Saathi
@saathi1013.bsky.social
Fandom acct. She/her, queer, married, BOFQ from WI. Disavows the proship/anti divide. Purveyor of OT3+ fic, cracky plot bunnies woven into epics, fandomcrit, & occasional nonsense. Female character stan, always. Saathi1013 from AO3, tumblr, & twitter.
Yeah, to summarize what I said in a separate reply chain, it felt very "evangelical but make it goth," and without the tangible Catholic-specific details that would have actually enriched the themes in the film, imo.
December 14, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Yeah, to summarize what I said in a separate reply chain, it felt very "evangelical but make it goth," and without the tangible Catholic-specific details that would have actually enriched the themes in the film, imo.
Yeah, I get that. And again, I'm not like. Saying it's an ~awful movie.~ I'm just noting how it missed a great opportunity to be a little richer (visually and thematically), and being... idk, wistful? about that.
December 13, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Yeah, I get that. And again, I'm not like. Saying it's an ~awful movie.~ I'm just noting how it missed a great opportunity to be a little richer (visually and thematically), and being... idk, wistful? about that.
I'm not saying that this KO film needed that thoroughness, but its critique of flawed men leading religious institutions and good men doing their best despite that would have been *enriched* by engaging with the "text" of Catholicism a little more, instead of writing headcanons about it.
December 13, 2025 at 4:53 AM
I'm not saying that this KO film needed that thoroughness, but its critique of flawed men leading religious institutions and good men doing their best despite that would have been *enriched* by engaging with the "text" of Catholicism a little more, instead of writing headcanons about it.
Again, citing Midnight Mass: that show has a tight focus and only has one scene where only some of the many failures of the institution as a whole are (rightfully) brought up, but the narrative has knowledge of Catholic attitudes and doctrine deeply embedded in its themes and structure.
December 13, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Again, citing Midnight Mass: that show has a tight focus and only has one scene where only some of the many failures of the institution as a whole are (rightfully) brought up, but the narrative has knowledge of Catholic attitudes and doctrine deeply embedded in its themes and structure.
It's like setting something in Disney and everyone name-drops Walt, but you never see mouse ears anywhere nor does anyone mention copyright or media monopolies, and the background just looks like a Generic Theme Park. Makes me ask "why?"
December 13, 2025 at 4:45 AM
It's like setting something in Disney and everyone name-drops Walt, but you never see mouse ears anywhere nor does anyone mention copyright or media monopolies, and the background just looks like a Generic Theme Park. Makes me ask "why?"
It just makes me ask "why did the narrative need this to be Roman Catholicism instead of some Make Believe Sect of Evangelicism? How does being this specific serve the plot and themes when the details of that faith are so blurred?"
December 13, 2025 at 4:42 AM
It just makes me ask "why did the narrative need this to be Roman Catholicism instead of some Make Believe Sect of Evangelicism? How does being this specific serve the plot and themes when the details of that faith are so blurred?"
I think, in the end, the fact that they chose a specific, real faith without actually engaging with the tangible details of that faith which could have been utilized to make the point more vivid and poignant undermined the poignancy they were actually trying to achieve, if that makes sense?
December 13, 2025 at 4:38 AM
I think, in the end, the fact that they chose a specific, real faith without actually engaging with the tangible details of that faith which could have been utilized to make the point more vivid and poignant undermined the poignancy they were actually trying to achieve, if that makes sense?
Yeah the character work was GREAT
December 13, 2025 at 4:35 AM
Yeah the character work was GREAT
Sadly for me the vibes they achieved ended up distancing me from the film a bit - plot was still very good, and there were some great moments I enjoyed - because they felt hollow without the tangible details. Catholicism LOVES its details!
December 13, 2025 at 4:16 AM
Sadly for me the vibes they achieved ended up distancing me from the film a bit - plot was still very good, and there were some great moments I enjoyed - because they felt hollow without the tangible details. Catholicism LOVES its details!
Ngl, I feel some kind of way discussing this publicly (when everybody & their mother is probs term-searching the film) given my own contributions to the "exploring Catholicism" genre mostly consist of fanfics that I tagged "non-diagetic priest!kink," but you know. I contain multitudes.
December 13, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Ngl, I feel some kind of way discussing this publicly (when everybody & their mother is probs term-searching the film) given my own contributions to the "exploring Catholicism" genre mostly consist of fanfics that I tagged "non-diagetic priest!kink," but you know. I contain multitudes.
Honestly the Church interior struck me as wholly artificial, so I'm a little surprised to hear it was a real place. But if they stripped it down to film (and overlooked that they needed to *add* some details), that would explain why.
December 13, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Honestly the Church interior struck me as wholly artificial, so I'm a little surprised to hear it was a real place. But if they stripped it down to film (and overlooked that they needed to *add* some details), that would explain why.
(no stations of the cross, no votive bank, statues were of angels afaict, no saints/Mary, etc)
December 13, 2025 at 3:58 AM
(no stations of the cross, no votive bank, statues were of angels afaict, no saints/Mary, etc)
Yeah I def clocked the Church not being Catholic - it was missing some key bits of set dressing that helped me tug on this thread in the first place, heh.
December 13, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Yeah I def clocked the Church not being Catholic - it was missing some key bits of set dressing that helped me tug on this thread in the first place, heh.
Ah yep, it def has "evangelical but make it Gothic" vibes.
December 13, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Ah yep, it def has "evangelical but make it Gothic" vibes.
Yeah, the depiction seems like a crit of what Trad Caths WANT the Church to be.
December 13, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Yeah, the depiction seems like a crit of what Trad Caths WANT the Church to be.
I'm not trying to bash the movie in the slightest, just saying that as an ex-Catholic with complicated feelings about the RCC, I have a finely-tuned sense for how Catholicism is handled in media, and I'm just making observations here.
December 13, 2025 at 1:59 AM
I'm not trying to bash the movie in the slightest, just saying that as an ex-Catholic with complicated feelings about the RCC, I have a finely-tuned sense for how Catholicism is handled in media, and I'm just making observations here.
Not that the Knives Out series doesn't trend towards the flat and broad in its critiques, just that if Rian had a Catholic past, there would be a depth (and visible tangible details) present that just... isn't (/aren't), here.
December 13, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Not that the Knives Out series doesn't trend towards the flat and broad in its critiques, just that if Rian had a Catholic past, there would be a depth (and visible tangible details) present that just... isn't (/aren't), here.
Compared to Midnight Mass, which [spoilers] entwined the flaws of the people who claim to serve the Church with a literal monstrous evil, drawing from MF's own history, the critique here feels too flat and broad.
December 13, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Compared to Midnight Mass, which [spoilers] entwined the flaws of the people who claim to serve the Church with a literal monstrous evil, drawing from MF's own history, the critique here feels too flat and broad.
I especially like that she got some money who's Black and from the Bahamas(?) to talk about the racial issues.
December 13, 2025 at 12:05 AM
I especially like that she got some money who's Black and from the Bahamas(?) to talk about the racial issues.
The gray in his hair and beard! 😭
December 12, 2025 at 5:39 AM
The gray in his hair and beard! 😭