HAZARD meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary

She enters the room, unaware that a man has sneaked under her bed. After drawing the curtains, she undresses, and the man gets a peek of her in the nude. Overwhelmed, he walks out in a daze as the landlady shouts after him. He reaches his apartment, still in a daze, and describes her at length to his equally curious friend. It’s a much celebrated cutesy, romantic scene from the Priyadarshan film, Vandanam, where Mohanlal plays that guy under the bed and looks adorable and endearing as well. Now picture this in real life? Imagine a guy hidden under your bed, watching you while you undress, following and pestering you at work, while you are travelling and at home? Imagine him blackmailing you for an intimate hug in office and even getting away with it? And imagine him singing his heart out as he follows you everywhere like a lovesick puppy? It’s one of the most celebrated instances of stalking being glorified in Malayalam cinema.
While romantic comedies/dramas have always been about happily-ever-after-endings and intense, heartfelt romance, the truth is that a lot of it shows creepy, problematic behaviour that makes women think that doggedly stalking them is part of legitimate wooing. It also speaks about the wooing tropes that have been the norm since ages—stalking, denial, agreeing, courtship, chocolates and happy ending. For the longest time, a hero (and they make sure he has the chocolatiest face ever) pursuing a heroine was deemed charming and romantic—in fact the narrative was incomplete without the token stalking. It was as inevitable as the foreplay before the consummation scene.
In the Rajeev Ravi directorial Annayum Rasoolum, a spin on the bard’s Romeo & Juliet, has Rasool, a local driver who falls madly in love with Anna, a salesgirl at first sight. As is the case with most love stories on screen, his courtship begins with methodically “stalking” her everywhere—right from the instance she boards a means of transport, paying unexpected visits at her place of work to finding her home. For someone in the throes of their teenage or young adulthood, the staging might seem achingly “romantic,” more so as it’s Fahadh Faasil with his large hurt puppy eyes playing the part and a director like Rajeev Ravi helming it. Take away those rose-tinted glasses and in all likelihood you will see a stranger staring at you unblinkingly from the other side of the wall, as you are about to take out the dry clothes at night. His eyes are still unwavering directed at you, as you are trying to display some saris to the customers. Or you will feel that uncomfortable gaze as you are hurriedly getting on the boat. The precedent was already set in the 1996 English film Romeo and Juliet, which had Romeo gaze at her through her window, follow her until she falls for him. That would probably help in manipulating a teenager’s romantic heart, which isn’t cool at all.
Men are entitled to woo and women to be wooed and the other way around makes the women undesirable. Indian cinema has been going by this archaic patriarchal definition of romantic courtship for ages.
Remember The Notebook which had Ryan Gosling pen a letter for every day of a calendar year for his ex. That would be 365 letters! Though she never received it, it’s an unhealthy and bizarre way to showcase love. Wasn’t Tom Honks stalking Meg Ryan in arguably one of the most loved celluloid romances of all times, You’ve Got Mail?
In Thenkasipattanam, Dileep’s character tenaciously stalks Kavya Madhavan’s character all through her college life and when she quits to avoid him, he follows her home and even manages to get employed at her brothers’ company. The scene where he jokes about biding his time for her to say yes turned out to be an effective cover-up of the situation.
Ranjith’s Mayamayooram has the hero follow the heroine everywhere, secretly taking her pictures at a public function and mailing it to her, playing hide and seek and eventually winning her over. Chithram’s hero also fervently pursues the lover, till she agrees.
The most problematic case occurs in Shaji Kailas’ Kilukkampetti, where the hero who is an architect opts to turn into a house help at the heroine’s home to woo her. From befriending her daughter, to feigning to be this innocent illiterate man, it’s a situation that is positively hazardous if it happens in real life.
In Fazil’s Manathe Vellitheru the hero stalks a celebrated singer, day in and day out, and is shown as someone with psychological issues. It’s the only instance when its shown as a problem.
The positive side is that in stark comparison to Bollywood (Sultan, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Badrinath ki Dulhania, Raanjhanaa, Tere Naam, Wanted, Saawariya) and Tamil films (several), Malayalam cinema haven’t really had quintessential stalker films glorifying the obsessional madness of a stalker, nor tried to create empathy for the stalker by trying to cover up the criminal repercussions of this violent act. Though it has been in fun, harmless doses, it still doesn’t take away from the fact that even that “harmless fun” is perceived romantically among impressionable young minds. From 2014, stalking has been deemed a form of violence against women under IPC Section 354D and is punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term up to three to five years. Taking all these into consideration, it is high time stalking doesn’t get portrayed as a wooing tip but just as the condemnable act of crime that it is.
(by Aradhya Kurup via Full Picture)

April 2033
After convening in New Delhi throughout the first half of 2033, the constitutional convention produced the document summarized below. If no change is mentioned, assume that the status quo of the Republic of India has been maintained.

Preamble

We, the people of Hindusthana, having solemnly resolved to constitute Hindusthana into a sovereign democratic republic and to secure to all its citizens economic, social, and political justice; liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship; equality of status and of opportunity; and to promote among them all fraternity; assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation; in our constituent assembly this 24th day of April 2033, do hereby adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution.

