I hope most people reading this have played Ocarina of Time, but just as a heads up: Spoilers.
Sorry if this comes off a bit high-brow, and I will get to my point soon enough but first the background:
I am writing a paper on the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for my Adolescent Fantasy Literature class, specifically focusing on the Jungian archetypes of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, as well as the structure of the plot being based around Joseph Campbell's monomyth idea. The game still resonates with me, ever since I played it back in the day as a 10 year old, and I wanted to delve into why. The 'nostalgia' factor that many of us feel could be caused by some of these psychoanalytical themes, and that is what I am trying to explore with the main core of the paper. However in the interest of time (and my page limit, blech), I cannot focus on specific themes that are within the plot in full detail.
Some examples being the Arthurian quest similarities(not quite strong enough to make the cut on the first draft), the loss of innocence regarding Link's childhood, the thematic change from youthful Hyrule to the darker, "mature" Hyrule. One in particular struck a note (I could just be reading REALLY into it though); the almost Holocaust-like theme in the Fire Temple. You have a race of people gathered up and imprisoned, planned to be fed to a dragon. The fact that its also dealing with fire may have something to do with it too. The destruction of Kakariko village, the feminist equality issues regarding the Gerudo... the list can go on.
I'm passionate about this paper, and I plan on continuing to expand upon it even after I've turned in the aforementioned portion. I want to find more themes to research and expand upon.
So I pose this to you guys: What themes have you noticed in Ocarina of Time that you might not have picked up on as a kid? It's okay to speculate without hard evidence (though some evidence would be nice) as I plan on really delving into researching it later on. I believe if games are to be taken seriously, we must really start to look into these kind of details. Even if Nintendo didn't INTEND for themes such as these, and deny them up and down, the simple fact that we can draw connections means there could be something there on a subconscious level. Even if they are just smoke and mirrors, the simple act of trying to find context and critiquing it pushes our beloved medium forward.
Anyways, thanks ahead of time guys. If you really care, I'll keep you updated on the grade I receive.
Sorry if this comes off a bit high-brow, and I will get to my point soon enough but first the background:
I am writing a paper on the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for my Adolescent Fantasy Literature class, specifically focusing on the Jungian archetypes of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, as well as the structure of the plot being based around Joseph Campbell's monomyth idea. The game still resonates with me, ever since I played it back in the day as a 10 year old, and I wanted to delve into why. The 'nostalgia' factor that many of us feel could be caused by some of these psychoanalytical themes, and that is what I am trying to explore with the main core of the paper. However in the interest of time (and my page limit, blech), I cannot focus on specific themes that are within the plot in full detail.
Some examples being the Arthurian quest similarities(not quite strong enough to make the cut on the first draft), the loss of innocence regarding Link's childhood, the thematic change from youthful Hyrule to the darker, "mature" Hyrule. One in particular struck a note (I could just be reading REALLY into it though); the almost Holocaust-like theme in the Fire Temple. You have a race of people gathered up and imprisoned, planned to be fed to a dragon. The fact that its also dealing with fire may have something to do with it too. The destruction of Kakariko village, the feminist equality issues regarding the Gerudo... the list can go on.
I'm passionate about this paper, and I plan on continuing to expand upon it even after I've turned in the aforementioned portion. I want to find more themes to research and expand upon.
So I pose this to you guys: What themes have you noticed in Ocarina of Time that you might not have picked up on as a kid? It's okay to speculate without hard evidence (though some evidence would be nice) as I plan on really delving into researching it later on. I believe if games are to be taken seriously, we must really start to look into these kind of details. Even if Nintendo didn't INTEND for themes such as these, and deny them up and down, the simple fact that we can draw connections means there could be something there on a subconscious level. Even if they are just smoke and mirrors, the simple act of trying to find context and critiquing it pushes our beloved medium forward.
Anyways, thanks ahead of time guys. If you really care, I'll keep you updated on the grade I receive.