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lifegoesonevenifeverybodyisgone · 2 days ago

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THE Joe Character Analysis. Part 2: Individual Choice vs Collectivism.

"How does Joe fit in the overall 2.0 story?"

An important thing to consider when conducting a character analysis is the relationship of the character with the story they are a part of. In Joe's case, what is his relationship with the 2.0 event, Floor It! To The Golden City?

After rewatching the entire 2.0 event and taking notes, something came to my attention when I watched Chapter 9: Snake in the Grass.

"Two bags of gold in a cave"

To give background to this scene, Matilda receives intel from one of the arcanist vendors which can help in fighting the cult but may endanger Mercuria's life since she'll intervene. The dillemma: Should she tell Mercuria or not?

As pictured above, Matilda goes to the bar and asks Pioneer for advice regarding her dilemma by an analogy: two bags of gold in a cave. There are two bags of gold in a cave and the dragon will consume more and more of it the longer you don't take action. You can only grab 1 bag and your friend can help you with the other, but your friend helping you WILL endanger their life. Should you let them?

Pioneer responds with this:

It didn't immediately click for me until I connected it with a later part of this chapter. When Mercuria performs for the crowd and dances outside of the rhythmn, Matilda questions this.

Pioneer tries to show Matilda another perspective.

THEN WAIT! What was that?

This was when it first clicked to me that the theme of 2.0 may be heavily based on the concept of individual choice which is consistently contrasted with the collective community that they find themselves in.

Other than J, the other playable character from this patch is Mercuria. Unlike J, her work in the story was more in the sidelines. Regardless I should note that her actions heavily changed the plot because Mercuria literally foresaw everything that happened in 2.0 and served as a catalyst for the happier outcome.

Going back to this line:

Throughout the story, Mercuria has been fundamental to changing the views of Legers and Gio regarding their families and themselves. It may have even been possible that she foresaw how much Matilda was going to change J's life (which may explain how the inciting incident of Joe getting to know Matilda happened in Mercuria's tent). Mercuria represents the themes of freedom, individual choice, and self-reflection.

I argue that Joe (protagonist) and Legers (antagonist -> ally) represent the other half of this: community, brotherhood, and collectivism. Specifcally, both men are the considered the big figures of their respective gangs, highly respected in their communities, and have a deep interpersonal conflict that has to do with their siblings due to differing paths in life.

Another interesting thing to note regarding culture, both men come from cultures that are family oriented and collectivist. Legers is an Italian from Sicily, just like the Greco sisters, Schneider and Marian. I am pretty sure that Bluepoch is aware of this cultural effect.

As mentioned before, I suspect that J has Mexican descent (a culture known for being family oriented and collective). Other than that, it has been explicitly stated in his storyboard that his friends and family are a valuable to him. This is also what motivates him.

When it comes to indivualism vs collectivism, I do not suggest that one is better than the other since both have their place. It's important to have a balance of both, a community that supports their members in their self-development and living their good lives as well as the members doing the same for others in their community.

Going back to Joe and Legers, both men begin in the story lean into the collectivist point of view. They believe in their community and most importantly they are motivated out of the love for their family. But this love can lead them to do things that may not necessarily benefit their loved ones or themselves.

In Legers' case, he sold himself out to the Order of Enlightenment in order to find a cure for his brother (betraying his principles).

But his brother made those choices in life in order to give Salvadore a good life in the first place! By trying to prolong his brother's life, he was violating his brother's will. It was only when Mercuria gave him back his consciousness that the real Legers was able to speak out and tell his brother this.

This becomes the turning point of Legers' character when he begins to reflect on his dream and what he can do moving forward.

"You might do things which you think benefits the one you love, but is that what they really want?"

In the end, he becomes the head of both his gang and J's gangs. He ends up taking over the restaurant, making positive changes in Haight Street, and becomes the new beacon of change. Because he was able to improve himself first, he was able to positively effect his community.

Just like Legers, J is motivated out of the love for his family. This leads him to disapproving Paulina's choice to join the Foundation out of a well-founded fear of her being used. Not only does J protect Haight Street, he also represents every aspect of this: whether it be the positive (community and brotherhood) or the negative (being part of the cyle of violence). So when Paulina wanted to leave Haight Street, he saw this as her haughtiness to be associated with him and also her cutting ties with him.

