{"id":5666,"date":"2019-03-27T19:52:59","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T19:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=5666"},"modified":"2019-04-02T00:19:05","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T00:19:05","slug":"thou-shalt-obey-how-history-and-scripture-deeply-influenced-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/thou-shalt-obey-how-history-and-scripture-deeply-influenced-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Thou Shalt Obey: How History And Scripture Deeply Influenced &#8216;Us&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u014ckunoshima<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, Japan rests two miles off the coast of\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Takehara<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Most folks know the island as \u201c<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Usagi<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0Jima\u201d<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, or \u201cRabbit Island\u201d<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, due to hundreds of feral bunnies occupying the land<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. Historians still argue over how the\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">rabbits<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0all got on the infamous island. One prevailing theory, and the one that we\u2019ll follow along with for the sake of Jordan Peele\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atomtickets.com\/movies\/us\/272263\">Us<\/a>,<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0is connected to a dark piece of Japanese history.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Back during World War II, not many knew about the island of\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u014ckunoshima<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Japanese government hid the existence of the island from its people, going so far as to remove it from\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">any and all maps. The Imperial Army used the island to test chemical weapons that they intended to use against the Chinese. (And they did.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Some eighty thousand people died, both military and civilian alike.)<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">That testing was done on a couple hundred rabbits.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">American soldiers came to the island during the Occupation and were said to euthanize all of the rabbits on the\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">island. One theory about\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Usagi<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0Jima says otherwise. The American soldiers did come to the island, and they did euthanize all that they could find, but some believe they missed a small number of the animals.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Free of external predators, the bunnies\u2019 population has no<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">w exploded to around a thousand. Their high population, coupled with some uncontrollable external factors, has destroyed the ecosystem of the<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0abandoned<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0island and resulted in the rabbits\u2019 lifespans to be shortened to about two years.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Several parallels can be drawn from these abandoned rabbits and Peele\u2019s new film that go far beyond the fact that there are a bunch of bunnies in it. Peele&#8217;s version of those Japanese bunnies, The Tethered, were created as an experiment and quickly abandoned by the government that created them. Left forgotten, the Tethered then multiplied as their human counterparts did. The fleet of doppelg\u00e4ngers, left unchecked by a world unaware of their very existence, threatens our ecosystem. Finally, both the Tethered and the rabbits of the Japanese government were horrific means to abominable ends that may have ultimately failed but resulted in a high casualty count for both the test subjects and\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">other<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0victims.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OqGNWB3ceSs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>NOTE: Spoilers for <em>Us<\/em> abound after this point. Read at your own risk!<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><i>Therefore<\/i><i>\u00a0thus\u00a0<\/i><i>saith<\/i><i>\u00a0the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.<\/i><i>\u00a0(Jeremiah 11:11)<\/i><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Those horrific means take us to the B<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ook<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0of Jeremiah.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We see Jeremiah 11:11 referenced repeatedly throughout the film, but the whole of the Biblical book plays a big role in\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Us.<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0I\u2019ll save you the nearly nine hundred words worth of scripture, but the long and short of it is that the people of Judah were cursed for \u201cbreaking the covenant of obedience.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In Red\u2019s final monologue, she outlines<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0how the Tethered were created. The government was able to successfully clone the population, but it could not duplicate the soul. The body was two, \u201cbut the soul remains one.\u201d The\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Tethered\u2019s<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0purpose was then to control their counterparts above<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0but the government struggled with the same thing that God had when he created man: the power of free will. When they could not achieve their ultimate purpose with the Tethered, the government abandoned them alone throughout countless underground facilities across America.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Red mentions God several times in that final monologue; h<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ow He came to her to provide her with purpose, and to warn\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">of what was to come the same way he had to Jeremiah in the Scripture:<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,\u00a0<\/span><\/i><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Hear<\/span><\/i><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; (Jeremiah 11:1, 11:2)<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5527\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5527\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5527\" src=\"http:\/\/blog-proxy.atomtickets.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/us-family-1024x640.jpeg\" alt=\"Jordan Peele's 'Us' (Credit: Universal)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"640\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-5527\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jordan Peele&#8217;s &#8216;Us&#8217; (Credit: Universal)<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0words that Red<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0believes that she<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0heard from God were not spoken against the Tethered, but instead against those who lived above. The verses of Jeremiah 11 are of God condemning the men of Judah, but only the ones who broke His covenant of obedience. Adel<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">aide asks Red who they are earlier<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0on in the film, to which she responds with a simple \u201cWe\u2019re Americans\u201d (i.e. the inhabitants of Jerusalem).