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eelgraytea · 13 days ago

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The upcoming FFXVI Lore Book preview, in which we see an excerpt from Clive’s journal about the challenges of liberating Bearers, highlights one of the most significant criticisms I have of this game: its glaring savior complex.

I have always felt that the scene in Kostnice was handled really poorly, and the journal entry compounds my misgivings. I’ve tried to do a somewhat cohesive analysis here of why that is.

Fair warning: It’s long (and probably not all that cohesive).

For context, the excerpt reads (CW: suicide):

This was never going to be easy, but sometimes it feels downright impossible. We fight for a cause that many Bearers themselves do not believe in. How can we expect them to comprehend a freedom that they have been lead to believe does not exist? Many really do see themselves as tools to be disposed of. Many do not even wish to be saved.

Not long ago, Jill and I intercepted a caravan transporting a dozen Bearers along the road to Tabor. When we fought off their captors and unshackled them, one of the elderly captives immediately grabbed a slain guard’s dagger and slit his own throat. There was no hesitation. He did not wish to be free. He wished to be dead. He got what Cid claimed to want for him—to die as he chose—but why would he not choose to live?

There’s…a lot to unpack. Specifically in conjunction with the scene in Kostnice one year later.

First, what is a savior complex? In a nutshell, it’s a desire to help others with the belief that you, the savior, know what’s best for the community you’re trying to serve better than they do. This results in the savior often doing more harm than good.

When doing any type of social justice work it’s essential that:

You examine the ways in which your own experiences and biases might affect what you think others need, and

You center the people you’re trying to help by putting aside said biases and letting them dictate what needs to be done and how to do it.

(Note - in some contexts the term “savior complex” is interchangeable with “Messiah complex”, which is more pathological in nature and is different from what I’m referring to.)

When it comes to FF16’s saviors—Clive and Jill for the purposes of this post—neither of these things happen to a significant degree.

Clive’s journal entry takes place four years after he takes on Cid’s legacy. Maybe one or two of those years were spent building up the new Hideaway, but regardless, by the time he writes this he’s supposedly been doing the work of freeing Bearers for a decent amount of time. And yet Clive cannot comprehend why one of the people he’s trying to save would choose death over freedom. He asks himself how he can convince Bearers to accept his saviorism. He calls it an impossible task.

Given what happens in Kostnice one year later—Clive and Jill attempting to free a group of Bearers and being met with hostility—it’s safe to say they haven’t figured this out. After at least a couple years of Bearer emancipation efforts, Clive and Jill are still asking why people don’t want the freedom they’re offering instead of considering that maybe they’re going about this the wrong way.

What’s more, in Kostnice, Clive remarks that the Bearers will “come around”. Because he knows what’s best for them, right?

But how is he qualified to make that call? If he doesn’t know why someone would prefer death over freedom, perhaps he’s in over his head and needs help.

Clive and Jill are entering into their work with significant blind spots caused by both privilege and trauma.

I want to clarify that what I have said/will say does not in any way, shape, or form invalidate their trauma. Jill and Clive have both suffered immensely. No one is arguing that.

AND, while both of them have been harmed by the same oppressive system that persecutes Bearers, their circumstances and experiences are different a few major ways:

Childhood: Jill and Clive were not born as Bearers. They were born as nobles in their respective countries. That’s not to say their childhoods were free from hardship! They both experienced the type of adverse childhood events that could—and did—have lasting negative impacts. But they also had food, shelter, and some protective adult relationships. Until Phoenix Gate, at which time they were adolescents having spent their formative years in relative safety, they were not forced into slavery or shunned by society.

This is important as it plays into why they might have such a hard time fathoming why Bearers wouldn’t want to be free—they’ve experienced freedom and had it taken away (yes; for Jill, “freedom” has a big asterisk next to it.) For Bearers who have spent their whole lives as slaves and indoctrinated to believe they are less than human, and who have likely seen what happens to other Bearers who break the rules, it’s not surprising that two vigilantes killing their captors would be terrifying. That’s not to say they don’t deserve freedom; they do. But Clive and Jill’s methods are way too heavy-handed given the nuances of the situation and don’t take into account Bearer’s lived experiences.

The next difference is their experiences in captivity. (CW - mention of SA/CSA).

I’ll start with Jill. Her experience in the Iron Kingdom was horrific. From what we’ve seen of the treatment of Bearers around the continent, it was arguably the most dangerous place for them.

But it was also different.

Bearers weren’t seen as useful tools—they were sexually and physically abused, and, from what it looked like, ritually sacrificed. As far as we know, they were sequestered away from the rest of society. We don’t even know if Bearers in the Iron Kingdom make it to adulthood.

