Prince of Darkness: a pitiful pigeon crucifixion

Title: Prince of Darkness
Year: 1987
Director: John Carpenter
Running time: 110 min.
Country: United States

In this horrific film a group of scientists are surrounded and killed by a gang of people possessed by Satan. John Carpenter exhibits muscle in a film that combines horror, violence and despair. In this context there is a pigeon appearance in a sequence that, at least for me, is the most revolting pigeon-scene I have ever witnessed in a film.

Here we can find the careless scientist falling into the trap

The scene occurs when one of the scientist leaves the building where he is working only to fall into a trap prepared by the satanically possessed homeless. The trap is quite simple: in a lonely and dark alley next to the building a strange object is laid on the floor that attracts the attention of the scientist (we all know about the inherent curiosity exhibited by the members of this community- the scientists).

When he approaches strange object he discovers that it is a pigeon crucified using two sticks, and  shortly after he is cornered by the bad guys (or rather, the possessed ones, because they may have originally been good persons). One of them, played by singer Alice Cooper, kills him using a stick in a quite violent way. A very sad ending to such a promising career....

After carefully watching the scene I am still unsure if the pigeon recorded in the scene was a real one - I sincerely hope not. I searched in the final credits and I couldn't find any statement showing that they have followed the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) or the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). I hope that this little animal was not harmed in the film recording. No one deserves that, even for a damn good horror film. 

Details of the pigeon starring 

• Source:  Prince of Darkness. Starring moment: 0:35:35
• Pigeon activity: None, The pigeon appears dead by crucifixion.  
• Symbolism: High. The whole film has a strong Christian undercurrent: a context of a group of scientists lead by a priest, evil itself contained in a church cellar, infernal possessions... in this context the miserable and cruel demise of an innocent pigeon that could be argued to represent the Holy Spirit can be seen as coherent (of course, from evil's perspective). 
• Relevance: Medium. This scene represented the first death of one of the film's characters. The role of the pigeon was important to achieve this action. 
• Training level:  Not applicable (the pigeon was dead). 

Ghost in the shell: what a feathered surprise!!

Title: Ghost in the shell

Year:  2017

Director:  Rupert Sanders

Running time: 107  min.

Country: USA

In this film I was surprised seeing a fascinating futuristic mega-city in Japan, altered humans with all kinds of cybernetic artefacts and plenty of action. But it also depicts poverty, social inequalities, corruption and a lack of respect for human-rights. A very sad futuristic perspective that at least was compensated by a feathered surprise.

Mira discovers the abandoned house that hosts the pigeons

When amnesia-sufferer "Major" Mira Killian (Scarlett Johansson) is in the search of her forgotten past she discovers an abandoned house covered with several pigeons that have adopted it as a resting place.

We can observe several pigeons flying and others standing on the roof

This peace is interrupted by the appearance of Ms. Johansson and the subsequent extreme violence scenes. Because of this, the Japanese pigeons serenely fly away. Fortunately, these pigeons do not seem to have any cybernetic implants.

Another screen shot with a nice pigeon siluetee 

Details of the pigeon starring 

• Source: Ghost in the shell. Starring moment: 1:23:24
• Pigeon activity: Even in a distant future, pigeons behave in the same way as today.
• Symbolism: Pigeons are used to provide more realism to the abandoned scene that is being displayed.
• Relevance: None. They only distract the protagonist for a short interval of time.
• Training level: Low. They only fly in the distance.
  

Mr Nobody: pigeon superstition

Title: Mr. Nobody
Year: 2009
Director: Jaco Van Dormael
Running time: 133 min.
Country: Belgium




It is very interesting to find a non-pigeon-oriented film (I mean, not a documentary about pigeons) where the main credits are exclusively devoted to a beautiful dove. And of top of that, to illustrate how clever the animal is at solving complex tasks.  Indirectly, this scene also introduces us to "pigeon superstitious animal behaviour".

In the scene we can see how a dove is trying to catch a piece of food. Unfortunately, the tasty meal is too high and the bird cannot reach it.

Oops!!! The pigeon realises that the food is too high.

The suspense level dramatically increases when the dove notices the existence of a pedestal than can be used to reach a higher position but it is too far away from the food.

However, the dove is able to drag it using its beak, and finally, in a quite surprising way, leverages it to reach the tasty meal. From the bird's perspective, this is a happy end to the story.

The pigeon is dragging the pedestal

And finally gets the food

If this scene was not enough birdy propaganda, the film producers use additional time in the film's credits to  show more experiments (in black and white) showcasing pigeons solving complex tasks.  The complete scene can be seen here.

