4, 2012 | Author: Brent McKnight | Category: Sci-Fi

This post is about a movie being spoiled, so it stands to reason that if you haven’t seen Prometheus yet, you probably shouldn’t read on.

Recently a Seattle moviegoer, identified as Jorge, thought the was going to hand over his ticket, find a nice, comfortable seat, and watch Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. Before he even got to concessions, however, Jorge received and unwelcome spoiler.

Noomi Rapace in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus

According to the Stranger, the ticket taker at the Regal Cinemas Thorton Place Stadium 14 theater (a theater I went to last night, incidentally) informed the patron that, “I have to warn you, halfway through the movie, the main female character will perform a self-induced abortion.”

Jorge asked around the theater and discovered a number of others in the audience had the same experience. He complained to the manager, and though the theater official claims that there was no political agenda on the part of the employee, Jorge “can’t explain why else the employee would reveal a key development of an R-rated movie’s plot.”

After encountering inaction from the immediate theater supervisors, Jorge ran his complaint up the flagpole, only to encounter more. The theater manager says company policy bars him from speaking about the incident, and Regal Entertainment Group sent Jorge no explanation or acknowledgement, and a pair of tickets which he subsequently returned.

Politics aside—this is neither the time nor the forum, unless you want to get into the intricacies of intergalactic trade restrictions like in the new Star Wars films—wasn’t the incident in question a cesarean-section, not an actual abortion? Isn’t that what Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) says to that crazy surgery tube thing when she’s trying to get that squirmy alien invader? And doesn’t it live?

Whatever your stance on abortion, most movie fans probably agree that spoiling the most horrifying scene in a movie that is supposed to be a sci-fi horror film like this is a bit over the line.

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Comments

  • 0ldman

    It wasn’t an abortion. That, emphatically, was not a child.

    Yet again someone decides to protest against a movie and completely misses the point.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Sara-E-James/170101031 Sara E. James

    I’m not convinced the warning was politically motivated. Maybe the ticket-taker was grossed out by the scene and just felt like he/she had to warn patrons that it was gross. I also agree, not an abortion in a technical sense if not a human baby. If I had an alien monster trying to grow in me, I’d be removing it too.

    • http://twitter.com/BrentMMcKnight Brent McKnight

      Maybe. I did have a friend who tried to convince me not to see Prometheus based on how gross that scene is. But if it was simply a nausea factor that he was warning people about, there are other ways to phrase it without giving the plot away. Even if that’s the case, I would be super pissed off if someone did that to me.

      I go to that theater all the time (three times in the past week), and I’ve seen some pretty gross/brutal stuff there, and no one has ever said anything to me. From the way he said it, that he specifically mentioned abortion, makes me suspect a political bias.

      Then again, he didn’t mention the idea that humans were created by a bunch of angry alien scientists, which is a rather blasphemous idea So maybe he just thought that scene was icky. Which it is.

  • Pete Bogs

    Apparently some are so anti-abortion that they’d even object to a woman aborting a deadly parasite from her body?

  • C

    Maybe I’m off the mark, but shouldn’t theater owners and managers alike instruct their employees not to divulge portions of films regardless of political agenda? If you pay a stupid amount of money to go see a movie in a theater, it is assumed that you are going to be allowed to enjoy that movie, not have it spoiled by an employee of the theater.

  • http://www.facebook.com/namdlogd David Goldman

    The only response to a ticket taker saying something like that is “Fuck You”

  • Tom

    Correct response. “Oh, you mean lile the one your mother tried to do?”

  • Johnny

    Ass never spoil a movie jerks!!!!
    I rather stay w AMC!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/Shaarkweek Gabrielle LePage

    He went out of his way to ask around to see whether it was true or not instead of leaving it be. He pretty much spoiled it himself.

    • http://www.facebook.com/CujoSR Sigbiorn Sigmundarson

      He went around asking if other patrons were told the same thing. That’s very different than asking everyone if what the ticket taker said is true.

  • TroyDowns

    The weird part is, it wouldn’t be a aliens movie if there wasn’t something gross coming out of somebody’s body, why didn’t they warn us with the last 6 aliens movies? if they felt the need to comment on this then why no comment on avp2′s pregnant woman scene

  • James Browning

    This dude should not be working at a cinema, plain and simple. In fact he should probably be banned from movies in general. seriously, that’s like the fauxest of pases.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Al-Pa/100001996399447 Al Pa

    i would say it actualy was half her genetic material, but it was a parasyte adapting to her material…. buuuut it was a child parasyste, carrying her genetic material….. buuuuuuuuuuut…. she didnt kill it …whcih she sort of shoould but at the same time not caus who knows what hte child would be like etc… caus later on i i think it sorta kills that sorta nice giant alien.. which is sorta sad :/

    wait what were we talking about?