Article I: The Union and its Territories

The Republic of Hindusthana shall be a Union of States. The territory of Hindusthana shall comprise all of the territory of the former Republic of India, Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and Kingdom of Bhutan. The Parliament may by law admit into the Union, or establish, new States on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit. Parliament may by law form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any states; increase the area of any State; diminish the area of any State; alter the boundaries of any State; or alter the name of any State; provided that no Bill for this purpose is introduced to the Parliament except on the recommendation of the President or the President of the Legislature of those States whose territory is directly affected by such a Bill.
For the purposes of this article, the term "State" is to be taken to include territories as well.
The existing state and territory boundaries of the former Republic of India, Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and Kingdom of Bhutan shall remain in existence, with the following exceptions:
Uttaranchal, Sudurpashchim Pradesh, and Karnali Pradesh will be merged into a state called Uttaranchal Pradesh.
Province No. 5 will be merged into Uttar Pradesh.
Gandaki Pradesh, Bagmati Pradesh, and Province No. 1 will be merged into a new state called Nepal Pradesh.
Province No. 2 will be merged into Bihar.
Sikkim and Bhutan will be merged into a new state called Rajya Pradesh.
The districts of Sri Lanka will merge into one state called Sri Lanka.

Article II: Citizenship

At the commencement of this Constitution, every person who possesses citizenship in the territory of the former Republic of India, Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, or the Kingdom of Bhutan shall be a citizen of Hindusthana. Any person who voluntarily assumes the citizenship of another country thereby surrenders their Hindusthani citizenship. Parliament possesses full power to determine by law the framework for acquiring or terminating citizenship, as well as all other matters relating to citizenship.

Article III: Fundamental Rights

The state shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of Hindusthana. The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. All citizens shall possess the right to freedom of speech and expression; to peaceably assemble without arms; to form associations or unions; to move freely throughout the territory of Hindusthana; to reside or settle in any part of the territory of Hindusthana; and to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade, or business, provided they are within the bounds of the laws created by Parliament. Subject to public order, morality, health, and to the other provisions of this Article, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess and practice religion. This does not include the right to propagate religion. These rights may be temporarily suspended throughout the whole of Hindusthana during a State of Emergency, or in particular states or union territories during a period of President’s Rule.
Nothing in this article shall affect the operation of any existing law of the former Republic of India or prevent the State from making any law regulating or restricting economic, financial, political, or other secular activity that may be associated with religious practice; or from providing for social welfare and reform or the throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus.
“Hindu” shall be construed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, or Hindu religions.
The wearing or carrying of kirpans shall be deemed to be included in the profession of the Sikh religion.
Every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest, excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of the arrest to the court of the magistrate, and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of the magistrate.
Persons who are an enemy of the State or an alien or who are arrested or detained under any law providing for preventive detention shall not be afforded the rights listed above for the duration of their status as an enemy or alien or for the duration of their detention.
Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any law imposing reasonable restrictions on the exercise of any of the rights conferred by this article either in the interests of the general public, of the sovereignty and integrity of Hindusthana, of public order or morality, or for the protection of the interests of any Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.
All laws passed by the Parliament shall apply to all persons residing in the territory of the State equally.
“Untouchability” is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of “Untouchability” shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law
Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same. No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, or language. All linguistic and ethnic minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
No title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall be conferred by the State. No citizen of Hindusthana shall accept any title from any foreign State. No person who is not a citizen of Hindusthana shall, while he or she holds any office of profit or trust under the State, accept without the consent of the President any title, emolument, present, or office of any kind from any foreign State.
No child below the age of sixteen shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.
Traffic in human beings and forced labor are prohibited and any violation of this provision shall be an offense punishable in accordance with the laws passed by the Parliament.
Nothing in this article shall prevent the state from imposing compulsory service for public purposes, and in imposing such service the State shall not make any discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste, or class.
None of the provisions within this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision, by law or otherwise, for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes insofar as such provisions relate to their admission to educational institutions (including private institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State); or for the advancement of women and children.
Parliament may, by law, determine to what extent any of the rights conferred by this Article shall, in their application to the members of the Armed Forces; the members of the Forces charged with the maintenance of public order; persons employed in any bureau or other organization established by the State for purposes of intelligence or counter-intelligence; or persons employed in, or in connection with, the telecommunication systems set up for the purposes of any Force, bureau, or organization referred to in this clause, be restricted or abrogated so as to ensure the proper discharge of their duties and the maintenance of discipline among them.
Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Part, Parliament may by law indemnify any person in the service of the Union or of a State or any other person in respect of any act done by him in connection with the maintenance or restoration of order in any area within the territory of India where martial law was in force or validate any sentence passed, punishment inflicted, forfeiture ordered or other act done under martial law in such area.

Article IV: The Executive

The Head of State of Hindusthana shall be the President. The President of Hindusthana is to be elected by an electoral college comprising both Houses of Parliament and the legislative assemblies of each of Hindusthana’s states and territories. In summary, the President’s powers are the same as those of the President of the former Republic of India. He serves in a ceremonial role, and most of his powers require the approval of the Prime Minister before they may be exercised.

Article V: The Legislative

The Legislature of the Republic of Hindusthana shall be divided into an Upper House (the Rajya Sabha, or House of States) and a Lower House (the Lok Sabha, or House of the People). These function the same as the former Republic of India, but with additional seats for the new states.

Article VI: The Judiciary

The Judiciary of Hindusthana operates in the same manner as that of the former Republic of India.

