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St. Ajora
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 Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Take Final Fantasy X. I never beat it myself, but I got a respectable percentage of it under my belt before giving up, and I also helped my friend beat the final boss (the final one that you can actually lose against, anyway), and proceeded to watch the ending, so I know more or less the entire plot, at least the surface-level plot. Basically, the only established religion in Spira is, big surprise, corrupt and oppresive. While characters like Yuna help to shape the notion that not everyone abiding by this religion has gone astray, you're basically given the impression that down to it's roots, the religion (the name of which I forget) has become morally bankrupt |
No, that wasn't FFX's religion. Yu Yevon wasn't morally bankrupt, but a lot of its people were. The masterminds behind Yu Yevon, such as Yunalesca, truly believed in what she was doing-eternally damning every single chosen summoner and its guardians, for the most part. However, she wasn't corrupt. She wasn't after power. She was maintaining a 1000 year old tradition because she thought that there was no other way for giving peace to the people. That is a lot different than a typical corrupt religion that is projected to us as say, the church in FFT (whom were actively out to control people and gain power and hide the truth).
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| Ajora is written to be completely non-divine, he is even said to be a spy (working for an unmentioned faction) infiltrating and agitating the Yudora Empire. He is said to be much more of a political figure, and Germonik (also a spy) suggests that he was created to be a religious figure only after his death by a Church founded on lies, using a newly Deified St. Ajora as a kind of God, using his famous name in tandem with the legend of the Zodiac Brave Story to command believers, getting them to act in accordance with the Church's political mandate in the name of "Faith" and "Piety". |
That's basically it. All of that is true when you read the Germonik Scriptures- Ajora's holy life was false- he was a bad guy and got mixed up with the Lucavi demons (who got to who first is a mystery though). This is the best example of a corrupt religion hiding behind a curtain to mask their true intentions, I think.
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| Is Square trying to convey to it's audience that it thinks the Christian Church is corrupt, even going so far as to say that it has lies at it's foundation, and is really no more that a grand creation of propoganda? Using faith as the basis of manipulation? |
I heard that too, how it may be a tongue in cheek message. But of course this isn't a collective perspective from Japanese people, I would think... |
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Benit149
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| Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 10:19 pm Post subject: |
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I had neglected to mention that in the same book I read about anime culture, 1% of modern Japanese are Christians, so it's not like ALL Japanese despise Christianity. The way I see it, it is excellent material to parody. Unfortunately, it has a sour reputation in Japan, possibly making it the butt of religious jokes and references like how we make fun of Michael Jackson EVERYWHERE in the States.
And it's not like Japan is the only victim of Christian 'OHMYGOD THIS IS BLASPHEMY BAN IT BEFORE THE KIDS SEE IT!' crap. Monty Python did 'Meaning of Life', and when I watched it, even I couldn't believe my eyes. No wonder it didn't come here for a long time. And then let's not forget Galileo and Martin Luther (the Lutherism one, not the civil rights one) and all those other revolutionaries who fought the Church's strong grip on Europe. So, all this dubbing and editing Christian references in anime and games isn't brand new, but it's definitely fading.
So this is all well and good, but if you were in charge of making a game with religion, what would you do that hasn't been done before? Some religion twists have become as ancient as Pong, and if you make too many twists and turns, it'll end up being as confusing as Stella Deus. I'll have to get back to you on my own answer once I think of something. :D
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Shrew
The All-Star Rock n' Breakdance Electronic Band from Shenzhen
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| Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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Errr... I don't think the Japanese hate Christianity Benit. They just view it indifferently. It's simply not a big topic in their life, so they have a passive relationship with it. If it shows up in a lot of anime and video games, it's generally because there is an interest in how it works, and exploring. I doubt they consider what they do harmful though.
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Anton Misri
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 2:10 am Post subject: |
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Taking one facet of an entire civilization (such as videogames from Japan) and saying this dictates the entire charactertic of its people is absurd. It is natural inclination that people generalize based on limited data, but this impulse should be fought against. Otherwise, you will just have misunderstanding, and your knowledge will be flawed; you will only be fooling yourself in the end.
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Krawnik
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 9:47 am Post subject: |
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Besides, how many American, or otherwise western, movies or video games have, say, Ninjas, or Samurai in them? Not only are they not of our culture, but they're probably grossly misrepresented from lack of understanding. Could be the same idea- we find ninjas fascinating but represent them poorly because they weren't native to us, the Japanese think Christianity is interesting but have difficulty using it as a plot device because of incomplete knowledge.
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