Weyland, Vickers, David relationship.

@allinamberclad I would never suggest that Mum could be substituted for "Guv'nor" or "Guv", as Mum is traditionally slang used for women, while Guv is traditionally used for men. I will continue to "assume" that David8 said MUM. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree, we both heard what we heard. And I'm pretty familiar with British accents, thanks. If I'm wrong, I will happily correct myself and apologize. Until then, we'll have to wait. ;) Cheers PJ

He calls her mum, a British affectation. But interesting. Yeah, I personally see them as both being "Sons" and both being ineligible to inherit Weyland's empire. Meredith Vickers (Weyland) is female, so she de-sexes herself and becomes more "male", like a son in order to ascend the throne when her father dies; David is a synthetic son, a "bastard" and as such cannot claim the throne. It's medieval, in the traditional sense of patriarchy and rules of ascension. Also, in the movie, they both seem to want to kill the "father". Vickers even says "A king has his reign, and then he dies. It's inevitable". Definitely a major theme in the movie, and extends beyond Weyland, Vickers and David8 I think. Remember Father is also used to describe God in Christian terms (and Judaism, Islam, other religions?) The movie is about inheritance in the simplest terms I think.

Mum is how david refers to Vickers on several occasions, such as "cup of tea, mum?" Personal opinion: I think Vickers has gone mad with jealousy and competition for attention since her father made her a brother and there is no way she can compete with his perfection. She follows rules and protocols as closely as possible because she is insanely jealous of her "brother", Peter Weyland's "son".

He calls her 'Mum', I took it as a sign of feigned deference at the time.

And I know his speech is supposed to be English, so the use of mum may be fitting in every day conversation. I am American, so I don't know if that is common. I don't have any sisters, but I wouldn't refer to them as my mother if I did. I'm also not an android, though.

It could also be a loose reference/pointer to the computer, 'Mother', from the first film.

I think it's definitely a sign of feigned deference as Vickers is the leader of the expedition and David8 plays the role of servant. What's interesting is when he discovers the bridge of the ship, and then turns off the live video feed to Vickers... Then the relationship definitely changes.

No, he says, [b]"Ma'am"[/b], [that is: "Madam"] - in, obviously, his English accent. [b]"Ma'am"[/b], not "Mum" - Vicker's is not his [u]mother?![/u] David is her [u]servant.[/u] On top of it, I noticed, (like many servants, I would hope), he seems to have found a way to make, "Ma'am", also sound very much like, "F**k yourself".

No, it's Mum, it's an English idiom not just his accent and it doesn't necessarily mean 'mother' more the establishment of a matriarchal relationship.

Definitely a 'britishism', ma'am in a sarcastic lawrence of arabia style..as per helen mirren in the queen

it is ma'am :)

@allinamberclad Pretty sure you're right AND wrong. :) I'm quite certain he said mum. It's a derivation of Ma'am - as in Madam, or Madum. Hence Ma'um. Or Mum. Very British. It's a sign of deference as a servant might say to My Lady or M'Lady. An abbreviation that was commonly used by the "lower classes". Ridley Scott is British and I think having David8 say it was deliberate to delineate the hierarchy between himself and Vickers.

Saw the movie yesterday and really enjoyed it!!! As for what was said... it was "Cup of tea, ma'am?" I watched the movie closed captioned for I am deaf and that is how they presented it while I watched. I hope this clears up any misunderstandings?

@MostlyHarmless...Mostly He says "Ma'am". @Peej I'm pretty sure what you suggest is nonsense - Right AND Wrong?: "Ma'am", would be, "Madam". "Mum", would be, "Mother". Let me assure you: the two are distinct - and [i]not[/i], interchangeable. Neither is, "Ma'am", simply used by the, "lower classes" - what you're saying is absurd.

Well... Mum, Ma'am or MotherF**ker, there is NO WAY she's Weyland's biological offspring: the guy's what, 100 and she's... 35-40? And I never got the impression the medical pod was for her, but since it's "Men Only" I'm surmising it was for an Engineer (though we only saw a few without their helmet, they were all apparently male). Despite Vickers' invitation to the (lucky?) Captain, EVERYTHING she did and said screams android. And of course, as "servants," Weyland would need to keep that secret, or no one would do ANYTHING she said.

It's a servant reference, nothing more... or is it?

Wait, I paid for the full half hour...

@allinamberclad Yes, Ma'am is derived from Madam, and Mum IS used for Mother. BUT, it is also a slang term in British that has another meaning, like "Guv" for Governor (or Guv'nor)... I assume you're not British based on your response. In North America we have slang terms that have multiple meanings like "That's SICK" meaning Cool, or we say "COOL" meaning interesting and not referring to the temperature. Similarly, in the past the word Mum was used in Britain as a sign of deference. And is possibly still used today, not sure. Anyway, you can believe it or not. Google is available if you want to fact check what I'm saying. But I come from a family of recent Irish and English immigrants to North America and I am quite certain David8 said MUM in the movie. And that he was using it as a sign of deference. Cheers! PJ

LOL @ people thinking he called her "mum"! Just...no.

@Peej Oh dear. You can assume as you please - but what he said, was, "Ma'am". After that, I really do hope you are not trying to insist that, "Mum", is used as slang for, "Guv'nor" - because it isn't. It sounds to me that what you've been hearing in that context is actually a further contraction of, "Ma'am" - as I think we've established, that mistake is easily made - dependant on overall familiarity with the accent, in general, and the regional dialect of the speaker and the context, in specific.