“Banditoism”

[velvet bone]

Here’s a question: is Tyler trying to create something real, something more than just background lore to a couple albums?

I don’t know. But here’s my attempt to explain this feeling ive been having, that perhaps the lore could be developed later on into something more serious.

The purpose of a religion seems to be to give meaning to life, and to give rituals and ways to make the suffering in life worthy of struggling through. Tyler was raised Christian, I think Josh too, but then he grew older and started questioning a lot about it. He grew up struggling with mental health, with problems that the old religion he got from his parents probably didn’t have answers, or at least any modern ones, for.

So, what if he creates his own? He has the rituals. Using his hands and his throat to create music, vibrations that connect humans together, to tell them they’re not alone. To show them how to fight this battle in a way that’s not self destructive, but one that’s self creative.

A band is usually just a band, but most bands don’t have a mythos to them. This band does. From its inception, it was focused on the deepest questions of life.

Is God real? Why won’t he speak? How do we stay afloat? What happens when we die? How do we be good to each other? How do we avoid falling into old and tired cycles, that show no results, but at least keep us living? How do we grow past the dark places we find ourselves in? How do we find meaning in life at all? And so on.

Usually answering these questions with more detail through time, as they find more answers themselves. In the world of Trench, it is a godless world, where most people are living under an authoritarian, repressive society. It’s not that dissimilar to our world imo. Our government representatives just don’t wear the badass bishop robes. And the people of that place wonder occasionally, is this all there is?

In that place, ||suicide|| is the best thing they can achieve. Because it empowers the ones in control, to control who lives in and dies - it makes them the Gods of a world without God. This part reminds me of Agnostic Christianity, which says the God of the bible is not the true God, but a deeply flawed powerful entity. Perhaps, a little like Nico.

The inhabitants of the civilisation in this world do not know freedom, as we in ours do not either. There are perks for the wealthy and burdens for the poor. But none are free. Unlike outside the walls. In the wild. In nature.

The Banditos to me really remind me of indigenous people. Groups of people who roamed the world and passed on their own symbols and mythologies for thousands of years directly, without an external force like a government moulding it for power, control or money, the focus in these groups was always directly on what the truth might be.

We know that inside the walls there is a religion. Vialism. It is a tool that gives meaning to the masses, so that they may accept their fates, slave to their bishops, and die for their bishops and never think or truly feel for themselves. In real life, you could all this consumerism-nihilism. That’s the ideology that placates us into submission.

These days, we believe in nothing, and we placate that emptiness and dread, by buying from Amazon, Shein and McDonalds. Id like to note here, that Tyler uses the same major plot twist from Fight Club in My Blood - FC being a movie about rejecting consumerist-nihilism by creating and fighting for your own sense of meaning and freedom, by fighting against authority to affirm your own, and not fearing death, no matter what.

That part I think is especially important, because fear is the vital instrument of the Dema project. The fear of death keeps us all in line, in both worlds. The Banditos however, have a different view on things.

They most likely see death as an equal and necessary counterpart to life. Not something to fear, something to respect. Not something to be controlled by, something that lets you feel free to act and express yourself with pride. In dance, in song, in togetherness, in shared stories, in shared symbols, in nature and in wonder, shared wonder, at what all of this is supposed to mean at all.

So, the banditos views, what is their religion or philosophy called? What does Sahlo Folino mean, in the context of their more spiritual and mythic worldview? It was mentioned somewhere I think that Vialism is a corrupted religion.

There was apparently a positive social mythos that perhaps the early Dema citizens formed the city around, that created that place, but overtime, perhaps quickly, it evolved - and devolved - into a force of control and oppression. If the Bishops are defeated by the Banditos, and claim the city, will the cycle repeat?

Will the creeping darkness of Clancy overcome the positive social force of ‘Banditoism,’ use it for his ends, and once he controls the world, once he is the god of this godless world, will he forget what the real power behind Banditoism ever was, and with the power gone to his head, create his own system of repression and control to cement himself as the one and only worthy voice in the world of trench?

Perhaps, that won’t happen, because I think it would make sense for Tyler to want to give us a tool, something to believe in that can resist corruption. I think if ‘Banditoism’ were ever a real thing, it should be that, something built to escape people from toxic cycles, to break the cycle of corruption - personal and societal - in half and end it.

The ideal end to this story, in my opinion, therefore is that Clancy ultimately falls to the temptations of power, as a mere mortal, and he is killed by TB, and all rulers of the city are forever after abolished, the walls all blown up or somehow taken down, and the remains of Dema to be left to rot, be tagged with spray paint, and forgotten, while the Citizens leave the city and learn the ways of the Banditos.

Perhaps, Clancys death is faked, so that everyone can see Clancy - this symbol of power and the corruption that comes from it - fall, ending Dema, and also keep the man himself alive, perhaps always needing to keep a distance from the Banditos or to live with a different name and a disguised face, to not be recognised, and destroy the mythic ending of the oppressive city.

I think this would be a perfect ending for the story. Only issue is, it’s a lot of story to tell with one last lore music video to tell it.

Anyways. This era will end. But the idea of breaking the cycle of harm and corruption, through this way of the bandito, perhaps the guys could honestly develop it, if not into a full religion, then into a kind of philosophy like stoicism. That anyone can read about and apply to their lives to make themselves a better person and the world a better place.

Maybe this Banditoism could be more useful than Stoicism. Maybe it could also be a worldview that allows us to see the world/ ourselves more clearly and honestly too. Who knows, maybe it could even change the world! O:

Well that’s just a theory. A pilots theory… Let me know what you guys think of it. Thanks for reading!

[trim arch]

This is... interesting. But hey, I like it

[weary schooner]

This is so interesting!!!! I agree with your interpretation of the band, it's amazing how you could analyze the lore in such a meaningful way 🤩

[red saddle]

I love love love this so much!! One of the most insightful theories I've read on this forum

I’m sure the concrete lesson will become clear in the resolution of this story, but it’s always been a representation of cycles. The interplay between the cycles of both internal and external destruction, and the irony that the former often leads to the latter. While it’s presented as an intrapersonal struggle in tyclancy’s mind, it most certainly can also be viewed as a reflection of humanity. As you mentioned, the construction of communities, civilizations, organized religions, etc, can so easily devolve and become corrupted by fear and/or desire for control. I really like your comparison of the Banditos to indigenous groups, as they’re both groups that have embraced tradition and symbolism outside of external forces, and have been vilified for doing so. I’ve never thought of this resistance as an established practice or religion in & of itself (Banditosim), but that makes perfect sense.

I grew up Christian but have been Agnostic for about a decade, and I have always been naturally curious about Tyler’s relationship with religion and how his interpretation of it has changed. He has always been adamant about the idea of creating your own meaning and purpose, which, for him, has manifested as this story, along with the music and the community that upholds it. (Whether or not he still subscribes to a religion remains to be seen and is his business.) But regardless, I think your idea of this story coalescing into a sort of philosophy, like stoicism, could be his new interpretation.

All that to say, I think this band has already changed the world by inspiring millions of people to craft their own tools and take back control over their minds. Even the existence of this discord and the endless theories that fans have concocted over the years, whether accurate or not, is proof of that!

[sharp sundial]

Loving this interpretation

[velvet bone]

Wow.