I finished my playthrough of Bioshock: Infinite. For those not familiar with the Bioshock franchise the best way to summarize what they are about is to say that each is very uniquely created fantasy world in an environment that is just as fantastic. I don't have the time right now to explain in depth the intricacies of each world to do them justice. However with Infinite the game takes place primarily in a city built in the clouds.
You begin playing as a character who has been told to "bring us the girl and erase your debt". The initial assumption is that you are to do just that, find this girl in the city, bring her to someone and wipe away whatever debt you are responsible for. The time frame in which this game takes place is in the early 1900's where racism is very much alive. This fact is first discovered when you hear a stage announcer say something to the effect of "isn't she just the prettiest little white girl you have ever seen". That struck a chord with me as soon as I heard it, then I was prompted to choose to throw a baseball at a bi-racial couple who was tied up (apparently caught being in a relationship) or to throw the ball at the announcer prompting me to choose. Naturally I chose to throw it at the announcer, my conscious would not allow me to choose the couple even though I knew it was a game. This begins your opposition within the game. You are discovered to be a "false prophet" and shooting ensues.
The game doesn't glorify racism, in fact through out your play through you will notice the negative effects of racism spread through out the world you are playing in. The creative team did a great job displaying what our world once looked like with segregation as part of daily life. This hit home for me that it wasn't too long ago that our country embraced this train of thought. Coupled with the studies I have been doing with a series called "The Truth Project" I have been seeing how the effects of a Darwinistic worldview are absolutely detrimental to it's people.
See, natural selection has taught us that the struggle for survival of our species is dependent upon a race being superior to the others. Hitler embraced this thought with his idea of a super race destroying all other races to enable a furthering of evolution. If survival of the fittest is true, then the stronger person will destroy the weaker and eventually the weaker will die off and this cycle will basically repeat itself with each dominant race destroying those who came before. If one cannot clearly see how wrong this is, I fear for sake of our society as a whole.
The rest of the story of Infinite continues with a man known as the "Prophet of Columbia" who is the founder of the city in the clouds. He is praised as being the all knowing savior of the people, carrying them out of Eden into Columbia. Like Moses freeing the Jews from slavery delivering them into the promised land. This prophet also is referred to as their "lord" and "savior". The parallels of Jesus and many of the biblical prophets is strong and very reminiscent of even today's society.
Most people whether religious or not are in constant search for a "savior". This "savior" could be a political one or a religious one it doesn't really matter. As Americans we are looking for someone to save our society or country from economic or financial ruin. There are religious groups searching for a savior from the hardships or "sin" of this world. The point is relevant no matter your worldview.
We see groups of people from time to time embracing the teachings and leadership of a man or woman who appears for all intents and purposes to have the answers to the questions of life. Many times these groups fade away with the death of their prophets. Some groups continue today even, though easily considered to be part of a cult. There are also cults that have survived through the centuries and blossomed into a world religion. The point to take from that is, no matter how much we try to avoid a "religious" world, the draw to someone who has all the answers is strong. People are easily persuaded when their itching ears are scratched. Many of today's liberals would deem these people as weak minded sheep who cannot think for themselves, but the amount of people who fall victim to these ideals are staggering, and it hasn't stopped.
The game is great all in all, there is much more to share in many little ways but I shall save that for another day.
You begin playing as a character who has been told to "bring us the girl and erase your debt". The initial assumption is that you are to do just that, find this girl in the city, bring her to someone and wipe away whatever debt you are responsible for. The time frame in which this game takes place is in the early 1900's where racism is very much alive. This fact is first discovered when you hear a stage announcer say something to the effect of "isn't she just the prettiest little white girl you have ever seen". That struck a chord with me as soon as I heard it, then I was prompted to choose to throw a baseball at a bi-racial couple who was tied up (apparently caught being in a relationship) or to throw the ball at the announcer prompting me to choose. Naturally I chose to throw it at the announcer, my conscious would not allow me to choose the couple even though I knew it was a game. This begins your opposition within the game. You are discovered to be a "false prophet" and shooting ensues.
The game doesn't glorify racism, in fact through out your play through you will notice the negative effects of racism spread through out the world you are playing in. The creative team did a great job displaying what our world once looked like with segregation as part of daily life. This hit home for me that it wasn't too long ago that our country embraced this train of thought. Coupled with the studies I have been doing with a series called "The Truth Project" I have been seeing how the effects of a Darwinistic worldview are absolutely detrimental to it's people.
See, natural selection has taught us that the struggle for survival of our species is dependent upon a race being superior to the others. Hitler embraced this thought with his idea of a super race destroying all other races to enable a furthering of evolution. If survival of the fittest is true, then the stronger person will destroy the weaker and eventually the weaker will die off and this cycle will basically repeat itself with each dominant race destroying those who came before. If one cannot clearly see how wrong this is, I fear for sake of our society as a whole.
The rest of the story of Infinite continues with a man known as the "Prophet of Columbia" who is the founder of the city in the clouds. He is praised as being the all knowing savior of the people, carrying them out of Eden into Columbia. Like Moses freeing the Jews from slavery delivering them into the promised land. This prophet also is referred to as their "lord" and "savior". The parallels of Jesus and many of the biblical prophets is strong and very reminiscent of even today's society.
Most people whether religious or not are in constant search for a "savior". This "savior" could be a political one or a religious one it doesn't really matter. As Americans we are looking for someone to save our society or country from economic or financial ruin. There are religious groups searching for a savior from the hardships or "sin" of this world. The point is relevant no matter your worldview.
We see groups of people from time to time embracing the teachings and leadership of a man or woman who appears for all intents and purposes to have the answers to the questions of life. Many times these groups fade away with the death of their prophets. Some groups continue today even, though easily considered to be part of a cult. There are also cults that have survived through the centuries and blossomed into a world religion. The point to take from that is, no matter how much we try to avoid a "religious" world, the draw to someone who has all the answers is strong. People are easily persuaded when their itching ears are scratched. Many of today's liberals would deem these people as weak minded sheep who cannot think for themselves, but the amount of people who fall victim to these ideals are staggering, and it hasn't stopped.
The game is great all in all, there is much more to share in many little ways but I shall save that for another day.
Fantastic, fantastic game. I loved that the story was not sanitized. The racism, corrupted religion, and corrupted patriotism were essential to the story and didn't seem put in there for shock value. I have heard this game is a criticism of conservative thought, but it is really a show of how anything can be corrupted. The Hall of Heroes with the displays of the Boxer Rebellion and Wounded Knee and the monuments to John Wilkes Booth... the level design was like nothing I have ever seen before. Also the way they weaved the music through the game was amazing. Then there is the mind-bender of an ending! Roger Ebert said that video games will never be considered art, but I would put this up against anything. I want to play it through again!
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