Watch the video to see things only adults notice in the Percy Jackson movies!
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00:00Though Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series is intended for younger audiences, there's
00:05quite a bit for more seasoned viewers to pick up on. From mythological mistakes to surprising
00:10musical references, here are the things in the Percy Jackson movies that only adults
00:14would find unobscured by the mist.
00:17For a movie based entirely around Greek mythology, The Lightning Thief doesn't always pay as
00:21much attention to its source material as it should. We could forgive a few approximations
00:26and omissions here and there, but there's one glaring inconsistency that undermines
00:30the entire plot of the film. Persephone shouldn't have even been in the Underworld when Percy
00:34and his friends arrived there around the summer solstice. According to her own mythology,
00:39she's forced to remain in her husband's domain during the winter months. In the spring and
00:43summer months, she brings mild weather to the Earth above.
00:46In fact, the entire quest for the pearls, which takes up the bulk of the film, is inspired
00:50by Persephone's captivity in the Underworld, as the pearls belong to her and allow the
00:54user to travel to and from Hell. The movie references her imprisonment frequently, but
00:59neglects to portray it accurately. It might not have been so big of an issue if it wasn't
01:03Persephone who ended up securing the gang's escape from the Underworld by knocking out
01:07her own husband. In reality, she wouldn't have even been there, and they would have
01:11had a much harder time getting out.
01:14While the movies are controversial among fans of the books, we've got to give the Percy
01:18Jackson films props for showcasing quite a bit of disability representation. In fact,
01:23the characteristics we'd associate with disabilities are some of the primary identifiers that mark
01:27a demigod.
01:28Percy has been told that he suffers from ADHD and dyslexia because his brain is hardwired
01:33for a drastically different world than the high school landscape of required reading
01:37and standardized tests, making it seem like he has dysfunctions in a place he wasn't made
01:41for. The impulsivity attributed to ADHD is actually a manifestation of his combat reflexes,
01:46and the confusion that arises when he tries to read English results from his natural predisposition
01:51toward reading a notoriously difficult language.
01:54Grover and Chiron both have physical disabilities in their disguised human forms as well, and
01:58these two mask underlying strengths and unique abilities. Chiron's wheelchair is a camouflaging
02:03vessel for the magnificent horse portion of his centaur body, and Grover's crutches allow
02:08him to mask the fact that he, as a satyr, has goat legs that serve him well as Percy's
02:13protector.
02:14Percy's entire introduction to the demigod world is based around the ideas that there's
02:17more to life than meets the eye, and that there's a profound strength of character hiding
02:22in anyone.
02:23When it comes to being sensitive to individuals of diverse backgrounds, the terminology that
02:27Percy learns to apply to the demigod world deals with similar issues to that of human
02:32discourse. He learns the proper way of addressing and referring to certain demigraphics, so
02:36to speak, with the help of his best friend and guide, Grover, a satyr. Apparently, protector
02:40duties include making sure your charge doesn't say anything that will get him into trouble,
02:44which makes sense when the wrath of mythical creatures is involved. It's also just something
02:48that good friends do for each other, hold each other accountable for using oppressive
02:52or offensive language.
02:54One of the first suggestions that Grover offers relates to his own identity, when he informs
02:58Percy that the politically correct term for a half-man, half-goat is a satyr. Grover apprises
03:03his friend of the proper language in other scenarios as well. For example, the preferred
03:07way to refer to a cyclops, we learn, is ocularly challenged.
03:12In the series, we meet the children of various gods, and these immortal progenies share similar
03:16characteristics with their classical parents, traits that younger audiences might not be
03:20familiar with. For example, Clarice, an antagonist turned ally of Percy's in Sea of Monsters,
03:25is a daughter of Ares, which is part of where she gets the aggression and competitive spirit
03:30that initially makes her such a bitter rival.
03:32Ares' children are pretty formidable in general. In The Lightning Thief, during the infamous
03:37game of Capture the Flag, where the son of Poseidon first proves his mettle, Luc Castellan
03:41warns Percy,
03:42"...sons of Ares, watch out!"