Regardless of what J thought, Paulina wasn't motivated to join the Foundation for these things. Despite the risk of sacrificing her life, she dreamed of helping other people and making a difference in the world. Instead, the rift that she had with her brother was due to the flaws that he had before.

You see, the J we know in 2.0 and the J we see in the flashbacks greatly differ.

Due to the death of his parents, he had to serve as the guardian/parent of Paulina when they were both kids. This kind of responsibility really fucks you up.

This forced him to grow up early on and take charge as the head of his household. But just like a stern father, his word was the law (at some points even controlling). When he disapproved of something like Paulina's dream, he withheld the papers from her and even barred her from leaving (it is implied that he broke the bike so she has no means to get out).

Overall, Paulina can be justified in her feelings of being caged in Haight Street. Nonetheless, this was not the reason for their rift.

Other than pursuing her dreams, Paulina saw the cycle of violence in the crime-filled streets of Haight Street and wanted to end this cycle. Although J serves as the protector of Haight Street, he isn't immune to becoming cruel himself. Although he has a point, he didn't properly communicate this to Paulina by guiding her and respecting her choice. Instead, he imposed his own will.

Going back to the present!

After Mercuria confirms that Paulina is dead, J begins the journey of reflecting on his views. To push this even further, right after recently grieving the news of his sister's death, Matilda comes into his life during this time. He is initially amused by Matilda and takes great pleasure in teasing her...

but his views shift when she starts feeling familiar.

Ever since this moment, J began to see Matilda as a sister figure and became protective of her. Due to her similarities with Paulina, not only in manner but also in ideals, this allowed J to actually reflect on Paulina's dream and realize why she actually left.

(To be continued)

Link to the Ultimate Joe Directory:

https://www.tumblr.com/lifegoesonevenifeverybodyisgone/771822786973958144/the-ultimate-joe-directory?source=share

#reverse 1999 #j reverse 1999 #matilda reverse 1999 #legers reverse 1999 #floor it! to the golden city #2.0 reverse 1999 #character analysis

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lifegoesonevenifeverybodyisgone · 2 days ago

Text

"How does Joe fit in the overall 2.0 story?"

THE Joe Character Analysis. Part 2: Individual Choice vs Collectivism.

After rewatching the entire 2.0 event and taking notes, something came to my attention when I watched Chapter 9: Snake in the Grass.

"Two bags of gold in a cave"

Pioneer responds with this:

It didn't immediately click for me until I connected it with a later part of this chapter. When Mercuria performs for the crowd and dances outside of the rhythmn, Matilda questions this.

Pioneer tries to show Matilda another perspective.

THEN WAIT! What was that?

Going back to this line:

In Legers' case, he sold himself out to the Order of Enlightenment in order to find a cure for his brother (betraying his principles).

This becomes the turning point of Legers' character when he begins to reflect on his dream and what he can do moving forward.

"You might do things which you think benefits the one you love, but is that what they really want?"

You see, the J we know in 2.0 and the J we see in the flashbacks greatly differ.

Due to the death of his parents, he had to serve as the guardian/parent of Paulina when they were both kids. This kind of responsibility really fucks you up.

Overall, Paulina can be justified in her feelings of being caged in Haight Street. Nonetheless, this was not the reason for their rift.

Going back to the present!

but his views shift when she starts feeling familiar.

(To be continued)

THE Joe Character Analysis. Part 1: The Greasers and J's Mexican Heritage

Merry Christmas, especially to the dedicated Joe fan, @barbieb0y! After torturing myself by recapping and taking notes of the entire 2.0 event, Joe's character story "The San Francisco Kids", looking at his storyboards and comic, getting Joe to 100% bond, having him as my main in the Series of Dusks, and reading + re-reading all of his voice lines/mini stories/descriptions; I can confidently say that I have gained more insights about his character and formed theories of my own that we shall tackle today.

While looking at J's character storyboard I noticed something interesting about his fashion style.

