this feels like cuthulu with extra steps...

@emeraldcelestial1058

Жыл бұрын

Or straps.

@DeepOne90

Жыл бұрын

To see the historical base on which Lovecraft based his idea of describing the indescribable by over describing you should read about Negative Theology, that is the idea of describing God by what it is not, as you can't describe the divine.The theologian Meister Eckhart of the XIIIth centuary is a superb example of it.

@CardfightVanja

Жыл бұрын

Cthulhu minus extreme xenophobia

@ince55ant

Жыл бұрын

cuthulu is the catholicism we have at home

@lordspork

Жыл бұрын

@@CardfightVanja or a similar amount of xenophobia

Super Bunnyhop became a mythology channel so progressively I haven't even notice

@meekaboo_

Жыл бұрын

lol fr, I'm really enjoying it!

@Beakerbite

Жыл бұрын

This is what happens when you stare too long into the moving ramen

@HRIgnomious

Жыл бұрын

He should play the Shin Megami Tensei games then, he'd have a field day.

@TheIronSavior

Жыл бұрын

@@HRIgnomious weeb is a disease

@chrisbodley8958

Жыл бұрын

@@Beakerbite I have starred into the ramen I have become the ramen 🍜🍜🍜

On a related note, the indie game "Blasphemous" takes a huge amount of its design, story and art direction from Spanish Catholicism which gives it an incredibly interesting feel unlike anything else out there.

@emulation2369

Жыл бұрын

It called Gothic style

@DeepOne90

Жыл бұрын

@@emulation2369 no, it's spanish baroque

@JewTube001

Жыл бұрын

yeah, it's only got a small touch of sex and BDSM though.

@MarcDize

Жыл бұрын

actually I find blasphemous more on the satire side on this than bayonetta

@dean_l33

Жыл бұрын

@@MarcDize I find blasphemous is the old testaments of video game

Dude used his PhD in Classical Literature/History and Religious Studies to give us an in-depth video of where Bayonetta's angelic and demonic mythos comes from. I'm loving dis!

@adamfrisk956

Жыл бұрын

I see what you did there

for italian iconographic and religious symbolism the games really went into a lot of even small details, like having Balder being associated with peacock imagery, which in renaissance symbolism is related to purity, but also vanity (which is kind of explored in the sequel, which kind of gives a "reverse tarot" reading on the characters of the first one) duality is big theme in the games (especially conisdering the two eyes and factions) also considering the rchitecture of the towns in the games you can see both set in italy: as Vigrid is based on Le Cinque Terre and Noatun on Venice

As a queer person from Italy, a former art history student, and a Bayonetta stan, I'm extremely thankful for each and every second of this video. You've put into words why this series is so special to me in a way I never could. Bravo!

@morgannyan2738

Жыл бұрын

How do you feel about Bayonnetas sexuality?

Damn it Gorg, I'm now left wanting more explanations of overlooked segments of Catholic art history. Absolutely loved this.

@michelottens6083

Жыл бұрын

He didn't even get into how clever and deeply informed all the seemingly shallow witchy stuff is in this game, right down to referencing those ancient christian women saints left mostly out of canon (who started many of the witchy tropes), getting the procreative and early modern imperialist politics behind witchtrials right for once, getting paganism vs. reformation era christianity right, and linking all that right up to what a cataclysmic worldchanging demonic 'heresy' modern women (let alone the queer culture this game codes for) are in the context of the tens of millennia of imperial histories hence. Gorg needs to make Bayonetta art history into a series. This video was nice

@Bane_Amesta

Жыл бұрын

@@michelottens6083 Now you reminded me of the accesorioes this game lets you purchase to give Bayonetta some advantages in different ways. All of them are inspired by different countries and game lore wise, made by ancient witches, which are all well known historical figures, like Cleopatra herself, to give just one example

@michelottens6083

Жыл бұрын

@@Bane_Amesta Oh right, I'd forgot about those! Yeah they were all really literal references to historic women who'd mostly all fallen to some witch hunt or other, or who'd just had their stories rewritten.

@Robersora

Жыл бұрын

All of this was part of my High School Latin, Art and Religious Studies curriculum, it's not overlooked at all (at least not in Austria) This is part of basic European History.