Article VII: Division of Government

The Union is responsible for all matters in the Union List. The state governments are responsible for all of the items listed in the State List. The Union and the states are jointly responsible for the items in the Concurrent List. Those responsibilities not enumerated in any of the three lists are the responsibility of the Union government.
The Union possesses the ability to make laws affecting matters usually reserved for the states under certain circumstances, such as during a state of emergency; if authorized to do so by a 2/3rds majority of the Rajya Sabha; if asked to do so by any given state; or if the state is under President’s Rule.

Article VIII: Regional Government

Each of Hindusthana’s states shall have a unicameral legislature. The number of seats possessed in legislature shall be determined by the states themselves.

Article IX: National Security

The Armed Forces of Hindusthana shall consist of the Hindusthani Army, the Hindusthani Navy, and the Hindusthani Air Force. The Parliament shall possess the right to create additional military or paramilitary organizations as it sees fit.

Article X: Language

The official languages of Hindusthana are Hindi, written in the Devanagari script, and English. Hunterian transliteration shall be the official system of romanization. All official government functions must be conducted in Hindi or English. Court business will occur solely in English. All speakers in the Parliament and state legislatures must speak either Hindi, English or, in the case of state legislatures, another language approved by the state legislature. Speakers who are unable to adequately express themselves in one of these languages may speak in a language of their choosing with the permission of the presiding officer of the legislature.
States may, by law, adopt their own additional official languages.
Additional official languages may be added to this Article by Parliament through an act of Law.
The languages of Angika, Assamese, Awadhi, Bajjika, Banjara, Bazika, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Bhoti, Bhotia, Bodo, Bundelkhandi, Chhattisgarhi, Dhatki, Dotyali/Doteli, Dogri, Dzongkha, English, Garhwali (Pahari), Gondi, Gujarati, GujjaGujjari, Hindi, Ho, Kachchhi, Kamatapuri, Kannada, Karbi, Kashmiri, Khasi, Kodava (Coorg), Kok Barak, Konkani, Kumaoni (Pahari), Kurak, Kurmali, Lepcha, Limbu, Magahi, Magar, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Mizo (Lushai), Mundari, Nagpuri, Nepali, Newar, Nicobarese, Odia, Pahari (Himachali), Pali, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Sambalpuri/Kosali, Sanskri, Santhali, Shaurseni (Prakrit), Sindhi, Sinhalese, Siraiki, Tamang, Tamil, Telugu, Tenyidi, Tharu, Tshangla (Sharchop), Tulu, and Urdu shall be considered scheduled languages. The State is obligated to take such measures that these languages grow rapidly in richness and become effective means of communicating modern knowledge. A candidate appearing in an examination conducted for public service is entitled to use any of these languages as the medium in which he or she answers the examination.

Article XI: Special Provisions relating to Certain Classes

Seats shall be reserved in the Lok Sabha for the Scheduled Castes and for the Scheduled Tribes. The number of seats reserved in any state or union territory for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes shall bear, as nearly as may be, the same proportion to the total number of seats allotted to that state or union territory in the Lok Sabha as the population of the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes in the state or union territory.

Article XII: Amendments to the Constitution

The Constitution may be amended in a process identical to that of the Republic of India. The Supreme Court does not possess the right to veto amendments under the Basic Structure doctrine.
The first general election is scheduled for June 2033.

This happened yesterday. I waited a day to come down from my pure anger to write this, still mostly writing this to vent and get it out there. My best friend and his brother are both Tamil from south India. One is finishing up his PhD after living in TX/US for more than 5 years, the other just graduated with a MS in engineering from the same institution here. They speak English better than ~90% of Americans. Eloquently.
We have two dogs we don't like to board. They hate it, so we get dogsitters when we leave. We're at the better half's family home for Xmas. The dogs love the two above described friends. So the brother is dog sitting and checking on the house for us. So, we get a phone call yesterday morning, his first day helping us out. We pick up and ask how the dogs are.
"oh, they are fine, but there are police here and they want to talk to you..." "what???" "yeah, here you you go"
Proceed to confirm that yes Indian friend is indeed watching our fucking dogs, give the address, describe the house. Cops apologize and hang up.
Now I feel like absolute shit and get back in touch after the cops have left to get the full story. Our friend drove his Vespa over, put it in our driveway. Used a KEY THAT IS HIS to open the front door. Fed dogs, played with dogs in backyard, let dogs back in only to find that SIX cops had shown up in three vehicles. WITH GUNS DRAWN. One of our dogs is a stone cold guard dog. Half Cattle Dog, half Malinois. She only has to meet you once and you're good for life. But if she doesn't know you, you are not getting in our house. She gives zero fucks about uniforms, guns, and loud noises. Now, here in the great state of Texas, police are very fond of shooting dogs that so much as make them nervous. Our friend said that she made the officers extremely agitated, but he managed to keep control of her and make sure she stayed in the house. He deserves a medal for that. He didn't even realize it was a possibility they would kill my dog. And he deserves one for staying calm while six officers had unholstered pieces, with one leaning against the corner of the garage at high ready towards the front door. He says they were very apologetic after realizing the true situation, but fuck man... So now after hearing all this, I REALLY feel like shit, and pretty sick to my stomach all day, and am beyond fucking livid.
Our alarm system was unarmed for him to come in that morning. Which means a neighbor (and we know which) who has never so much as said hello or exchanged numbers made an insane call to dispatch. Another friend who lives a few neighborhoods over saw three vehicles full siren headed towards our house's direction right around the time this happened. Now, the kicker. Blond white girl driving her mom's Lexus had checked on the house the day before this and fed the dogs. We called her after hearing all this, she said guilty neighbor was outside eyeballing her, but no cops called. So much fucking fail in this story.
tl;dr: In central Texas cities, you need to include hazard pay if the person housesitting for you isn't white. Lucky he and dog are not dead.

