How do the Yellowjackets choose who dies?
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
The phenomena of sacrificial rituals have endured throughout human history, punctuating the cultural tapestry with its profound implications on societal organization, belief systems, and the human condition. These rituals, whether they be in the form of ancient Aztec ceremonies or the tragic kamikaze missions of World War II, have been an intriguing subject of study for anthropologists, historians, and even the casual observer of human nature. One such observer is the modern television viewer, who, courtesy of the riveting television series "Yellowjackets," finds themselves thrust into the heart of a fictional, but nonetheless compelling, sacrificial ritual.
"Yellowjackets," for the uninitiated, is a drama that weaves a tale of survival and descent into primal behavior, set against the backdrop of a group of high school girls marooned in the wilderness following a plane crash. The series juxtaposes their struggle against the backdrop of their adult lives, creating a narrative cross-stitch of survival, trauma, and the human capacity for both savagery and resilience. One of the most striking elements of their survival story is the ritual they develop - a chilling lottery of life and death that ends in cannibalism.
II. Summarization of the Ritual in "Yellowjackets"
The ritual is, in essence, a grim lottery. The girls, by now stripped of the veneer of civilization by the stark realities of survival, have resorted to a form of cannibalism to sustain themselves. It is a drastic measure that, in the mind of the viewer, underscores the depth of their predicament. Yet, it is the way this unthinkable act is executed that adds a layer of chilling formality and intent to the narrative.
The ritual is initiated with the drawing of cards from a deck. This is no friendly game of poker or a magician's trick, however, as the stakes are life and death. The unfortunate girl who draws the Queen of Hearts card finds herself marked for death, a symbolic gesture that is as ritualistic as it is brutal. Jackie's necklace, a heart-shaped trinket that once symbolized girlish innocence and friendship, becomes the literal albatross around the neck of the doomed girl, marking her for the hunt that will end her life.
The ritual then enters its most primal phase - the hunt. The chosen girl is pursued, killed, and then consumed by the group. It's a chilling dance of survival that is enacted time and again, with each performance marking a step further away from the civilized world they once knew. The girls' belief that their survival is determined by some enigmatic wilderness entity adds an eerie layer of fatalistic surrender to the proceedings1.
These moments of the television series, while deeply unsettling, are also profoundly intriguing. They provide a glimpse into the human capacity for adaptation and survival, no matter how grotesque the methods may seem to an observer comfortably ensconced in a civilized world. The ritual, while horrifying, is a testament to the girls' desperate will to survive, a will that overrides societal norms and personal morality. In the harsh wilderness, survival is the only law that matters. The ritual is a stark, brutal embodiment of that law.
Yet, as we delve deeper into the ritual's elements, there is a pattern and a structure that mirrors sacrificial rituals throughout human history. The ritual in "Yellowjackets" is not an anomaly, a product of a fevered scriptwriter's imagination. It is, in fact, part of a long-standing tradition of human sacrifice, a tradition that, despite its macabre nature, provides a fascinating insight into human behavior, belief systems, and societal structure.
III. Historical Examples of Sacrificial Rituals
To fully grasp the historical context and significance of such rituals, we must turn our gaze to the annals of human history. There, we can find several examples of cultures that practiced human sacrifice, each with its own unique methods and motivations. For the sake of brevity and relevance, we'll focus on two particularly noteworthy examples: The ancient city of Cahokia and the Aztec civilization.
Cahokia, located near what is today St. Louis, was a flourishing city during the period from A.D. 1050 to 1200. Archaeologists exploring the city's Mound 72 discovered the remains of 272 individuals, many of whom were believed to have been sacrificed. The sacrificial rituals appear to have been carried out gradually, over several episodes. In one instance, 52 malnourished women, all between the ages of 18 and 23, were sacrificed simultaneously. In another instance, 39 men and women were clubbed to death. The mound also contained the remains of two individuals who were buried with 20,000 shell beads, suggesting that some or all of the sacrifices were dedicated to these two individuals.
The Aztec civilization, centered in the city of Tenochtitlán in what is now Mexico City, was another society known for its practice of human sacrifice. Artistic, archaeological, and textual records indicate that sacrifices occurred with some regularity, particularly at the Templo Mayor, one of the largest temples in the city. The remains of Tzompantli (skull racks) have been discovered there, providing chilling evidence of the scale of the rituals. This practice of human sacrifice was later used by the Spanish conquerors in the 16th century to justify their conquest of the Aztecs.
Other examples of human sacrifice from across cultures and time periods, such as the Inca child mummies, Mayan sacrifice rituals, and Japan's Hitobashira, reveal similar themes and patterns. Rituals often involved the selection of individuals through various means, the marking or preparation of the chosen ones, and finally, the act of sacrifice itself, which often had a public or communal dimension. The underlying motivations and beliefs varied, but they generally revolved around appeasement of deities, natural forces, or ancestral spirits, or the assertion of societal power and control.
IV. Analysis and Reflection
The ritual in "Yellowjackets" and the historical instances of human sacrifice share several commonalities that offer profound insights into the human condition. At their core, these rituals are mechanisms for dealing with existential threats, uncertainty, and the chaotic forces of nature. They provide a semblance of control in the face of uncontrollable circumstances, a way to impose order on chaos.
In "Yellowjackets," the girls are faced with the prospect of starvation and death in an unforgiving wilderness. The ritual they devise is their means of exerting control over their fate, a way to manage the distribution of the meager resources available to them - in this case, their own bodies. The Queen of Hearts card and Jackie's necklace serve as symbols of this control, marking the chosen sacrifice and setting the terms of their grim survival game.
Similarly, in Cahokia and Tenochtitlán, the human sacrifices were likely motivated by a desire to control or influence forces beyond human control - the weather, crop yields, the outcome of battles, and so on. The sacrificial rituals served as a means of communication with the divine or supernatural entities believed to wield control over these forces.
In both historical and fictional settings, these rituals also serve as a form of social cohesion. In the dire circumstances of survival, thegirls in "Yellowjackets" are bound together by their shared participation in the ritual, their mutual complicity in its horrific outcome. This shared experience reinforces group solidarity, a crucial factor for survival in such extreme conditions.
Likewise, in Cahokia and Tenochtitlán, the communal nature of the sacrificial rituals likely served to reinforce social bonds and hierarchies. Participation in the rituals, either as observers or active participants, would have reinforced shared beliefs and values, strengthening the social fabric of these societies.
Yet, it's also worth noting the darker implications of these rituals. They invariably involve the exercise of power and control, often resulting in the death of those who are most vulnerable or powerless. In "Yellowjackets," it's the unlucky girl who draws the Queen of Hearts. In Cahokia, it's the malnourished women, and in Tenochtitlán, it's likely those captured in war or those lower in the social hierarchy. This power dynamic, inherent in these rituals, raises unsettling questions about the lengths to which societies will go in the face of existential threats, and the sacrifices they are willing to make for survival or prosperity.
In conclusion, the sacrificial ritual depicted in "Yellowjackets," while unsettling, is not without historical precedent. Its portrayal can serve as a catalyst for reflection on our own societal rituals and the underlying motivations that drive them. At their core, such rituals reveal our shared human struggle to make sense of an unpredictable world, to find a sense of control amidst chaos, and to bind ourselves together in the face of shared threats and challenges.