@jurtheorc8117

Жыл бұрын

@@Bane_Amesta Most of what I know of that is that the Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa is named after the Hindu deity of death, doom and the end of time, feared by most if not *all* of the pantheon he came from. If i remember correctly, at least.

My life immediately improves when a Super Bunnyhop video drops.

Hey this video rules

Two points. 1. you should really listen to the Secret History of Western Esotericism podcast (SHWEP) for a largely chronological, academic tour through the texts and historical moments that created the canon of the "occult" and much of Abrahamic religion. It's beyond fascinating and highly sourced and thorough. 2. Kamiya knows a lot more about occultism and folklore than people give him credit for. There's the obvious Divine Comedy references in DMC1, but don't forget that it was originally going to be a weird Resident Evil game, so the premise was that Spencer (founder of Umbrella) was genuinely hundreds of years old due to being an alchemist, and his castle was covered in usually accurate occult-referencing experiments, articulating the process of the Magnum Opus. I'm talking about the designs for KEYS in the game it's that granular. Broadly it was the VITRIOL process as it serves as a nice allegory for character development, but there are lots of weird little references you'd have to thumb through some books on alchemy to get (as well as, weirdly, a reference to Shingon Buddhism what with the Siddham script used as the demonic alphabet in the game). But outside of that, Okami references some very specific and not too well known Kyoto myths, and Bayonetta is naturally referencing overt "Christian" esotericism (which is also a mix of Jewish and pagan Greek and Roman ideas), including John Dee's much later and very singular visions and writings of the angels and aethers. Part of it might also be Daigo Ikeno's influence as his notes in the DMC artbook reveal a similar fascination with occultism and mythology, pulling from unusual and interesting sources for his monster designs.

@thepaleprinceofruins9203

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for mentioning the podcast!

I’ve adored St. Theresa and Baroque art ever since I took art history in college and I feel incredibly dumb for all the sexuality of it flying right over my head. Never came up in my classes 😭

@Kyfow

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, let's just say it probably wasn't a literal spear that angel was holding

@JoaoPaulo-zd2qj

Жыл бұрын

Don't feel dumb. It would've downplayed the mystical side of the experience, also the sculptor took some liberties for the artistical representation of the saint's experience.

@homestuck_official

Жыл бұрын

@@JoaoPaulo-zd2qj Sexuality and mysticism aren't opposites lmao

@JoaoPaulo-zd2qj

Жыл бұрын

@@homestuck_official in this case, it had nothing to do with the experience and it mainly comes from the ambiguity of the sculptor’s work.

@homestuck_official

Жыл бұрын

@@JoaoPaulo-zd2qj Bro are you telling me a dream where a beautiful angel impales the dreamer with a spear of fire that makes her moan of pain AND ecstasy is devoid of any sexual connotation?

When I was taking my bachelor's degree in philosophy in Italy I took an optional course named: "The History and Experience of Love in the Theology of the 1200's" by the philosopher and theologian Giovanni Salmeri. He looked like Mr. Bean and talked enraptured of the mysthical and pornographic experiance of catholic saints while connecting it to the italian erothic comedies of the 70ies. It was a wild ride and one of the most interesting and fun courses I ever took.

@epicalduck

Жыл бұрын

Oh wow now I MUST google this guy, I have a feeling that his works would be a delight to read. Thanks!

@Ghi102

Жыл бұрын

It's interesting because both fields are usually studied separately, when in the lived experience of 1200, they were entertwined and inter-related

@DeepOne90

Жыл бұрын

@@Ghi102 yeah, there's still a stigma about talking about sexuality related to holy figures in certain academical circles, but it's much more accepted now.

@Biouke

Жыл бұрын

Comparative literature classes always are a blast, connecting things you wouldn't have thought were influenced by each other. You stumble on Victor Hugo writing gothic horror in his young days, or a dystopian detective story actually being a philosophy essay on linguistics, or Ulysses revealing himself as a pathological liar :p