In the following experiment we can see the presence of superstition in pigeons. In the experiment, some food was automatically provided to the pigeons at regular intervals of time, with independence of the animal's conduct. What happened was that the pigeons seemed to associate the delivery of the food with the actions they had been doing before and, with the intention of obtaining more food, they continued  to perform the same actions

A happy superstitious pigeon.

The interesting thing about this theory was it's link with human behaviour.

The experiment might be said to demonstrate a sort of superstition. The bird behaves as if there were a causal relation between its behavior and the presentation of food, although such a relation is lacking. There are many analogies in human behavior. Rituals for changing one's fortune at cards are good examples. A few accidental connections between a ritual and favorable consequences suffice to set up and maintain the behavior in spite of many unreinforced instances. The bowler who has released a ball down the alley but continues to behave as if she were controlling it by twisting and turning her arm and shoulder is another case in point. These behaviors have, of course, no real effect upon one's luck or upon a ball half way down an alley, just as in the present case the food would appear as often if the pigeon did nothing—or, more strictly speaking, did something else.

Details of the pigeon starring 

• Source:  Mr Nobody. Starring moment: 0:1:13.
• Pigeon activity: Pigeons and doves appear solving complex tasks and proving that they can exhibit complex behaviours. 
• Symbolism: High. This scene can be seen as a allegory of the different choices that one person makes in his life and how they change his/her destiny. 
• Relevance: Low. It is surprising to see how such pigeon-intensive credits have no relevance to the film's plot. 
• Training level: Medium. Some of the pigeons were subjected to an artificial environment that causes the behaviours described in this post. 

Lego Batman The Movie - DC Superheroes United: lego pigeons!!

Title: Lego Batman: The Movie - DC Superheroes United

Year:  2013

Director:   Jon Burton

Running time: 71 min.

Country: USA

I was very pleased when I discovered that the iconic megalopolis of Gotham City has pigeons living in it. I think that this is a good example of how we (humans) extrapolate our living environment to imaginary scenarios. One exception that makes me deeply sad is Star Wars, where I couldn't find a single pigeon appearance in the whole saga. It seems that the pigeons had been unable to reach the Star Wars galaxy, that is too far away. I think that we will address this topic in another post.

Regarding this film, the context of the scene is the following one: Batman and Superman are fighting against a robot piloted by the Joker and Lex Luthor. In the middle of the combat, the robot falls in a park in the centre of Gotham city. What kind of innocent creatures were in the midst of the combat, roaming around the park? I think that it is not necessary to answer this question....

In the screenshot above we can see Mr. Bruce Wayne... sorry! Batman, looking how the evil robot falls down. He is surrounded by pigeons.

When the robot tragically collapses, both  the pigeons and Batman escape scared. It is interesting to highlight that Batman does not pay attention to the pigeons. Of course, he is in the middle of a fierce combat. But, on top of that, it is well known that pigeons and bats are like water and oil.... they can be in the same place, but they don't mix. 

Details of the pigeon starring 

• Source: Lego Batman The Movie - DC Superheroes United. Starring moment: 0:59:00
• Pigeon activity: They represent typical pigeon life in urban environments. 
• Symbolism: I think that pigeons are used to provide more realism to the scene. That is, the use of pigeons makes Gotham City to seem like any other large city found in the real world. 
• Relevance: None. Unfortunately, pigeons are unable to help Batman in his tireless fight against the Joker. 
• Training level: Not applicable. They are computer-generated images.  

A tribute to The Rock

When I saw a Dwayne Johnson film (sorry, no pigeons in it), I could not resist creating a tribute to this massive and tough actor. This is a tribute to The Rock ...

The duchess: a quite decent pigeon

Title: The Duchess

Year:  2008

Director:   Saul Dibb

Running time: 110 min.

Country: United Kingdom

Today we have a special pigeon appearance. Contradicting the post's title, it is not a pigeon well respected by the avian nor human community. It is not flying, nor roaming around. The pigeon is served in a dish for a sad Duchess that is maritally frustrated and on top of that, has no appetite at all. The scene could not be more dramatic. The poor animal is served but the lady (Keira Knightley) has no interest in it, and she looks totally absent minded.

In front of her, her husband the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) and his mistress are sat and enjoying the meal while the Duchess' lover is shouting at the front door demanding to talk with his lover. It is understandable that in such a bizarre situation, one wouldn't be interested in any kind of meal.

After banishing her lover, the Duchess goes back to dinner and sits again. The Duke looks up, chewing and says: What’s the matter, don’t like the pigeon? I find it really quite decent.

Details of the pigeon starring 

• Source: The Duchess. Starring moment: 1:25:52
• Pigeon activity: None. It is a cooked pigeon served on a plate. 
• Symbolism: There is no special symbolism. I would assume the pigeon represents typical English 18th century high society cuisine.
• Relevance: Low, there is no impact on the film's plot line.
• Training level: Unfortunately, not applicable.