<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0They are us, and we are them, but the Tethered are forced to obey by nature of their very creation. They are not in control of their souls, and so they remain obedient within the context of the film. Young Jason is the only one we see taking advantage of this when he uses his ties to his doppleg\u00e4nger, Pluto, to force Pluto to step back into the fire and immolate himself.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. (Jeremiah 11:10)<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It\u2019s important to note that Red\u2019s motivation isn\u2019t driven by hatred of the government that created the Tethered, but rather to obey the God that she believes she serves. That God isn\u2019t the merciful and loving one they teach about in Sunday School, but the vengeful God of the Old Testament (where the book of Jeremiah resides), the version Red believes is testing her. It was the only explanation that her young mind could come to after the sheer cruelty of Adelaide and living Hell that she was condemned to.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Jeremiah 11:11 might be the perfect verse to\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">cite<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0to fit the narrative of\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Us<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, both with the duplicity of 11:11, and the notion that God can\u2019t (or won\u2019t) save us from what we have created, but Jeremiah 11:10 als<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">o plays a big role in the film\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">and explaining the rage of the Tethered. Isolation may have driven them mad, but Red\u2019s guidance, and her fury over the privilege of those above, gives them their purpose.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The privilege is best illustrated through the Tyler family<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. The vapid suburbanites are peak Upper Class White America, from their\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">excessive lifestyle<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0to Kitty\u2019s glee over a white woman in a Native headdress in her magazine spread. But the privilege is also illustrated in the Wilson family. Jason refuses to eat what&#8217;s on his plate, while Zora complains about continuing to run track. Meanwhile, their Tethered versions have severe burns from the nose down, and revel in the idea of a good run (or chase) respectively, trapped and unable to eat but scraps ot stretch their legs under the sky.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The God-given privileges of the\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Tylers<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0and the Wilsons are forgotten to pray to the American gods &#8211; money and technology.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">And so, as with the people of Judah, the evil came upon them. The evil was not plagues or famine, but themselves in their own image. The Tethered rose and waged war on the above, taking back what they so rightfully should have shared. The whole thing could have been avoided if only the original Red had\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">been allowed to join<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0the original Adelaide<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. \u201cYou could have taken me with you,\u201d the original Adelaide had insisted.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If just a modicum of kindness had been shown, a war could have been avoided. But kindness is so often spurned for self-preservation and advancement<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5151\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5151\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5151\" src=\"http:\/\/blog-proxy.atomtickets.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/lupita-nyongo-us-1024x640.jpg\" alt=\"Lupita Nyong'o in 'Us' (Credit: Universal)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/lupita-nyongo-us-1024x640.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/lupita-nyongo-us-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/lupita-nyongo-us-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/lupita-nyongo-us-500x313.jpg 500w, https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/lupita-nyongo-us-400x250.jpg 400w, https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/lupita-nyongo-us.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-5151\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lupita Nyong&#8217;o in &#8216;Us&#8217; (Credit: Universal)<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Humanity is capable of kindness, but\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">if\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">we were a kind species, things like Hands Across America wouldn\u2019t be necessary.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Coming from the above, Red knew what she had to do to get the world\u2019s attention. She knew it wasn\u2019t enough to kill. The Tethered had to make a statement and, much like the chemical weapons tested on the past rabbits of\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u014ckunoshima<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0that were used against the unwitting Chinese people<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, they did.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Continuing their parallels, the<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0Tethered will undoubtedly meet the same fate as the rabbits. We close out the film seeing helicopters surrounding their line stretching from sea to shining sea<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. They might be news crews but,\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">knowing what we know of America, it seems unlikely that the people from below will be allowed to live for long. But it\u2019d be hard for the army to ensure that they got them all, and humans have been known to procreate like bunnies in times of crisis.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0There is always a chance the Tethered, like Biblical plagues, can one day come back.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>You Might Also Like<\/h2>\n<hr style=\"color: #000; width: 95%; margin-left: 0;\" \/>\n<!-- The Grid Plugin Version 2.7.4 --><div class=\"tg-error-msg\" data-grid-name=\"Home Featured\">No post was found with your current grid settings.&#xa;You should verify if you have posts inside the current selected post type(s) and if the meta key filter is not too much restrictive.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u014ckunoshima, Japan rests two miles off the coast of\u00a0Takehara.\u00a0Most folks know the island as \u201cUsagi\u00a0Jima\u201d, or \u201cRabbit Island\u201d, due to hundreds of feral bunnies occupying the land. Historians still argue over how the\u00a0rabbits\u00a0all got on the infamous island. One prevailing theory, and the one that we\u2019ll follow along with for the sake of Jordan Peele\u2019s\u00a0Us,\u00a0is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5667,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50,58],"tags":[40,37],"class_list":["post-5666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial","category-horror","tag-featuredpage","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5666"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5809,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666\/revisions\/5809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomtickets.com\/movie-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}