Her view of what it means to be a Bearer in Valisthea is undoubtedly influenced by this. I can easily see how the act of a Bearer refusing their freedom would be frustrating, if not completely infuriating for her. And this is an example of her trauma being a blind spot. Her situation is different, yet she’s applying it to Bearers for whom freedom and captivity have different implications.

As for Clive, we don’t know much about what his life was like as a Bearer in the Imperial Army, but given that he’s shocked to learn how Bearers are treated in Sanbreque when he first meets Isabelle in Northreach, we can assume he had a different experience.

Again: this is not to say he has not suffered under the same oppressive system. But his reaction to both the woman in Martha’s Rest discovering her newborn is a Bearer and the treatment of Bearers in Sanbreque suggest he was not aware of how bad things are for the people he now wants to save.

Finally, power: Clive and Jill are both immensely powerful. They do not face the same physical threats as Bearers because they can so easily overpower those who would attempt to stop them. They don’t fear the unknown as much because they know that they will most likely be able to survive whatever is thrown at them.

Bearers are not entering into freedom with the same assumption. They are being abruptly and violently liberated by two people who are much more powerful than they are. And even though they’re being promised safety, how would they be able to verify that’s true?

In an early side quest in Lostwing, Clive, who at this point still bears his brand, is tasked with reassuring two newly liberated Bearers that, yes, they are safe. They trust Clive over the people who freed them because he is one of them.

He’s not one of them anymore; not that they can tell. The brand removal side quest suggests Clive had his surgery fairly early in the timeskip. He and Jill can live in anonymity. Most Bearers do not have this option.

All of this is to say that while Clive and Jill are well-intentioned, their methods are ineffective, and they are unable and/or unwilling to understand why. Having them work through these blind spots would have been a good opportunity for character development. But they don’t.

So what should they have done instead?

Listen to what Bearers are telling/showing them. Trust their lived experience and Back. Off. Engage with local people doing the work on the ground, e.g., Eloise, who are more in tune with local politics and who have built trust and rapport in the community. Given that they did not know who Eloise was prior to the events of 878, I can only assume this was not happening.

If there’s one thing Clive is good at, it’s forming relationships and connections with others. People trust him and rely on him. He is extremely well poised to help people like Eloise do what they do better because he has such a vast network of allies and is fantastic at bringing people together.

In the Real World(™) I am a manager, and something I’ve learned over the years is that my job as a manager isn’t to be the best or the smartest in my field. It’s to identify what needs to be done, assemble the right people to do it, and create the space/provide the resources for them to do what they do best. Clive is perfectly situated to do this, and he kind of does, but he’s also on the ground himself doing things in a way that’s simply not efficient, and at times is detrimental to his mission.

The last thing I want to call out is that I think the issues with saviorism in FF16 are an issue with the writing, and not the characters themselves. We are supposed to be completely sympathetic to how hard this is for Clive and Jill; there is no self-awareness here. Clive’s journal entry isn’t quite as egregious as it’s representing his private thoughts, but his and Jill’s attitudes in Kostnice do a big disservice to both of their characters.

I don’t think it would be out of character in the slightest for Clive’s journal to question whether there’s a better way to go about his mission, or for him and Jill to place the blame for Kostnice their methods rather than shrug and say “we knew this wouldn’t be easy”.

We still would have known that this work is hard. In fact, it would have more impactful/create more tension for the two of them to feel stuck and have to regroup.

What’s more, the way Jill and Clive are otherwise written suggest that’s exactly what they would have done! They are sensitive and well-attuned to the needs of the communities they serve. In the side stories with Martha, Isabelle, Eloise, etc, they are there for support. They let the experts take the lead and dictate the best course of action.

WELL, If you’ve made it this far, thank you for giving your time to read my thoughts! I’m certainly open to thoughtful conversation regarding this topic, and if you see any of my own blind spots coming through on this post, I welcome the feedback. Because we ALL have blind spots.

I’ll end with this: I think it’s important to look critically at media and dissect the ways in which it can propagate harmful viewpoints. Unfortunately for FF16, there is quite a bit to dissect.

It doesn’t mean you have to hate the game. It doesn’t mean you have to feel guilty for enjoying the game. I obviously am a huge fan of certain aspects and there are parts of this game that I think were executed really well. But we can always do better.

#ffxvi #ff16 #final fantasy 16 #final fantasy xvi #clive rosfield #jill warrick #text post #long reads #analysis #i have a lot of opinions #and a problem with em dashes

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