Another slasher title developed by Japanese studio with some of the people who worked on Bayonetta and DMC is El Shaddai:Ascension of the Metatron. It is based on apocryphal Book of Enoch and delves into some kind of nephilim apocalypse which was caused by the fallen angels who influenced the evolution of humans and pushed it into some dark direction. Man, this game is criminally overlooked. The visual presentation is phenomenal, each new level looks different from the previous one. I could argue that in terms of visual diversity this game stands on one level with such titles like American Mcgee's Alice and Superliminal. It constantly tries to surprise you with new landscapes and vistas. I've had this game sitting in my backlog for years and having recently played it I can say I had a blast with it. Please, play El Shaddai and meet this forgotten sibling of Bayonetta and Devil May Cry

@stonearmor

Жыл бұрын

Cruel Altea in Bayo 3 is basically the Gale

@1Synner

Жыл бұрын

Ooh, I have that game on the PS3! I sadly haven't finished it though. Too many other great games in my collection beckoning my attention. Gotta get back to it some day. Hope it gets a port to current systems so other players can have a second chance at checking it out.

@XanderGrishchenko

Жыл бұрын

@@1Synner Actually El Shaddai has been released for pc in 2021 as a remastered version, that's the version I've played

@1Synner

Жыл бұрын

@@XanderGrishchenko Oh cool... but I was also talking about console ports too, not just PC.

@XanderGrishchenko

Жыл бұрын

@@1Synner let's just hope this recent re-release sells well enough and then we may have a chance of seeing more console ports in the future

I think this legit might be my favorite video of yours, that opening salvo was so cathartic to hear after constantly being told when talking to people about the series how "sexist and objectifying" the character and game are, when what was actually sexist and objectifying was people's views on human sexuality. Excellent work (Also I can't believe the Vatican invented ahegao)

@luisoncpp

Жыл бұрын

Probably those artists didn't _invented_ that, imho it's quite possible to have roots in greco-roman art. Also, it would be better if you find another term rather than "The Vatican" (maybe Catholic artists?), it makes it sound as if it was something deliberatly planed and coordinated in the institutional level instead of just people expressing themselves. It's hard for me to find a good analogy, but the best that I can find is that it would be like saying that Bantam Books invented Game of Thrones, or that Shueshia invented One Piece.

I love that you used William Blake's illustrations as backgrounds-- I honestly think the observation "how the hell did Blake manage to infiltrate Japanese media so hard?" is worthy of a thesis, let alone a youtube video, considering how ignored he is here in the west. Hell, even Urizen is hanging out in DMC on a first name basis.

@MegaDeox

Жыл бұрын

Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden loves the guy. The Chemical Wedding, Bruce's fifth solo album, has tons of songs inspired by Blake, and the cover art is also a Blake piece. Excellent album.

@Mene0

Жыл бұрын

V literally quotes the guy several times in DMC 5

@joshmay2944

Жыл бұрын

Idk why you think Blake is ignored in the West? His work has been hugely influential, even to the point that his poetry is often included in high school English courses...

@Well_Meaning

Жыл бұрын

@@joshmay2944 yeah if you count 'The Tyger'-- but for the most part, schools only acknowledge his lyrics. The majority of his work was prophetic.

@YurimoHikashi

Жыл бұрын

@@joshmay2944 influential sure but many have not heard of Lots of things influence without proper credit

Bayonetta, and the themes within each entry are fascinating. So much work went into every design, detail, and the language of angels, and demons. Excellent video

Seeing George again talking about silly japanese videogames is like feeling finally returning home while being already at home.

honestly loving these recent videos where you talk about how history and folklore and stuff influence games

That's one hell of a title for a video.

Bayonetta is so rich and deep concept wise. I always appreciated it for going the extra mile. Glad to see some apreciation towards things that arent just it's gameplay.

@joepwrsurge

Жыл бұрын

So glad the series is only on Switch.

@panos3320

Жыл бұрын

@@joepwrsurge Could do with a machine that gives it more room to breathe.

Cool Angel's Thesis

I think you misunderstand christianity. Christian morality is not anti sex, it believes there is an appropriate place and time for sex (marriage) and inappropriate times for sex (between unmarried people). You've taken half of a philosophy on sex, ignored the other half, and then claimed the symbolism around the other half makes the philosophy hypocritical. Though, it would be fair to say, the developers of Bayonetta likely have similar misconceptions about christianity as well.

Today I learnt that the US doesn't have basic art history in high school and suddenly their prevalent Puritanism makes so much sense

I've been supporting this man for 3 years straight financially and his topics are getting more and more arcane for some reason and I love it

Absolutely loved this video. The amount of thought that went into the art direction and lore of this game is something else so seeing a video talking about it in detail was a treat.