03:44This alludes to the offspring of the god of war and their inherently violent nature.
03:48The daughters of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, have also clearly inherited some personality
03:53traits from their mother. Living together in the house under her name, they behave like
03:56a sorority, spending their time tanning, flirting, and throwing parties. Allusions like this
04:01to the personality traits of the gods are a little more subtle than, say, the son of
04:04Poseidon being able to heal himself with water.
04:08Something odd is going on at the Lotus Casino in Las Vegas, but only older viewers would
04:12understand the true nature of the Lotus Flower Cookies that Percy and his friends can't seem
04:16to get enough of. These addictive, brightly colored sweets represent something much darker.
04:21The way the teenagers behave after consuming them, and the effects they have on the user's
04:25mood, intellect, and the passage of time, render them a clear reference to party drugs
04:29and narcotics.
04:30The delicacies take their inspiration from the myth of the Lotus Eaters, which describes
04:34a tribe of people encountered by Odysseus on his famous quest, people who offered the
04:38hero and his crew a mysterious plant that caused them to drift into a state of mindless
04:43bliss outside of time. This is certainly what happens to Percy, Annabeth, and Grover in
04:48Las Vegas, a city synonymous with indulgence and excess.
04:53Mr. D, as the attendees at Camp Half-Blood called Dionysus, the god of wine, madness,
04:58and parties, is the newly appointed camp director in Sea of Monsters. This position comes as
05:03part of a punishment Zeus whipped up to get back at his son for going against the Brocode
05:07and pursuing a dryad Zeus had a fancy for.
05:10But the worst of Dionysus' punishment was the fact that every time he attempted to pour
05:14himself a glass of wine, it turned into water in his cup. In response to his curse, he comments
05:19that Christians have a guy who can do that trick in reverse, a reference to Jesus turning
05:23water into wine in the Bible.
05:25Not only can he not drink any wine, he can't use his powers to grow grapes for wine, either.
05:30In the books, it's hinted that a prior period of punishment caused the Prohibition Era,
05:34which is also a decidedly adult illusion.
05:38Numerous nods to the real world exist in this series in addition to biblical and mythological
05:42references, and it's likely that they pass right over children. For instance, kids probably
05:47don't notice the Maserati in which Percy and his friends escape from the Lotus Casino,
05:51and they probably won't know that the Trident logo for the luxury car brand was in fact
05:55based on Percy's father, or at least his Roman counterpart, Neptune, and the fountain
06:00dedicated to his likeness in the company's home city of Bologna, Italy.
06:04Another motor vehicle from The Lightning Thief carries its own special significance. When
06:08the heroes get off their bus amidst the sounds of ACDC's Highway to Hell, the front of the
06:13bus indicates that it's bound for Atlantic City. As you may know, Atlantic City has a
06:17hellish reputation among many adults, and is negatively portrayed in numerous films
06:22and shows.
06:23The camera tracks quickly to close in on the suave ruler of the underworld, so quickly
06:28that we almost miss it. But eagle-eyed fans have pointed out that Hades can be seen in
06:33possession of a Gibson SG guitar when we first meet him in his palace. This bright red axe
06:38is the same type of guitar as Angus Youngs, the lead guitarist of ACDC. One of the band's
06:42most famous songs is Highway to Hell, which for Hades would simply be the highway home.
06:47The god's persona in the film rocks pretty hard as well, from the unruly curls and goatee
06:52to the leather bracelet and aesthetically ripped black sleeves. Even more fittingly,
06:56the logo of the iconic rock band features a lightning bolt where the forward slash would
07:00be a nod to Zeus' lightning bolt, which Percy is accused of stealing in The Lightning Thief.
07:05If The Lightning Thief did a good job with disability representation, see if Monsters
07:10built on that legacy by showcasing the difficulty of growing up and the insidious nature of
07:15imposter syndrome. That's when the sufferer believes that they're inadequate and experiences
07:19exaggerated doubt about their achievements despite evidence of success. Percy actually
07:24says out loud that he sometimes doesn't believe he actually did the things he was praised
07:27for. This lack of belief is actually a symptom of severe imposter syndrome. For Percy to
07:32say it in such clear terms is surely comforting to high achievers who suffer from this elusive
07:37mental ailment.
