The tattoo thing is both gross and not when you consider some of the cultural reasons why people get tattoos, namely the "if I put it on my body, I will gain its powers" reasons. It's clear in the movie that Newt is coming at it from a fanboy perspective, but maybe he's gotten so much shit for it already that "they're just so cool" is his go-to explanation, because it's what people expect from him. From Herman's tone of disdain when he calls Newt a "kaiju groupie" it sounds like that's an actual thing in this universe. People think kaiju are cool despite the destruction and death they leave in their wake in the same way that the History Channel is obsessed with Nazis. Maybe the tattoos are a way to commemorate kaiju victims, which are far too many to get tattooed onto your body, so you get the monsters instead. Like, he puts the monsters on his skin as a reminder of how much he doesn't know about them, or how much people depend on him to figure them out before more attack and he runs out of places to tattoo.
I think also there was some discussion about how Newt's on the spectrum and possibly not so astute at reading people and having empathy (oh look, nerd stereotype). It's worth it to note that he doesn't have tattoos in places that can't be covered by clothing, so he's likely aware of people's disapproval. I'm sure Newt's probably lost people in kaiju attacks, and rather than chasing after vengeance and justice he's chasing after knowledge as a coping mechanism, "know your enemy", that kind of thing.
Mostly I'm surprised there weren't more people on the science team? Like, kaiju are massive, and they're a threat, and science responds to new species and discoveries by researching the fuck out of them and putting giant teams together to study them. Like, yes, Herman and Newt are some top experts, but where were their teams? Most scientific breakthroughs today aren't performed by single individuals anymore; they're done by teams. I get that all research funds were likely being routed towards military defense and the Jaeger program, but there were probably scientists who would take a pay cut and/or shell out as much as they could out of pocket to learn about kaiju to find out if there's anything we can exploit, some sort of biological weakness, whatever.
I want that backstory cutscene of Pentecost or someone prepping the Shatterdome citizens for Newt's arrival. Like, "Here is a photo of a top scientist who's coming to help us figure out the kaiju. Do not punch him in the face. You will be tempted to punch him in the face, but please don't. He can't help us with shit if he has a concussion."
I think also there was some discussion about how Newt's on the spectrum and possibly not so astute at reading people and having empathy (oh look, nerd stereotype). It's worth it to note that he doesn't have tattoos in places that can't be covered by clothing, so he's likely aware of people's disapproval. I'm sure Newt's probably lost people in kaiju attacks, and rather than chasing after vengeance and justice he's chasing after knowledge as a coping mechanism, "know your enemy", that kind of thing.
Mostly I'm surprised there weren't more people on the science team? Like, kaiju are massive, and they're a threat, and science responds to new species and discoveries by researching the fuck out of them and putting giant teams together to study them. Like, yes, Herman and Newt are some top experts, but where were their teams? Most scientific breakthroughs today aren't performed by single individuals anymore; they're done by teams. I get that all research funds were likely being routed towards military defense and the Jaeger program, but there were probably scientists who would take a pay cut and/or shell out as much as they could out of pocket to learn about kaiju to find out if there's anything we can exploit, some sort of biological weakness, whatever.
I want that backstory cutscene of Pentecost or someone prepping the Shatterdome citizens for Newt's arrival. Like, "Here is a photo of a top scientist who's coming to help us figure out the kaiju. Do not punch him in the face. You will be tempted to punch him in the face, but please don't. He can't help us with shit if he has a concussion."
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