J's fashion style is inspired by the Greaser's aesthetic. Considering that Bluepoch pays attention to character details and their outfits, this is an intentional choice. By briefly looking at the Wikipedia page for the Greaser subculture, I noticed that the most prominent adopters of the style are Italian Americans from the North and Hispanic Americans in the South (including places like California, in this case, Haight Street).

This brought to my attention that J, in fact, could have Mexican heritage. Specifically, he is a mixed White-Mexican American.

Why so?

J's paternal side is the legendary arcanist family, the Waylands. The last name Wayland derives from the Norman French word Wēland, which may also derive from the ancient Germanic words wēla-nandaz, which means "battle" and "brave." This means that his father is most likely a typical White American.

Since J is a mixed arcanist, I would assume that his biological mother is a human Hispanic considering the significant percentage of San Francisco's Hispanic population and also due to J's identification with the Greaser subculture.

A mixed child has a higher chance of learning their mother's culture especially if they grow up around other maternal family members or people of the same culture. I noticed that my mixed-race cousins whose father was an American, identified more with their Filipino side especially since they live in the Philippines. I identify more with my mother's ethnic group due to the same reasons.

Besides his tanned skin, his love for Mexican food and drink and his mastery of cooking the cuisine may suggest that he is of Mexican descent.

Examples:

The most telling of these examples is J's cooking ability NOT his preference for Mexican food. In the first example, he managed to make a hot sauce AUTHENTIC enough that Centurion, a CANONICAL Mexican-American character, was taken back to her hometown. This is a big deal considering that in the 1990s, there wasn't Youtube or online sources that could spread authentic recipes for Mexican food! Due to the limited educational resources in that era regarding cooking Mexican food, this means that he most likely learned it by being taught by someone who could make Mexican food, which I conclude is his biological mother.

Tang Ji, the chef who raised J after his father died, is a Chinese immigrant so it's unlikely that he knows how to cook Mexican food from the get-go. J himself also knows how to cook Chinese food because of this. There is a chance that one of the Mexican immigrants could have taught J how to cook Mexican food but due to his tan skin color (that he had even before he began blacksmithing) this leads me to assume that my conclusion is the more likely option.

But why? I am led to believe that his mother passed down her recipes to her husband and son just like how some of my mixed family members exchange recipes and traditions amongst each other. A fast way to connect to one's culture is by knowing how to make food from THAT culture. Since J lost his mother at a young age (but not too young as not to remember her), I think it is his way of remembering his mother and connecting to his culture (since he cannot speak the language I assume).

So going back to the Greaser subculture that J identifies with, it emerged amongst lower-class teenagers and young adults. The Greaser subculture was associated with motorcycle gangs, their attire, their greased-up hair, and their rebellious attitude.

This is reflected in J's fashion:

(His hairstyle is a more tousled version of a flop)

(His jacket seems to be a modified Perfecto Motorcycle Jacket)

(His jeans are Levi's dark blue jeans that are inspired by the 50s with the cut of the jeans being a bit wider near the end to make way for boots)

(His boots are partially hidden by his jeans but it is a Winklepicker boots which are characterized by their slick body, pointy toes, and straps)

(The Greasers were oftentimes bikers and were fond of the hot rod type of bikes. "Hot Rod" is a way of modifying classic vehicles by stripping them of their parts, which exposes insides like the pipes, to increase speed.)

The original Greasers were from ethnic minorities like those from the Mediterranean, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Italian. They felt united in the feeling of being left out of the post-war economic boom and also experienced discrimination and poverty. The theme or main philosophy and ethos of the Greaser and the cultural aspects of Mexican-American culture are essential in understanding J, his understanding of the world, and his background in Haight Street.

In three posts, I will discuss the three themes that explore 1) collectivism vs individual choice, 2) masculinity, family, and community, and 3) J's philosophy regarding blades and metals (and how it connects to his views of imperfection and culture). I will also be comparing and contrasting him with characters like Legers, Argus, and Isolde. I will reblog these posts when they come, so sit back and enjoy!

#reverse 1999 #j reverse 1999 #matilda reverse 1999 #legers reverse 1999 #floor it! to the golden city #2.0 reverse 1999 #character analysis

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