07:38The Mist is a magical force that prevents mortals and sometimes demigods, if it's strong
07:43enough, from seeing gods, monsters, and other supernatural entities by disguising them as
07:48something from the mortal world. For example, such magic is at work disguising Chiron's
07:52centaur body as a wheelchair. In order to allow him to travel seamlessly with a group
07:56of demigods and sea of monsters, Annabeth procures a spray bottle of Mist that artificially
08:01disguises Tyson, making him look like a human with two eyes rather than a cyclops. Hilariously,
08:07the side effects listed on the bottle are a joke at the expense of medication commercials
08:11that spout off a slew of side effects that are sometimes so contradictory that they do
08:15the opposite of what the medicine itself is supposed to do.
08:18Side effects may include handsomeness, headache, self-esteem, and low self-esteem."
08:22Sea of Monsters builds upon the deep discussion of its predecessor by exploring Annabeth's
08:27prejudice against cyclopays. Over the course of the film, Annabeth makes her animosity
08:31toward Percy's half-brother, Tyson, as well as cyclopays in general, very apparent. However,
08:36we don't really learn why until later in the story when she opens up about how it was a
08:40cyclops who took the life of her friend Talia years ago.
08:44To complicate matters further, one of the biggest obstacles in the film's storyline
08:48is yet another cyclops, from whom they must rescue Grover, as well as the magical Golden
08:52Fleece. The circumstances make it very easy for Annabeth to cling to her personal prejudice,
08:57given that the cyclopean threat to their mission only serves to reinforce it.
09:01Despite this, however, Annabeth undergoes a personal journey in tandem with the physical
09:05one, a transformation that holds a lesson for viewers of all ages. She gradually learns
09:10to dismantle her discriminatory paradigms and behaviors against cyclopays, finally
09:14acknowledging that it's destructive to make assumptions about and harbor aggression toward
09:19an entire group of people.
09:21The Grey Sisters — Anger, Wasp, and Tempest — make their first appearance in Sea of
09:25Monsters, sharing only one eye between them. This deficiency automatically makes the trio
09:30an ideal slapstick choice to drive a supernatural taxicab.
09:33As a result, we get a lot of inside jokes and references, thanks to these siblings.
09:37For example, Annabeth announces their vessel as a chariot of damnation, prompting Grover
09:41to reply that it looks like a New York City cab. Annabeth retorts,
09:45"...same difference, which is sure to get a chuckle out of any adult who's taken a bad
09:48cab ride."
09:49The sisters also bemoan a familiar mortal woe, that of a terrible driver's license picture.
09:54But while our unflattering photos typically amount to a washed-out face or an awkward
09:58blink, the crime committed by the Greys' portrait is much more offensive.
10:02And if you look closely with your own eyes, however many you have, it also looks like,
10:07from the suspiciously serpentine hair, the bobblehead on the dashboard is a likeness
10:11of Medusa. In mythology, the Grey are the ones who give the hero Perseus the information
10:16he needs to kill Medusa by beheading her.
10:19Hermes works for the UPS store. That's pretty fitting for the Herald of the Gods, who worked
10:23as a messenger and courier for Mount Olympus, and was also the bringer of good luck and
10:27god of wealth, trade, travel, and language. The portrayal by Nathan Fillion in Sea of
10:32Monsters captures a subtle blend of matter-of-factness and mischief that only the deftest of
10:36gods could pull off.
10:38As the god of numerous ubiquitous things, it's fitting that many of Hermes' artifacts
10:42show up as widely used symbols even today. We can recognize his winged feet in the Goodyear
10:47logo as the company thought that the god Mercury, who is the Roman version of Hermes, held many
10:52of the qualities they wanted their company to be known for. And honestly, the god of
10:55trade and commerce was a great choice to represent the tire company.
10:59Hermes' staff is also widely used as a symbol in the United States, representing medicine,
11:03which is definitely a field in which we want the bringer of good luck on our side.