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supaki4 · 8 months ago

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The Game Ib and Mary-ism, a Materialist Analysis.

AT first glance, the game Ib's 3 central characters seem to have nothing to do with a materialist understanding of the world. They seem more like Platonic idealized forms, character archetypes more than real people. However, as with analysis of any creative work, the material relevance of such a work is always found in the correspondence of such archetypes to the world we live.

Ib, the nine year old girl representing the player, is the human embodiment of the player's choices. As is typical for the RPG horror genre, she doesn't talk except to advance the plot. Ib enters the abyssal gallery voluntarily, gets stuck, and although silent, is clearly entranced by the gallery's otherworldly sights and clearly afraid of the gallery's horrors and wants to go home. Thus, Ib is the audience of the game at large, us who are expected to experience the drama between these two people and undergo a potential change in opinion.

Garry, the male character that Ib meets first, is initially presented as someone just like Ib: an outsider to Guertena's gallery of horrors who stumbled into the art gallery by another entrance. Immediately, however, Ib sees that Garry is not like her. He is an adult, he is visibly shaken by the gallery, and he thinks nothing of the rules of the gallery. Despite needing to be rescued by Ib, he is paternalistic towards her and refuses to see her as an equal (despite both being held prisoner in an abyssal nightmare world). When he does help Ib, he never asks for her feelings and retains his aloof, cold personality, always attempting to maintain the illusion of dominance and control over the unpredictable situation. When the gallery tries to stop their attempt at escape, Garry violently destroys the obstacles in his way, paying no heed to the fact that the entire gallery, all of the paintings and sculptures, and all of the dolls are sentient. In Garry, we see man as socialized under capitalism: selfish, incapable of true compassion, and a sense of manhood based on control over the environment, women, and children.

Mary, the female character that Ib meets next, is a vivacious girl. She is carefree, scatterbrained, and friendly. In short, the perfect picture of youthful innocence, the girl who just wants a friend. However, despite her cheerful appearance, we soon learn of an unsettling secret. The sentient gallery, in trying to split up the trio, informs Garry (and the player, but not Ib in-game) that Mary is not human, but merely a painting. Up until now, Guertena's paintings have only been threats to the safety of Garry and Ib, Garry instantly dehumanizes Mary and treats her as an enemy. When the gallery then informs Mary of this, she has a mental breakdown, repeatedly stabbing the head of a statue. We learn very quickly that Mary is crazy and is not above murdering Garry to escape the gallery and finally live a life of dignity, of friends, of sunshine, and not of the endless depression and monotony of the gallery. In some endings, she even murders Ib (despite being friends) simply to protect her secret because after Garry's betrayal she no longer trusts anyone else to understand and accept her. In Mary, we see humanity's atomized state under capitalism: completely isolated, lonely, friendless, a product of a depressing and hostile environment. Any "help" from society comes only from patronizing Garries who do not respect their human dignity but help others only to help themselves. Thus, self-identified Marries are simply tools to Garries, to be outcast when they violate the bourgeois sensibilities of "normality". Each call of friendship (as represented by Ib) is potentially a beckon to freedom, but also potentially a stab in the back. Such people both long for a true friend, but also fear the worst. This causes insanity, as manifest in Mary's uncontrolled violence, or a surrender to darkness, as manifest in Mary's worst ending (where the darkness engulfs her and destroys what is left of her pure soul).

And yet, it is impossible to blame Mary for her actions. After all, her murder of Garry (or Ib) was manipulated by the gallery itself, and her insanity is simply a product of her lengthy solitary confinement in the abyssal gallery of Guertena. Her happy personality can only be sustained by the creation of her own coping space, a bright, colorful, hand-drawn world created by a child where everything is at peace and there is no violence. As a result of her active resistance to the dehumanizing environment around her, Mary is in fact more human than Garry. It is Mary who protects her own rose (compared to Garry or Ib), despite the fact her life force is not bound in her rose like that of the two humans from the outside. It is Mary, not Garry, who accepts those different than herself and tries to make friends (despite the fact such people could kill her). It is Mary who believes the gallery can be escaped, despite growing up there and having never seen the outside world, and Garry who before meeting Ib, lost hope, despite having come not long ago from the outside world.