Super Bunnyhop + Bayonetta is a combination I didn't know how badly I needed. Can't wait to watch.

Fun fact: Dantes Inferno aka The Divine Comedy is actually funny. Its like a celeb roast of people who have been dead for millenia.

Missed opportunity to use "Occidentalism" instead of Reverse-Orientalism to sound pretentious.

@serse8455

Жыл бұрын

"Reverse-Orientalism" sounded funny and expressed a slightly different thing from what "Occidentalism" mean. It describes the Eng -> Jp -> Eng passages. Listen to that part of the video again

@JulianDN

Жыл бұрын

@@serse8455 I agree, not the same thing

It's so nice to have you back Mr Bunnyhop.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is the sort of in depth analysis that I love to hear about video games and this sort of media. I especially love the world of Bayonetta because of how well researched it is for it's designs and lore inspirations. The Bayonetta fandom is one that is in severe need of more of this type of content.

Glad to see you still on the grind George :) Great uploads as always and I hope to hear more from you soon!

Yeah, when I read that passage from Theresa's autobiography for the first time and saw that sculpture in art class, I was like "Yeah, "vision"...riiiiiiiight." I always had the opinion that she had a *very* vivid dream of taking it up the backside, came so hard that she screamed to high heaven upon waking up and had to sugarcoat the dream (since she didn't want to lie) when asked about it by the other nuns when they came running.

I really love the direction this channel took! This is cool, interesting stuff.

You always put so much effort and research into your videos, they are such a treat whenever they come out and your great writing makes topics accessible and entertaining. Gotta get around to the illiad reading sometime soon!

George, your work is getting better than ever (and it was already pretty damn terrific). It's a joy and an inspiration, seeing you do what you love, and love what you do. Thank you😊

George, that’s not what Dionysius is saying - you referenced his neo-platonism, he’s speaking in terms of forms and essence. Dionysius is saying that the strange descriptions of angels using earthly aspects (eg wheels, eyes, eagles, lions, etc) are: (A) not the same as their spiritual essence, which is beyond human comprehension; (B) very possibly chosen for the human observer so as to be able to understand. He’s most certainly NOT saying that these beings have no basis in reality, but are really just metaphorical. As you imply, that is very much a lens applied as early as Hobbes but which becomes predominant in the 19th/20th century. In short, this concerns a difference of metaphysics, not hermeneutic - Dionysius thinks of ‘things’ differently to most moderns, precisely because he’s a Neoplatonist. (In the same way, the post-Freudian obsession with sex as liberation is likely the cause of those spurious readings of Theresa of Avila and other medieval saints. This is a modern imposition - we can’t think of ourselves non-sexually and we insist on thinking of sexuality as the most important thing about being human, and so we enforce that on our ancestors. It’s the definition of anachronism.) (EDIT: as for nudity in medieval / renaissance art - it seems tenuous to suggest that the mere presence of nudity is indicative of some repressed desire. Again, this is just Freud writ large. Previous centuries were more ok with nudity, even in public; look at Chaucer’s Canterbury tales. There’s no dissonance here. Compare renaissance nudity with Victorian - they are very different in their emphases and what the modern interpreter would call ‘gaze’.)

Honestly some of the best work out this platform, absolutely love your content

I was watching the Sonic rings burst out of the enemies as Bayonetta stomped them and I swear the music playing in the background morphed into "Can't you feel the sunshine" in my head.

I've been watching your videos for many years now George and this might just be my all-time favorite!

As soon as the Sexy Catholic Artwork section started I knew the Ecstasy of St. Theresa would be coming up lol

Does george have a day job or something or why did he abandon the channel

I saw a video once about the way drag shows are evoked through Bayonnetta, which I feel like relevant as well and adds a number of extra layers. But I don’t know enough to expand on that point, just look into it

This dude REALLY doesn't want to talk about video games.

I will say this: as an Italian I really appreciated Bayonetta 1's imagery and lore, it made for a unique game with moments of awe and wonder. Bayonetta 2 and 3 are good games but nowhere near that symbolic richness Bayo 1 had, and in game reviews fixated with only gameplay this will never come up. I miss that richness, especially with Angels.