All new findings and/or new info about previous discovered easter eggs are in bold.
Easter eggs/info/details previously revealed anywhere on the web are in italics (well at least all those from english and spanish websites... didn't check other languages, except bgemyth and its forums).
The biggest disappointment was to find out there wasn't a single hidden message/joke on any of those signboards with foreigner text (chinese mostly)...
Oh Kojima! You have spoiled us too much!!!
Also the vast majority of characters in these signboards are flipped which make me wonder if the whole video wasn't mirrored.
- 00:03. Poster of a piglet-hybrid (baby Pey'j?) on the right, similar to the one in the concept art we saw not too long ago. Apparently is written on it: "Get your pet today!" Note the mark in his forehead: is a "tilak", this particular shape is used by members of the hindu Shakta sect. Confirmed in the Space Monkey Report #1 to be baby Pey'J.
- 00:04. Is that white underwear hanging over pants? LMAO!
- 00:04 to 00:11. Feminine chinese voice in the background (didn't bother to try to translate it because all those chinese texts didn't give any meaningful outcome).
- 00:04 to 00:07. Chinese characters behind Ubisoft neon billboard: 防 水 公 司 = Waterproof Company.
- 00:05. 'Montpellier' sign light blink so we can read 'Tellier', for Céline Tellier, colleague of Michel Ancel's.
- 00:05. Chinese characters on the left: 平 = surname Ping; 科 = branch of study; administrative section; 兆 = surname Zhao. Doctor Ping Zhao? Clinic Ping Zhao? Doesn't seems to be proper chinese. 耳 鼻 喉 科 = Ear, nose, throat (Otolaryngology) clinic (doctor).
- 00:05. (This one is a little bit, or way too much, stretched) Guy/girl on the left with black knit cap? beanie? chullo? that resembles an unnamed hillyan that walks in the pedestrian district of BGE1.
- 00:11. Chinese characters on lower right 發 工 程 = Fa's engineering (construction). Chinese character on middle right 信 = letter, mail. Chinese characters from chinese restaurant: 二 = two; 飞 = fly; 会 馆 = hall; guild. Although I've serious doubts about second character.
- 00:11. Chinese guardian lions in restaurant's facade.
- 00:11. This chinese restaurant reminds of Ming-Tzu shop from BGE 1.
- 00:11. Space tuk-tuk on left.
- 00:11. Two bearded men on the right... or man and a woman? Very difficult to discern actually. One of them seems to be similar to the man in baby Pey'j artwork.
- 00:11. Seems to be there are other signboards in chinese in the background but those are extremely blurry to be sure.
- 00:12. Engraving on pig's ring 福 = good fortune.
- 00:12. New character introduced, Zhou Yuzhu. 'Hybrid pig, pretentious collector and ruthless crime boss'. ZHOU = name of the chinese dynasty that lasted longer than rest, also a surname; YUZHU = name of a plant called Polygonatum odoratum or angular Solomon's seal. Nevertheless this pig hybrid is blatantly similar to Zhu Bajie, one of the major characters of Journey to the West, an essential chinese novel (Zhu means "swine", and Bajie means "eight precepts"), since this character is know for his gluttony and propensity for lusting after pretty women.
- 00:14. "Where's your master?" Hybrids are slaves, unlike BGE 1.
- 00:18. Chinese characters on the upper right: 政 府 注 资 中 西 药 行 = Government registered Chinese and Western Pharmacy or Government-registered Eastern and Western Medicine.
- 00:18. Chinese characters on red lamp: 鸡 = chicken; 牛 = ox; 马 = horse. Also contains a taoist symbol, one of the hundred stylistic variations of 寿 (Shou) = longevity, from Shou Xing, ancient chinese folk god of longevity.
- 00:18. New character introduced, Knox. 'Punk-ass hybrid monkey who is always looking for trouble'. In Knox headband: 福 = fortune.
- 00:18. There is an old radio in the table behind Knox. But it's not the same as the one from Lighthouse in BGE 1.
- 00:29. Knox double headband, one green, other red... like Jade and Nino. Let's remember that at one point was considered that Nino was going to be Jade's older brother.
- 00:36. Pey-Jin, idol's name. Now we know the origin of Pey'j name. Jin = gold (in chinese). I wonder if Aunt Geneva made that tasty choco-idol xD xD xD Confirmed in the Space Monkey Report #1 to be Pey'Jin.
- 00:41. Knox have four dog tags... is this an allusion/joke to Nornam Reedus in Death Stranding trailer? Although he have six. Or maybe it's a reference to the four chinese blessings: 福 (Fu) = fortune; 禄 (Lu) = prosperity; 寿 (Shou) = longevity; 财 (Cái) = wealth. At times it appears that there are figures engraved on them but perhaps that's only the dirt causing a pareidolia. Knox also carry a key chain with the shape of a monkey head/skull.
- 00:42. Chinese characters on white bottle: 蝟 = hedgehog.
- 00:48. Oh la lá! Ultra advanced jiggle physics... it was worth to wait almost 15 years for the most cutting-edge technology in video game engines to emulate boobs to perfection... take that DOA! xD xD (YES! I know its a CGI video not the game engine)
- 00:48. New character introduced, Li Daiyu. 'Rejuvenated madam who runs Zhou's backrooms'. LI = the second most common chinese surname; DAIYU = treatment, pay, salary, ribbonfish. One thing that catches my attention about her, besides the obvious, is what her official description says: that she is a "rejuvenated" madam. And when we add this detail to the fact that she's wearing a red dress (yes, a very stereotypical one) and a choker with a red jewel, there's only one thought that comes to my mind: did Zhou Yuzhu have his own Melisandre? Did the red priestess allied with this criminal boss because she believes the Lord of Light chose him? Are the clergy of R'hllor enlist alien beings in their crusade against the Night King? Are BGE2 team unconditional fans of GoT? So many questions to answer xD xD xD