    oh right theater employee, i think the correct response atleast in the 50s was to give a barf bag and warn people they may throw up and feel nausious or sick, and have paramedics on hand incase anyones shocked into fright etc

    but yea he was srota wrong to do it, but i ahve mixed feelings what if someone did die of shock people would just gloss it off and make a joke.. but that person does matter so who knows etc… besides he didnt really spoil it caus thier wasnt an abortion :p althoguh he coulda just said thiers nausiating stuff that someone goes through that may caus you to have to leave the theater so heres a barf bag and some ear phones and just cover your eyes if you have to
    etc

  • http://www.facebook.com/barry.beitel Barry Beitel

    It wasn’t human. How could it be an abortion? She was removing a dangerous parasite from her body.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GKXD2QXJOUN34WXJXVGEEHFW3Q Alexander Onasis

      Exactly. Well, it was such a lovely mutant alien murderous octopus that it totally deserved to live, right? ;) lol

    • wer

      abortion doesn’t mean “human” idiot

  • http://www.facebook.com/barry.beitel Barry Beitel

    I can’t believe that happened in Seattle, either. Very liberal city, for the most part.

    • Phil K

      Yeah. How dare he/she have an opinion of his/her own, unlike the brainwashed politically-correct DRONE mentality ?

  • Amanda Scoggins

    I am definitely pro life and did not feel that was an abortion, but is was so gross, and I think I might warn all pregnant friends not to see it because that c section was even worse than the last stupid Twilight!

  • http://twitter.com/Sargonarhes S. E. Roberts

    As if you can’t figure out how the movie turns out anyways. So some one opened their mouth, deal with it. As if none of you have spoiled movies for any one.

  • DorianGray

    It wasn’t an abortion. It was a cesarean section. What an idiot.

  • Eric

    I was a manager at a theatre for some years. You simply don’t talk about plot to customers; unless they ask, and then only in broad strokes.
    That guy should be fired immediately. I would be surprised if he still works there.

  • Circa447

    I hate to get some people off their political horses right now, but perhaps he was warning people because it was a graphic scene. For example, I know a couple people who went to see Prometheus without any preconceived notion that it was tied to Alien or even a horror film. They shared with me later that they were shocked and disgusted by the violent scenes. If they had simply checked into it more ( what they should have done) they could have mentally prepared themselves for the graphic scenes.

    If the theater worker was so politically or religiously motivated to spoil a scene to the attendee. Wouldn’t he have simply said that an abortion takes place in the movie? His mentioning the “self-induced” leads me to think that he was trying to prepare people for a graphic scene.

  • bhak1

    I actually agree that it was in a sense an abortion but the ticket taker had no business going into that. Regardless of your beliefs it’s just a movie (not to mention a non-human tentacle monster) and it shouldn’t be an issue. In fact, I’m guessing the ticket taker was more purturbed by the graphic nature of the scene than the political question of abortion. It was indeed the most nightmarish portion of the film in my opinion and there was a symbolism (David removes the rosary from her before it occurs and she does not put it on until afterwards) relating to religious beliefs and abortion, but I found it more a question to ponder than any preaching of one ideology over another. Regardless if beliefs it should you think.

  • sadako

    In defence…in London there was an event called ‘Secret Cinema’ – the premise is you dress up as a film character – but you do not know the name of the film until you get there (they give you a remit so you know what to wear).

    In this case it was Prometheus – I kid you not but 7 people fainted at the abortion scene when the film was shown…including my friend! I was totally baffled….

    But one of the stewards said, that at that sequence a few people feel queasy and sometimes faint!

    It has happened in other performances.

  • http://picasaweb.google.com/JTHolroyd/TileStoneWork JessSayin

    “A bit over the line”? Like opening up your abdominal cavity, closing it with staples then doing extreme physical feats like running, jumping, climbing in a space suit?
    Unbelievable! Just like the rest of the movie..

    • rrt

      How?? They were dissolvable staples. You can clearly see the scar tissue whe Shaw is in front of the mirror.
      PAY ATTENTION

  • http://www.facebook.com/jeffbedrick Jeff Bedrick

    It wasn’t the theater employee who spoiled Prometheus. It was Ridley Scott.

  • Jim

    Oh grow up people. This bull about spoilers has gotten so out of hand. Heck every chance I get I post plot points on my FB page with NO spoiler warning as people need to grow up and stop whining.

  • Just_da_damaja

    technically it was a caesarian birth…an abortion would’ve meant killing off the alien…

    • wer

      She tried to kill it after

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XNBOS4UIX5Y4LBN7RHKL234UZA shcf

    sir i have to warn you you for the sake of your heart that verbal kint is actually kaiser soze