Holy cow. My mind is blown. Everything from the title, to the director dying 5 days after submitting the final cut, to the location chosen to film the cult party. These links are a long read but a great explanation of the movie.
So many unbelievable things that I've come across in this group are confirmed by this movie. I saw someone mention it in a comment months ago and glad I finally came around to watching it. It was very strange in the beginning, but you have to remember you're not watching a regular movie, you're watching someone trying to show you what's going on without explicitly saying it. After reading the above articles I am just blown away.
My issue with this analysis is that if the movie was revealing ANYTHING it would have never been made....or released...or streamable and available everywhere.
That's not how these people work. Moloch teaches them to tell everyone what they are doing by hiding in plain sight. That's why their symbolism is everywhere. For a hundred years, no one has done anything about it. Why wouldn't they be overly confident? They were not afraid of us in any way shape or form. At least, not until now. Now, they are afraid.
Well it's not a positive portrayal of them...
Isn't it? At the end of the movie, they win. It demonstrates their power and at the same time allows them to tell any of their real life accusers that they are nuts and just getting their false information from a movie. At the time, we had zero power to stop them. To them, that's a badge of honor.
Maybe you're right. I took it as a warning they were sick and twisted and will destroy your life if you get involved with them...I guess they might like that message if it leads you into being frightened of them.
Even in the release they placed 3D avatars in front of explicit scenes. They are so easy to spot now. A cloaked individuals and naked woman from behind. Dropped in as a composite layer later on and after cutting almost an half hour form the movie.
Is there any edited version?
As another poster pointed out Kubrick made this blind to the studio execs up until the studio screening. They saw it and blew the roof. Supposedly he was outside the screening theatre and smoked a lot of cigarettes seemingly nervous and uncomfortable. A few days later. He was dead. Maybe he was unwell. It's all a bit suspicious.
They were not about to loose money. so they butchered it. Then realised it. Gettin' the last laugh probably in their minds.