summerof2010 said:
Um... it's a metaphor?
It's an artistic construct intended to parallel real-world events, sentiments, and organizations.
None of it's real, but it's representing stuff that is in order to make points about them without the complications and limitations of reality.
Making a point and being anti something are different things.
Example. I don't think religious groups should be allowed to stop others from having abortions or organ transplants as there morale standards are not shared by everyone.
I just made a point, it is, however, NOT anti-religious, but rather my thoughts on religion and abortions/transplants.
People are just unable to talk about religion as openly as they like, which is why they usually have to project their dissent onto such constructs -- to avoid directly offending too many people. Political correctness in corporate industries is holds the same power these days that mandated orthodoxy (as in du jure/de facto faith) ever has.
Accept in most examples given it seems like people are making a huge stretch to justify what they are saying. Once again Silent Hill and Dead Space have religious themes. However after playing both SH1-3, Home and 0 as well as Dead Space many times I in no way see it as a case of "Religion is wrong and evil!" but rather, "Look at these stupid people, this is religion gone WRONG." Not all religion. Once again. I do not believe games are actually anti-religion.
It's a consciously written story. Saying Silent Hill (admittedly not the best example) has nothing to say about religious dogma is about as stupid as saying The Cat in the Hat had nothing to say about social responsibility.
Sorry, this one was my bad because i referenced the wrong Dr.Seuss. I was talking about Horton Hears a Who. A book that people still to this day hold up as Dr.Seuss screaming abortion is wrong. Which he has denied countless times.
However, once again, my point isn't that these people aren't exploring religious context and ideals in negative lights, but that the intended purpose isn't "Religion is bad kids! Stay the fuck away!"
It's used because Religion is such an interesting and strange place, to simply say "Silent Hill is trying to tell people Christianity is bad!" Is stupid.
Thinking any game is TRULY trying to get people to give up on religion is foolish. (hmm, that one's actually right) But stories are allowed to have points; unifying themes that form a message. As the "readers into shit", people have the right to be critical of the prevailing representation of religion in their entertainment media.
Yes, stories have the right to have points in fact you could say that's why people right stories to begin with *wink wink*.
However i do not believe the writers for Dead Space were sitting thinking "Hmm, whats a subtle way to call Religious people retarded freaks of nature who would gladly murder themselves for an alien race."
Yes, the story is about religion, yes it shows religious dogma taken to an extreme. However the intent in purpose to me wasn't to slap religion in the face and make people hate it.
There
is a difference between showing something in a negative light and being anti something. Thus far I haven't seen anything that is truly
anti religion, but rather simply taking ideas and creating negative reflections or extremes of them.
Sure, people are allowed to be critical of anything they read and totally have the right to think and believe anything they want. That's the glory of freedom of speech. However i do not agree with them and feel maybe people are reading to heavily into things. To call a game a negative reflection, or religion in a darker light would be more appropriate, but to label most those games as actually
anti-religion i think is incorrect as that would mean the writers made the conscientious decision to attempt to persuade people away form having religious beliefs. That is something i simply don't think is happening at all.
See what i did?