- 00:49. Mdisk. Confirmed in the Space Monkey Report #1.
- 00:52. Green grenade with pink monkey skull in Knox's belt. But in later scenes (02:08 and 02:55) we can observe two.
- 01:00. Asian Dub Foundation - Strong Culture starts playing.
- 01:02. Skylight with curious shape. Is one of the variations of the chinese symbol of 财 (Cái) = wealth.
INTERMISSION: For several details we saw until now (Knox headband and dog tags, Zhou's ring, chinese red lamp) it give me the impression they're celebrating New Year. Later, at 01:27, we can see a sign that indicates the probable current date (01-01-2380?), and that, somehow, confirms this supposition, but why chinese are celebrating New Year along with westerns? Their new year is more less a month later.. and no, 2380 isn't chinese Monkey year but Rat. Also I have the hunch that BGE2 team wanted to show this video last year, in the chinese year of the monkey, for all details I previous mentioned about Knox... but this is just a wild guess... nevertheless I found that there was a rumor about the release of a BGE2 trailer in december 2016 by insider Laura Kate Dale... and we can't forget the fact that Ubisoft was celebrating its 30th anniversary, and they commemorate the occasion by giving away many goodies, including SEVEN! full games for PC, one of them was BGE. Could there be a better time than this to unveil the sequel of one of the most beloved games of all time?
- 01:06. Chinese characters: middle horizontal signboard: 椰 林 越 南 菜 館 = Coconut Grove Vietnamese Restaurant; middle vertical: 南 興 隆 顧 繡 窗 簾 = South Xing Long (place name) Gu-style Embroidery Curtains. At the right of this one a couple of signboards, perhaps in hindi, very blurry to be sure.
- 01:06. Advertisement for Mammago Garage. Same Rhino as the one posted in Michel Ancel Instagram. Confirmed in the Space Monkey Report #1.
- 01:07. Hindi words in MammaGo ad: Problem Solving Service = समस्या निवारण सेवा
- 01:07. Green signboard on upper right says "Sky City", "Speed". Regulations for flying traffic?
- 01:07 to 02:27. The whole scene is extremely similar to 2009 leaked gameplay.
- 01:08. Jetpack. Reminiscent of Pey'j's jetboots.
- 01:09. More chinese characters. Upper left: 机 械 防 水 公 司 = Mechanical Waterproof Company. Seems to be the complete signboard from 00:04-00:07. Upper right: 發 工 程 = Fa's Construction (the same from 00:11).
- 01:24. Hindi words upper right: शेंगदाणा तेल = Shengdana (Groundnut) Oil; तीळ तेल = Sesame Oil; ग्ध पाउडर = Guava Powder. The rest is too blurry to read. Also several signboards in chinese in the background.
- 01:25. A glimpse of the giant planet and its rings in the background.
- 01:25. On door of small metal shed: a symbol of bathroom only for hybrids? I really can't deduce what it is.
- 01:25. Starkos Ad. Confirmed in the Space Monkey Report #1.
- 01:25. The city with indian architecture reminds us of that trailer from 2011.
- 01:27. Ad for a death match between a rhino called Capo and a shark named Razer. The ad indicates that the event takes place at 01/01/2380? and therefore BGE 2 develops 55 years before Beyond Good & Evil. Confirmed to be a shark hybrid in the Space Monkey Report #1.
- 01:27. Underneath fight ad, chinese characters too fuzzy to read.
- 01:27. New character introduced, Shani. 'Badass biker and ingenious mechanic of Somalian ancestry'. Shani name reminiscent of 'Shauni', the energy/entity related to Jade in Beyond Good & Evil. SHANI: from African-Swahili roots, its meaning is 'marvelous'... but also is the name of a hindu male deity, a handsome black figure carrying a sword (or another weapon) and sitting on a buffalo (or crow or vulture). Also it refers to planet Saturn in hindu astrology... Probably you're wondering why I'm mentioning the indian meaning of her name since it's stated that she have african origins... well its because she have a couple of features that refers to Hinduism: her chest tattoo in form of lotus flower, that we can watch later, at 02:27, in the forehead of the giant Ganesha statue and seems to be carring prayer beads in her wrist... so, is she hidden something in 'her' pants? :O As Shaka Ponk fans noticed, mainly for that official art where we can see Shani, Knox and unname third pirate, Knox is very similar to Goz, the band's mascot. Also there is a great resemblance between Shani and the vocalist of this group, Samaha Sam. Likewise, Steve, keyboards, is very akin to that unnamed character. Are BGE 2 team fans of this band? In case you were wondering, many Shaka Ponk songs uses strong language and some have a mix of spanish, french and english... The last part doesn't ring a bell to you? BTW, this band have several great songs, so give it a try!
- 01:28. Shani is wearing a ring with a huge green stone. A hint about Jade? We get a better look at 02:55 and 02:59, and a much better view in the previously mentioned official artwork with her.
- 01:30. 'Hybrid Power' poster in the bottom right.
- 01:32. That's not Ganesha, is the Trimurti. Also we can see Gopurams in the back (Hindu temple tower that usually marks the entrance to the temple complex) and many more hindu inspired buildings appear later.
- 01:35. If one squinches the eyes very very hard probably will believe that the white stain in the square part of the large ship to left is the Alpha sections logo.
- 01:35 to 01:39. Many ships look like boats, an obvious hint to the aquatic world of Hillys.
