Cannibalism in Yellowjackets. In 1993, Levi-Strauss wrote that “the concept of cannibalism and its direct or indirect applications belong to all societies,” and that, when examined in all its complexity, “we are all cannibals.” That might be one of the reasons that makes Yellowjackets so compelling. There is something abhorrent but also deeply human about the practice of cannibalism, either in its literal or symbolic form. When the Yellowjackets are eating Jackie in what is clearly presented as a ritual feast, we are horrified, but we cannot take our eyes off the screen.
Very interesting thread - and it makes me want to watch Yellowjackets! I watched The Last of Us this winter and one of many post-apocalyptic communities depicted was a charismatic leader cult that fed the community ‘venison’ that was actually human. The cannibalism seemed to be a comment on the leaders moral failing but I don’t know, it seems that the greater moral failing could be to let the community starve instead.
Another early cultural reference (to me anyway) is in Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. The Martian culture describes a ritual of the community sharing a meal of the deceased elder as a way of honoring him/her/it, which I think was defended to his human benefactor as being similar to the intent of the Eucharist.
My father died this winter and the Orthodox rabbi who led his funeral (we were not raised Orthodox) explained to my sibs and I how the Jewish rituals around death, preparing the body & burial, presuppose that a portion of the soul remains in the body. This matches up with your description of how historically cannibalism was intended to connect with & subsume qualities of the person being eaten.
I just have to say your field of speciality is really fascinating!
Yes, I also watched The Last of Us and that's part of the plot. Same with Walking Dead in season 5. As I said in the post, I think cannibalism speaks to some deep fears within us, eating another human being is the ultimate form of transgression, it is crossing the line of what makes us human to become something else. Hannibal Lecter is a good example of how cannibalism is a form of transgression that allows him to become something else, a form of uberman as defined by Nietzsche, an individual who has gone beyond accepted forms of morality.
I have not read Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, but I will check it out.
I am sorry to hear about your father's passing. What the rabbi said is also interesting, since it is related to ideas of what happens to us after we die. Is there a soul? Does it go somewhere? What happens to our body? Etc. I might write more about these issues at some point.
You should definitely check out the show, although it is quite graphic.
Very interesting thread - and it makes me want to watch Yellowjackets! I watched The Last of Us this winter and one of many post-apocalyptic communities depicted was a charismatic leader cult that fed the community ‘venison’ that was actually human. The cannibalism seemed to be a comment on the leaders moral failing but I don’t know, it seems that the greater moral failing could be to let the community starve instead.
Another early cultural reference (to me anyway) is in Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. The Martian culture describes a ritual of the community sharing a meal of the deceased elder as a way of honoring him/her/it, which I think was defended to his human benefactor as being similar to the intent of the Eucharist.
My father died this winter and the Orthodox rabbi who led his funeral (we were not raised Orthodox) explained to my sibs and I how the Jewish rituals around death, preparing the body & burial, presuppose that a portion of the soul remains in the body. This matches up with your description of how historically cannibalism was intended to connect with & subsume qualities of the person being eaten.
I just have to say your field of speciality is really fascinating!
Yes, I also watched The Last of Us and that's part of the plot. Same with Walking Dead in season 5. As I said in the post, I think cannibalism speaks to some deep fears within us, eating another human being is the ultimate form of transgression, it is crossing the line of what makes us human to become something else. Hannibal Lecter is a good example of how cannibalism is a form of transgression that allows him to become something else, a form of uberman as defined by Nietzsche, an individual who has gone beyond accepted forms of morality.
I have not read Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, but I will check it out.
I am sorry to hear about your father's passing. What the rabbi said is also interesting, since it is related to ideas of what happens to us after we die. Is there a soul? Does it go somewhere? What happens to our body? Etc. I might write more about these issues at some point.
You should definitely check out the show, although it is quite graphic.