However, no amount of time in this personal space can deny her reality: she is still a painting and is bound by the dehumanizing rules of a sentient, unified, and malicious gallery. As Ib and Garry find, it actively blocks their escape routes, manipulates pictures motivated by greed to kill them, and when it seems like Garry, Ib, and Mary might all make it out alive united as friends, the gallery actively conspires against them, first splitting them up by force and then manipulating Garry's arrogance and Mary's fear to force Ib to choose (the murder of) one of her friends. In short, the gallery is a metaphor for modern capitalism: an all-encompassing system of inhumanity that defends itself by actively blocking (often with lethal force) those who stand up to it, and will get you to treat potential friends as enemies. If not opposed, capitalism creates a personal hell for each person where insanity or murder (or suicide) become preferable to the depressing alternative, and worst of all, it will turn your coping mechanism into a crutch and its preservation into the motive for attacking others. However, such a crutch at least shows the inkling of mental resistance, and thus, allows a modicum of humanity (even in the insane) not present in those who have already surrendered to capitalism.

Of course, as materialists, we must recognize the failing of any RPG. By focusing on the exploits of a main character in making key plot choices, RPGs necessarily advance an idealist, great-man theory view of events. The escape from the real world abyssal gallery of capitalism is not decided by real world Ibs, who are somehow born fearless and mentally whole, but by the collective action of the proletariat, led by the vanguard party. However, Ib teaches us that personal class affiliation is not enough, we must always strive to unify as great a section of the revolutionary classes as possible (trying to be friends with both Garry and Mary) but if the capitalist system impels us (as the gallery did between Garry and Mary), we are to preferentially uplift the most exploited (the working class, in all of our hues, genders, and cognitive abilities). We, the exploited masses, are all Marries before the capitalist class. In our self-liberation, we must become fearless and constantly alert like Ib. In real life, we are not rescued by Ib, we rescue ourselves by becoming Ib. -- me (mary4) and metalpegasus

Symbols:

Yellow roses are a new revolutionary symbol. It represents the mentally ill who had their minds shattered by capitalism and it's dehumanizing conditioning. It represents the Marries. me and you

Blue roses represent the Garries. Whose who conform to capitalism's dehumanizing conditioning.

Red roses Represent the Ibs. The liberators. Who we should strive to be. References:

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jenniferasberryus · 5 years ago

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Why Sonic Is the Perfect Mascot for Gen Z

Ever since the film based on the Genesis’ Sonic games got regenerated for Gen Zs, it’s got me thinking: “Gen Z’s” sounds a lot like “Genesis.” But, beyond that, it’s got me thinking about the ever-improving system we have in place for marketing nostalgia to Millenials, while also trying to convince new clusters of Gen Z kids to embrace these characters and franchises as their own.

Marvel comics became the MCU, the Star Wars continue unabated, and everyone’s so aware that we’re living in recycled times that... that’s all I’m really going to say about it. What’s interesting to me is just how perfect Sonic the Hedgehog is as a vehicle for this kind of weaponized nostalgia, and how he’s served as a measure of our relationship to coolness for three generations now.

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Obviously, by casting Jim Carrey in a wacky role and re-doing the CG to make Sonic look more like his classic self, the filmmakers aren’t shying away from appealing to fond Millenial memories (you know, for money!). But Sonic remains primarily a kids’ movie, and thinking about the ways that today’s young people may relate to the blue blur made me realize that Sonic said a lot more about the Millennial generation than we realized - whether he intended to or not - and he sheds light on some of the things that connect us across time, no matter our generation...except for the Boomers, who I guess we all hate now? Is that the meme? Regardless, to understand why Sonic is the fuzzy multi-generational mirror that he is, we’re going to need...