- 01:38. A glimpse of Shani's chest tattoo. Thanks to a post of one of the artist that work in the trailer we can deduce what its written there. The upper text says: "Those who fly solo have the strongest wings", part of a quote from unknown origin. The word underneath it seems to be something like "...licaya/o".
- 01:39. Could be the Beluga? Right under police ship.
- 01:39. The big ship with white and turquoise patterns in lower left, have a painting at its side of a skull with open mouth and red eyes... we watched the same decal in some vehicles in Space Monkey Report #1 live stream. The ship at its left have a painting too of what it seems to be a head's bird (maybe an eagle? or perhaps an albatross?) but can't figure out the rest. If it's really an albatross... could be a hint to Albator? Captain Harlock was known with that name in french speaking countries to avoid confusion with Captain Haddock, one of the protagonist of the comic "The Adventures of Tintin", an extremely popular caricature in those nations. According to its wikia the name was proposed by Eric Charden, who designed the French version of the 1978 series introductory song, in memory of one of his friends, who has the name of that bird as alias. Also that ship is vaguely similar to the first design of the Arcadia, Harlock's pirate spaceship.
- 01:39 to 01:41. Sewers expelling its contents to the lower part of the city... yuck!
- 01:49. Buddhist monks walking in a footbridge between buildings.
- 01:56. "The Ijesas as rule have no distinctive marks; they are mostly plain-faced; some families, however, are distinguished by having on each cheek 5 or 6 horizontal lines. They are closely drawn, and much longer than any Oyo mark." (Johnson, Samuel. (1921). The History of the Yorubas. p.108) Are the marks in Shani's face tribal scars from Yoruba people, specifically the Ijesa family? However they aren't exactly as those described in the book, and she've somali ancestry, according to her official description, meanwhile Yorubas are mostly from Nigeria and Benin, countries at the other side of Africa.
- 02:01. You can already see the gas giant in the background.
- 02:05. Radio Cheeta: could be the name of Tarzan's chimpanzee mascot in the 1930s-1960s movies... but there is a more meaningful reference: the first pirate radios from Sweden (Radio Syd = Radio South) and Denmark (Radio Mercur) started their transmissions back in 1958. They transmit from international waters. The name of the vessel they used was... Cheeta I.
- 02:08. Grenades in Knox's belt. Now suddenly a red one appear.
- 02:11. Knox belt have a star à la cowboy.
- 02:15. Wilhelm Scream.
- 02:20. Letters upper left side: Thanks to a recent post from a part of the team involved in the creation of the trailer, we can figure out what is written here: GADIVVAH. Apparently is an anagram of "Vaghvadi", name of a small village in western India. How is this related to BGE 2? I don't have the remotest idea...
- 02:21. Parts of the environment are destructible. Confirmed by Michel Ancel on Trailer Breakdown video.
- 02:25. Knox and Shani stole the patrol #12.
- 02:27. Another deity of Hinduism, Ganesha, also the name of this city. Sanskrit on Ganesha's head: ॐ गम गणपतये नमः = Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha. A rough translation: Om Salutations and Prostrations to Lord Ganesha. This mantra invokes the Lord Ganesha to remove every impediment in your life and in your works. But after a careful comparison seems to be a different set of hindi characters, something like ॐ दु or द् or even द, the last character seems to be म. A research of mantras with those characters result in this one: ॐ दुं दुर्गायै नमः but the problem is that this one is dedicated to another deity, Durgaa, and I really doubt BGE 2 team would make a mistake like this, so, obviously, I didn't identify them correctly. In other hand this mantra did appear in the tech demo... however in a concept art of the same statue the hindi text on it is completely different: स्वागत हे = Welcome. So probably each statue show a different mantra or depending on the houday these may change... or those are just placeholders...
- 02:29. Environment reminiscent of 2008 Teaser.
- 02:29. Lower right: That building more or less resemble to the Nutripils Factory. And it looks like they're mining along that massive fracture in the landscape. Something that Michel Ancel pointed out in the engine demo (12:15).
- 02:34. Buddhist stupas. Apparently the sanskrit text on them is स्वागत हे = Welcome. Orientation of planet rings is a tad different. Seems like quite some time has passed (moon progressed in orbit, likely some hours).
- 02:35. There is a building in the background, to the right, that it appear like the Slaughterhouse. Though I'm almost sure is a temple, the layout is vaguely similar.
- 02:47. The Gada, the Space Monkey spaceship.
- 02:48. Text in tamil on Gada bow: It is very tough to read and I can only glean the first two characters of the word. So, it can be either, தங்கம் which reads "Thangam" meaning gold, or திங்கள் which is "Thingal" meaning Monday or the moon. But when using images from tech demo is hindi (this is similar to the case of Ganesha head texts): हनुमान के गदा = Hanuman K Gada. In english "Hanuman's Gada". Hanuman: monkey hindu deity, Gada: club weapon he use. Hanuman is a deity in Hindu religion and quite revered, so usually it would be "HANUMAN-JI KA GADA", "JI" is for respect.
- 02:51. Space Monkey Logo has two kanjis, left one is 勇 = Brave and the right one is 爱 = Love. Chinese character upper side: 无 主 链 = transliterate to "No owner Squad".
