
To the monotheist an “ exgod ” was simply a devilish deceiver of mankind whom the true God had succeeded in vanquishing and thus the word demon, which to the ancient meant a divine or semi-divine being, came to be applied to fiends exclusively. In the hospitable Pantheon of the Greeks and Romans a niche was always in readiness for every new divinity who could produce respectable credentials but the triumph of mono 2 theism converted the stately mansion into a Pandemonium peopled with fiends. The German name for idol - Abgott, that is, “exgod,” or “ dethroned god ” - sums up in a single etymology the history of the havoc wrought by monotheism among the ancient symbols of deity. Such is the irony of fate toward a deposed deity. Thus the same name which, to the Vedic poet, to the Persian of the times of Xerxes, and to the modern Russian, suggests the supreme majesty of deity, is in English associated with an ugly and ludicrous fiend, closely akin to that grotesque Northern devil of whom Southey was unable to think without laughing. In Saâyana’s commentary on the Rig-Veda, Bhaga is enumerated among the seven (or eight) sons of Aditi, the boundless Orient and he is elsewhere described as the lord of life, the giver of bread, and the bringer of happiness. If we proceed further, and inquire after the ancestral form of these epithets,- so strangely incongruous in their significations, - we shall find it in the old Aryan “ Bhaga,” which reappears unchanged in the Sanskrit of the Vedas, and has left a memento of itself in the surname of the Phrygian Zeus “ Bagaios,” It seems originally to have denoted either the unclouded sun or the sky of noonday illumined by the solar rays.

When examined with the lenses of linguistic science, the “ Bogie ” or “ Bug-a-boo ” or “Bugbear” of nursery lore turns out to be identical not only with the fairy “ Puck ” whom Shakespeare has immortalized, but also with the Sclavonic “Bog” and the “Baga” of the Cuneiform Inscriptions, both of which are names for the Supreme Being. WHEN Maitland blasphemously asserted that God was but “ a Bogie of the nursery,” he unwittingly made a remark as suggestive in point of philology as it was crude and repulsive in its atheism.

It also didn't need gigantic CGI villains or big blue lights in the sky to create a compelling conflict - just two men, both of whom benefited from a culture of toxic masculinity in terrifying ways.“ Thus, though tradition may have but one root, it grows, like a banyan, into a whole overarching labyrinth of trees.”- CARLYLB. Birds of Prey didn't need massive special effects to deliver an epic final battle, just an incredibly inventive, well-choreographed fight scene in a funhouse, and now-iconic moments like Harley Quinn offering Black Canary a hair tie mid-battle, Black Canary fully unleashing her sonic Canary Cry, and Huntress flashing a smile before fighting a horde of henchmen with her crossbow.

The film's approach to feminist issues radiated in moments both small and grandiose and culminated in an incredibly satisfying third act.
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But Birds of Prey is the first (and, for at least the next year or so, it will remain the only) female-led superhero movie that is unafraid to capture the experience of being a woman in today's world - in all of its messy, earnest, glitter-soaked glory. Sure, we'd been treated to several female-led superhero movies at that point, but they were arguably held back by bizarre conventions, either by arbitrarily being set in the past or by falling into the typical storytelling tropes set up by male-dominated superhero movies. It proved what the world of comic book movies can still be capable of when approached from a new, inventive angle, especially when it comes to stories about women. But combined with its stellar ensemble cast and the pitch-perfect direction of Cathy Yan, Birds of Prey became a profoundly memorable viewing experience - one that honored the decades of comic histories to its characters, while also blazing a trail unabashedly its own. There are so many elements of Birds of Prey that deserve thousands of words of praise, from Christina Hodson's brilliant script to Erin Benach's Instagram-worthy costume design to Daniel Pemberton's fizzy score.