So glad you're back in the swing george

Well this was a great video, goes to show how much research goes behind some games that without looking deeper into them, we just assume that the artists are going wild with the artistic vision and not grounding it in an already existent framework and expanding upon it in extremely creative ways, wild stuff, goes to show that the best art always has inspirations and is not a work that comes from the void.

I mean this when I say it, nobody does it better than you and I'm overjoyed to see you creating/posting things for youtube lately~

How is this not sponsored by Adam & Eve?

@kadosho02

Жыл бұрын

That would be divine comedy

@GianniLeonhart

Жыл бұрын

i was looking for this exact comment, im glad im not the only one who thought about it wth george?

Love that you are back at making videos George! Always a plessant suprise when you post a new video!

I love how bayonetta is the most historically accurate witch in gaming. Also I never realized that the text refers to platinum games for imagining the wheels as dragons 🐉

Haven't seen Heval, but super interested in anything covering Rojava. It's such an amazing project that more people should know about, no matter how long it manages to last.

You are seriously one of the most underrated essayists on any platform. This is the greatest understanding of Bayoneta I have ever heard. It makes so much sense!

What an amazing video, I really missed the angels on the third game, the new ones are just generic aliens or at least feel like them. As someone who was raised Catholic and is surrounded by it's doctrines everywhere it's cool to see, though I'm not practicing or a believer. I always laughed at how bombastic and "blasphemous" Bayonetta always been regarding angels and such.

I ADORE Bayonetta, it's my favorite video game of all time. I already knew the devs did mad amounts of research to make this game as jam packed as they did - and seeing all the history this game alludes too is wild. Great job on this video, it's well-informed and beautifully handled!

I'm playing Bayoneta 1 atm and Iam astounded by how Much Detail they put into this game.. I Love It ! 😅

I had no idea Bayonetta's lore had this much depth

14:35 we learn about bridal mysticism. If you'd have told me years ago that i would be interested in theology i'd have looked at you weird despite still being christian at that time but there is so much weird and interesting stuff both in mainline and folk-christianity (not to mention the heresies, those are great)

The removal of the “literal” aspect of judeo-christian-islamic deities and heavenly creatures and making their actions and appearances more metaphysical and allegorical is brilliantly conveyed in the book “God: an Anatomy” by Stavrakopolou. Basically early christian theologians were trying to set themselves apart from contemporary polytheistic religions and market the christian god as different, when his origins were actually anything but. Fascinating stuff

this was one of the most interesting videos you've ever put out, learned a ton and your perspective was great!

Props for the nod to Thermae Romae Novae! Such an enjoyable show.

Such a good video, I always knew the catholic influences in Bayonetta (as a former catholic myself), but actually seeing it in classical literature and art is wonderful. Such a thoughtful and entertaining game, and video!

this is why i love this channel

"One drop in a bucket of this stuff!" I see what you did there, and I'm not sure I'm okay with it.

You should be fairer to the writer of that Wired article who didn't find the opening cutscene funny; they obviously somehow ended up with a (potentially less entertaining) copy of the game from some alternate dimension. After all, they describe the scene as Bayonetta performing "an incantation to raise an ally from the dead." I mean, the only other explanation is that they didn't even pay more than a few seconds of attention from the very beginning, as if they'd gone into it having already set in stone that the the game and the character were reprehensible...

I really appreciate the reference to de Sade. Easily top five in my favourite philosophers, and it was especially good because there wasn't some condemnation that misunderstood his work.

I'm so glad you're back George. What a really great video!

She also literally a witch. Promiscuous women were often branded witches by the catholic church, so if you want a character fighting Catholicism, a sexy witch makes perfect sense.

What even is this channel anymore?

i did a research paper on the inspiration behind the auditio angels for my first semester on uni!! i do think some stuff i wrote was sort of a reach just to reach the word count but its amazing that, for example, fortitudo has dragon heads when the cardinal virtue of fortitude was often depicted with a dragon

@JasonX909

5 ай бұрын

Did it kinda break your brain having to look at them? Certainly did mine lol. Even to the point of misremembering/oversimplifying them to the point that what I remember watching a year ago (9:29) was just a floating eyeball with wings.

