[ SECRET POST #3050 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3050 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.


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02.
[Michael Keaton, Eddie Redmayne]


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03.
[Touken Ranbu (DMM)]


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04.
(Watership Down)


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05.
[Republique]


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06.
[Cardcaptor Sakura]


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07.
[Donkey Kong Country (TV series)]


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08.
[Türkisch für Anfänger]


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09.
[Tom Waits (left), Mark Lanegan (right)]















Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 038 secrets from Secret Submission Post #436.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

05. http://i.imgur.com/zbeqzrg.png
[Republique]

[herpymcderp]

Sorry, OP. I hate to break it to you, but dystopias were never not political. The very concept is a political critique.

[(Anonymous)]

Yup

[fingalsanteater]

Yeeeah. I think OP might be better served by seeking out post-apocalyptic fiction, which isn't always related to politics.

[(Anonymous)]

I think they have something very specific in mind by 'political'? Because, like, Papers Please is certainly political, but it doesn't fall into their use of the word. They might mean something more like... dealing directly with the political aspects of the world in their plot, I guess?

[herpymcderp]

If by political OP actually meant "aping the current slactivist movement", then sure I could see the annoyance there.

That's the main reason I hated COD: Black Ops 2 so much, really. But I don't think that's really political so much as it is extremely lazy.

OP

[(Anonymous)]

I'm really struggling for the right phrase here. Rallying cry, maybe? Republique feels like "This is what will happen to any society with domestic spying! Don't you see how bad domestic spying is? We must condemn domestic spying!" Papers Please just tries to show you the society--any praise or condemnation is for you to levy. (Then again, 1984 was written to "prevent the future," and I don't think it's half as ham-handed as some of the dystopias I've seen.)

[(Anonymous)]

I'd love to play a game that's set in a dystopia where the main characters aren't responsible for being The Good Guys Who Change Everything And Make It Better Through Hamfisted Political Allegory

Or a storyline in a dystopia where the point of the game isn't to magically make everything better in the first place

The dystopia can be political, but the story doesn't have to be or involve the characters making huge political changes

[herpymcderp]

That's a very good point. I can't think of a single video game (even BioShock Infinite is guilty, and I rather enjoyed that) where a dystopia is set up only to have the moment of revolution as a backdrop for the main character's heroism.

[(Anonymous)]

That wouldn't make it not political.

[fingalsanteater]

I was just complaining last night that I'm tired of post-apocalyptic fiction that revolves around trying to right the world or the story is just a way to explain how the apocalypse happened. I'd love to see a story that just involes the characters interacting with their world and isn't just a way to explain why things are the way they are or is t done grand save the world adventure.

[lb_lee]

Unfortunately, I don't know any of those in games. :( I do know one in books, though!

--Sneak

[kallanda_lee]

I'm pretty sure that pretty much every dystopia in fiction was somehow political/social commentary.

[lb_lee]

*snort* Once, as a challenge, I wrote a sort of dystopian social rebellion, based off some of the fantasies I'd had during the Homeless Year. Fans voted for me to illustrate it, so I made a fake wheatpaste poster that the revolutionaries would put on their walls.

Then a Wikileaks group on DA wanted to add the art to their group.

I was like, dudes, do you not realize the point? I was saying how AWFUL such a revolution would be, and how some fantasies (most fantasies) are way better in your head.

But yeah, I have a very hard time imagining a NON-political dystopia. What would the regime FORM over, if not politics? Shipping wars?

--Rogan

[(Anonymous)]

I can't decide which I hate more: dystopias with clumsy, embarrassingly ham-fisted sociopolitical commentary, or dystopias that have little to no (and/or exceedingly vague) commentary and exist solely as a trendy vessel for a romance plot.

Tangential quesion:

[(Anonymous)]

How is this game, btw?

OP

[(Anonymous)]

The stealth mechanics are simple and solid, but I think it gets a little cheap later on. In episode 3 (5 are planned), there are guards who have anti-taser armor, anti-pepper spray helmets, and can throw grenades loaded with sleeping gas.

[(Anonymous)]

I agree that dystopia and political commentary go hand in hand, but others seem to be implying that they can't be separated. I see no reason at all why a dystopian story absolutely must have a political agenda. I mean, people could definitely assume an agenda to about any kind of media, but sometimes a yellow cup is just a yellow cup. Some authors don't write with the intent to preach a message or have symbolism. Some just want to write exciting stories.

[(Anonymous)]

Creating a society which is dystopian is intrinsically political because it implies a judgment about good or bad in societies, which is what politics is.

Like, dystopias are almost definitionally political. It doesn't have to be didactic and it doesn't have to be propaganda, but I would almost argue that if it doesn't have a political judgment of one kind or another, it's not a dystopia.

Not every crapsack world is a dystopia, of course. So in that sense, you're right.

[(Anonymous)]

I agree about Papers, Please. It was nice to have a dystopian game about an oppressive government regime where the player could choose whether or not to rebel. Even better, joining the rebels was dangerous and could get you the bad ending real quick.

[(Anonymous)]

It is kind of frustrating how stupidly idealistic a lot of media can be about The Rebellion, where it's full of beautiful young morally decent people and you'll drop a few bombs and the government will crumble while you make out with your bae

[(Anonymous)]

Did anyone besides me read initially read the last part as Jesse Ventura?

[(Anonymous)]

My AI fic where the computers slowly take over the government and economy is that. The good news is no one is out in the streets and higher education is more common then ever. The bad news the AIs are testing if cheaters make better laws.

Transcript

[(Anonymous)]

Image: screen cap from the game Republique

Text: I feel like dystopias have gotten too political.

Yes, I know how silly that sounds. But seriously, it feels like it's all "Look at this trend I don't like! If this continues, our socity will become a horrifying hellhole that can only be saved by the rebellion of Right Thinking People like me! We must overreact immediately!" Papers Please was the last thing I saw that actually tried to reflect the methods and mindset of oppressive regimes in real life, and showed what it's like to live as part of that society rather than boldly rebelling against it.

BS: I'm sure I must have played a game more heavy-handed and anvil-to-forehead than this, but I can't think of anything unless you count stuff by Jesse Venbrux.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, I agree. While taking an element of our society and extrapolating it can be interesting, it can also be very tired. I think that's especially the case right now just because dystopia is so popular. Since there's so much, of course lots will be crappy.

Personally, I prefer dystopian stories to say something about the human condition rather than a specific Bad Thing. Like The Giver, which, while it held elements of the crisis of freedom vs. security, was primarily about the importance of memory and emotion. Good stuff.

Also, I'm excited for dystopia to become less popular overall. I look forward to when sci fi becomes optimistic again. Robots and equality!