- 02:54. Buddha statue in the back.
- 02:55. Pearl on the table. Confirmed to be a pearl in the Space Monkey Report #1. Knox carries grenades on his belt. Carcharodon Sapiens (Shark Human, like Francis or Rufus).
- 02:55. Monkey statue near pearl... more likely is Hanuman (after all, this ship is named after him).
- 02:55. Guy with bionic eye similar to the one in artwork from Gamereactor video (01:22 to 01:41).
- 02:55. Bearded dude next to shark hybrid similar to the midget from character line-up 01. Although he crossed arms in the same way as Peepers.
- 02:55. Pirate in hammock apparently is the same unnamed character from BGE header website (the one with Knox and Shani); besides him another Buddha statue.
- 02:55. Guy with gray hair in the foreground reminds me of Peepers but actually is a character from the artwork with that Pirate of the Caribbean pirate lady... plus he's using a jetpack.
- 02:55. Possibly a Daï-Jo staff on a stand near Dakini. May just be a Katana or another weapon. Confirmed to be the Daï-Jo in the Space Monkey Report #1.
- 02:59 Upper left side of shark hybrid: ornaments in ship's structure or statuettes, possibly hindu deities, since seems to be the trend here. One could be Hanuman and the other Ganesha.
- 02:59. Mammago Rhino with a BARRANCO D-53 EQUIPPED WITH CUTTING HAMMER! Confirmed in the Space Monkey Report #1.
- 02:59. The girl near rhino seems to be the same from character line-up 01.
- 02:59. A Box of K-Bups, completely restores your energy. Confirmed in the Space Monkey Report #1.
- 02:59. There's also an old radio behind the K-Bups... actually it's the same model of 00:18. I think these radios are related to Radio Cheeta somehow. Perhaps in this digital world they use analogical signals to get privileged intel without nobody noticing...
- 02:59. Monkey statue on left.
- 03:01. New character introduced, Dakini. 'Mysterious Captain of the Gada...' DAKINI is a type of spirit in Vajrayana Buddhism. The Sanskrit term is likely related to the term for drumming, while the Tibetan term means "sky goer". The dakini (and the daka) appeared in medieval legends in India as a demon in the train of Kali who feeds on human flesh. They are comparable to malevolent or vengeful female spirits, deities, imps or fairies in other cultures.
- 03:03. Mdisk, close up of text, unconfirmed, possibly Hillys or System 3/4/T(?). Confirmed to be System 4 in the Space Monkey Report #1.
- 03:03. Dakini's prosthetic arm looks similar to Adam Jensen's (Deus Ex)... or perhaps she's an alchemist? xD xD xD
- 03:03. The skull on ship wheel looks very authentic. Check those details!
- 03:08. This frame shows some object (space gate?) with an inscription in sanskrit that reads तत्त्वमसि = Tat Tvam Asi, a Sanskrit phrase, translated variously as "Thou art that," (That thou art, That art thou, You are that, or That you are, or You're it) is one of the Mahāvākyas (Grand Pronouncements) in Vedantic Sanatana Dharma." Sanatana Dharma is the original name for Hinduism. Moksha means freedom, liberation. Is the goal of Hindu life. It is equivalent to Enlightenment, Nirvana (Buddhism) and Jivan Mukthi (Yoga) or "True Freedom". Moksha is the end of one's cycle of death and rebirth (and therefore of suffering), and the unification of the individual consciousness (atma) with the supreme or universal consciousness (Param-atma) also known as Brahman in Hinduism.
- 03:08. The ship at middle lower left resemble a whale, the space whale: Megaptera anaerobia. Probably a Cargo Frigate we watched at Space Monkey Report #1.
- 03:10. Dakini likes to decorate her steering wheel with feathers and stuff?
- 03:11. Yama, is the god of death in Hinduism but it might be the name of a character in the game also.Is Yama the pirate that have his face painted like a skull we saw in an artwork that Ancel posted in his Instagram? Although he stated he's mexican and there's a cross tattooed in his forehead, and an inscription behind his head that says "Jesus en ti confío" which means "Jesus I trust you" and another tattoo in his right hand that says "Wolf". The meaning of Dakini and Yama name made me think... what if these aren't their real names? what if these are the names that Space Monkey members adopted once they become free? That these are a way to represent what they want to be or what they aspire to become?
- 03:14. Green eyes, call back to Jade. Jade's mother?
- 03:14. "True freedom lies Beyond" reference to the game title.
- 03:16. "Redemption" by Christophe Héral sets in, BGE 1 OST.
- 03:30. Three planets/moons in the background... the Gada has three engines... HALF LIFE 3 CONFIRMED! xD xD xD :v
The Albator Connection in BGE 2
For several details in the premiere trailer it was suggested that all these hints are related to the anime Space Pirate Captain Harlock, known as Albator in french speaking countries. That anime was so popular in France in 80s that french people call them the "Génération Albator"... After a careful comparison it turns out that the connection between both runs deeper. Here a list of references and hints to Albator in the premier trailer:
1. In Space Pirate Captain Harlock, known as Albator 78 in France, ships are deployed in the same way as we watched in the tech demo of BGE 2 and concept artworks.
2. The Arcadia, Harlock's pirate starship, known as L'Atlantis in France, have a ship wheel with a skull on it, similar to the one in the Gada.
3. The Gada itself which looks very much alike the Arcadia: the idea to create a spaceship that resemble a contemporary battleship.