A Bit of a History Lesson

To be clear, I’m considering a Baby Boomer someone born between 1950 and 1965, a Gen X-er someone born between ‘65 and ‘80, a Millenial someone born between ‘80 and ‘95 (prime Sonic age), and a Gen Z-er anyone born after 1995.

When Sonic was initially released in 1991, I was six years old, and “being cool” was super important both to myself and all of my peers (except for the kid who brought a gavel to school every day). What I think younger folks today might not understand is that this quest for coolness was not about authenticity, individuality, or any kind of meta-awareness of our identities. We weren’t “cool,” we were Cool™, and Coolness™ was defined by brands, something most of us didn’t grow up with the media-savvy to question. It was about being in a minority product vertical: skateboarding, black clothes, skitchin’, rap and/or punk rock on MTV, and unironically spelling the word “extreme” with a capital X.

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Speaking of irony, I’d argue that the ’90s were the decade where Detached Irony was born, grew up, got perfected as chronicled in the 1995 Alanis Morisette song “Ironic,” and, in a sense, died. Irony is a toy we make memes with nowadays, but it used to be what we used to identify ourselves as - we were misfits who were “over it,” and therefore cooler than you. You were Coke, we were Pepsi. Flash forward twenty years and I’d call myself more of a Blueberry Acai caffeine-free Diet Coke guy; my point being that identity issues have gotten more complex over the years. And Sonic has all of that wrapped up in his fur. Needles? His…hedgehog...texture.

The ’90s were a gaming landscape dominated by Mario: a fat, middle-aged human who focuses primarily on jumping. This made Sonic feel like pure, uncut, corporate-designed cool in a way that immediately juiced the X-centers of my brain. If you were a Sega kid, you felt indie, edgy, a little more Pitchfork than your Nintendo playmates. Sonic focused on going fast, his head had Liberty Spikes, and he was such a crude, rude, awesome dude that if you stopped playing for a few seconds he’d look right into camera and give you the stink eye for wasting his time.

Amazingly, none of that seemed corny to us at the time. Sonic’s Cool was genuine and accepted by his fans with a naivete born of the mono-media culture of the ’70s and ’80s, and which has been slowly decaying ever since Fonzie jumped the shark. These days it’s almost been completely dispelled as the internet and other technologies drive us to be more aware of the systems around us from a younger and younger age.

Considering that, it’s no coincidence that the 90’s saw the ascendance of grunge music, pop-punk, an explosion in goth culture, the advent of “The Gritty Reboot,” and popular films with nihilism as a central theme. As a culture, we became obsessed with the “fakeness” of all the sheeple around us — irony became a way to interact with the broader world, and a signature part of the Gen X and Millenial attitude. Suddenly we were only interested in bands that hadn’t “sold out” yet, and anyone who didn’t think everything sucked was probably a phony.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/10/14/history-of-awesome-1998"]

In that environment, Sonic’s cool started to taste a little Chemical Zone-ey, a little factory-produced. Although the fact that his transition to 3-D graphics was far less graceful than Mario’s was definitely a factor, as a pop-cultural icon Sonic had to shift gears, too. The first Sonic TV show, essentially a kid’s comedy, was canceled and replaced with a much more action-packed and serious take on the Battle for Mobius (if you didn’t know, Sonic’s from a planet called Mobius in the year 3235, but it’s best not to question it).

During the same period, Sonic stopped moving merch, and Sega announced their retirement from the console wars. Which finally brings us to Gen Z, the generation that’s proud to be themselves and frankly doesn’t give a f**k what you think about it.

