#sorry there's also talk about mcu thanos and real life ecology

[somegiantmess]

Some screenshots and spoilers for FF seven Reb*rth under the cut

So I got to Cosmo Canyon yesterday.

Not gonna lie I enjoy the aesthetic of the village and especially the lab and the music in the lab is really cool too.

Now with the critics.

I'm somewhat bothered by the fact that the people who care about the planet (through what they call planetology in the game) give such a vibe of... something close to sectarians and gurus? And I'm pretty sure it wasn't the case in the original game? Tbh when I came across random NPCs that laid their religious-like speeches earlier in the game, I thought it was just some random guys who came to that. I wasn't expecting the inhabitants of Cosmo Canyon to all be like that? With all the rituals the speeches the prayers etc.

Maybe the religious vibe serves to give room to make things "magical" and have the ceremony and all but I would prefer having the people in Cosmo Canyon care about the world and life like they do, but with a more scientific —and compassionate/empathic because yes both can be a thing simultaneously— stance. And like they can definitely have their own culture around it, and I mean you could make it religious maybe but the way it's done here feels overdone, feels like a cliché.

Also yes I'm aware the lab adds a scientific aspect to all that but it's not the aspect you see the most at the end of the day.

And so (spoiler: real life themes) ultimately I'm bothered because I make the link to our real world. Detractors of ecology love to paint people who ask and fight for ecological actions as: cranks, crazy, enlightened guys who are simply over sensitive and make a "religion" out of their values/beliefs, who are irrationnal, that kinda thing. Which is why I'm pretty bothered to specifically have the "ecologists" in this game now being painted as people who deliver vague speeches and talk like gurus?

Medias are vectors for our imaginations and even sometimes our assumptions about stuff, right? Whether we want it or not, whether it's a good thing or not. I'd be pleased if medias were more often and more properly a vector for knowledge and awaraness about our ecological predicament. As well as for positive imagination of different, sober lifestyle. I mean, sure, various themes tied to that can be found in a lot of content. But pieces of media that make it really central and on point? That make it realistic, relatable and emotional? That brilliantly manages to spark something -hopefully positive and action-inducing- in the viewers? More and more content that would help introducing curiosity and eventually a real culture around those topics? Would love to see more of that.

And less of "oh my god look the evil guy says he wants to save the planet and to do that he's ready to kill people/humanity! look this is what ecology does to people hhaahahaa" (for fuck's sake everything is so wrong with that— btw do you see mcu thanos? if it was real life never dare calling reducing the number of living beings on earth an ecological solution. wtf. the problem isn't the number, it's a worldwide system that relies on infinite production to create infinite capital and that implies very high material and energy consumption (especially from (spoiler) a minority of human beings). Also do we forget that not all species are in the same situation? is it ecological to reduce to half the number of individuals of a species that's on the verge of extinction even though it had a role in an ecosystem somewhere? look I don't remember all the details of how thanos thought he would do good but I saw him labelled as an evil ecologist or ecoterrorist or whatever. And his fictional argument was something like "there are too many individuals there's a balance that's being endangered in the universe let's make disappear very randomly half of the living beings and everything will be settled" —and was it supposed to be a paralell to our real world? because damn. so wrong. Did I also say that "saving the planet" is a questionable phrasing? cause when you care about ecology you care about the living beings -including ourselves- more than "saving" the earth just for the sake of it or something abstract. The planet itself will outlive us don't worry.)

Ok wow that was a very long digression.

So going back to the game; I'm just sad that the theme of ecology is here in some way, but it's like it's, in part, reduced to something that'll look religious and fanatic to most people. Even though there's room for something more impactful. Even without turning the game into something that'll obsessively revolve only around that.

Not that I'll be able to write that myself but I mean if you're a pro writer/scenarist I'm sure there's something to do.

Still want to add that if I sound anti religion or something that's not my point. My point is it's the guru vibe of the guys in the game and how they're probably perceived by players that makes it feel wrong when you're into the same irl topics as I am. :')