4. In Gada's bridge, Knox greet their pirate mates in the same way Albator accustom to salute: extending two fingers to the temple and then move the hand, while keeping this same pose, towards the person who want to greet.
5. In Albator 78, chapter 17: The Skeletal hero, we found a skeleton similar to the one in the Moksha hologram. Also the ship he commanded was trapped in a phenomena similar to the one that surrounds the Moksha gate. Something similar happens in Captain Harlock Endless Orbit SSX, known as Albator 84 in France, where just before Harlock and crew reach Arcadia, from the utopian place in mythology, they get trapped for a while in a starship graveyard where lie all those who before them tried to reach this legendary realm.
6. In the final shot when the Gada emerges from its hideout in the clouds, its remarkably similar to Albator 84 ending.
7. One of the main plots of Albator 84 it's the search of Arcadia, a mythical utopia, the space paradise. In BGE 2 one of the main story lines seems to be the journey to Moksha, the hindu paradise.
Although several of these hints are common clichés on sci-fi and piracy imagery, others are more specific and at least create a reasonable doubt... in case you aren't convinced already. Nevertheless, there are many more examples of Harlock references, this time in BGE 1, but that's a story for another time and another video (already working on it ;D).
"Do Hybrids Dream of Cloned Sheep?"
When Ancel posted the now mythical eye that watches the city in the intro of Blade Runner, with the legend "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe...", it trigger something that was swirling around in my head for some time. Probably some, or many, of you already noticed the relations between Blade Runner and BGE 2. In any case let me show you the deep connections between them:
1. Replicants: As we read in the entry text of Blade Runner movie, Replicants are robots (androids) nearly identical to humans. There are used as slave labor, and in the hazardous exploration and colonization of other planets... also as combat force and to provide human pleasure... Now we have the Hybrids: anthropomorphized animals that are used as slave labor, and in the hazardous exploration and colonization of other planets... also as combat force and to provide human pleasure...
2. The concept artworks and the premiere trailer we watched are so embedded with Blade Runner atmosphere that in many cases one could erase BGE 2 logo and put in its place Blade Runner and you could fool anyone who isn't aware of this game. The flying vehicles, the glowing neon chinese billboards and different signs in other languages, the futuristic grunge, dirty environment (well just the first part of the trailer), are some of Blade Runner trademarks.
3. The fact that there are almost only artificial animals in Blade Runner it's comparable to the concept of artificial creation of hybrids in BGE 2.
4. The desire to create a multicultural city in BGE 2 also resounds with Blade Runner vibes.
5. Even there is a scene, the first 11 seconds of the premiere trailer, were the camera tilts down in that dirty alley, that it's remarkably similar to the scene, in Blade Runner, where Deckard go out to his department's balcony and watch the city outside.
6. The term "Tannhäuser Gate", in, perhaps, the most moving death monologue in the entire film history, is almost certain that alludes to Wagner's opera, Tannhäuser, an adaptation of the legend of a medieval german knight and poet. The myth says that Tannhäuser found Venusberg, the subterranean home of Venus. So we can conclude that the Tannhäuser Gate refers to the gates of Venusberg. In BGE 2 we found the Moksha Gate(?) in a Mdisk map. Moksha, as we read before, it's the equivalent of Nirvana, a place where one achieve True Freedom. As we can observe both places are intimately related as entries to mythological zones, although Venusberg its more a place of carnal desire meanwhile Moksha its the opposite.
How much of this was created on purpose and how much was a subconscious inspiration? That, my friend, is the real question...
Also there are some scenes in the debut trailer and artworks practically identical to scenes of The Fifth Element: the chase scene very similar to the taxi chase scene of 5th Element. Concept art of a flying merchant ship very much alike to the chinese food flying ship of 5th Element.
Thanks to: - kschang, BreastSexy, 宅男_杰B, rashunxian: for their help with chinese translation. - Mountainlifter: for his help with many texts in sanskrit, chinese and tamil. All fans from BGE reddit, BGE 2 official forums and BGE Discord (especially Johanson69, who previously created a quite complete list of easter eggs), whom made very interesting observations which lead me to discover other stuff I didn't realize previously.
A very special thanks to: The original team who made this wonderful game called Beyond Good And Evil! The current BGE 2 team, who are creating the sequel of one of the most beloved game of all times! Ubisoft Big Boss, Yves Guillemot, who still support BGE project, despite all the difficulties had to go through!
And most grateful to: Michel Ancel, for never give up the dream... the dream Beyond Good And Evil...
Links to the videos in case you want to watch them:
Part 1: https://youtu.be/tNfKYHCXp50
Part 2 & Final: https://youtu.be/yVcWbl3WBHg
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... attack hybrids on fire on the moons of Yagu-tomu. I watched countless ships glitter in the dark near the Moksha gate. Did all those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain? Or will you join me... to lived them together?" Dakini