Sonic & Gen Z (or... Zennials or… Whatever You/They Want to Call Your/Themselves)

These days, truly being yourself, unique, authentic… just you, is huge business. Youtube and Twitch are filled with child billionaires who lean into their personality quirks and are loved specifically for that reason. Also some racism. But the bigger point is, in the new normal, ironic detachment isn’t nearly as valuable. It’s actually cooler, these days, to be into something than to be over something. Young people feel more empowered to simply like what they like, which makes it an ideal time for Sonic to re-enter the fray.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/12/sonic-the-hedgehog-old-and-new-design-comparison"]

None of this is to say the movie will definitely do well (or even be good), but as a Sonic fan for life, it’s been interesting to watch him go from cool, to corporatized and “fake”, to “kinda corny and silly and… still fake, but that’s what’s funny about it.” The whole debacle with the initial CG Sonic reveal speaks to that...the filmmakers tried to make Sonic “realistic” and the internet said, “No you idiots, he’s a cartoon rascal that thinks he’s too cool for school, just let him be that!”

Gen Z is the first generation of humans to have grown up fully immersed in a digitally-enhanced society. Everyone is able to indulge their interests and hobbies much more thoroughly now, which has resulted in a galaxy of fragmented fan-bases and communal identities that make the “Are you a Sega person or a Nintendo person?” question seems quaint by comparison.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/03/01/why-are-there-no-good-video-game-movies"]

Nowadays, someone isn’t just a Nintendo or Sega player - they’re an anime cosplayer with an interest in tabletop gaming, or a maker of pixel-beats who crochets Star Wars scarves on Etsy in their spare time. The pop culture landscape is richer. Case in point: there were 130 more movies released in the US in 2018 than in 2017, and the number of scripted TV series’ have increased by 85% since 2011. In such a dynamic environment, generalizations are tough to make, but there is a lot of statistical data on Gen Z folks -- mostly marketing data about buying trends, because Capitalsim™ -- that I think bodes well for the possibility of a Sonic Renaissance.

Environmental Consciousness

Gen Z kids are more concerned about pollution, sustainability, and conservancy than any previous generation. Sonic the Hedgehog’s arch-nemesis is a boomer in a non-self-driving vehicle who’s here to automate all the flowers and animals and build a giant factory.

Fiscal Responsibility

Gen Z-ers are notoriously thrifty, more likely to work a series of freelance jobs or change careers frequently, and always looking for bargains or a place to live that they can actually afford. Sonic the Hedgehog hoards gold rings and emeralds and is in danger of being gentrified out of his neighborhood.

Cord-Cutters

Gen Z is the generation that “cut the cable,” and consumes most of their content on their mobiles, seeing screens as essentially interchangeable and TV as outdated. Sonic destroys hundreds of old-fashioned TVs every game and is mobility incarnate.

Data Protection

Gen Z places less emphasis on the importance of personal privacy. Sonic wears gloves and shoes but no pants.

Ethically-Sourced…Chili Dogs?

Gen Z is consuming far less meat than previous generations. Sonic loves chili dogs, which is a tube of several kinds of meat with ground-up meat on top. Okay, that one doesn’t work. Um...

Blue Hair

I’ve been seeing lots of kids with blue hair lately? What’s up with that?

Let’s see, how can I sound older than I already do? Oh! Bidets? No thank you! What’s all this fuss lately about bidets and bidet seat add-ons? I’ll stick to good old-fashioned American-made two-ply, thank you very much! Now, in my day, we had the Virtual Boy, and he was my best friend and oh my, the times we’d have…

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Editor’s Note: Michael just kept typing out SNES titles until he got sleepy. We put a blanket over him to make sure he didn’t get cold.

What’s your take on Sonic these days? Corporate Shill or Moderately Funny In Sort of a Kitschy Way Corporate Shill? Let us know in the comments, or to really see how far the internet has fallen, check out what happens when you put the creepy old CG sonic’s teeth on other game characters.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/2020/01/09/why-sonic-is-the-perfect-mascot-for-gen-z via IFTTT from The Fax Fox https://thefaxfox.blogspot.com/2020/01/why-sonic-is-perfect-mascot-for-gen-z.html

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