Loving this current arc

i'm sure the 21:37 runtime was intended as well, given the topic? small easter egg for polish viewers

@dnkakusei

Жыл бұрын

What does it mean?

@spaqin

Жыл бұрын

@@dnkakusei the hour of the death of the only polish catholic pope

@dnkakusei

Жыл бұрын

@@spaqin Oh crap, that's really interesting!

I find Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising to be more satisfying hack n slash games than Devil May Cry, the combat systems are made so damn well

@morgannyan2738

Жыл бұрын

Devil may cry was made by the same guy as Bayonetta

ive been in a really weird/complicated spot with religion for like over half of my life. a part of me (i don't know how large) wants me to go back to some church stuff (was/am catholic), but the other part of me doesn't because i am like hella gay. i guess what i will do is play bayonetta after this semester finishes and see where i end up after that, maybe also re-read dantes inferno, idk

@CandidaRosa889

Жыл бұрын

Catholic/ Apostolic Christian ethics aren't anti-homosexual, it recognizes that being attracted to the same sex cannot be changed but urges the same actions that a non-married heterosexual would take.

@rudolfambrozenvtuber

Жыл бұрын

@@CandidaRosa889 That's just shame with extra steps

@CandidaRosa889

Жыл бұрын

​@@rudolfambrozenvtuber Shame is what molds your humanity along with joy.

@rudolfambrozenvtuber

Жыл бұрын

@@CandidaRosa889 what is someone like you even doing on a video like this?

@CandidaRosa889

Жыл бұрын

@@rudolfambrozenvtuber why would you ask that? I watched this channel for his metal gear solid videos a long time ago and I guess im still subscribed

A gentleman and a scholar.

Adam and eve should have endorsed this one

I mean, I COULD read The Divine Comedy but I'm waiting for the official George Weidman audiobook release

Well. Never thought someone would convince me to read the Dante books, let alone get me excited to do so.

Hella good video, thank you for diving into Bayonetta like this!

It's good to have you back, George.

Bayonetta was the first time I felt immediately when i saw it i thought 'wow, angels are so cool' For once in my life, having grown up in the oppression of Catholisism and the beauty and peace of Christianity, I finally saw the 'good' how i always wanted it. Not boring and basic and oppressive but beautiful, ornate, creepy, and powerful. For once the role always saught to be admired in media (the bad side or evil) was relegated to the traditional good. I loved it and try to project that in my own work. Its crazy it took an outside look through japanese ideas to achive this.

As a Catholic I love the artistic inspirations in Bayonetta, I absolutely adore it

Been loving your uploads recently!

This is my favourite video of yours. no doubt

I was so ready for the ad lead-in for Adam & Eve

That opening statement just kept going to places i didn't think they ever could

George with constant uploads again 🙏 bless this timeline

The fact that Bayo is kind of a LGBT icon is funny to me, because, just like you said, I remember people shamming the over sexualization of the first game so much back then Also, great video overall man, I'd be very happy if you did more of this with Bayonetta

@morgannyan2738

Жыл бұрын

its even more funny now that shes revealed to be straight

I’m glad you finally decided to open a book to find out where much of the video games inspiration comes from :)

Big props to 6:16 full screen notation. Very easy to screenshot those and save it to my notes. Thank you

Extremely fascinating video. Thank you for making this really digestible. Love the deep dive

This is an very liberal atheist interpretation of catholicism

I walk away from the video, happily knowing I've never been so proud as a Bayonetta fan.

This is top notch analysis George. I hope someone like yourself continues to make sense of the gaming world.

This is great, i could take another hour of you exploring this in more detail :)

Great video George, I really enjoyed the pit on the ecstasy of St. Theresa. When I was in high school, my Government/Trivia team coach talked about it a bit and it kinda stuck with me. Hope you keep working, look forward to your next video!

George’s dive into classical studies has made him more powerful than ever before

George no matter how nerdy your interests become, no matter how much they steer your content away from the most popular audience draws, I want you to never stop being such a huge dork. Your latest content is adding knowledge to the world and it's so cool. I never thought I'd read the Illiad! Thanks for persisting with following your interests!

Blew my mind! How was this not sponsored by Adam and Eve?

Really excellent vid George, loved watching this one

Never imagined there to be such depth in Bayonetta, despite the obvious quality and style of the series. Bravo!