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.

@Peej Lol - but isn't that exactly what you did suggest? But, anyway, OK, yes, that is a very good plan: [i]you[/i] wait there.

@allinamberclad I suggested that David8 said MUM, not Ma'am. And that by saying "MUM" he was being deferential to Meredith Vickers, his "boss". If that's what you mean, then yes, that's what I was suggesting, and I'll happily wait "here" in the meantime. ;) Cheers PJ

Vickers is an Andriod.

I heard "marm" (pronounced like "mom), which is an old british term for a woman in a commanding position, especially one who is strict.

[b]@MostlyHarmless[/b] - While I'm here let me say the Argument Sketch just happens to be my favorite Monty Python clip of all time. Unfortunately, like Mr. Barnard, you're being a bit too conciliatory. Despite being a yank I do have my manners, but I'll enjoy putting them aside for a moment on your and Peej's behalf. [b]@allinamberclad[/b] - Congratulate yourself. You irritated me so badly with your multiple lapses of intelligence that I registered on the forum for the sole purpose of correcting your (highly opinionated) misstatements. Please do yourself a favor and go back and re-read MostlyHarmless's and Peej's posts. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you've missed their basic messages due to skimming them ... my only other option is to believe you have serious reading comprehension problems, and despite the fact I'm going to enjoy this, I really do tend to be a nice guy and would prefer not to get that dirty. (I just feel strongly about sticking up for people who are misunderstood - especially when the misunderstanding is not their fault.) 1.) At no point did they say that Mum means Gov'nor. They used Gov and Mum as two British examples (and cool and sick as two American examples) of slang terms that have more than one meaning depending on the context they're used in. 2.) It was quite common for butlers and maids to refer to their lords and ladies as "Sir"/"M'lord"/"Squire"/"Young Master" for men of various ages and household rank, and "Miss"/"M'lady"/"Ma'am"/"Mum" for women of various ages and household rank. As ‘head of the household’ Vickers would be addressed [i][b]however she wished[/b][/i] to be addressed … and being that Miss and M'lady usually refer to a pre-teen and Ma'am usually refers to an older woman (and all three of them people of less control over the household), it would be perfectly in line for her to prefer Mum. This does not mean that she’s his biological mother any more than the lady of the house is the mother of her butler. It simply signifies that she is the head of the household, and as such, can be considered a matron of the house. It's not as common in the US for the female head of household to think of her employees as her extended family, but it is/was quite common in countries of the commonwealth. 3.) I got a great laugh out of this: "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." ...... as if it's not entirely possible that [b]you[/b] are making the easy mistake of hearing it just the oppostie, due to your infamiliarity with the accent and context. (*shaking my head*) 4.) [b]JetSqueak[/b] - I work six feet away from a television that’s on mute 24/7 with closed captioning turned on ... I probably look up and watch/read 10-15 hours of it every week. Having seen hundreds to a thousand of cases of mistyped CC text you can't possibly tell me you think CC text is 100% reliable! :-) Fin.

[b]@IrNinjaBob[/b] - I also thought the triangle was interesting. There was a moment when they cut from Weyland to Vickers to David (or vice verse) and David is pushing back his blond hair ... and seeing all three of them with blond hair (and the obvious power play between David and Vickers) and laughed and said, "Ah ha. He'd wanted a son ...... so he built one."

Meredith Vickers is clearly intimately involved with Peter Weyland. She could have been one of Weyland's illegitimate love childs. Since Weyland is a trillionaire, he probably has no time, nor interest, in raising kids. So, he lets androids raise his brats instead. That would explain why Vickers behaves somewhat like an android: she was raised by one.

I think she is his daughter is clearly heartbroken that they do not see things eye to eye or rather that it is clearly a power struggle between them and he does not treat her like a first born son, because she is simply a woman, she always wanted him to, you can clearly see this when he makes his announcement at the beginning and says that as far as he is concerned Shaw & Holloway are in charge. She also clearly hates his guts and is a realist and does not believe in even the possibility of immortality which he seeks out, and he hates her guts in fact for this, always wanted a son instead, and even as they both rot in hell they hate each others guts. I do not think they will be having dinner anytime soon with each other down there, or even over at Satan's place. LOL. They weren't invited. Satan hates both their guts...lmfao.

I think so too. Still, only a sequel to this nightmare will provide any answers. I guess nobody will be satisfied until they see Vicker's naughty bits. . . . I'll pass on that one, no offense. If a sequel was made, what would they do with this whole Vickers problem? Peel her off the back of an alien ship? Not likely.

@Fla_Panther All this is evidence of is that @Peej could not construct a sentence that is without ambiguity and that you are some kind of an irritable buffoon or simpleton - I wish a had any reason to congratulate you anything. No: it is not likely, at all, that is, "entirely possible that [ I] am making the easy mistake of hearing it just the oppostie, due to [my] infamiliarity [sic] with the accent and context" - why on Earth do you think I would use that phrase, if that were likely? Let me make it clear, once more, so that [i]your[/i] "reading comprehension" gets another bite at it: there is no relationship in meaning or usage between, "Ma'am", and, "Mum". They are not interchangeable - which is the source of the pure idiocy and invalid conclusions in you rambling treatise - I never said or suggested that Vickers was David's biological mother by virtue of the word being able to denote that - [u]quite the opposite. [/u] You could only possibly come to that conclusion that this is a possibility if you have incorrectly conflated, "Ma'am" and, "Mum", as you have, apparently, done - perhaps this is the kind of thing you had in mind by your use of the phrase, "lapse of intelligence"? No Briton who has yet lived, (while in a position to be called, "Ma'am"), would request to be referred to as, "Mum" - unless she was actually a the speaker's Mother, or, in an alternate context, she was the off-duty Mother of someone else, in another setting. The suggestion would be 1] absurd, 2] impertinent. David said, "Ma'am". "Ma'am", may [and quite often does] [i]sound like[/i], "Mum" when a British person is using it - and when the person overhearing it is unable to appreciate the fact. That it [i]sounds[/i] quite like,"Mum", [dependant upon delivery and dialect], does not mean they are actually saying, "Mum" - because, as in this example, if they did say, "Mum", it would be absolutely absurd. I find you hysterical.